Mohawk System 1 install - correct distance?

[hellspcangel911]

Hi all,
I'll be building my barn soon and want to have everything read including the conduit and tubing for the Mohawk lift so I can run the power and hydraulic lines in the slab.

The manual calls for 120" between the posts with 141.75" on the outside , but theres been posts of people having issues with smaller cars (Porsche and VW) fitting. I work on a lot of BMWs, just wanted to see if anyone has experience with moving the posts to get better fitment?

thanks!

 

[Kmp259]

Get longer arms....or make longer arms..

 

[Dzlpete]

Mohawk makes a 3 section arm, for an upcharge. I have had their 16k lift for about 2 years now.
That said, buy a Nussbaum. Much better articulating arms.
Wish I had known.....

 

[Shadowdog500]

Hi all,
I'll be building my barn soon and want to have everything read including the conduit and tubing for the Mohawk lift so I can run the power and hydraulic lines in the slab.

The manual calls for 120" between the posts with 141.75" on the outside , but theres been posts of people having issues with smaller cars (Porsche and VW) fitting. I work on a lot of BMWs, just wanted to see if anyone has experience with moving the posts to get better fitment?

thanks!

I have a System 1 and I will say that I have to have the arm extenders almost fully retracted on some smaller cars like my ‘53 Willy’s Jeep and my wife’s old Corolla. If I don’t park the car right in the center the first time I’ve used my pump up rolling wheel dollys to move the car a few inches to get the car perfectly placed so all of the arms can get on the proper lift points.

 

[hellspcangel911]

ShadowDog, if you were to do it again would you space them 4" farther apart?

 

[hellspcangel911]

Mohawk makes a 3 section arm, for an upcharge. I have had their 16k lift for about 2 years now.
That said, buy a Nussbaum. Much better articulating arms.
Wish I had known.....

I just looked up the Nussbaum, wow - those double articulating arms are amazing.

 

[Shadowdog500]

ShadowDog, if you were to do it again would you space them 4" farther apart?

Probably not because I don’t know if that would cause other problems with bigger cars or trucks. I’ve had big dually trucks up on mine.

If I was only working on small stuff, I would think about moving the columns further apart to make it work best for smaller cars. Do the places you’ve read about this problem give a recommendation for better column spacing for those cars?

 

[hellspcangel911]

Here’s one example where the owner has a 911 and looking to install it 6” wider with someone else chiming in about having it 6” closer (space Restriction) https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=59897&page=2

 

[sberry]

Parking can be fussy. I have lines painted on the floor to aid in pulling in.

 

[hellspcangel911]

I could see that taking some getting used to, aids are a good idea, I’ve seen some setups with a mirror at the corner of the ceiling/wall that help. My concern now is the lift is designed in the 80s.... cars have changed quite a bit since then ....

 

[road_king]

Lifting from the swing arm itself is an option as well. Mohawk sells swing arm pads that promote this as an option.

 

[hellspcangel911]

Thanks Road King, thats pretty sweet. Between that and the 3 piece arm option, I think I'll set them 4" further apart, just enough to get some more space to maneuver the arms on smaller cars without affecting the load value.

 

[Shadowdog500]

Thanks Road King, thats pretty sweet. Between that and the 3 piece arm option, I think I'll set them 4" further apart, just enough to get some more space to maneuver the arms on smaller cars without affecting the load value.

I looked and could not find a 3 piece arm option for a Mohawk System 1. Could you provide us with the link?
Thanks!

 

[RStewart]

We lift a 944 and an f250 4x4 among others with ours with no problem. Hope this helps. With short wheelbase you might have to swing one set of arms under then roll the car to swing the other arms under. Not a huge inconvenience. Still beats crawling around on the ground.

 

[Jagmandave]

Whew, even the cheap Nussbaums are expensive!

Ant on Wheeler Dealers has a lift with those double jointed lift arms - those are slick!

 

[Shadowdog500]

We lift a 944 and an f250 4x4 among others with ours with no problem. Hope this helps. With short wheelbase you might have to swing one set of arms under then roll the car to swing the other arms under. Not a huge inconvenience. Still beats crawling around on the ground.

I have to do it that way for my Willy’s jeep.

Lifted my wife’s new Honda HR-V for its first service today and this thread got me thinking that it would **** if I couldn’t get the pads placed properly. Luckily it fits and the arms still have a little travel. I did put the shortest height adapters on because You can get an extra inch or so of retraction, and can swivel the pads at ful retraction to get the slot to line up with the lift point seam.

 

[Dzlpete]

Whew, even the cheap Nussbaums are expensive!

Ant on Wheeler Dealers has a lift with those double jointed lift arms - those are slick!

Essentially same money as Mohawk.
The 2 stage mohawk arms are not enough to pick up a Mercedes Sprinter van at the proper points.
Was told the mohawk 2 stage would lift ALL regular vehicles out there currently.
They lied.
At some point, the mohawk will go, and I will get the nussbaum.
Build quality and heft are similar, but a lot more functionality on the NB.

 

[hellspcangel911]

RStewart- thanks for the info, I have a 87 944 and a 93 F250 so that’s very helpful.
ShadowDog- are you saying the arms were too short or too long? Sorry I’m having a hard time picturing it and trying to figure out if moving the posts apart 4” is a good idea.

DziPete- are you saying the arms can’t lift the weight of the sprinter or they can’t reach the arms? I have a 2004 2500 Frieghtliner I need to get on the Mohawk...

Thank you all!

 

[Dzlpete]

The arms are not long enough to reach the proper points.
I called mohawk and my dealer after the unit was installed, and found this out. Told them I had done my homework so there would be no surprises.
There was some back and forth emails, then nothing but crickets.
The mohawk is a great lift, but they would NOT get my money again...

 

[hellspcangel911]

That’s very frustrating, especially if you bought it new. It’s pretty much a split, half the people
Complain the arms are too long and half complain they are too short. Still
Leaning towards installing them further apart and worst case fanning up some overbuilt extensions .


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[Shadowdog500]

RStewart- thanks for the info, I have a 87 944 and a 93 F250 so that’s very helpful.
ShadowDog- are you saying the arms were too short or too long? Sorry I’m having a hard time picturing it and trying to figure out if moving the posts apart 4” is a good idea.

DziPete- are you saying the arms can’t lift the weight of the sprinter or they can’t reach the arms? I have a 2004 2500 Frieghtliner I need to get on the Mohawk...

Thank you all!

Im saying the arms are too long. Even with the extensions fully retracted, the pads on the arms extend under the car past the pinch weld lift point. See illustration I just Drew below. So far I’ve been lucky that I could position the pads for the small cars I’ve had up on it, But sometimes I had to use pump up car dollies to move the car to that one, and only one position where all of the pads can sit on the lift points. I could see how there could be a car where the arms would just be too long no matter how the car was placed.

 

[RStewart]

Our posts measure 10’ apart on the inside measurement.

 

[hellspcangel911]

Thanks for the illustration, I see your point.
RStewart-10’ is what the manufacturer calls for. Where did you get the Porsche lift point pics?


Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

 

[RStewart]

Mohawk lift points book. They sell it with pay for updates available.

 

[Shadowdog500]

Thanks for the illustration, I see your point.
RStewart-10’ is what the manufacturer calls for. Where did you get the Porsche lift point pics?


Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

Those photos look like they may be from an older ALI lift point guide. I just bought the 2020 edition last week. It covers 1995 to 2020. I think my old 2010 edition goes back to the mid 80s

Here is the current one . It’s $15 with free shipping.
https://www.autolift.org/ali-store/alilp-guide/

Don’t know where to find an old one.

 

[Shadowdog500]

Mohawk lift points book. They sell it with pay for updates available.

My Mohawk dealer gave me an AlI book with my lift.

Do you have a link to the Mohawk version. Now I want one.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[RStewart]

My version is 3 years old.