MGB & GT Forum

A long post, but I did use paragraphs!

I recently bought and installed a MaxJax 2-post lift that I purchased from Costco. It was $1999 + tax. Shipping was included. This lift is designed for low ceiling garages and will raise a vehicle a max of 48" high (floor to bottom of sill). It is designed to facilitate removing and storing the lift components when not in use.

The trucking company driver who delivered the lift couldn't have been more helpful. He had a pallet jack and a power tailgate on his truck. He set the lift package down right where I wanted it in my garage.

This is a solidly made, heavy duty lift. It has a max capacity of 6k pounds.

I installed it by myself, but you don't need to install one of these by yourself if you have back problems. The two lift columns are very heavy.

Installing the hydraulic pistons/cylinders into the column is a little fiddly and with them being as heavy as they are, any unnecessary fiddling tended to frustrate me. Then setting the columns upright was okay, but again not for anyone with a bad back/knees/etc.

I had trouble deciding where to set the distance between the columns. The instructions only give suggestions for compact, mid-size and large cars. So I parked the 'B' between the posts and extended the arms as much as possible with the columns not being bolted down. I gave myself enough room to open the car doors and a little more than that.

After I drilled the holes in the floor and bolted down the columns, I drove the 'B' in again and test extended the arms and the arms, even when extended, were too short to place under the front frame rails so I had to move one of the columns closer.

The process of assembling the (again - heavy) hydraulic pump, flow divider and reservoir onto a small dolly-like cart was pretty straightforward. I had to buy 3 gallons of hydraulic oil. Then I had to test run the lift with nothing on it and bleed the cylinders at half way and fully raised.

I then pulled the 'B' in and raised it fully (see pics below). Wouldn't you know it, I hadn't tightened the hydraulic fittings enough and both columns had leaks. I had to pull the cylinders out of the columns and re-tighten all of the fittings. What an unnecessary exercise that was!

Since I've had it installed (and leak free) I've had my car up on the lift and a couple of my MGB buddies have come by to try it so I have at least that much experience with it now.

It works very well and does a great job of lifting the car. I can see where doing suspension work, brake jobs and anything with the wheels will be great because you can get the car at just the right level for that work.

I have decided that I probably won't be moving the columns. They don't seem to be in the way much and unbolting and rolling those heavy things around isn't worth it.

A couple of early concerns:

1. A max height of 48" is good, if you don't have a high enough ceiling for a taller lift, but even using a small roll-around seat, you have to be careful not to bump your head.This may just take some getting used to. I have 9'3" of overhead clearance, so I could have installed a taller lift.

2. I have so far been unable to find jack stands that are short enough to work at the 45-48" max height. I may have to buy some taller ones and cut them off. I can't imagine having to remove the front springs on a lift without jack stands. I did find an oil change receptacle short enough to fit under the car when lifted.

After I have had a chance to experience the benefits of the lift more, I will report back

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“Ideological certainty easily degenerates into an insistence upon ignorance". Daniel Patrick Moynihan

In any debate, the side which strays from civil discussion is usually the side that lacks confidence in its debate position or in the merit of their arguments. Making personal attacks on the opponents instead of staying on the subject is also a sign of weakness.

Anyone who feels compelled to respond in kind to any perceived slight is often suffering from narcissism.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2015-07-30 07:58 AM by lewisrn.

I like it. What was the final distance you ended up with between the posts (max outside and min inside)?

That looks pretty nifty.

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It's 92" from center of one of the columns where the arms pivot to the other column at the same spot. The arms extend a maximum of approximately 38" from there.

From the back of one post base plate to the back of the other is approximately 119"

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“Ideological certainty easily degenerates into an insistence upon ignorance". Daniel Patrick Moynihan

In any debate, the side which strays from civil discussion is usually the side that lacks confidence in its debate position or in the merit of their arguments. Making personal attacks on the opponents instead of staying on the subject is also a sign of weakness.

Anyone who feels compelled to respond in kind to any perceived slight is often suffering from narcissism.

I like it. Could you squeeze another B underneath It for storage, or would that be too tight?

That looks great! Nice clean and organized garage too.

One question. It looks like you have the posts too close to the garage door to lift a longer car. Is this a problem or not even something you plan to do anyway?

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Friends talking around a fire is the history of mankind.

I haven't tried it, but I don't think it's feasible.

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“Ideological certainty easily degenerates into an insistence upon ignorance". Daniel Patrick Moynihan

In any debate, the side which strays from civil discussion is usually the side that lacks confidence in its debate position or in the merit of their arguments. Making personal attacks on the opponents instead of staying on the subject is also a sign of weakness.

Anyone who feels compelled to respond in kind to any perceived slight is often suffering from narcissism.

Yeah, I placed the columns that way on purpose. I really only plan to lift MG's or something similar in size and I wanted the space in front of the car.

EDIT - And the beauty of this lift is that if you want to move it forward, you just have to unbolt the columns, drill more holes wherever desired and roll the posts over there and bolt them down again.

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“Ideological certainty easily degenerates into an insistence upon ignorance". Daniel Patrick Moynihan

In any debate, the side which strays from civil discussion is usually the side that lacks confidence in its debate position or in the merit of their arguments. Making personal attacks on the opponents instead of staying on the subject is also a sign of weakness.

Anyone who feels compelled to respond in kind to any perceived slight is often suffering from narcissism.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-07-29 08:32 PM by lewisrn.

Thanks for the review, Bob!

It makes it easier to get in the air & sure beats laying on the concrete with the car on jack stands.

I guess the tires are less than 48" to the ground? My MGB is only 45" to the top of the windshield frame & 48" to the top of the windshield deflector.

Yep, the 48" is from the floor to the bottom of the sill.

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“Ideological certainty easily degenerates into an insistence upon ignorance". Daniel Patrick Moynihan

In any debate, the side which strays from civil discussion is usually the side that lacks confidence in its debate position or in the merit of their arguments. Making personal attacks on the opponents instead of staying on the subject is also a sign of weakness.

Anyone who feels compelled to respond in kind to any perceived slight is often suffering from narcissism.

Thanks, now i need to go do some measuring and figure out how to justify it...

Bob,

Thanks for the review. Looks like a very nice install. One question. What is the recommenced concrete floor thickness for a safe install?

Dave

4" minimum, minimum compressive strength of 3000 psi, re-bar optional.

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“Ideological certainty easily degenerates into an insistence upon ignorance". Daniel Patrick Moynihan

In any debate, the side which strays from civil discussion is usually the side that lacks confidence in its debate position or in the merit of their arguments. Making personal attacks on the opponents instead of staying on the subject is also a sign of weakness.

Anyone who feels compelled to respond in kind to any perceived slight is often suffering from narcissism.

Bob - great post - thanks for sharing. I've been thinking about one of these for quite a while.

Dave - I believe they recommend a 4" thick slab as a minimum. (Edit: I see Bob just posted that info while I was typing this)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-07-30 07:52 AM by astbury.

Newer member here, 1st post, I have had same lift for almost 2 years, great improvement over jackstands, I have mine approx 7 feet apart , have never moved them, pic of my GT on lift, set them towards back of garage, gives plenty of room for engine hoist and working space, also drilled extra holes about 1 foot high for setting safety pins, puts it about jackstand height, can lean over fenders easily, if you have solid rockers pick car up on those, much easier than frame rails and rear spring perches, I use the 3" extensions also, as far as screw jacks, try HT52008, 2 Ton Tripod stands from Smith Equipment Sales, they were $151.00 including freight, they work great