redridge

My ceiling height is 10.5', inner depth is 21' and inner width is 21' (2 bay garage).... you have to lift the door track to make room for the car hood to clear. No need to raise the ceiling, but you can only put sedans underneath (our Honda and BMW 328 fits underneath it with no issues.). The primary reason I use it is for storage for the winter.

Limitations.... you can drop the transmission between the floor ramps but not the engine. However you can drop the engine by rolling the wheels close to the edge of the ramps and drop the engine outside of the cross member (frame that holds the ramps) of the lift. You need to support the engine/tranny if you remove one of them first.

Woking on suspension around the wheel well area with the wheels on is a pain. Removing the wheels will free up tons of space and can access any bits of the suspension. If you are going to work on your car I suggest getting 2 hydraulic lift jacks so you can get the whole car up in the air similar to a 2 post.

With that said... if you DIY on your car, the lift has paid itself over and over again.

CWhaley

Great looking garage

redridge

thanks.... now how to go about fixing that f^ck up by the steps (check the pattern). It might just have to stay that way.

gota911

Oh, that ^ was a smart move!!!


Bawhahahahahah!!!!!

gota911

Ferd,

A few too many beers as you got to the finish line??

Do you have any tiles left? You just need to swap the colors in front of the steps.

Shark Attack

Really? Just cause you are on the beach you cant expand? Even if you could have afforded a bigger lot, they just wont let you do it on the beach? Wow glad i dont live there!

TomF

Thanks for all the comments. I will do some measuring and see what the lift I am looking at will accommodate in terms of clearance. I want the ability to drop the engine and transmission at the same time with ease, so the parking lift may have to be sacrificed for the convenience of the service function.

LOL. We can barely afford the small lot we have now!

New regulations just went into effect this month making us subject to oversight by six or seven agencies, including the Federal Dept. of Ecology. In addition, in some circumstances (on the water side of the property) we have get approval by a local Native American tribe. The footprint of our house is pretty much set in stone, unfortunately. I am very happy to protect the environment, but many of the new regulations are pretty punitive and misguided.

BTW, I never take for granted where I live- we are very fortunate.

Cheers!
Tom

Sneaky Pete

Thanks for reminding me that I'm a brainiac! SSSSHHHHHHHHHH......she is coming! Gotta go!

93 FireHawk 968

I have a new Bend Pak 4 post, the narrow version and love it. Purchased thru American Equipment in CT. Had a local company take delivery and do the install for me. No issue accessing the entire underside of the car. Working on brakes and suspension is more complicated than a 2 post, bottle jacks and/or the jack stand that attaches across the ramps is a great option.

93 FireHawk 968

Correction....I purchased my Bend Pak from Automotive Equipment in CT and it's the HD-9 (Narrow)model.

TomF

Are your ramps adjustable for width? I mean, is the space between the ramps adjustable for width?

I just came across a lift system, that has ramp spacing that can be adjusted between 37 - 57 inches. As long as the ramps are longer than 165" or so, there should be plenty of room to drop the engine and transmission through the middle. To do suspension and or brake work, I would have to get the additional rolling hydraulic jacks.

redridge

Does anyone know the width of the engine without the mufflers.... You can take those out first before dropping the engine....


Edit: just too some measurements, engine width is about 36".... Worst case pull the cans off to drop the motor. My lift has only 33"....

TomF

The lift I was looking at was adjustable all the way to 57." The left-hand ramp was fixed and the right-hand was adjustable all the way out to the posts. If the car was pulled all the way forward on the lift, and the ramps were at the widest that they could be to safely support the tires, there would be quite a bit of room to drop the engine and transmission. I do agree that you would probably have to drop the cans to make it work, but that is pretty simple. I have learned to change out the hardware on the cans at clutch or engine drop time, when it is really easy, to save a potential headache later.

33" is a bit too narrow, IMHO... On your lift, you only need about 5 -6 more inches! From the center of the front wheels to the rear of the bumper cover it is about 165" and that means that the car would have to be forward of the rear lift cross member to allow clean access to the engine. I am guessing a lift that has ramps about 185" to 190" would do the trick.

I hesitated and missed out on a great deal on a lift locally... I'll keep up my search.