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Home › Forums › Other › OT: Garage gurus. Alternatives to jack stands and rhino ramps…

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  • January 28, 2015 at 7:41 AM #21389
    Coronita
    Participant

    Question for garage gurus….

    I hate using jack stands all the time to hoist a car. And while Rhino Ramps are good for some things, sometimes I need the wheels off rendering them useless in those cases.

    I entertained the idea of putting in a real car lift inside the garage, but there isn’t enough ceiling clearance for that. Sort of moving to another house, any other alternatives?

    Anyone have any experience with something like this “quick jack”…

    http://www.flyinmiata.com/Store/images/QuickJack3.jpg

    Pros:
    *It’s small, lightweight and portable (sort of…collapes to 3″ height
    *Seems like it would provide about 20″ of clearance for jobs such as dropping a transmission or clutch,etc,etc,etc

    Cons:
    *Not sure how sturdy it would be..
    *Limited to 3500lbs or less, which would satisfy most of my cars I would be working on except the CUV (which I can crawl under anyway) and the large sedan which I haven’t decided whether I would deal with that myself.

    Thoughts?

    Need to decide by Jan 31 (it’s on sale :))

    January 28, 2015 at 9:05 AM #782370
    The-Shoveler
    Participant

    How much ?

    Seems like you could do that with bricks and a good floor jack lol.

    Also seems like you need a compressor, or does it come with a hydraulic pump?

    January 28, 2015 at 9:34 AM #782372
    Coronita
    Participant

    [quote=The-Shoveler]How much ?

    Seems like you could do that with bricks and a good floor jack lol.

    Also seems like you need a compressor, or does it come with a hydraulic pump?[/quote]

    about $1000, and it comes with either an 110V AC pump or a 12V driven pump

    January 28, 2015 at 10:21 AM #782376
    The-Shoveler
    Participant

    Hmm tough call,

    If you are going to use it a lot (say once every 3-6 months) then maybe.

    If I get rich someday I would like to install a lift in the yard then build a garage around it, but I live out in the middle of nowhere so I could get away with that LOL.

    I don’t use it enough to justify it otherwise.

    I am cheap so I would go with the $100.00 floor jack I already have and bricks (I would use it maybe once every 2-3 years).

    January 28, 2015 at 12:36 PM #782379
    Hobie
    Participant

    You come to a point in your life where convenience is worth a premium! This is it! Go for it. My only beef is limited clearance between the wheels. Sliding yourself in sidewise is blocked by lift. They do make a higher cap version but is heavy. Is that outrigger for lateral stability or a handle to move the unit? Seems like a good locking bar for safety.

    January 28, 2015 at 2:25 PM #782385
    Coronita
    Participant

    [quote=Hobie]You come to a point in your life where convenience is worth a premium! This is it! Go for it. My only beef is limited clearance between the wheels. Sliding yourself in sidewise is blocked by lift. They do make a higher cap version but is heavy. Is that outrigger for lateral stability or a handle to move the unit? Seems like a good locking bar for safety.[/quote]

    Agreed. The other one is the one sold by harbor freight. But that one just looks unstable and would limit what you could do underneath the car….This specific picture looks like an elephant on a table…

    http://www.harborfreight.com/6000-lb-capacity-scissor-lift-91315.html

    January 28, 2015 at 2:33 PM #782386
    Coronita
    Participant

    I’m thinking I might need this for the following projects

    On the Audi:
    1a) Drop the axles and differentials to fix seal leaks that dealers want $500 in labor for (at least)
    1b) Flush and replace the transmission fluid and filter $250 labor at the stealer

    On the Miata:
    2a) Drop the rear subframe to replace the rear differential with one that is a limited slip differential. Probably $250-300 labor
    2b) Might be useful for the supercharger I’m scheduled to put in, especially if I’m going to be taking off the header ($$$$ for install)
    2c) Flush the transmission fluid $100 labor
    2d) Maybe replace exhaust downpipe ($100 labor??)

    (I’m trying to convince myself this way pay itself off after these projects)

    January 28, 2015 at 2:37 PM #782387
    The-Shoveler
    Participant

    The good thing about blocks is you can put them at an angle to make them fairly stable, and they won’t suddenly deflate on you LOL. (seriously I have seen that happen, it’s does not end well if someone is under it).

    January 28, 2015 at 2:39 PM #782388
    The-Shoveler
    Participant

    [quote=flu]
    (I’m trying to convince myself this way pay itself off after these projects)[/quote]

    Yea that’s my issue, I have to pass it by the wife first LOL.

    January 28, 2015 at 2:43 PM #782389
    Hobie
    Participant

    I am a fan of some HF tools, I would not get under that one. Quick Jack makes a 5k version. http://www.bendpak.com/Shop-Equipment/QuickJack/

    GarageJournal.com forum is a good place to discuss tools. Very manly site!

    January 28, 2015 at 2:56 PM #782390
    Coronita
    Participant

    [quote=Hobie]I am a fan of some HF tools, I would not get under that one. Quick Jack makes a 5k version. http://www.bendpak.com/Shop-Equipment/QuickJack/

    GarageJournal.com forum is a good place to discuss tools. Very manly site![/quote]

    I think i will go troll the GarageJournal.com site then. Thanks for the tip!

    January 28, 2015 at 2:56 PM #782391
    Coronita
    Participant

    [quote=The-Shoveler]The good thing about blocks is you can put them at an angle to make them fairly stable, and they won’t suddenly deflate on you LOL. (seriously I have seen that happen, it’s does not end well if someone is under it).[/quote]

    I’ve see the really cool foam based ramps…
    http://www.carid.com/race-ramps/sport-ramps-mpn-rr-40.html?gclid=CjwKEAiArqKmBRCOj_qfmuqinnYSJAAkAYwG-_2Khi-O9mSzvexpuolV2YYQQs71ZxKwP5XSfxLX1xoCVUvw_wcB

    January 28, 2015 at 3:43 PM #782393
    The-Shoveler
    Participant

    [quote=flu][quote=The-Shoveler]The good thing about blocks is you can put them at an angle to make them fairly stable, and they won’t suddenly deflate on you LOL. (seriously I have seen that happen, it’s does not end well if someone is under it).[/quote]

    I’ve see the really cool foam based ramps…
    http://www.carid.com/race-ramps/sport-ramps-mpn-rr-40.html?gclid=CjwKEAiArqKmBRCOj_qfmuqinnYSJAAkAYwG-_2Khi-O9mSzvexpuolV2YYQQs71ZxKwP5XSfxLX1xoCVUvw_wcB%5B/quote%5D

    I have used blocks and never had a problem but I have been told not to use cinder blocks.

    January 28, 2015 at 8:40 PM #782408
    svelte
    Participant

    I don’t know. I doubt I would crawl under the car if only hydraulics were keeping it from crushing me. I would still use jack stands even if I used the Quick Jack to get it into the air.

    No auto repair is worth risk of severe injury or death to me.

    January 28, 2015 at 10:00 PM #782411
    Coronita
    Participant

    [quote=svelte]I don’t know. I doubt I would crawl under the car if only hydraulics were keeping it from crushing me. I would still use jack stands even if I used the Quick Jack to get it into the air.

    No auto repair is worth risk of severe injury or death to me.[/quote]

    Interesting… Do they make 20″ jack stands?

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