Maxjax Installs: Post Here

[Bikemeister]

Group buy - I'm in.

 

[olytdi]

Yeah, sorry, I didn't do a very good job with the photos. The pics with the car in the air were before I rigged the power pack onto the column, just to make sure everything was working.

The power pack stays on the column all the time now, although to remove it is simply a matter of disconnecting the hoses and lifting it off (the brackets I made just slide over the top of the column and bolt to the cart). It doesn't interfere with the cylinder or anything, and it puts the controls and spacers up at a comfortable working height, and provides a couple of handy hooks to hang trouble lights on.

I'll try to get a better picture of the setup now.

Roger that. That's what I thought. I'm liking your solution.

First anchor is in and man what a bear to turn that nut to cinch-up the anchor. I'm looking for a cheater bar...BTW, my anchor only came up about half the distance from the 5/8" recesed beginning point after three turns of the nut. I'm not keen on continuing to turn it and will likely leave it there.

 

[olytdi]

Finished anchoring one column today and it came out well. I was surprised that not one of the anchors came-up any where near even with the floor surface. My holes drilled well and my concrete is just about four and a half to four and three quarters inches thick.

The instruction sheet that came in the box of anchors indicated that you were to turn the nut no more than three rotations. I went four to account for bending as the nut smoked down on the washer. I used a cheater pipe on my 15/16 wrench and I think if I tried to tighten it any more, I might have been in danger of shearing the bolt. The instructions also indicated that you're supposed to hold a wrench on the bolt head while turning the nut so that the anchor doesn't spin. The bolts didn't budge and no wrench was needed to keep them from moving.

As it stands, the anchors are each about 3/8" below the floor surface and are completely rock solid rigid. I don't know why I didn't have any problem with the anchors lifting like many others did but I did take time to wire brush and clean the inside walls of the holes prior to hammering the anchors into them.

After playing around with shimming, I torqued the column down to 75 ft lbs and it's like a stone pillar. That thing aint going anywhere. It's within a 16th inch plumb in both vertical planes.

One question for the experts: with the finished depth of my anchors 3/8" below the surface, and with a half inch of steel plate and another 3/16" of washers and shims, there is now less than one inch of bolt threads going into the anchor -- probably 5/8 to 3/4 inches. My guess is that is plenty but would it be prudent to go out and buy longer bolts to assure greater mating?

I'm also going to look for threaded plugs in plastic or steel to keep the anchors cleanly plugged when not in use.

Cheers

 

[abstamaria]

Why not install longer bolts, Olytdi. As you say, you probably don't need to, but the small cost will give you peace of mind.

 

[abstamaria]

Room

I thought the posts would cramp the space, but there is good space between them and the car, as shown in this photo taken today, after I serviced the car. I have not removed the posts since I installed them.

An assymetric design would have helped. As it is, I just have to be careful opening the doors.

Good luck on your installs.

Andy

 

[olytdi]

Ironically, the second post install was as problematic as the first post was perfect. The dirll "walked" on me on a couple of holes, the concrete was a smidge less than 4 inches on a couple, and the anchors didn't grab until they were above the surface requiring grinding on three. That said, all five anchors on the second post did bite and I can torque the bolts down rock solid. I will have to make one or two of the holes through the bottom mounting plate a little bigger though as my crappy drilling skills makes this column not square to the other when lined-up with the anchors.

I almost had a perfect install! Hope to test the lift today.

 

[Nogglefish]

One question for the experts: with the finished depth of my anchors 3/8" below the surface, and with a half inch of steel plate and another 3/16" of washers and shims, there is now less than one inch of bolt threads going into the anchor -- probably 5/8 to 3/4 inches. My guess is that is plenty but would it be prudent to go out and buy longer bolts to assure greater mating?

I'm also going to look for threaded plugs in plastic or steel to keep the anchors cleanly plugged when not in use.

Cheers

You can get longer bolts but as long as you have as much as the diameter of the bolt you should be good. I am getting longer bolts.

 

[olytdi]

You can get longer bolts but as long as you have as much as the diameter of the bolt you should be good. I am getting longer bolts.

Interesting -- so that's the rule of thumb -- depth to equal or greater than stud diameter. Then I'm good to go.

Thanks!

 

[Nogglefish]

Interesting -- so that's the rule of thumb -- depth to equal or greater than stud diameter. Then I'm good to go.

Thanks!

It's a bit more complicated, depending on type of metals/etc. 1.5x-3.0x covers just about everything, above that you will shear the head. Hit Google for lengthy explanations.

 

[isaac338]

For what it's worth, I drilled my pilot holes around 1" deep with a 3/4" bit instead of a 5/8" bit - the 5/8" was way too loose in the base plate holes, but the 3/4" fit quite nicely. Drill the centre pilot hole first, move the post, drill out to full size, install that anchor, bolt the baseplate down with that one anchor, and then drill the other four pilot holes.

This is how I did it and all my holes are bang on.

 

[isaac338]

I got a few better pictures of my install:

Cart on post:

Power pack electricity and hydraulic line running to other post: (don't mind the rat's nest of wiring here)

Other post:

 

[les_garten]

For what it's worth, I drilled my pilot holes around 1" deep with a 3/4" bit instead of a 5/8" bit - the 5/8" was way too loose in the base plate holes, but the 3/4" fit quite nicely. Drill the centre pilot hole first, move the post, drill out to full size, install that anchor, bolt the baseplate down with that one anchor, and then drill the other four pilot holes.

This is how I did it and all my holes are bang on.

So, you drilled all the holes about an inch deep with the 3/4 and then drilled them all out with the 7/8"?


Anybody know good mail order place or local places to get these bits?

 

[isaac338]

So, you drilled all the holes about an inch deep with the 3/4 and then drilled them all out with the 7/8"?


Anybody know good mail order place or local places to get these bits?

That was my procedure.

I had the 3/4" from another project; the 7/8" was $45 from Rona.

 

[skamp]

So, you drilled all the holes about an inch deep with the 3/4 and then drilled them all out with the 7/8"?


Anybody know good mail order place or local places to get these bits?

Not mail order but my Lowes has both the 5/8 and 7/8" sizes in stock. They are the Bosch SDS ones. They are like $16 and $25 respectively.

Steve

 

[les_garten]

Not mail order but my Lowes has both the 5/8 and 7/8" sizes in stock. They are the Bosch SDS ones. They are like $16 and $25 respectively.

Steve

Thanx! I checked HD, Nada!

 

[Mechgineer]

where you guys buying them? directly off their site? I saw they had them at costco not too long ago for anyone interested. Cheers.

 

[Chetter]

where you guys buying them? directly off their site? I saw they had them at costco not too long ago for anyone interested. Cheers.

Bought mine from Northern Tool.com this past Decemer.

 

[Nogglefish]

Note: These fittings are for dry-fit only, use high pressure fittings!

Getting close with my install. Here is a picture of the pump mounted on a column:

And here is the hose going up. Yes, I had room for a full-size lift but went with the MaxJax as a temp lift until I start my detached building in a few years. Extra credit if you can identify the bike.

 

[Nogglefish]

Just ordered all of my fittings from here: www.discounthydraulichose.com

Website made it easy to find what I was looking for. They had 90 deg swivels, etc.

 

[les_garten]

Just ordered all of my fittings from here: www.discounthydraulichose.com

Website made it easy to find what I was looking for. They had 90 deg swivels, etc.

I just ordered mine from there yesterday as well! Lots of good stuff there.

 

[les_garten]

Getting close with my install. Here is a picture of the pump mounted on a column:

And here is the hose going up. Yes, I had room for a full-size lift but went with the MaxJax as a temp lift until I start my detached building in a few years. Extra credit if you can identify the bike.

Can you use regular HD type pipe fittings with this much pressure? Looks like you have a 90 degree fitting from a box store?

 

[Nogglefish]

Can you use regular HD type pipe fittings with this much pressure? Looks like you have a 90 degree fitting from a box store?

Yes don't use those!!! Dry-fit only! High-pressure fittings on the way (see my post above)

 

[les_garten]

Yes don't use those!!! Dry-fit only! High-pressure fittings on the way (see my post above)

Ok, that's what I was worried about.

You may want to add that to your post if it's not there, I didn't see it. Wouldn't want anybody to get hurt.

I just paid $40 each for 2 90 degree swivels that made me Flinch a little. It would be tempting to go to the "depot" and grab some pipe fittings of one didn't know better.

 

[UPSHIFT]

Ok, that's what I was worried about.

You may want to add that to your post if it's not there, I didn't see it. Wouldn't want anybody to get hurt.

I just paid $40 each for 2 90 degree swivels that made me Flinch a little. It would be tempting to go to the "depot" and grab some pipe fittings of one didn't know better.

Nice catch Les.. That would not be pretty..

 

[UPSHIFT]

Ok, that's what I was worried about.

You may want to add that to your post if it's not there, I didn't see it. Wouldn't want anybody to get hurt.

I just paid $40 each for 2 90 degree swivels that made me Flinch a little. It would be tempting to go to the "depot" and grab some pipe fittings of one didn't know better.

Note: These fittings are for dry-fit only, use high pressure fittings!

Getting close with my install. Here is a picture of the pump mounted on a column:

And here is the hose going up. Yes, I had room for a full-size lift but went with the MaxJax as a temp lift until I start my detached building in a few years. Extra credit if you can identify the bike.

Nogglefish, Thats a GT Bycycle, Circa ??? 1988ish.. Can you say Mike Diminguez ?

 

[UPSHIFT]

Lets try this image 1 more time..

No Dice.. Photobucket here I come.

 

[Nogglefish]

Nogglefish, Thats a GT Bycycle, Circa ??? 1988ish.. Can you say Mike Diminguez ?

You got it, even got the correct year! 1988 GT Pro Freestyle Tour. Wasn't my original bike, I sadly gave mine away to a neighborhood kid =(

 

[regguy1]

I'm not into bikes but my neighbor is, he has a bike that's so light that you can lift it with 2 fingers. I think it costs quite a bit.

 

[UPSHIFT]

You got it, even got the correct year! 1988 GT Pro Freestyle Tour. Wasn't my original bike, I sadly gave mine away to a neighborhood kid =(

Nogglefish,

At least you replaced it.. Its always nice to see those bikes, its like a time machine..

Thanks for posting..

 

[skamp]

I know a lot of you were expressing interest in a group buy for the MaxJax. We have one going now. See this thread for details.

http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=135311

Steve

 

[les_garten]

I've read some posts where people didn't drill the pilot hole, just drilled the 7/8" hole.

Can you drill the first 7/8 hole, bolt down, and drill the rest of the 7/8" holes thru the bottom plate of the jack? Is there enough room for the bit to go thru the plate?

 

[regguy1]

I think the drill might hit the post and you could end up with a hole drilled ot an angle.
I used a small drill for the pilot (about 1/4")

 

[les_garten]

I think the drill might hit the post and you could end up with a hole drilled ot an angle.
I used a small drill for the pilot (about 1/4")

Hmmm, I'll have to look at that to see if there is clearance. So far I have just ordered the 7/8"

 

[les_garten]

I've got my MaxJax hoses I never used. Had custom length hoses made.

Anybody interested in them for a fair price?

Les

 

[Nogglefish]

The 7/8" will be too large. Go with a smaller bit for a shallow pilot hole.

 

[les_garten]

The 7/8" will be too large. Go with a smaller bit for a shallow pilot hole.

Thanx! Guess I'll get the 5/8"

 

[Nogglefish]

Two questions:

Has anyone purchased the 6" extensions? If so, from where? Direct or from a vendor?

Also, anyone suggestions on TALL jackstands to use with the lift?

Thanks!

 

[Mr onetwo]

Thanx! Guess I'll get the 5/8"

I think if you look at the directions for the anchors, they say do not use a pilot bit.If you egg out the hole you could end up with a very dangerous situation.Why don't you make up a steel template with 6" pcs. of 7/8"ID steel tubing welded to a pc of 1/8" plate.Pin it down with a couple of 1/4" pins and the tubes will hold your bit nice and straight.Sort of along the lines of this JR Smith setting gauge we used to use in wall hung toilet rough-ins.If I get 1 of these lifts I will make up a template for drilling.If you don't have to think or worry about placing the holes you can be much more accurate in your work!

 

[les_garten]

I think if you look at the directions for the anchors, they say do not use a pilot bit.If you egg out the hole you could end up with a very dangerous situation.Why don't you make up a steel template with 6" pcs. of 7/8"ID steel tubing welded to a pc of 1/8" plate.Pin it down with a couple of 1/4" pins and the tubes will hold your bit nice and straight.Sort of along the lines of this JR Smith setting gauge we used to use in wall hung toilet rough-ins.If I get 1 of these lifts I will make up a template for drilling.If you don't have to think or worry about placing the holes you can be much more accurate in your work!

Hell of an idea, wish I could weld!

Sound like a good idea for a tool loaner program

 

[Mr onetwo]

My thoughts exactly! I am very worried about someone installing those anchors wrong and getting killed!I have seen some scary stuff on jobsites when it comes to concrete anchors and heavy loads! When I make one up I plan to do several...maybe rent with deposit and small fee!?