grumpyvette Posted November 18, 2005 Share Posted November 18, 2005 I see failures occasionally with both 2 post and 4 post lifts but the two post designs seem to be far easier to screw up both due to operator error and mechanical failures and theres no question as to which design is more prone to failure if improperly installed (TWO POST LIFTS have that NAILED!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarrisonTX Posted November 18, 2005 Share Posted November 18, 2005 How did he screw that up? I have one in my shop, and i always, triple check the pads on the frame, i square them up, and always but the motor side of the car, facing the correct way. I lift it up a few inches, then shake it a little, to check stability. They wouldnt sell the product if it couldnt function safely. If used properly im sure your fine... I bet the pads wernt right on frame, or where ever.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpyvette Posted November 19, 2005 Author Share Posted November 19, 2005 Im sure its probably operator error, but having, worked on both style lifts extensively over the years, Id sellect the 4 post lift with a sliding bridge jack as the safer option Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randy 77zt Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 i have worked on both and prefer 2 post.the older 2 post dont have latches to keep the arms from moving-the result is in the picture.the only thing i like 4 post for is brakes or mufflers.installing a trans on a 4 post sucks.they have 2 post lift up to 15000 lb capacity.when you rack a f350 or 450 on a 2 post you have to guess where the center on gravity is if there is a load in back.if you installed a 2 post on thin concrete you could have a problem.if i was to buy a 2 post i would by a 9000 lb rotory brand-never had a problem with movement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 The guy who racked the Saab is evidently a moron, and it has proven pretty much impossible to make a moron proof ANYTHING. Never seen or heard of a mechanical failure other than the little safety things on the arms and the cable release mechanism. Never seen a car fall off a lift personally. I've only seen one lift accident. That was a Porsche lifted with an open door and the door caught on a piece of metal that stuck off the lift. Ended with me yelling at my boss to STOP and the resultant damage was that the door was sprung. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MusPuppis Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 At Man o' War Ford in Lexington they have two post style lifts. A good friend of mine works there and I was in one day doing some work on my truck (when they arent busy I get to borrow bays.. =]). A guy two bays down was lifting a newer F-150, had it about 3 feet up when we heard this kinda pop and a crash.. Chester (they guy lifting the truck) was laying on his stomach like 6 feet away where the threw himself. An arm on the lift snapped and the truck came down. They also had a cable break some time ago while lifting a F350 (their fault though.. lift was NOT supposed to lift that truck). I wasnt there to see the F350.. but I saw the F150 take a dive. In my very limited experience, I greatly prefer the 4 post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruez Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 For working on the Z and the other small to mid size cars I have, I would trust a 2 post unit. Now... If I were to put the Pathfinder on it, I would triple check everything just because of the weight issue. Plus with a 2 post lift, you have better access to the wheels and drivetrain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 IMHO, I hate 4 post drive on lifts. They give you absolutly no room to work on anything and the axle lifts suck. If you rack up a vehicle right on a 2 post you shouldnt have any problems. 4 post lifts are for lube racks and alignments, imho. I have only had one issue with a 2 post lift. One day at work I was lifting a 1500 Ram that the guy must have had 2,000 lbs of crap in the back(he should have been driving a 2500 or 3500) and as I was lifting it the chain bolt at the bottom of the lift broke. well the hoist dropped down on to the locks and all was good. It was a pain the a$$ getting the hoist off the locks and back down to fix it but no one was hurt. We have 1 lube rack guy at work and he has damage far more vehicles with the 4 post lift. There is a bar that runs from the front to back on our lift at the top of the posts and once and a while he leaves a door open and then lifts it.............yeah the door looses that battle with that bar going from front to back. Nothing like trying to tell a customer who came in for a $16.95 oil change that we need to keep their car for a few days while we fix his F*** up! Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolane Posted November 20, 2005 Share Posted November 20, 2005 I have used 2 post lifts with both smaller cars (280ZX) and larger trucks (1500 Ram, Nissan King Cab D21, 3/4 Ton Chevy and Ford, etc). I have felt safe using all of the lifts with all of these vehicles, but it does require triple checking the pad placements before lifting high. My brother got to see a co-worker drop a Jeep Wrangler from ~3 feet in the air. I guess it bounced real nice! When I build a shop, I would like a 2 post lift and a frame table. I would build the frame table so it could also act as a 4 post lift. The 2 post though will be my main lift. Joshua Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted November 20, 2005 Share Posted November 20, 2005 Two post lifts are more conveniant and more of a risk if not used properly. I've seen a couple of examples of Vans and SUVs/ Pickups where the arms are placed close together by the technician and the vehicle is left to balance on a narrower plane. I've been in shops and seen these LARGE and HEAVY vehicles start to teeter when the technician is working at one end or the other of the vehicle... Bottom line is if you buy a lift of any kind, you educate yourself on it's use, and on the placement of the arms on each vehicle you'll be picking up. Not taking the time is a huge risk. The other issue is the safety devices used in each unit. I'll not buy a lift where both safety catches aren't controlled by one release lever located at the control panel. A lot of these lower end "enthusiast" lifts require you to run from one side of the lift to the other to release the arms individually... THAT is a pain, and can also cause the example in the pic if you forget to release BOTH sides... There is a reason I carry a Million Dollar Rider on my home owners policy. I don't want someone to get injured while in my shop if a car should fall off the lift. But I also want to be able to cover their injury costs if it should happen! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MONGO510 Posted November 20, 2005 Share Posted November 20, 2005 Been there, done that!!! When working at a Datsun dealer in 1973, the dealer owner installed 6 of that type of lift. 2 years later I was raising a 260Z when one side of the lift dropped to the floor. When I checked for the cause of the failure, I found that the lift had a very large screw on each side, that engaged with a large nut in the arm assembly. The Nut had stripped completely out, allowing the arms to drop. A few months later another lift failed in the same way, and at that point they were all removed and scraped. BTW, the Zcar sustained heavy damage to the Rt. side, leaving us with a very unhappy customer. These lifts were used in a very busy Datsun dealership and probably were raised 20-40 times a day. they were not suitable for comercial use. But, for home use i would have no qualms about using one. It would last a lifetime in that application. I would probably install some safety pins for my own piece of mind. ( MURPHY HATES ME !!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 20, 2005 Share Posted November 20, 2005 Mongo, that sounds more like improper maintenance than a "bad" lift. Sounds just like the screw was never lubed. You'd figure that the screw should be inspected and lubed when necessary. If anyone had looked at the thing I'm sure it would have been apparent that the threads were wearing. Very similar sounding to the issues you see with screw type spring compressors. Every once in a while you'll see a thread that says that they only last one or two jobs then they're worn out. In that situation as well the screws were never lubed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom'sZ Posted November 20, 2005 Share Posted November 20, 2005 I worked at a Chrysler dealership and there were a few real pinheads in the service dept. The oil change guy tried to pick up the tow truck (1 ton dodge sling truck) with one of the lifts (a two post) and got er about four or five feet up and the floor cracked. The whole lift tipped over and tow truck came to rest on another car, what a train wreck. Nobody was hurt, but if the guy who did it had been, it would have been Darwin award material. Anyhow, it took a few weeks for them to figure out how to get it down and it sat there like that. It was right up front were customers could see when they came in and most were impressed! (giggling just thinking about it) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpyvette Posted November 20, 2005 Author Share Posted November 20, 2005 "I worked at a Chrysler dealership and there were a few real pinheads in the service dept. The oil change guy tried to pick up the tow truck (1 ton dodge sling truck) with one of the lifts (a two post) and got er about four or five feet up and the floor cracked. The whole lift tipped over " when I had my new garage built I called several lift manufacturers and ask about the minimum thickness and strenght requirements for the CONCRETE SLAB to mount lifts' date=' most stated a two post reqrires a MINIMUM of a 4" thicK slab useing 3000psi concrete just to be safe I had my floor poured with EXTRA steel rebar and 8" thick where any potential lift would be mounted in a 34 x 40foot sq area out of 3500psi concrete 28 x 24 footers, so more than 1/2 of the 36x74 floor is thicker than required and the rest is still 3500 psi 4" thick, still far more/thicker than the average garage yet Im reasonably sure Id sellect a QUALITY 4 post lift thats SECUERLY BOLTED to the floor [img']http://garage.fasterdeals.com./garage7.jpg[/img] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmyntti Posted November 21, 2005 Share Posted November 21, 2005 I have been considering this myself. I have access to a used four post or a two post right now. I am leaning toward the four post for safety reasons as I do not know the quality of the floor in my garage. If a two post lift is properly installed and regularly inspected the lift will not likely cause you any trouble. The problem is however usually user issues (not thinking things through or not visualizing where the lift arms are connected to the undercariarge). When I was in college (Ferris State Automotive) we where given a lecture on proper lifting techniques. Well when I was working on the service floor the instructors would routingly check and criticize the pad placement (I saw several damerous conditions). One day my lab partner called me over to look at one of our classmates cars on a lift. He showed me an arm that was hanging on by a corner of the pad. The instructor who gave the lift lecture and two students where working under the front of the car. When my partner showed the instructor the problem he imediately had everyone stand back as he lowered the car. He lowered the car about six inches bafore that arm kicked out leaving the car resting on three legs. The car slowly rocked back until the other arm kicked out and the car came crashing down on the rear bumper. The car was totalled and the instructor was embarrased as he had placed the lifting pads himself. Everyone saw the car come down and I think everyone of us will be very carefull of pad location after seeing that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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