Four Post Lift Failures????

[Crusher]

I'm looking for PICS and info on any four post lift failures/collapse. I've seen some around over the years but can't find any now. I own a Back Yard Buddy and my friend is now shopping four post lifts. Every manufacture states that their particular product has never had a failure. So that peeked my interest in which companies have experienced a failure.

 

[ovilla]

Do a google for "corvette" and "lift failure". That's the classic one that everyone talks about. Most of the others that I've seen are due to operator error at professional shops.

 

[gsport]

i agree, i think most all failures are do to operator error..

 

[mikeyr]

The Corvette one is a Perfect Park 7000 lift by Lifts Unlimited, so that company has had at least one failure.

Having said that, they did fix it with a barely legible hand written note and a drawing done a 1st. grader (might have been a kindergartner, not sure) as to how to prevent that failure. The kit also included a pre-rusted plate and to their credit a decent drill bit and grade 8 bolts.

In their defense it was not a classic operator error but a maintenance error that no one knew about and would not have been obvious if you were not looking for it. I now know what to look for and never fixed my Perfect Park with their retrofit kit, the pulley would seize on the bolt and eventually undo the bolt causing the lift to fail.

 

[Crusher]

It appears to me that some lifts are prone to operator error that can cause a failer. Money being no object, what lift would you buy?

 

[OldCarGuy]

It appears to me that some lifts are prone to operator error that can cause a failer. Money being no object, what lift would you buy?

Mohawk..

http://www.mohawklifts.com/

.

 

[Crusher]

I didn't see any four post 7000 lb lifts. They seem to start at 25,000. A little over kill for the home.......

 

[revlover]

Better yet!

 

[ovilla]

It appears to me that some lifts are prone to operator error that can cause a failer. Money being no object, what lift would you buy?

I'm a big fan of the BendPak product line. I have an HD-9-ST (4-post lift) and it has performed flawlessly for me. It went together very easily with the help of some friends and has been in almost weekly use for the last 3-4 months. It's a certified 9,000 lb lift with centrally located air locks and is a true joy to use. By the way, you only need a small air compressor for the air locks.

 

[Junkman]

It appears to me that some lifts are prone to operator error that can cause a failer. Money being no object, what lift would you buy?

I have a Bend Pak HD9B four post lift, and have never had a problem with mine, and not even a hint of any safety issues either. The one thing that I did notice in the video is that the operator has walked away from the lift controls once it was set to go up. With the Bend Pak, you can't walk away from the control, since you have to keep your hand on it, in both the up and down mode. Once you let go of the control, it stops. For the catastrophic failure that is shown in the video, it is my guess that a cable had to have broken, and there was no safety mechanism to catch the falling runway. It also has a cage around the car on the lift, and this additional weight might have been the root cause of this failure. We can only guess as to what caused this failure. If a cable fails on the Bend Pak 4 post lift, the safety mechanism will catch the runway on the ladder, before the car can fall to the ground. At that point, you would only need to replace the cable, and lower the runways to the ground.

 

[Crusher]

Better yet!

Ouch, wonder what lift that was?

 

[SteveU]

I didn't see any four post 7000 lb lifts. They seem to start at 25,000. A little over kill for the home.......

They actually start at 10,000 lb for their open post series runway lifts. Money no object, I would get one of these if I were in the market for a 4 post lift.

http://www.mohawklifts.com/library/manuals/fpobseries.pdf

 

[fourfeathers]

Ouch, wonder what lift that was?

If the car you are lifting hits the roof, and overloads the lift, then it doesn't matter what brand, unless it should have an overload preventer of some sort.
That van has ladders and stuff on it, and looks like it hits the office floor.

 

[Stucazz63]

I hope the hoist in the video isn't a Bend Pak.

Mariano

 

[ovilla]

If the car you are lifting hits the roof, and overloads the lift, then it doesn't matter what brand, unless it should have an overload preventer of some sort.
That van has ladders and stuff on it, and looks like it hits the office floor.

You're right, it looks like the rear drivers side corner post wasn't allowed to keep going up while the other three posts kept on getting higher in elevation. Hence, the vehicle was being lifted on only three columns so the vans weight was unequally distributed and came crashing down. At least the lift was bolted down as the damage could have been worse. Anyway, I can't believe the operator wasn't watching the ladders for clearance.

 

[55dude]

wow! that video really is a eye opener. seems like no brand of lift is safe from operator error. only a fool walks away for any reason during the lifting process.

 

[trloh]

I don't think the operator walked away. The operator is probably at the left rear or left front where the power unit is located. This looks like a failed cable and then none of the back up safety devises were able to stop the decent of the vehicle. This is why you don't want to be under a lift that isn't already place on its locks.

I can't believe that any four post is ever allowed to stand un-anchored. Those locks and back up locks are to stop a vehicle from downward motion but if the lift post kicks out it has no chance. I have seen them at car equipment shows with vehicles on them and no anchors and I stay away. The lift in the video is surely anchored but the lock must have failed.

This type of lift is common in lube shops that don't have pits as evidenced by the ladder and extra platform around the vehicle. It is not possible to tell the brand. This is also probably a very heavy vehicle as it is a service van.

If the lift power unit is unmodified it will not lift more than the structure is rated for. If it did touch the ceiling area which looks possible then the lift should go into bypass if the weight limit is exceeded. This is the same thing that occurs when you raise a lift to full range the pressure valve will bypass above the preset hyd. pressure.

The lift cable industry typically recommends cable replacement at around 7 years. Of course amount of cycles and conditions will adjust this time frame. This applies to cranes and vehicle lifts. It is wire rope and it does break down.

 

[theblur98ss]

I just got the direct lift from greg smith and so far it's been everything I could ask for in a lift. I opted to spend the 200 extra for the higher model and 500 for the rolling jack. I'm not 100% certain if either are necessary but time will tell.