Scissor Lifts

[NickJ]

Just wondering whether anyone can offer advice on what type or manufacturer of scissor jack is best for an E Type. Visited the NEC classic car show and looked at a number of products. It seems there are two types. One is the twin platform where the car rests on rubber blocks and the other has arms that extend out. Given the weight of the engine and the fact that the support would not be on the picture frame I want to make sure I get it right. I'd be interested in anyone's comments
NickJ

[mgcjag]

Hi Nick....have a look at the similar topics listed below.......are you aware that you can also get low rise 2 post lifts for garages with restricted ceiling heights.....this would be better that a scissor lift as you get the same lift height but no restrictions under the car ... for scissor lifts a friend has one of these for his 2+2 and has used it to drop both the irs and engine recently... http://www.automotechservices.co.uk/pro ... ssor-lift/

[JagWaugh]

Most of the small scissor lifts aren't all that much good. They don't really get the car up high enough to stand under and the pipes connecting the two sides make it a bother to use a creeper or such. On top of that, the lift is thick enough even when fully down that on some cars like a big Healey you end up scraping the sills when you roll the car onto it.

If you were to sink it into the floor so that it was flush then it would be more useful.

A 2 post with arms is a bit better, but still not great.

The professional shop I use has 2 post, and full height infloor scissor lifts. The scissor lifts are much easier to work with for everyday work.

We also have a set of raceramps:

https://raceramps.com/car-ramps/garage- ... ngth-lift/

If I had to choose between raceramps and a typical above floor scissor lift I would take the raceramps any day. They get the car high enough that you can comfortably use a creeper underneath, the rest of the car gets up to a more comfortable height for doing bodywork or such.

Andrew

[christopher storey]

With all due respect , I don't understand the advantage of the racer ramp at all. It just seems to be a very expensive ( and heavy at 500 lbs) set of blocks . What do you do if you want to take a wheel off, which is one of the commonest maintenance tasks?

[JagWaugh]

When I want to change wheels I put the car on a lift. :-)

We use a jack and axle stand to lift a corner of the car while doing alignment changes. Because of the modular construction of the raceramps you can pull the block out under that wheel, take the wheel off make your change, put everything back and move to the next wheel. We used to do alignment changes on the concrete floor, but the raceramps make it a lot easier on the back.

The amateur scissor lift that I have worked with, and formed a dislike of, is this one:

http://www.remamaschinen.ch/produkte/li ... -sf-l3000/

The ones in the shop are these, but set flush in the floor:

http://www.nussbaum-group.de/deutsch/pr ... lift-.html

You would not believe how being able to do stuff like this spoils you:

http://www.deltasport.ch/SalvatoreScarcia1.jpg

My point was, if you can't put the scissor lift flush in the floor it isn't all that much better than the raceramps.

[mgcjag]

Totally disagree re the race ramps vs the scissor lift.....with a scissor iift you can unbolt the engine / gearbox then lift the body leaving the engine on ground. Or the Irs.....you cant do that on race ramps

[juicerider]

I got one off eBay.
Works great on the type



Got it off eBay for $1950 Aus.cant get anything bigger as I've only got a double garage to work on.
High enough to sit on a stool and work on. Also leave the car a waist height when working in the engine bay as it saves my back bending over.
I'm glad I didn't get the one with arms. The PO must have used this type and where he lifted it at the front frame he had fucked up the heat shield. More important the arms had pressed against the floor pans and totally fucked them.
When I repaired the floor pans, the ramps are in the way so I pushed the car back so that only the front wheels were on the ramps and with the back wheels chocked used the lift to lift up the front of the car only. I'm sure OHAS would not approve but it worked fine.

[Double Six]

Good pics of E-type on a scissor lift Juicerider. Make and model of the lift please - I can only read 3000kg. Those wooden blocks look v close to the sill though, or is it just the angle?

Also, is IRS removal possible using this lift? I would expect it to be very unbalanced and tip forward ?

Xander

[mgcjag]

There are different ways of useing this tyoe of scissor lift......to drop the isa you could drive on but leave the front wheels still on the lift and block up the center of the car...the irs then hangs over the back of the lift....disconnect irs and raise lift......irs left on the ground

[andrewh]

Ah, right, interested Steve in that procedure as I have just this lift. So the problem is , that for an E type its too narrow to fit easily. If you get the car off centre on the ramps you cannot get the blocks to centre on the sills or whatever you are blocking against. Also when elevated the underside is accessible but with difficulty. Remember that its a compromise largely for users without full height. Great for wheel station work and underside with some degree of contortion. And I think thats it really. If you have full height then a full four post or 2 post is the answer . This is a compromise. Steve, how did you suggest lifting for IRS removal ( fitment in my case)? Front wheels on the ramp and back left dangling. So what , ? You use a jack on the rear of the car? Sorry didnt get the process. andrew

[juicerider]

Hi xander
This is the link to the one I bought
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Scissor-Lift ... 1938027308
I haven't had to remove the IRS yet, but I know there is enough clearance to remove the radius arms. I took a pic to show you the clearance to remove the IRS .
The rubber blocks that came with the lift were a bit too thick so I made up the wooden blocks. I stapled rubber matting to the top where it rests against the sills. The middle one is under the jacking point and the others are under where the jacking points would be if it was a 2+2
Hope this helps
Steve

[ralphr1780]

That's the one I have, extremely satisfied, made a low wooden ramp to ease centring and avoid wheels rubbing on metal structure.

[JagWaugh]

A couple of quick notes on scissor lifts:

The "inexpensive" one I posted a pic of above had an interlock mechanism in it. When you pushed the "Down" button it would first raise the lift to release the rachet interlock. When I was first getting used to the lift while working on a Healey I found this really annoying as if a block slipped, or wasn't in a safe place it ran the risk of damaging the floor while the lift released the interlock. Ultimately I wired an override switch so that if this happened I could raise the lift slightly, manually flip the catch, then go straight down.

On the infloor lifts in the other shop we use blocks of a dense polyurethane foam, roughly 15x30 cm in 5 and 10cm thicknesses. For general use these are great - we just place them under the sill making sure that they aren't going to contact a skirt or such, and they will deform to accomodate the form of whatever they are contacting - spreading the weight of a full size passenger car over the 4 pads hasn't damaged a sill yet.

For a car with a frame, or a hard point, a block of wood with a hockey puck on top works well.

Raising one end of the car is no problem. We block the rear wheels just in case, but although the car looks like it is parked on a hill, it really isn't.

[Barry]

Just about to buy a scissor lift as the other options don't work with my garage for various reasons. However, I am concerned about resting the car on the cills. Not the normal pick up point. A bit of advice would be appreciated thanks.

[mgcjag]

Hi Barry...if you look back through the photos in this thread is shows the two obasic 2 types of scissor lifts...jacking on the sill would not be the best option but in the photos above i dont see any on the sills...you can jack inboard of the sills on the rails and at the junctionc of the bulkhead, on the rear large radius arm bush.....have a zoom in to the photos.....

[Barry]

Thanks, but if you look at the blue scissor lift posted by juicerider, he has put the three blocks under the cill, which is why I asked the question. I would agree with your comment, but the blue scissor lift is too wide to put the blocks under the front trailing arm bush, and the rear of the lower front wishbone. The red lift is narrower, easier to jack against the usual points, but not as convenient to work under, and the owner has made some ramps to go either side of the lift. Happy Christmas to one and all!

[mgcjag]

Hi Barry...if you look through this thread from the forum you will see the blue type being used...they are not lifted on the cills....rear on the swing arm bush and front under the front bulkhead section so your just lifting on the body tub.. look through the whole thread quite a few photos.. Steve viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7333 also if you search 2 post lift on this forum you will find other photos of front lift points under the footplate/floor joint....so your lifting on vertical panels with more strength.....the other alternative is a pair of 4x4 timbers across the lift and pads to lift on the chassis rails.. hope this helps