Bendpak GP7 Lift... Adjustment?

[Imatk]

So after yet another round of trying to get my lift problems resolved... found that the lift pads/arms were not level.

Here's a picture of them before



So the original installer came out because Bendpak told me that they were not responsible for the install even though the installer was literally selected by Bendpak as their "authorized" installer. But ok.

After leveling the arms, which he did by putting a lot... I mean A LOT of shims under the post. One of the anchors is short bolted and the remaining ones are pretty close to being short bolted but the top of the anchor is JUST even with the nut.

I'm thinking this is completely improper and also dangerous so I wanted to post here and hopefully get some input from someone who installs these things for a living to tell me if I'm off base.

I told the installer I didn't think that was safe and he said, "we do that all the time."

Is this true? Am I over reacting? I just don't want to die under this thing.

Here's an image of the worst short bolted anchor



Here are the rest

 

[Spud McGee]

Is there grout under that post, too? I thought typical MO was to use non shrinking grout and steel shims to level them.
From the pictures, it looks like the dude needs a new level. Was this installed on a friday afternoon or something?

Hopefully he drilled the holes all the way through the concrete. Then he could pound those anchors through and try to do it right the second time. If he halfassed it and didn't through-drill the holes, which wouldnt surprise me, then you may be SOL on those anchors that are not catching all the threads.

You want full thread engagement between your nuts and anchors. The one that's sitting low obviously doesnt have thread engagement for the full width of the nut. I would guess that for the other ones, the threads do not run completely to the end of the anchor. So the last 1/8 of an inch or so doesnt really count. The top of the nut being even with the top of the anchor would still leave you lacking that 1/8 of an inch of thread engagement.

 

[Walkers]

making the arms even is done by adjusting the cables. Shimming should only he done to level the posts. If you are very unlevel side to side I would make a shim plate the full size of the base plate.
You can download the manual from the bendpak site, it covers all this.

 

[Corvette Dad]

Yeah, not No but HELL NO. I wouldn't crawl under my kids power wheels on that lift much less an actual car.

 

[finn]

Not a BendPac issue. Looks like a combination of an uneven floor and cables that aren’t adjusted properly.

If the floor isn’t within the specs published in the installation manual then the lift needs proper shimming and longer anchors.

Consult your manual.

 

[Imatk]

Oh there are plenty of other BendPak issues trust me. Even after the thing was "leveled" it still bounces and groans and complains.

I'm now finding out, from Bendpak, that there was issue with some hydraulic rams in the past. Which might be my issue now. Aside from this whole other thing.

As for the cables being the issue. No they are not the issue. What was done was correct according to Bendpak.

https://www.bendpak.com/car-lifts/two-post-lifts/leveling/

Are any of you guys installers?

The reason I ask is I installed a MaxJax so I know (to a degree) what I would and wouldn't do. I definitely wouldn't have short bolted this thing.

The reason I posted this was I wanted to confirm that the short bolting was not acceptable/safe from someone who knows these things.

I have yet another message into BendPak but I'm sure it will take days if not weeks again before I get an answer otherwise I wouldn't have posted.

 

[firebirdparts]

Fix it yourself. I guess it's too late for you to realize that it didn't need to be level.

If the floor is out of level, I guess that is actually the fix, but it seems like they would not have done that.

It's not possible for the hydraulic ram to cause the problem you have. I had to go read the GP manual. They don't really give any means to level it. I would have thought there would be a bit of cable adjustment available. The manual says to put the lift on the locks and then see if it's level on the locks. That would absolutely require you to shim straight up, but being an engineer myself, I'm not seeing the benefit in doing that.

 

[Walkers]

What was done was correct according to Bendpak.

If that was true, then you would be having no trouble. Part of the problem in this post is the use of the word level. It is not a good descriptive word for what you are saying and meaning. It has been used to describe the condition of the floor as well as a change in elevation, as well as the lean of the posts.

I think the best thing for you to do is get a laser level and then describe the change in elevation, the slope of the floor, and how true to plumb the posts are. In there I think you will find out where your problems lie.

 

[boatshoes]

The manual for your lift clearly shows threads above the nut (number not called out specifically):
It also very clearly states not to drill through the concrete, so your installer would probably have followed this advice:

Your installer's problem is that they torqued the wedge anchors BEFORE they leveled the arms. Your manual very clearly states the order in which this should be done, and now there isn't enough thread showing above the nut. If that many shims are required, they should use longer anchors to ensure enough embedment:
I think you should check your A and B distances. Did they shim the hell out of just one post, or were both posts shimmed to split the difference (which might help you out):


Snips are from here: https://www.bendpak.com/GP-7-Series-Two-Post-Lift-Manual-5900209-BendPak.pdf

 

[Imatk]

Yeah I think he shimmed one of the posts... A LITTLE... but the other one has stacks of shims under it.

I just got an answer from Bendpak and it is definitely "not safe."

I think this particular installer is just terrible.

At this point I'm going to have to do it myself since I don't trust this guy at all after this crazyness.

 

[Imatk]

Fix it yourself. I guess it's too late for you to realize that it didn't need to be level.

If the floor is out of level, I guess that is actually the fix, but it seems like they would not have done that.

It's not possible for the hydraulic ram to cause the problem you have. I had to go read the GP manual. They don't really give any means to level it. I would have thought there would be a bit of cable adjustment available. The manual says to put the lift on the locks and then see if it's level on the locks. That would absolutely require you to shim straight up, but being an engineer myself, I'm not seeing the benefit in doing that.

According to BP it is possible that it's the ram. They actually sent out a new ram but at this point are sending out a seal conditioner.

Apparently the ram can have issues moving which would cause both the groan and bounce.

At least this is what I'm being told by BP.

 

[Imatk]

If that was true, then you would be having no trouble. Part of the problem in this post is the use of the word level. It is not a good descriptive word for what you are saying and meaning. It has been used to describe the condition of the floor as well as a change in elevation, as well as the lean of the posts.

I think the best thing for you to do is get a laser level and then describe the change in elevation, the slope of the floor, and how true to plumb the posts are. In there I think you will find out where your problems lie.

I thought the image would have been enough to understand what I meant when I said the pads weren't level.

There is a slope to the garage (like most garages) which is causing the issue.

It may be possible to raise the arm/pad with the cable, it's just not outlined to do that in the manual so I'll contact bendpak to advise.

The idea of a base plate would be great except I would be in the same situation I'm in now where I wouldn't have enough thread on the anchor so without removing the anchors and possibly destroying the concrete I'm kind of stuck.

Since the lift has the exact same issue it had before AFTER the pads were leveled with the shims (which I will now be removing so the damn thing doesn't pull out of the concrete) I don't think the uneven pads were the issue in the first place.

As for the colums being plumb they measure the same from six inches from the top trough and the same and the bottom so everything is basically "correct"

Before the addition of the shims both colums were plumb and aligned. Now each one is slightly less plumb. But again that will change once I remove the craziness that's under there now.

 

[Walkers]

I thought the image would have been enough to understand what I meant when I said the pads weren't level.

There is a slope to the garage (like most garages) which is causing the issue.

It may be possible to raise the arm/pad with the cable, it's just not outlined to do that in the manual so I'll contact bendpak to advise.

The idea of a base plate would be great except I would be in the same situation I'm in now where I wouldn't have enough thread on the anchor so without removing the anchors and possibly destroying the concrete I'm kind of stuck.

Since the lift has the exact same issue it had before AFTER the pads were leveled with the shims (which I will now be removing so the damn thing doesn't pull out of the concrete) I don't think the uneven pads were the issue in the first place.

As for the colums being plumb they measure the same from six inches from the top trough and the same and the bottom so everything is basically "correct"

Before the addition of the shims both colums were plumb and aligned. Now each one is slightly less plumb. But again that will change once I remove the craziness that's under there now.

Your pads are uneven, they may or may not be level.

the slope is most likely your issue, but is it just causing the posts to need to be plumbed, or does one need to be raised?

Personally I think you need to spend some quality time with a transit or a laser level and get a real idea what is going on. I think you lift is a parallelogram and not a rectangle. Easy enough to figure out with a tape measure too, by measuring diagonals. A laser tape makes very easy work of it.

 

[Imatk]

Oh I see... sorry I wasn't getting what you were writing.

They are indeed level but uneven.

In an ideal world, the far side post (which is the one that is short bolted) needs to be raised.

 

[boatshoes]

The bouncing and groaning could be due to the slider blocks. I recall the Maxjax had a period where the paint inside the columns was pebbled and the delrin blocks would seize and shudder inside the columns. Fix was to sand the inside paint smooth if I recall.

I had some groaning on my lift that was otherwise having no issues that was resolved by adding this to the hydraulic reservoir: https://parts.cat.com/en/catcorp/1U-9891

 

[Imatk]

Interesting. Those columns have been greased to hell and gone since I thought that was the problem initially. I never thought about sanding though. I'll mention it to BP.

I think what you linked is similar to what they're sending out to me for the seals.

 

[Walkers]

Just out of curious, have you put anything on the lift yet, or are the arms just running willy nilly? What do the arms look like at the bottom?

 

[Imatk]

I've had the lift for almost a year it's been used quite a bit. Always has groaned, but the bouncing just started.

 

[Imatk]

Just in case anyone is reading this thread because they have a Grand Prix lift and is having similar problems.
The "cause" was the ram was sticking causing the lift to bounce.

Bendpak sent a new ram and it has been working.. for almost a year I guess now.

The lift STILL groans. Greasing it seems to help... sometimes. I've put in the seal lubricant as well which, I don't know if it helped or not... but the new ram did solve the bouncing issue.

It would be nice if the thing didn't groan but I think honestly it's just either I got a bum product or there's some kind of flaw in the design of the thing that causes it to groan.

Never had a peep out of the MaxJax and that's my only other experience with a home lift.