Install tips for two post lift

[Wheelgun1]

Hello everyone. First post. Long time lurker.

Bought a used Mohawk two post System 2 lift rated for 6,000 lbs. Made my choice with input I gained from this forum.

Would it be wise to pre drill a pilot hole in the concrete for the anchors to prevent bit walk, or just have at it with the 3/4 inch bit.

And I would like to hear input from others that have installed their lifts as far as spacing between columns, etc, I would like to cheat and narrow the width between posts to gain a little room, dont know if theres a drawback to that or not.

Thanks in advance, Dave.

 

[Shadowdog500]

I didn't install mine, but I did watch the Mohawk dealer install mine. His team put the columns in place and used the holes on the baseplate to guide the drill bit.

He just put the columns in place, Drilled a hole with the proper sized bit using the holes in the baseplate as a guide, cleaned the dust pile from around the hole, then hammered the anchor bolt into the hole leaving it up a little for shimming, then He moved on to the next hole. After they were all in place, he shimmed the column for vertical and drove all the anchors in, and tightened the bolts with a torque wrench. I was instructed to put a torque wrench on them after a few months and on the one year anniversary of the install.

After the arms were installed he ran the lift all the way to the top and bled the system, then he put the lift a out halfway up with the arms fully extended until they touched each other to see how many shims the low side needed. then he pulled the safety on the high side and lowered the lift. The safty took the weight of the carriage off of the low side so he could install the shims on the top of the low side ram.

Hope. This helps,

Chris

 

[mackrmnn]

I didn't install mine, but I did watch the Mohawk dealer install mine. His team put the columns in place and used the holes on the baseplate to guide the drill bit.

This is the best way.

 

[dbonne]

I installed my 2 post 9000 Lb lift this weekend, basically I did it exactly like shadowdog explained. Do you have cables that go overhead or underneath? If so, you cannot install the posts closer together as your premade cables will be too long. Get the installation manual for your lift and follow it step by step!

 

[Wheelgun1]

I actually do have the original paperwork with rudimentary install instructions. It's circa 1983 or thereabouts. I understand about drilling thru the pre-existing holes in the baseplate, just wondering if a smaller predrilled hole would help the final 3/4 inch diameter hole be more precise. Also gonna use epoxy in the holes.

Dbonne, the Mohawks use cylinders in each column with individual chains for each, no baseplate or cables.

Shadodogg, theres a couple good tips there about shimming, thanks.

I told my wife that this is gonna be the best thing for my old back, no more taking an hour to set up a car to take a trans out or the like, if it doesnt kill me setting it up first. Nothing on this lift weighs less than 100lbs.

 

[lynnbilodeau]

"I would like to cheat and narrow the width between posts to gain a little room, dont know if theres a drawback to that or not."

1. Not being able to open car doors.
2. Stability (admittedly not a huge factor, but it is there).

JMHO, but I would space according to the manufacturer's instructions.

 

[avc8130]

If you narrow the width, you will also affect how the arms are able to reach lifting points. The arms can only get so short to fit under the vehicle without hitting the wheels.

I would layout the arms and bring your vehicles you want to lift in and make sure you can swing the arms and hit the proper lift points at the narrow width you are proposing.

ac

 

[Wheelgun1]

Gotcha on not being able to open the doors. To tell the truth, thats not a biggie for me. I dont care if If I have to push the car into position. After working on my back for so many years, I cant take it anymore. This lift is going to be a godsend for me. I only have a 9' 3" ceiling height so I wont be able to walk under a car. But I do have a roling chair. Brakes, front end work, rear end set ups, trans, exhaust is all going to be faster and easier on my body. I had more jackstands and wood blocking than Harbor Freight to get my cars up high enough to do any heavy work. And I'm only looking to see if I can gain a few inches in the width area. My garage is 25X25.

Avc8130 you make a good point about the arms, I was concerned about that as well. I saw your thread about your Sys 1, is it in yet?

Thanks for the responses guys, I'm receptive to any input

 

[avc8130]

Gotcha on not being able to open the doors. To tell the truth, thats not a biggie for me. I dont care if If I have to push the car into position. After working on my back for so many years, I cant take it anymore. This lift is going to be a godsend for me. I only have a 9' 3" ceiling height so I wont be able to walk under a car. But I do have a roling chair. Brakes, front end work, rear end set ups, trans, exhaust is all going to be faster and easier on my body. I had more jackstands and wood blocking than Harbor Freight to get my cars up high enough to do any heavy work. And I'm only looking to see if I can gain a few inches in the width area. My garage is 25X25.

Avc8130 you make a good point about the arms, I was concerned about that as well. I saw your thread about your Sys 1, is it in yet?

Thanks for the responses guys, I'm receptive to any input

Not yet. I'm going to do the layout and preliminary work tonight. I hope to be drilling concrete tomorrow. Then I need to work out the hydraulics and the electrical.

My ceiling is "complicating" the install a bit...but I have a staged plan. I need to get the lift "functional" asap as my truck is broken and I would much prefer to work on it on the new lift. Once that is out of the way, I am going to tackle opening up the ceiling and trying to gain some extra lift height.

ac

 

[Wheelgun1]

well it appears that you and I are on about the same time frame. I have mine completely disassembled, pressure washed it and removed and packed the Torrington bearings with some lithium to be on the safe side. Cleaning up the chains in some solvent, re-taping some of the fittings and going to start assembly tonight.

Just don't like things too greasy, makes for a nasty install. These columns are heavy enough without the carriages, rams and chains, I'm a little concerned about my engine hoist being able to pick them up to the vertical once loaded. I initially disassembled them while in the back of my truck.

Mind if I ask how your lifting yours?

 

[Shadowdog500]

... I told my wife that this is gonna be the best thing for my old back, no more taking an hour to set up a car to take a trans out or the like, if it doesnt kill me setting it up first. Nothing on this lift weighs less than 100lbs.

It will probably be the best thing you put in your shop! And your back will be thanking you. If I'm working on an axle or wheel bearing and plan to be a while, I only set the car a couple of feet off the ground and sit in a wheeled office chair while wrenching. Life is good!!!

It's your home shop, no need to be in a hurry or kill yourself to get things done.

Chris

 

[avc8130]

well it appears that you and I are on about the same time frame. I have mine completely disassembled, pressure washed it and removed and packed the Torrington bearings with some lithium to be on the safe side. Cleaning up the chains in some solvent, re-taping some of the fittings and going to start assembly tonight.

Just don't like things too greasy, makes for a nasty install. These columns are heavy enough without the carriages, rams and chains, I'm a little concerned about my engine hoist being able to pick them up to the vertical once loaded. I initially disassembled them while in the back of my truck.

Mind if I ask how your lifting yours?

Wow, you are making me feel badly. I didn't do squat to prep mine except inventory what is there.

This will erect my columns



ac

 

[Wheelgun1]

I hear ya Shadow, but I got a dozen things in the fire now. Trying to finish a build on my daughters 67 F 100, want to mini tub my 70 Torino, yada yada.

Oh, AVc you would have to go and show me that! I could use that at my Michigan place. Totally jealous.

 

[avc8130]

I started trying to lay out my lift placement tonight.

We got up in the attic and started taking some precision measurements. It tuns out the trusses that I THOUGHT were 8' apart are ACTUALLY 7' 4" apart. This pretty much made my initial idea of raising the ceiling useless as nothing I own will fit in between trusses.

I've now changed the plan to place the lift centered in my garage towards the back. This will give me 11' 6" of ceiling height at 6' width

We plan to place the columns and drill tomorrow. I'm hoping running the hydraulic lines at the slightly reduced height won't be too difficult.

ac

 

[avc8130]

How goes your lift install?

I got my columns standing and my holes drilled. I wound up using a fair amount of shims to get the columns plumb.

I mocked up my hydraulic lines, I need to shorten the risers ~13". Any suggestions?

I'm also looking at how to torque the 2" arm bolts...thoughts?

ac

 

[Wheelgun1]

Still re-assembling. It appears that there was an issue with one of the carriages at some time in it's life in that there was as best as I can describe some side loading. There is a quarter inch deep gouge in the carriage itself and one of the stub shafts that the carriage bearings ride on was boogered up on the end, to the point that the retaining snap ring had been brazed on. The end of the stub shaft was really screwed up so I just ground it flat and am welding a heavy washer to act as a retainer. I dont see ever having to replace a bearing on this thing. I'm also gonna fill in the gouge with a few passes from my welder.

I'm gonna have to shorten up my risers as well, I've got a good flare tool so I'm thinking of just cutting and flaring. I might call Mohawk and ask their opinion on that matter.

How did the drilling go? Did you predrill a smaller pilot hole? I bought what I think is a pretty good Bosch percussion bit and I'm hoping my Milwaukee hammer drill is up to the task.

I'm not too concerned about the arm bolts, I'm just gonna tighten em up real good. I should be done by Friday. Was supposed to go fishing, but want to get this done. Was thinking of taking some pics.

Your ahead of me so I'm playing catch up. I'm already considering punching a hole in my ceiling and trussing out an area just big enough to get a car roof up into the attic. Figure that will give me another two feet of elevation.

 

[avc8130]

WOW, that sounds like a pain! I wouldn't worry about changing a bearing. These things supposedly last forever. IF you are worried about changing the bearing, just do it NOW.

I actually just swung by a job site the guy I bought my lift from was working at. He cut and re-flared the tubes for me. I'm going to chop the support risers down and do the plumbing tonight.

If you don't have a REAL rotary hammer drill, go rent one. Drilling was cake. We used the lift as a template. Use the shopvac to clean up the holes. I suggest you vacuum BEFORE you pull the bit out and then again after. That prevents most of the dust from getting in the hole. I used a shot of compressed air just before putting the anchor in.

The installer told me to just hit the arm bolts with 3/4" impact until it just stopped spinning.

How much height do you have? I placed my lift so I maximized my height. I have 12' at the peak and 11' at the columns. At 6' vehicle width I had just about 11' 6". The installer says you need 10' 6" for a car and 11' 6" for a pickup to max height. We shall see. If the truck doesn't "fit" I might make some stops for the carriage to prevent accidental contact.

Before:


The lift:


The "offside":


The "power side"


Currently:

ac

 

[matstng]

I'd suggest using epoxy in the hole with the RedHead Studs. Mine slipped up a little when torquing the nuts to spec.
Also use water to keep the bit cool. It's a little messy but also keeps the dust down. Blow out the hole to remove debris and dry it out before driving in the studs.

Have fun

 

[volaredon]

I bought a Weaver 9000 lb lift last October. Got it at a "cannot pass up" price via Craigslist.
I had to dismantle the lift from the past owner's garage, which was a help in re-setting it up here. Had a little bit of "CRS" because of the lag in take down vs re install, but I had the same guys help me install it as helped with the teardown. On the install, I had use of a tractor and bucket. No other way I would have been able to stand the columns up. not enough room to hang a chainfall from the ceiling loists like I was gonna do. too heavy for even 4 guys to stand them up (and not enough space for 4 guys to get under them besides to walk them up)
I don't have a bad back (yet anyway) but a bad knee and ankle (both on the right leg) due to 2 seperate bad injuries over the years. At 46, I too love working on cars (though it has been my occupation for 20+ years Im not tired of it yet) and I know about dragging a busted worn out body (me) off of concrete up n down every time I need a different socket..
I put it up around the 1st week of June of this year. Man, why did I wait so long to get my own? I get to work on the fleet at work by standing up underneath why should I suffer at home with a jack and stands, laying on concrete?

I did some refurbishment on mine as well I rebuilt both cylinders, replaced all the carriage bearings, steam cleaned everything, (I have a Landa diesel fired steam cleaner in the garage, too) and at the time, my son was the "powdercoater guy" at the job he had at the time. He took the entire lift into his work, (I had it all in pieces anyway) and sandblasted/powdercoated the entire lift except for the electric motor and pump unit (though he did take the reservoir that hangs off the pump and holds the fluid in with the load) and it is like a brand spanking new lift again. I have less money in it than one of these newer "off the boat" models and it is built like a tank as your Mohawk is....
Thanks to a fellow member here at GJ that also happens to be a Weaver lift owner I got pics with measurements of the decals which I plan to have reproduced. I did find out that my particular Weaver is similar in age to yours/ mine's an '86. parts have proven easy to come by and not necessarily "having to" come from a "lift company". Bearings and such are common industry components obtainable via places like Motion Industries and Ebay.

I, too, have a garage that is vertically challenged (10' ceiling height) but I have a fix for that; I am gonna pull about a dozen ceiling joists out this Fall and build a knee wall in the attic to prevent anything or anybody that may have to go up there from falling thru the hole. my garage is 30' wide X 36 deep, I am only taking the joists ofer the side of the garage that the lift is on. I have come to value the extra storage too much to delete it all....
Last nite after work, I had my Wrangler up there for new front wheel U joints and an oil change. I had to do the oil change from a creeper seat on wheels but it was about perfect height for the U joint work on the front diff. I will have a 95 Cougar up there in about an hour, for back brakes.

 

[volaredon]

oh and I cut out templates of the base plates and used them and a tape measure to figure out where exactly to put mine up, used duct tape as an outline around the templates, and drilled the holes for the Red Heads with the poles standing in place.

 

[avc8130]

I got my lines flared by the dealer I bought the lift from this morning and I "completed" the install this evening. I had a couple dribbles from the hydraulics, but put the He-Man to them. Steel fittings can take some serious torque.

I haven't gotten a car on it since the area is a total mess. I hope to clean it up and throw a car/truck up on the lift tomorrow.



I am having some trouble with the near side safety latch. For some reason it doesn't like to "catch" again once released. Looks like adjustment is easy enough in the manual.

I also noticed that my offside lift arms are a bit higher than my near side. Not sure where that came from, I think the floor must be higher on that side and I didn't notice. The manual seems to like the power side on the high side. I don't see why it matters. Any ideas?

ac

 

[Wheelgun1]

well, it appears I'm falling behind. I did however get the carriages minus the arms back in the towers. Its kind of difficult doing it by yourself with just a cherry picker. It was a nail biter for sure. I have them located where I want them and tomorrow is drill and set time. I will be using epoxy . I had my garage floor poured with the intent of parking my crew cab diesel in it so it's about 6-8 inches thick all the way around. The bearings appeared to be in useable shape so I simply soaked them in ATF for a few days then pressure packed them with some lithium. They spin fine with no growls. My lift is only rated at 6,000 lbs but from what I can tell the rams are of the same construction as the 7,000 newer model, I was told the only diff is in the pressure relief valve. Don't know that to be true or not. I did weld up the gouge on the carriage and looked on the mast/tower to see if I could find what was causing it but no dice. I know the newer lifts have additional bearings to stop the side loading, and if I see that being a problem I'll be retrofitting mine as well.

Avc that's a nice looking shop you have there, lots of room, looks deep. And I have no idea why they would want the power side on a particular side. I would give Mohawk a call. I have to call them tomorrow to verify that the system II, which I have, is to be set up 108 inches between the masts. Seems a little tight.
I took some pics, just got to figure out how to post them.

 

[avc8130]

My carriages have littler bearings that ride along the inside edge of the masts. They look like they guide the carriage straight up if there is any side loading.

My lift is a System 1A. The rating is 9k lbs. Mohawk now sells the 1A-10 with a 10k lb rating. The difference is a stiffening rib ~1/2 way up on the mast.

I guess you have no intent in picking up that crew cab diesel with the lift? It will be quite over the weight rating.

I use Photobucket. Just upload the pics there and they provide the code to put them in the post. Copy and past, super easy.

ac

 

[avc8130]

I think I was a little punch drunk when I checked level between the lift arms the first time:



ac

 

[Wheelgun1]

Avc, my ceilings are 9' and some change. I'm definitely gonna punch a hole and truss to give me some extra lift height. I have walk up storage room in the attic. Damn now I wish I would have went with a Gambrel or barn style roof. Kicking myself in the rear. I'm assuming you set level by the masts and not so much where the arms fell. I'm setting mine just a shade off true vertical with a tilt to the outside, if that makes any sense. An installer said that with the weight of a heavy vehicle, suv or the like, the masts will have a tendency to come back to dead center.

I've noticed that the holes for the pins/bolts that secure the arms to the carriages have a slight egg shape to them from years of use. That could cause your arms to off level if yours are the same. I'm going to throw some weld to them to bring them back to a true circle.

And no way was I ever intending to lift my diesel, it's almost 9,000 lbs empty. Just my two hot rods and some side work. The guy I bought it from said he picked up a suburban with it and it was all it could handle. My 99 exploder weighs in at 4,500, my 67 F-100 and 70 Torino are way lighter than that.

Did you lift anything yet?

 

[Wheelgun1]

AVC, what length anchors did you use? I know Mohawk calls for 5 1/2 but I could easily go another inch or so on the length, my garage pad is easily eight inches thick in the spots I've drilled so far.

I've got 5 1/2 but think I'm gonna return them to grainger for some longer ones.

 

[avc8130]

AVC, what length anchors did you use? I know Mohawk calls for 5 1/2 but I could easily go another inch or so on the length, my garage pad is easily eight inches thick in the spots I've drilled so far.

I've got 5 1/2 but think I'm gonna return them to grainger for some longer ones.

I used the ones the distributor handed me...5 1/2". With everything Mohawk "overbuilt", why worry?



Yes, that's a diesel.

How much should I be obsessing with checking anchor torque? No way a shop checks it as much as I have.

ac

 

[avc8130]

Well...mine is up and lifting...where's yours?

ac

 

[rburke65]

I went longer on my Mohawkmlift install. I used 7" and 8" Wej-it's, but my floor was moremthan a foot think in the area of the lift.