IXLR8

Somehow I doubt they used less than 3000 psi in a garage. Around here it (or is it 4000 psi) is pretty standard.

P-daddy

Lil' bump to this thread. Since the Maxjax is portable, every time you disconnect/connect the hydraulic line back up, must you re-bleed again?
Thanks

IXLR8

Immediately after initial set-up, I did have to bleed the system a couple of times. Whether that was due the MaxJax supplied couplers, I cannot confirm 100%. I have not had to bleed the system for over a year. I've had the lift since December 2012.

I did install Faster flat-face couplers. Top notch quality, but not cheap. And they are made in Italy.

P-daddy

^Is yours permanently mounted or mount only when you need it? I looked up the price of those coupler$$. Unreal!

IXLR8

Mike, I came across a product that works well. The lift, both up and down, is dead silent now.

After trying a few lubricants in the tracks of my MaxJax, I think I've come across the perfect one; Liquid Wrench Dry Lubricant.

I used white grease the first time, but wet lubricants attract dirt and dust, and even though I have slip-on covers for my MaxJax columns, I really wanted to use a dry lube.

This product leaves a white powdery residue. To spray the insides of the columns, I used a heat gun to put a J shape into the plastic nozzle.

IXLR8

It is permanently mounted in that I do not move the lift columns after use.

Because of how I placed the columns in my standard sized 2-car garage, I can open the driver's door fully when parked.

Those Faster couplers ran me $88 for two male and two female couplers. You can hardly wet the tip of your finger with hydraulic fluid upon disconnection.

Kein_Ersatz

I have had some initial leaking with reservoir caps (bottom and top), concluded I had them too tight. Rubbed trans fluid on o-rings and re seated to sung by hand but not torque tight. Seems to be working.

Have had to bleed to get both pistons level a few times, but not a big hassle. Have snagged with foot one of the hoses when walking around the car doing work, had to retighten 45 degree elbow afterwards at lift base.

Happy owner.

Busta Rib

For realz. Any self-respecting wannabe engineer should read through the link about the custom anchoring. Very impressive and well done. Nice work, Alex.

IXLR8

Well according to one "engineer" on Garage Journal, I should have poured two lengthwise slabs that run parallel to the sides of the car instead, this to take care of the fore and aft moments, can you believe.

Of course there are no fore and aft moments worth mentioning since I calculated the C of G locations with and without the engine/transmission in place. The car gets placed accordingly on the lift, not that it even matters.

As for the "key-in" using pieces of rebar to the existing slab as some there mentioned, when the original slab is that thin, I prefer to "key" my poured slab to the existing slab by running the poured concrete under the existing slab as recommended by Mohawk Lifts, and I even went overboard by going in over 12" instead of the recommended 6" minimum.

On top of it, I have rebar running under the existing slab.

Todynot

I have the MaxJax deluxe (Dannmar's M6) on order and found this thread useful as I was thinking about column placements. FYI, I was on the Dannmar website doing some research and started a chat. Ended up connecting with sales and negotiated an all-in delivered price of $2099 (Excluding NJ sales tax), which is pretty good.

Are you MaxJax users still satisfied with your lift?

When I built my garage a few years ago, I actually had a rectangular pit installed sized to accept a Bendpak mid-rise scissor, but have reconsidered and will go with the M6. I also considered the Bendpak Grand Prix series, but like the portability of the M6.

The to-do list on the 993 grew recently when I notice what I think is drops of steering fluid under and behind the left from tire...leaky steering column.

Mr.Woolery

I also have that same MaxJax lift currently installed outdoors on my back patio. The first time I installed it I tried using the drilled bolts, but quickly abandoned them and repoured the concrete slab using imbedded J-bolts in the concrete instead. It's been in place since around 2012(?).

I'm planning to move it into the garage next, as that would allow for more longer term projects to be performed using it. Despite being in southern California, an outdoor lift still limits projects to 1-2 days.

Todynot

You abandoned the embedded threaded anchors because why? Did your slab not meet min requirements or was it just a matter of peace of mind? My slab is reinforced 4 ksi concrete at 4" min thickness, so I should be good to go, but will verify thickness during drilling.

Mr.Woolery

Primarily peace of mind. The slab met the minimum thickness requirements, but I'd much prefer to have the hardware holding the posts in place be more than just essentially friction sleeves in the ground. I made the slab 8" deep with rebar and J-Bolts with the threads sticking up out of the ground like studs. That way I place the jack posts over them and lock them in place with a big nut/washer combo instead of bolts going into the ground. I don't trust those steel sleeves. All it takes is some small bits of concrete to give way and the whole post can come crashing down. I'd much rather that the stress be transferred over a larger area.

Kein_Ersatz

Have had mine for 7+ years installed with the embedded sleeve anchors w/ bolts. Have used it on multiple 993s, a Cayman, BMW X5 (+5k lbs), and MB AMG GLE 43. The latter being almost 6k lbs (max load). 4" inch typical concert floor pour I did my self 15+ years ago.

When thinking about the sleeve/bolt (piece of mind), understand the physics. With a "load" on the lift and the thick welded foot plate base, the "friction" load is not just "up", but also inward toward the center of the lift area under the load (car). So the bolts are not being pulled straight up, but somewhat inward under any load (lift plate acts as fulcrum base), further adding to the the sleeve friction against the sleeve/bolt combo. The load is also 50/50 on each lift plate (2.5k lbs max per plate), so max 500lbs per bolt. On a 3k 911 that is just 300 lbs per bolt. It is over engineered.

Also, all 5 bolts are to some degree being pulled sideways towards the center of the lift area, not just up. In the sue happy America we live in, the MaxJax is still in business, the design must be working.

If it helps you sleep at night or crawl under the car, then over engineer it more, but the design and specs have a lot of overdosing already built in.

Now for some niggles. The portable nature of the rig is great, but the hoses could be longer for better placement. They get in the way from time to time and the lift connections can "seep" from the hoses getting bumped when moving around the shop floor. The pump plastic fluid tank continues too also seep, so put a pan under it wherever you place it. Use un-brand ATF for hydro fluid and keep a quart around. One on my lifts (hose to lift connection seep-er) is constantly needing re bleed to even out the lift force. No of these are deal breakers, just niggles.

The portable (put away) nature is great, typically remove/move it once a year for car storage in the winter. easily done by oneself.

Enjoy the freedom, you will be surprised what else it can be used for. I use it for mower service and mower deck/snow blower attachment swap over. Friends have come over and used it for clutch service and it makes tire swaps and normal maintenance a breeze. Get a flat creeper to sit on under the car for "upright" work position. Wear a hat, there is aways a stray outcrop just out of view ;-)

Todynot

Thanks for the response. I agree the embedded anchors have sufficient safety margin factored in, assuming the concrete is to required spec, so I'm pretty comfortable with that aspect of the lift (I hope I don't regret typing that).

I came across a thread on another forum that covered uneven lifting, which is a concern. A number of possible culprits were ID'ed, such as slide friction, diverter valve malfunction, trapped air/bleeding, but hoping this is a small minority.

If I wasn't too worried about leaving the lift in place I'd probably go with the Bendpak Grand Prix, but that's a permanent install.