DIY garage car jacks/lifts

[MADMAX]

I'm just wondering what people use at home for their DIY maintenance when it comes to lifting their car off the ground for work?

I've been thinking I want something a little bit easier than the good old trolley jack where are you spend probably best part of an hour or more crawling all over the floor jacking each corner adjusting axle stands etc etc until your car is at the working height. I'm getting to old for that, but not to old to still get under the hood and more.

I've got a standard family garage, not huge, not high, but enough space to work in with the right tools. Not really enough room for a post lift arrangement. A scissor lift however might work - it could be stored on the floor, easy, and even be semi-mobile, for working outside on the drive.

Any thoughts or alternative solutions for safe, effortless vehicle elevation?

 

[t-tony]

Hi Ade, welcome from me near Lincoln. Here's my take on raising a vehicle to do most things from servicing to cleaning the inside of the wheels.

I've made some modifications with mine so that I can move it out onto the drive to use the full lift range on a dry day.

Tony.

 

[t-tony]

Also, as our son is a joiner we sometimes use it as a woodwork bench too by fixing a couple of 3" x "2 bearers on to the legs and a sheet of ply etc. as a work surface.

Tony.
.

 

[ChrisD]

here’s what I use;

Approx £85 per side. Gets the car nice and high for working underneath with good accessibility. You see the issue with the fronts, rears are fine. I am working exclusively outside however.

 

[colb]

I have the same scissor lift as @t-tony, best thing I ever bought besides the Z3 and Z4 I have. Makes life easier and lifts the cars high enough to do most jobs I encounter on my cars and other members cars who are members of our Zedshed Cymru Group here in South Wales. Probably cope with a gearbox removal but car would have to be positioned reversed onto the lift to keep the rams at the rear of the lift to allow the box to be dropped out. Lift comes with extendable stands to increase the height if more clearance is required. Mine is in a small double garage and I have scaffold board planks either side to drive the car over the lift. It would fit in a single garage side space may be limited to get around the car but could be off centre to work on one side at a time then reverse the car for the other side. It can be moved by attaching some wheels that come with it and using the pump unit to hook on and manually pull it along wheels have to be removed when positioned in order to use the lift. Mine stays in the garage all the time. It also needs a dedicated 30Amp wired power socket think cooker socket, to run the pump, normal 13amp circuit will trip the house circuit breaker.

 

[Nodzed]

Drive on scissors lift for me. Good central access for servicing gearbox, prop etc but does hinder sill work a little.

 

[B21]

The lifts shown with a central clear access are, IMHO, much better than the scissor lift with the rams in the middle.

Those versions are a few hundred pounds cheaper..but…there is no real access to critical components underneath…I wish with hindsight I’d paid the extra for versions like those shown..

A two post lift would be even better but structural issues and space requirements limit this for most domestic garages

 

[Nodzed]

The lifts shown with a central clear access are, IMHO, much better than the scissor lift with the rams in the middle.

Those versions are a few hundred pounds cheaper..but…there is no real access to critical components underneath…I wish with hindsight I’d paid the extra for versions like those shown..

A two post lift would be even better but structural issues and space requirements limit this for most domestic garages

Agree, my first one had a central ram and made any work under the car a pain.

 

[Pingu]

I did use this, but I now have a scissor jack at the halfway point, and the car is driven onto the ramps, then raised on the scissor jack.

The jack is like this one, but with the better gearbox...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/KATSU-Tools-Portable-Adjustable-Settings/dp/B0CTFNMK37/ref=asc_df_B0CTFNMK37?mcid=262ddb357908380a83774602683f26a9&hvocijid=13597165538185094374-B0CTFNMK37-&hvexpln=74&tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=696285193871&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13597165538185094374&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006888&hvtargid=pla-2281435176698&psc=1&gad_source=1

 

[Duncodin]

In an ideal world I'd have a two post lift giving full clearance underneath. But that just wouldn't work in my single garage. So went with one like Tony's. Different brand. Different colour but looks identical.

Lots of space underneath depending on which way the car is driven into the garage. Here's a view of the rear end clearance.

And, as @colb said, drive the car in the other way and there should be enough space to drop gearbox to do clutch etc.

 

[TJS]

Quickjack from Costco are worth looking at. Very mobile, easy to move and store, runs from a 12v battery / starter pack.

https://www.costco.co.uk/Tyres-Automotive/Garage/Trolley-Jacks-Axle-Stands/QuickJack-Portable-Automatic-Car-Lift-System-Jack-1587kg-Capacity-Model-BL-3500SLX/p/315646

 

[motco]

Quickjack from Costco are worth looking at. Very mobile, easy to move and store, runs from a 12v battery / starter pack.

https://www.costco.co.uk/Tyres-Automotive/Garage/Trolley-Jacks-Axle-Stands/QuickJack-Portable-Automatic-Car-Lift-System-Jack-1587kg-Capacity-Model-BL-3500SLX/p/315646

View attachment 330609View attachment 330611

Yes I agree. I spotted these when they were available in USA only, and couldn't be imported until they had a CE mark. My only reservation is the possible lack of lateral stability. Give it a sidways shove at full height and it could topple.

 

[Pingu]

Yes I agree. I spotted these when they were available in USA only, and couldn't be imported until they had a CE mark. My only reservation is the possible lack of lateral stability. Give it a sidways shove at full height and it could topple.

No. It's pretty stable. I've got a set. There are two potential problems, though...

1. Make sure the actuator is pressurised to 50psi, or you may not be able to lower it.
2. It uses A LOT of current, so you are best using a running engine to power it at 14.8v, rather than a battery at 12v.

 

[MADMAX]

Many thanks to all for great feedback, excellent advice and candid opinions.
Decisions decisions no rush.
I'll report back one day with my new purchase.

 

[motco]

No. It's pretty stable. I've got a set. There are two potential problems, though...

1. Make sure the actuator is pressurised to 50psi, or you may not be able to lower it.
2. It uses A LOT of current, so you are best using a running engine to power it at 14.8v, rather than a battery at 12v.

If I remember rightly, they do a mains powered model. Perhaps USA only?

I have some ramps that lift with a modified bottle jack in each but these are no longer available. Similar ones are though on eBay.

 

[TJS]

Another option is to keep an eye out for a set of secondhand aluminium Levo Artis ramps. Easy to store when not in use, Google will provide background information. A set recently sold at auction for £75.

 

[Pingu]

If I remember rightly, they do a mains powered model. Perhaps USA only?

The mains-powered ones cost more. I think it's about £100 more.

 

[motco]

The mains-powered ones cost more. I think it's about £100 more.

Ah! Okay, good reason for going 12V then! When I still had my Westfield I seriously considered a pair of 12V Quickjacks to take on trackdays for easy wet to dry tyre swaps. Somehow, though, it never happened.

 

[Pingu]

I used the QuikJacks yesterday to fix my son's car in a pub car park

 

[TJS]

Another option

https://carlift-ramp-mr1.com/