MaxJax 2 Post Garage Lift Q+A

[ss2115]

In the older days of racing we used to use a teeter-totter.
Easy to make in timber or steel. (timber quite heavy).
Drive on and have front in the air, drive further to and place axle stands in place and have the entire car in the air, or drive all the way without axle stands and have the rear in the air.
For non-mobile vehicles like my old Citroen, I use a 12 volt winch and winch it on.
I use fold up front legs to stop it in the horizontal position and I use the hinged ramps to lock it up there. Axle stands also employed if necessary.
Comes apart in 3 minutes into four pieces and can be put in a trailer or ute to go elsewhere.
Attachment 513645
Attachment 513646
Attachment 513647
Attachment 513648
Attachment 513649

[corcovado]

Just pulled the trigger on the MaxJax... Not sure on delivery date yet.

Nice, hope you enjoy it! I am stuck with jacking up the car on my sloped driveway.. wish I had a garage. At least it's getting colder, so soon I won't have insects crawling into my ears while I work under the car.

[shogun]

Well, everyone of us probably started like that, no lift, no pit, basic tools. A selfmade creeper made from a wood board and 4 wheels. On the weekends I went into the harbor side streets and worked under a bridge when it rained.

[zubbie]

Well, everyone of us probably started like that, no lift, no pit, basic tools. A selfmade creeper made from a wood board and 4 wheels. On the weekends I went into the harbor side streets and worked under a bridge when it rained.

with ya there. memories of dropping a transmission to do a clutch in a driveway on ramps in the winter with hand tools and ropes.

[demetk]

In the older days of racing we used to use a teeter-totter.
Easy to make in timber or steel. (timber quite heavy).
Drive on and have front in the air, drive further to and place axle stands in place and have the entire car in the air, or drive all the way without axle stands and have the rear in the air.
For non-mobile vehicles like my old Citroen, I use a 12 volt winch and winch it on.
I use fold up front legs to stop it in the horizontal position and I use the hinged ramps to lock it up there. Axle stands also employed if necessary.
Comes apart in 3 minutes into four pieces and can be put in a trailer or ute to go elsewhere.

That is really impressive. I have not seen anything like that before.

[ss2115]

That is really impressive. I have not seen anything like that before.

Used to be quite popular.
Very common on farms and such too.
You can look up car teeter totter on Google or Youtube.
Steel is best although a but more involved in breaking down if its to be portable.
I made mine last year as I was given some ideal planks some 4 metres long and sandwiched them together into two ramps. Then i reinforced them with 4 x 2 pine down each side - glued and screwed. Also a taper gusset underneath on each side of the legs. Legs are 3 x 4x4 rodded together and also rodded through the planks. (Important these be absolutely solidly attached).
The rear cross brace where I drive on is removeable - its not required once the car is in place. therefore, once in the air, the entire underneath is clear for work except for directly under the sills. No arms to be in the way of what I want to do.

For long time work under my old Citroen I later fitted front legs as well and that freed up the two axile stands to put under the back end when the teeter-totter is level. Pull them out, loosen the winch a bit and give the car a push back untill the TT swings down to the ground, and then let out the winch till the cars off.
The BMW I drive on/off.

[Bimmerick]

Finally finished up installing the MaxJax. It is a pretty slick little set up. FWIW, I went with 128 inches from post to post (measured from the back edge of the base plates). Pics below are at full lift; the 323 is so low (fun) I had to park on some 2X10s to get it high enough to get under it. If I ever get the broken ignition lock cylinder out of my 530i, I'll take some shots of it on the lift. Also, I have already started looking into a side mount garage door opener... Also, note how I made my assistant Luke get under the car first...

[corcovado]

Nice! I'm jealous.

[mrgraybeard]

Looks great. Looks like you have ample overhead height once you remove the opener.

How did you anchor the lift in the floor?

[m3j0n]

possible to get a car underneath it?

[q20v]

For anyone looking for a cheaper alternative (although you only gain about a foot of clearance), here is what I built. I can also use the bridge portions as a platform for my jack to raise the car to remove a wheel. I haven't used it for anything major on the E34, yet, but I've spent a lot of time under my old Audi Coupe with these (transmission/clutch, exhaust, brake lines, driveshaft, etc etc)

[demetk]

That's pretty cool q20v.

[Bimmerick]

possible to get a car underneath it?

Probably not; full lift height is only 48 inches.

[struka]

great info. I have been thinking about getting the MaxJax for a while now but still can't decide. I have a small garage with a 7.5 foot ceiling so I can't have a normal lift but all of my cars are fairly low.

[Bimmerick]

great info. I have been thinking about getting the MaxJax for a while now but still can't decide. I have a small garage with a 7.5 foot ceiling so I can't have a normal lift but all of my cars are fairly low.

As a point of reference, in the below pic, note the bottom of my garage door opener. From the concrete to the bottom edge of the opener is around 7ft 9in.

[Sansouci]

The LAST thing I would do would be to let my child under the car while on a lift. That was always a NO-NO.

[zubbie]

Hell. If I had a son he's be doing all the maintenance!

seriously though, don't let the wife see that pic

[shogun]

The lift is blocked mechanically, even if the hydraulic fails, the car will not move down, on each post there are 2 positions where you push an iron bar thru under the lift arms. Usual way is: lift the car up till it is above one of the 2 positions, install the blocker rods, let the car down hydraulically and it will rest on these bars. Not the hydraulic. You can see the pins in the picture

[Bimmerick]

The LAST thing I would do would be to let my child under the car while on a lift. That was always a NO-NO.

Well I certainly wasn't going to get under there to see if it was safe...

[Sansouci]

The lift is blocked mechanically, even if the hydraulic fails, the car will not move down, on each post there are 2 positions where you push an iron bar thru under the lift arms. Usual way is: lift the car up till it is above one of the 2 positions, install the blocker rods, let the car down hydraulically and it will rest on these bars. Not the hydraulic. You can see the pins in the picture

Shogun, Try explaining that to your wife!
--Ken

- - - Updated - - -

For q20v----
Very neat solution. What height did you use and what width top?
I also have a problem with some metal ramps that there isn't enough clearance under the lip of my e32 (740il). So either I need shallower ramps or make something from lumber.
Super work space you have there.
--Ken

[Mac8008]

If you ever worked on a real two post lift, you know they move quite a bit especially when you are doing heavy work or using leverage on bolt/nuts. Without the top bar, The floor bolts will have to withstand all that movement and force. Over time, I would suspect fatigue on the concrete and threaded holes will be an issue especially if you are going to do serious wrenching. Of course, it's better than no lift and being that I like to take my motors out from the bottom, I would be able to make some good use out of it for that reason alone.

[Binjammin]

If you ever worked on a real two post lift, you know they move quite a bit especially when you are doing heavy work or using leverage on bolt/nuts. Without the top bar, The floor bolts will have to withstand all that movement and force. Over time, I would suspect fatigue on the concrete and threaded holes will be an issue especially if you are going to do serious wrenching. Of course, it's better than no lift and being that I like to take my motors out from the bottom, I would be able to make some good use out of it for that reason alone.

I've lost count of how many different lifts I've worked over the years, and while the arms may move, the structural supports that bolt to the floor do not, they're very rigid. The lifting structure is supposed to be able to rock some.

[q20v]

Sansouci, thanks! The sides are 2x8 with a 2x12 on top. So the height is around 9.75". I built these ramps over 3 years ago and still use them regularly. Someday I'll have a taller garage and a lift but these will suffice until then.

[RVAE34]

Well I certainly wasn't going to get under there to see if it was safe...

lolololol

[Sansouci]

Floor Bolts!
When I install my lift, I'm going to put in a proper footing under the lift by cutting a 24" square in the 4" slab and putting in a 12" deep footing. Use Sonotubes to form the footer. Then upgrade the floor bolts to the next size up from the standard that is recommended.
Of course, the added cross bar is a good suggestion. To make it easier, make it in two overlapping pieces and slide a length of steel pipe over the joint.
--Ken