4 post lift "accessory"

[stretch0069]

Many thousands of years ago, when I was but a wee jarhead in tech school at NAS Memphis, I happened to go to the auto hobby shop on base. They had a 4 post lift that had "pads" on the runways. The pads were about 4 or 5 feet long and were about the width of the runways. When I would park my '77 Cordoba on it, the pads were about centered front to back between my wheels. If I wanted to do some wheel (or related) stuff, they could lift those pads and it would lift the wheels off the runway about 8 or so inches. I rather liked that setup. They were like little scissor lifts for each runway.

Now...fast forward all those eons and I find my self with a third hand Backyard Buddy 4 post with a few extras. Just no bridge jacks. I've looked for bridge jacks and its a bit of an iffy proposition. Not to mention a spendy one. I would like to have two and that goes above $2000. And I'm not sure they would work.

Then I remembered back to that setup at the auto hobby shop. That was a nice setup and allowed you complete access underneath. I do have a rolling bottle jack shelf thing, but its too high for my current car and it does get in the way sometimes.

So...anyone know where I could get those little scissor lift pads that I could put on my current lift? I did see where someone put a regular scissor lift on a bendpak (i think) 4post. Is tha an option? is it safe?

Thank you for reading my novel.

I don't post much, but i read A LOT!!

 

[FuzzyTiger]

You can purchase what are called bridge jacks which are designed exactly for this situation but they're expensive or you can go buy some lumber - a 2x12 or so. Place it on your ramps and then drive the vehicle on so it raises your vehicle a little higher and gives you clearance to use a bottle jack on your jack tray.

I've also considered the plastic ramps they sell for doing oil changes and stuff but you'd want to make sure there's no risk of it squirming off the side of your lifts ramps. Either way, you just need to get the car a little higher so you can fit the bottle jack on the jack tray to lift it and then fit jack stands.

 

[Punta]

I have the Bendpak HD-9XW 4-POST LIFT. I wanted a bottle jack, so I measured the available height between my lift's jack tray and the bottom of my Miata's cross-member, and it was 6.5". I finally found a low-profile bottle jack that would fit in this space - a Torin TF-0202 double-ram bottle jack, as it's specs are 5-7/8" to 14-9/16". Problem is that the 1st time I jacked up the car, it slightly dented the cross-member. I'm assuming that happened because the top part of the ram is too narrow and doesn't spread the load well-enough. Any suggestions? Should I get a different jack that may be taller (thus requiring lifting the car on the lift platform 1st) but that has a larger diameter ram? Or, has anyone bought a cheaper version of the sliding bridge jack that Bandpak sells for $1565 but that fits well on a Bendpak lift? The thought of paying that kind of money makes my stomach turn...

 

[59 wagon man]

check out the harbor freight air bottle jacks .you can get a pair for around $160 when they are on sale

a piece of wood will spread the load

 

[thickhead]

I have seen 4 post lifts with the scissor lifts built into the runways. If its even possible to even add them to your BYB I’d bet they would cost more than 2 bridge jacks.
These guys sell accessories for your BYB and I really like the manual rolling bridge jack I got from them for my HD9. https://www.advantagelifts.com/pages/ah-accessories

 

[Punta]

OK, silly question from a noob...If I get the rolling bridge jack and position the pads at the pinch weld jack points under the rocker panels of my Miata, then how do I place the jack stands at the correct spot on the jack points if they're already covered by the bridge jack? I frankly don't ascribe to the theory that the built-in locks in the bridge jack are sufficient. As the recommended jacking location for my Miata (in front) is under the front cross-member, is there any way I could lift the car from the center portion of the bridge jack? Then I would have room to place the jack stands on the sides.

 

[thickhead]

Punta, yes with the bridge jack I have. I can stack anything solid on the center of the jack and raise a Miata from there (jack came with rigid foam blocks for this). But, for me, the locks on the bridge jack feel safer than stands on the runways.
See here:
https://www.advantagelifts.com/collections/advantage-lift-accessories/products/advanatge-rolling-jack-with-manual-hand-pump

I posted a couple photos of my son’s Miata on the jack here and a bunch of measurements in this thread: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=414837

 

[pbon]

I have two rolling bridge jacks for my Bendpak. Expensive as others have said. They are also air over hydraulic so you need an air supply but you need one anyway for the Bendpak. Others have found that certain cheaper bridge jacks fit different lifts. I think a manual rolling Advanta fits Bendpak, for example. Maybe the OP could find cheaper bridge jacks. They are the most convenient.

You could buy quickjacks and use them on the runways. Not cheap, either but they go on sale regularly.

I sometimes use $59 HF aluminum floor jacks on my runways, depending on the car on the lift.

The cheapest jacks to buy are bottle jacks. They are also small and could work either on the runway or on a jacking tray. A jacking tray is a lot cheaper than a rolling bridge jack.

I see picture of people using jackstands on the runways. They must jack up one end, install the jack stands and then use the jack to lift the other end.

 

[Rich1961]

stretch0069,
When were you stationed at NAS Memphis? I was stationed there from April of 81 until April of 82.
Rich

 

[ebridges]

I also have a question about bridge jacks. It seems like most lifts in the 8-9k pound categories offer a 4500lb bridge jack but I'm wondering if that will be big enough to lift the front of my Ram 2500 Cummins. The truck weighs around 8k and I'm assuming (never weighed the axles) that the front is around 5k. Can anyone chime in that has a diesel pickup with a bridge jack? I am leaning toward a bend pak HD-9XW but I want to get this figured out before I purchase one.