Monique

Hello RL'ers.

Today I bought a lift for my engine removal. So I was at the shop who builds them and discussed with Ulrich my real needs... (quite different from the lift I purchased.)

After shooting ideas and concepts back and forth, we decided to try to build "a better mouse trap." (read DIY Porsche specific garage lift)

Thus far our ideas do not extend into the heavy duty 2 or 4 post lifts, the market is crowded with these. The idea is for single axle lift: either front or rear.

I will be giving him the specifics of the jack points, distances etc from my NB 993. Hopefully, the design will allow for dimensional variations to accommodate most Pcars.

Some basics we hope to achieve:

-15 cm folded height... lowered cars will need a ramp..
- 1 meter extended height to allow for engine removal
- side entry versus rear or forward fit
- 850 kgs capacity (max expected load from the rear engined fraternity)
- alu for the most part and steel only where necessary.
- if feasable... a single axle lift.. either you lift front or back.
- remote hydraulic pump with either 110 or 220 Volt motor

Pro-Lift has the capability and knowledge to design and build a Porsche specific DIY lift. Entry into the automotive vs bike will broaden their field. I will help in the design and early marketing/distribution only; I will accept no payment if the project is successful.

We are looking for your ideas of the features which should be built into this lift. Start your drawing tables

Please post replies to the same thread in the 993 board.

Wachuko

Just get them to build a two post asy lift that would fit under a normal ceiling...

Geoffrey

"Just get them to build a two post asy lift that would fit under a normal ceiling..."

That is one of the best ideas I've heard!

Indycam

http://www.discountramps.com/car_display_ramp.htm

http://www.discountramps.com/low_profile_car_ramp.htm

911URGE

Indycam - these look nice. Have you used them?

Indycam

No , I use a jack and wood blocks . Low tech , low price , hard to break , and who gives a dang if it goes missing ...

Monique

Good suggestions but a 2 post lift is not what we want to achieve.

What we want is a compact unit which will lift the car to 1 meter, have a cutout portion to lower the engine through the middle and be affordable.

Another factor is the small garages in EU. I remember my garage in my last NA house... my present one is NOT like that.

Back to your thinking caps...

Geoffrey

I have a PMI lift that I like better than the scissors lifts shown on the 993 board for several reasons. First, you cannot just drive over it and so you need additional parts for clearance. Second, it rolls on the floor and can wear the concrete, and third it has a smaller footprint than the vehicle so it makes it less stable.

The PMI lift I have works well, even on my low race car, however, I cannot drop the engine without removing the rear bumper because the lift height is only 24". It also, by design, moves the car back about 1' as it raises, and third, due to the location of the pad, I cannot remove the oil tank drain plug while the car is on the lift. I do however, have access to the entire driveline and suspension in the rear and the entire suspension in the front. The only issue I would want solved is some additional height. I can live with the oil drain plug issue since I just put the front on the lift, drain the tank, then push the car the rest of the way on the lift, lift it up and drain the engine.

Indycam

I watched a guy with a forklift move cars around .
If you did a forklift from the side , with two sets of forks , not one set and a set of fat legs , you could drive over the forks easy .

http://cgi.ebay.com/Baker-BWS40-Elec...QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/CROWN-WALKIE-STA...QQcmdZViewItem

Something like the one in the ads but slimed down and sized for the job .

The guy who was moveing cars around with the fork lift was an idiot , he was pinching lines , bending drive shafts , not thinking about the damage being done .

ThomasC2

I just had my engine out and we did it like this and it worked very well and made the job easy:

1 First we put the car level on regular stands.
2 Then we built a simple trolley of wood and 4 small wheels and put it under the engine
3 Then we took of the engine lid and used an engine lift/crane which we attached on the rear engine bracket from above. now we just lowered the engine down on the trolley and used a jack to support the transmission.
4 when the engine was on the trolley we attached the engine lift to the rear towing hook and just lifted up the car high enough to roll out the engine. when the engine is out the rear is very light so it was really easy to lift it. When the engine was out we lowered the car back on the stands.

I think this was a really good and stable way of doing it instead of using several jags and high stands to get the car up high enough. The only "problem" is that you have to have an engine lift but there is always someone who has one that you can borrow, like we did. and they aren't that expensive to buy.

I took some pics, I'll put them out later.

greenjt

And with something like this, you can even put the car on the roof of your house if you really wanted to.

greenjt

Thomas, do you have a pic of where you attached the lift/crane? not sure what you mean by rear engine bracket. Thanks and great idea you had.

ThomasC2

I'll get the pics tomorrow. But I mean the bracket/support which is attached to the to rear engine mounts. We tied a strap at the far end of the bracket on each side and then put the hook from the engine lift in the strap to get an even load. So when we removed the rear engine mounts the lift was holding the engine in the same place as the mounts and made it very easy to control the movement up/down.

mj951

geoffrey, can you post a link to PMI's web site, can't seem to find them.
Thanks.

Chris Martin

This looks hard to beat for a low ceiling height. It is a little spendy though.

http://www.americasprideonline.com/2...1-.ViewProduct