The columns on my 2 post lift twist under load?

[Josh Kinzey]

I just bought and installed a 9000 lb. Atlas 2 post lift.

I noticed something sort of disturbing last night while in the garage. The columns twist slightly when I pick up my 95 K1500 truck. It's not a lot of movement, but I hate the idea of the columns reacting to the weight in anyway.

Anyone else have a lift that twists a little under load?

General thoughts/comments are appreciated, thanks guys.

 

[Daniel Dudley]

Do the screws need grease ?

 

[tonycastec]

Do you mean twist axially or bend ? In which plane? Can you measure the 'twist' ?
How is the truck positioned relative to the columns? I'm wondering about the weight distribution between the front and rear arms. Anything peculiar about the weight distribution of the truck -a load in the bed?
Have you re-torqued the bolts in the concrete? Checked for level and shims ?
You are wise to be concerned.

 

[Ign]

Agreed, more info is needed.

But I'm not sure it's a problem. The top of my BP columns visually move or shudder a bit when I've got a truck all the way up and hit the stops going up or bring it down on the safety locks quickly.

It's a helluva lever arm, you can't expect zero movement in the column (but be wary of movement at the base as this could be very bad). Sky scrapers, bridges, it all moves to some degree. The question is how much is acceptable and how much spells inevitable failure.

 

[olytdi]

while no comparison to your particular equipment, my Maxjax two post lift columns bend under load. When I put a four foot level on the column at rest, the column is flat. With a vehicle in the air, there is about 1/4 in defleciton over all. When I inquired about this, I was told this is within expectations. No twist though.

 

[alchemist]

I just bought and installed a 9000 lb. Atlas 2 post lift.

I noticed something sort of disturbing last night while in the garage. The columns twist slightly when I pick up my 95 K1500 truck. It's not a lot of movement, but I hate the idea of the columns reacting to the weight in anyway.

Anyone else have a lift that twists a little under load?

General thoughts/comments are appreciated, thanks guys.

John did you get to the bottom of this, i know it was a while ago. Thanks