Mohawk lift review

[The Wizard]

I don't know anyone who actually lowers a vehicle onto the locks, raises it after he's done, disengages locks and then lowers the vehicle in a commercial situation or a simple job at home. Never met that guy. I know he's out there somewhere...

I agree for the most part. When I go to buddies houses, or mechanic shops, they never lower the locks onto the safety bars as intended. Up it goes, then under they go. Bad, bad habits I see all the time.

Personally, I use the locks as intended.

But, all this talk has de-railed the thread's original intent. A new thread should be started with a poll added.

 

[halltrail]

Ok, so Im not in a commercial setting, but I dont see what the big deal is with taking the 2 seconds to lower the lift back down on the manual safeties. I know I do every time. Takes literally 2 seconds. There is no way you can pull those cable loops once the arms are on the safeties. Kaffine, if your lift is off by that much, I would ask the installers to come back out something isnt right. I agree that maybe you need some washers above the cylinder. They are very easy to install. Lower the carriage to the floor and use a floor jack to lift up the arms, pull the chain and pulleys up and insert the washers. You could also call Mohawk. I called them about 3-4 times and there customer service was great. I hope you get it worked out.

 

[MIDAIR]

Your not even close mentioning the Mohawk lifts place more stress on the concrete due to the lack of a top crossbar? Wow, I guess you fail to note that common sense , not to mention physics that the mer difference in surface area of the vertical post footprint being ever so much greater of surface area in square inches infavor or the Larger stronger base of the Mohawk lift that in fact the pressure and weight exerted per square in is Lesser on the concrete than your bend pac . It is the same physics that a waterbed exerts less weight per sq/in than your fridgerator. Lets not let 8th grade science and math skills be that far forgotten. The top crossbar only provides a pathway for pulleys and cable or perhaps by brand hydraulic tubing. A 2x4x12 foot long could accomplish this task, it is not going to distribute any weight or prevent a lift attachment point failure .

 

[cag310]

Your not even close mentioning the Mohawk lifts place more stress on the concrete due to the lack of a top crossbar? Wow, I guess you fail to note that common sense , not to mention physics that the mer difference in surface area of the vertical post footprint being ever so much greater of surface area in square inches infavor or the Larger stronger base of the Mohawk lift that in fact the pressure and weight exerted per square in is Lesser on the concrete than your bend pac . It is the same physics that a waterbed exerts less weight per sq/in than your fridgerator. Lets not let 8th grade science and math skills be that far forgotten. The top crossbar only provides a pathway for pulleys and cable or perhaps by brand hydraulic tubing. A 2x4x12 foot long could accomplish this task, it is not going to distribute any weight or prevent a lift attachment point failure .

Bravo! ..I don't have anything against BenPak and found some of what D.P. had posted as useful but agree the opinions should be left up to the customers. Using our forums for the sole purpose of competitor bashing is sad.



25-yr-old civil engineer/Jeeper here. Just bought my first lift last night in Philadelphia area, a Mohawk System I 9000lb 'er. Previous shop owner used it commercially for years and spoke of the hydraulic equalization issue and fully raising the lift to level it etc etc. He claimed it was never a problem, just something to be aware of. He did mention he had one of the cylinders replaced once-for approx. $800 plus labor. I assume this to be the (second?) cylinder not the main (as the main runs about $1400 I believe after speaking with Mohawk).

Good to note that while Mohawk presents a lifetime warranty on the cylinders, this is only valid for the original owner....anyhow, I slid the chain out of the way and removed the pulleys so they wouldn't be lost in transit..and noticed the washers once I got home. Now I know what they're for!

Not trying to steal this thread, but revive it with further input.. I will update on how my lift install goes and it's use!

I was considering trying this install myself, but after hearing about bleeding the hydraulics and leveling/equalizing with the washers etc, I may not.

Does anyone know the closest Mohawk dealer to the Allentown, PA area?? Would it be SPECIALTY AUTOMOTIVE EQUIPMENT COMPANY, INC. (NJlifts.com)?

 

[floyd]

I bought a lift from Mohawk Lifts of Pa Inc. They did a great job installing. Barry Michael is the owner and he and his son are real professionals.

Looks like Lititz is about 70 miles from Allentown.

Mohawk Lifts of Pa Inc
139 Chestnut Street
Lititz, PA 17543-8816
(717) 626-8489

 

[cag310]

Thanks for the input I will give them a call!

That is a tad closer. 1.5 hours drive is better than 2! I'm sure the installers are going to charge more the further I am from them.

 

[floyd]

no problem - good luck

 

[Vicegrip]

Your not even close mentioning the Mohawk lifts place more stress on the concrete due to the lack of a top crossbar? Wow, I guess you fail to note that common sense , not to mention physics that the mer difference in surface area of the vertical post footprint being ever so much greater of surface area in square inches infavor or the Larger stronger base of the Mohawk lift that in fact the pressure and weight exerted per square in is Lesser on the concrete than your bend pac . It is the same physics that a waterbed exerts less weight per sq/in than your fridgerator. Lets not let 8th grade science and math skills be that far forgotten. The top crossbar only provides a pathway for pulleys and cable or perhaps by brand hydraulic tubing. A 2x4x12 foot long could accomplish this task, it is not going to distribute any weight or prevent a lift attachment point failure .

I apologize for being as blunt as your post is but you are incorrect on this. Physics and common sense dictate that the cross bars help prevent the posts from moving inward. The weight of the lift and load press down on the base but the weight of the arms and load also try and force the posts together. Without a cross bar the outer base bolts are tasked with resisting this.

I maintain 151 lifts of various makes as part of my day job. 2 post, 4 post above ground and in ground. All the talk about more metal or roller bearings being safer is hog wash. Safety comes down to the user. There are very few lift failures, there are plenty of user failures. Lets talk real world as I see real world every day in a 5 brand group dealership. My observations lead me to believe that the less work to use a lift correctly the safer the system is. K.I.S.S. is real. Having to dither around and level a load is a strong minus in my book. The "It goes off level only when you have real heavy loads" kind of talk is worrisome to me. Why should you have to even think of load leveling other than checking your load up work before going under the car? An off level load is less safe than a level load more so as you approach the lifts cap. More metal where more metal is not needed but a design that requires due diligence from the user to maintain a level load? Don't base safety on what looks big and solid base it on real world use.

Having safety systems that are a pain to deal with or require more steps than needed invite cheating. The user has to lift the car off the locks then unlock the safeties and then lower the car. This invites the user to lift the car off the safeties and then walk under the car to release the opp side safely. He ends up under a loaded lift with the safety disengaged. We humans become complacent with any often repeated task such as loading a car on a lift.

The bottom line is there are far more user attributable lift accidents than lift failure based accidents. The less skilled input required of the user the better and likely safer the lifting system will be in real world use.

Full disclosure. Of the 151 lifts I inspect and maintain I only deal with one Bend-pac lift. The one in my home shop. The money not spent on a just as safe but far more expensive lift went towards some good tools.

 

[darkk]

I bought the BendPak HD9XW 4 poster. Good product and good price. Can't get any better than that. And you can't beat BandPaks customer service.....

 

[LARSOFVT]

Physics and common sense dictate that the cross bars help prevent the posts from moving inward. The weight of the lift and load press down on the base but the weight of the arms and load also try and force the posts together. Without a cross bar the outer base bolts are tasked with resisting this.

I noticed the Bend Pak shown in post #4 does not appear to have a cross bar connecting the two posts at the top.

It seems to me the pulleys and cables are subject to much more wear and maintenance than the Mohawk 2 cylinder design.

 

[Thomarann]

...I did follow your link to the testimonial page and found it extremely odd that every one of your "testimonials" are quotes that you or bentpac (is that you?) took the liberty to lift from posts on various forums, including ours. ...

I agree - he should have at least asked permission first.

Marc
p.s. I have a BendPak (MD-6XP-B) and quite like it.

 

[cag310]

I apologize for being as blunt as your post is but you are incorrect on this. Physics and common sense dictate that the cross bars help prevent the posts from moving inward. The weight of the lift and load press down on the base but the weight of the arms and load also try and force the posts together. Without a cross bar the outer base bolts are tasked with resisting this.

............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Full disclosure. Of the 151 lifts I inspect and maintain I only deal with one Bend-pac lift. The one in my home shop. The money not spent on a just as safe but far more expensive lift went towards some good tools.

I thought you were a commercial HVAC technician..What the hell are you doing servicing car lifts for a living?

Commercial HVAC. I can't stand dealing with homeowners and went commercial many years ago. Best move I made in a long time. None of the chicken $h!t dithering about a $30 part.

 

[Stilwell]

Kaffine,

dbbentpack,

I have nothing against Bentpack lifts and almost bought one instead of my Mohawk, but I do find it somewhat offensive that a you are a dealer with a total of four posts on this forum and all of them are effectively bashing Mohawk lifts and hawking your product. You may not realize it, but you are coming off to me like a pushy used car salesman.

dbbendpak,

I couldn't agree more with this post. While new to the forum, I also find your demeanor and competition bashing very disturbing. Quite frankly, seems like "bitter party for one" to me. I am just commencing a garage build, part of which is a lift. I have been leaning to Mohawk but just yesterday wrote down Bendpak to look at. Quite frankly, I am so turned off at this point, I'm hesitant to even look at them.

You raised some valid lift purchase considerations, unfortunately you did it by bashing.

 

[Vicegrip]

I thought you were a commercial HVAC technician..What the hell are you doing servicing car lifts for a living?

Com HVAC is where I honed much of my skills. (what skill I have that is) Com HVAC will give you experence and skills in many mechanical aspects.

The lift work is but a part of my and my crew's day. I work on many aspects of a large automotive dealership(s) from HVAC to 25 HP air compressors to trash service contracts. Lifts are machines. Service and inspection is well spelled out and follows mechanical norms. The older I get the more drawn I am to training and managing others rather than getting busted knuckels. Less work, more skills, more $. That said I am right now typing with less than a full right hand as I busted a finger up but good.

 

[cag310]

For those of you looking into Mohawk lifts..this is a brief synopsis of my System I install..

I purchased a used, late 80's (guesstimated) System I, 9000lb lift from a commercial shop in the Phialdephia area for approx $2250.

I had the lift installed within a week by Mohawk Lifts of PA out of Lititz, PA as referred by Floyd in this thread.

Below is an album of a few pictures of the install..

http://img84.imageshack.us/g/p1020885b.jpg/

The lift works great. Lee had a lot of good info to share. I know one of the biggest questions about these lifts is regarding the leveling of the individual lift posts since they each have their own dedicated hydraulic ram. In operation, the secondary post or slave cylinder is probably 1/2" to 1" behind the main. You can hear the safety latches clicking one after the other with a slight delay. This sounds like alot but really isn't considering the posts are 10' apart. And if you lower the lift onto the safety stops as you're supposed to, it levels everything perfectly.

When the System I lifts were redesigned and rated at 10,000lbs capacity, Mohawk made 2 significant changes to the lifts. The first being the addition of a diverter valve, to help with the sychronization of the lift posts..and the addition of a support brace around the columns near the center section which increased the capacity. Apparently, when near or at full capacity and heavily front or back loaded (vehicle not centered front to back), the 9000lb lift columns were seperating. By separating I mean the column itself would bulge in the center a little from the load not being properly centered. That's the reason for the increase in capacity.

I was also informed that the hydraulic cylinders are supposedly covered by a lifetime warranty. The cylinder would need to be taken out and shipped to Mohawk and they will rebuild it and send it back, if anything ever happened.

Anyhow, everything is working great thus far and I am very happy with my purchase. The installation cost was $400 plus bolts which came to just over $500. Great service from Lee @ Mohawk Lifts of PA.

 

[floyd]

Glad it worked out. Lift looks great!

 

[cag310]

Yeah it really did, thanks again!

 

[[email protected]]

If you are having leveling issues "every time" the lift was not shimmed properly.

A bendPak is a Chinese lift. If you really never use it, it will survive. If you have a shop that uses a lift, The Mohawk will last forever. I see 30 year old Mohawks in my hometown shops that still work like the day they were installed. If they bought a BendPak, they'd be on their 5th or 6th by now.

Just a thought.

 

[GlenC]

I purchased a System I 9000lb used lift a number of years ago (still not installed ) I went with the Mohawk because, being here in Southern CA, I was concerned about having a car stored on the lift and having an earthquake... I will be pouring a new slab for it and plan to put the hydraulic lines in the slab or in a channel in the slab (nothing overhead).

Glen

 

[matt01073]

I own 7 lifts 6 are mohawks the only one that isnt is a four post hunter alignment lift . The mohawks range in age from mid 90s to about 5 years old 4 are system 1 s 1 is a mid rise and the last is a 12000 lb , we use and probably abuse the lifts every day , I have had other brands that have come and gone including a couple rotary lifts and nothing out there compares to mohawk . Some of the coments here i find hard to believe #1 the lock system is dangerous and can be caught on something and be disengaged i have worked under mohawk lifts for 20 years never have caught one of the lock cables they hang down no more that a couple inches and if the lift is sitting on the locks as it should be you cant disengage them . every once in a while the system 1s will go of balance mainly when you have a heavy vehicle like a 1 ton dump with a plow and sander or similar heavy truck and mainly when you go up and down several times without going all the way up . the valve makes it easy enough to correct and if you are running the lift all the way up it corrects itself . the exception to that is if you have an old like back in the 80s mohawk 9000 lb as it had a single hydraulic line and was a major pain and was quite often off balance i had 2 of those and got rid of them as soon as they switched to the 2 line system . Of all the mohawks ive had and have the worst thing that has happened is a few worn and broken lock release cables , 1 piston that failed a couple weeks in ( a minor seaping ) of which the piston was swapped out within a couple days of calling the dealer and we did have a pump go bad on one of the really old single lines after i traded it in but before they installed the new one so i didnt even have to replace it because the lift was leaving anyway. Mohawk lifts are probably too expensive for the average home shop but in a commercial application where they are worked to the limit most of the time they are hard to beat . if your lift is always going out of balance and if you are running it all the way up and it still keeps going off balance it is installed wrong for sure .

 

[Scud67]

I don't know anyone who actually lowers a vehicle onto the locks, raises it after he's done, disengages locks and then lowers the vehicle in a commercial situation or a simple job at home. Never met that guy. I know he's out there somewhere...

This is really disturbing.... not only is it unsafe, but it will wear out the lift prematurely. The hydraulics of a lift are not intended to hold weight for any period of time - the seals will leak on the pistons if they are used in that way.

I use my lift as it was supposed to be used - with the loaded weight sitting on the locks. Anyone that would do otherwise is foolish, and just asking for trouble.

 

[dankicksass]

If it makes you feel better, in the last four years I have revised my views on safety. Still don't like Mohawk lifts much, but I always use safety locks. I still know a lot of guys who don't, and even some who disable locks.

 

[Shadowdog500]

If it makes you feel better, in the last four years I have revised my views on safety. Still don't like Mohawk lifts much, but I always use safety locks. I still know a lot of guys who don't, and even some who disable locks.

Some guys disable the safety locks on a lift!
That is scary stuff right there!

I'm glad to hear you are using the safety locks on your lift!!

Chris

 

[dankicksass]

It's common enough that OSHA has special posters and stickers deterring the use of bungee cords and coat hangers to disable lift safeties. They're pretty amusing.

 

[lt1driver]

stupid is as stupid does, some day you get the bear, other days it get you...

 

[Speed Farm]

I was wondering how high up the Mohawk extends? I can't seem to find the information online, but I am about 6'5 tall and don't like hunching over will the System 1 go up pretty tall?

 

[GlenC]

I was wondering how high up the Mohawk extends? I can't seem to find the information online, but I am about 6'5 tall and don't like hunching over will the System 1 go up pretty tall?

From the specs:
Arm Pad Height: .................................. 3 1/2” (8.89 cm) min.
Lifting Height: ...................................... 6’ (1.83 m) under arm
Arm Pad Height @ Full Rise: ............ 6’ 3 1/2” (1.84 m) min.
Lift Pad Height with Adaptors: ........ 7’ 1/2” (2.15 m)

 

[Speed Farm]

thanks... I was looking for this! so with the pad and adapters it will go up 7'! that is great.

 

[tonycastec]

Re: Mohawk System 1 , not 1A

I am bumping this old thread because there are some quirks to the System 1 .9000pound Mohawk lift that are worth discussing specifically because they are peculiar to this wonderful old lift.
1. Uneven Lifting
The problem is usually that the Slave side lifts later/lower than the Master side. Part of the issue is that the System 1 uses a "single line" .The 1A avoids this by using a separate hydraulic line for each side/cylinder. Yes these old Mohawks use one massive cylinder on both sides,yes one for each column.
If you get air in the system it is difficult to purge. Sometimes you can just run the lift all the way up to maximum travel and keep holding the control in the "UP" position while the pump screams at you in protest. Sometimes it takes several attempts to purge the air. This will not work if the hydraulic fluid tank is not full. I fitted 3/4" 45 degree elbow to the breather fitting on the tank to stop leakage - because the fill/level hole is higher than the threaded hole for breather ! To fill the tank without spillage I use a plastic gearbox/diff oil bottle with a clear plastic hose on it. You will see these in the Auto parts stores.
2. The wire rope to disengage the locks get frayed. I replaced them both with chains .But you need to use high quality chin with small,smooth links. Just replacing the wire rope with generic parts works well.
The question I had is : to solve the air bleed problem - is it a good idea to fit a bleeder valve at the highest point of the hydraulic line that interconnects the two sides ? There is a #6 JIC union in the line at just the correct position. Fit a JIC x JIC X NPT T fitting there and add a small ball valve and a hose barb fitting. Attach some clear hose to the barb. When the lift becomes uneven it would be easy to purge the air.
If bleeding does not fix the problem ,then you have a different issue - like leveling as mentioned in previous posts in this thread.
So I asked Tech Service at Mohawk. Amazing -they give technical advice on a lift sold in 1987 -good luck getting that service on your Chinese lift !! 30 days (not 30 years!) and you'd be SOL.
Mohawk say "good idea but wrong location". They recommend using the vacant port on the top of the slave(offside) cylinder. I have a pressure gauge in there so I'll try to incorporate that into the Tee for bleeding. The parts in s/s will cost less than $40 on Bay. I hope this helps others with the Mohawk 1