Would I regret a 4 post lift?

[racecougar]

My friend did alignments on his 2 post lift. He had some "chairs" and went under the 4 wheels. They allowed the suspension to settle as they had some provision for movement. He would lower the vehicle until it rests on the chairs and then align. I don't have details, but it was a commercial product. Interesting setup.

His facility and projects were not as involved as yours. He was maintaining a 911 track car.

A local one-man-alignment shop used to do the same. It worked, but he did have to slide around on a creeper to make adjustments.

 

[gregs]

I wonder if they make taller versions of those? Not necessarily for alignment, but when you need to load the suspension.

 

[dave*99]

A local one-man-alignment shop used to do the same. It worked, but he did have to slide around on a creeper to make adjustments.

Yes. looks familiar.

 

[OX1]

A local one-man-alignment shop used to do the same. It worked, but he did have to slide around on a creeper to make adjustments.

I've seen those but then you have the issue of all 4 surfaces being "level", in relation to each other.
The 4 post I use for alignments, I adjusted the cables so when it is on them (and not the locks),
it is perfectly level (especially side to side).

You can raise the entire lift up down and not affect alignment settings/heads.
My older hunter system also has beam between front and rear heads.
On wider vehicles (especially like dually), 2 post, posts might be in the way.

But yeah, not impossible on 2 post, just harder............

 

[dave*99]

I've seen those but then you have the issue of all 4 surfaces being "level", in relation to each other.
The 4 post I use for alignments, I adjusted the cables so when it is on them (and not the locks),
it is perfectly level (especially side to side).

You can raise the entire lift up down and not affect alignment settings/heads.
My older hunter system also has beam between front and rear heads.
On wider vehicles (especially like dually), 2 post, posts might be in the way.

But yeah, not impossible on 2 post, just harder............

IIRC the legs of the chairs were adjustable and the floor was marked for their positions.
We often put scales under wheels to balance the corner weights for track use.

 

[OX1]

I wonder if they make taller versions of those? Not necessarily for alignment, but when you need to load the suspension.

I've actually seen those "runway" adapters for 2 post. Always thought they were a cool idea for "4 post like" storage
using 2 post.

Mohawk Lifts Speedlane Adapter, Specialty Lift Accessories and Custom Automotive Accessories | Mohawk Lifts

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or these.........

 

[racecougar]

I've seen those but then you have the issue of all 4 surfaces being "level", in relation to each other.
The 4 post I use for alignments, I adjusted the cables so when it is on them (and not the locks),
it is perfectly level (especially side to side).

You can raise the entire lift up down and not affect alignment settings/heads.
My older hunter system also has beam between front and rear heads.
On wider vehicles (especially like dually), 2 post, posts might be in the way.

But yeah, not impossible on 2 post, just harder............

No arguments from me; my preference for conducting alignments would be a 4-post, too.

 

[Hohn]

I'll defer to all you guys that actually own them, but I will say that IME working on lifts, I've whacked my head far more on 4 post lifts.
Lifting on the chassis means that the actual lift arms are higher and out of the way much more for a given amount of vehicle lift.
IMO, this is the only real clearance difference that matters.

Not only does does the 2 post seem to have more head clearance, you quite often just don't even have to walk past the arms, so the ultimate clearance is irrelevant.

With the 2-post, the post lift is just out of the way much more so. I think they just work better if you are (like me) constantly going back and forth from vehicle to toolbox bench, etc.
I'm able to approach the work from the front or back of the vehicle and far less likely to whack my head.
Now, since I'm an idiot, I've still whacked my head plenty of times while using a two-post (typically a differential or shock mount hanging low).

That said, as a home gamer, I'd probably go four post.
Alas, it's all moot for me as my garage door arrangement means no lift for me at all unless I converted to a roll up door and that's probably as much as the cost of a basic 4 post.

 

[dave*99]

I'm able to approach the work from the front or back of the vehicle and far less likely to whack my head.
Now, since I'm an idiot, I've still whacked my head plenty of times while using a two-post (typically a differential or shock mount hanging low).

I have a 2 post. Plenty of head whacks. My son is the worst at that. We now wear hard hats.
When I use the pad extensions to clear running boards, the lift arms are even lower and the whacking gets worse.

With the 2-post, the post lift is just out of the way much more so. I think they just work better if you are (like me) constantly going back and forth from vehicle to toolbox bench, etc.

Same. I have a Rubbermaid cart I put under the car to catch all the tools I extract one by one from the tool box. I have not lowered the car onto the cart YET! I should invest in a top loader service tool box and roll it next to me.....

If you only have room for 1 lift, think carefully about your usage and pick what seems to match best.

I followed the trend of my track friends. Guys that serviced their own car had 2 post. Guys that stored their car and used a shop for service had 4 post. You can always make things work in a pinch.
YMMV

 

[finn]

I have a 2 post. Plenty of head whacks. My son is the worst at that. We now wear hard hats.
When I use the pad extensions to clear running boards, the lift arms are even lower and the whacking gets worse.



Same. I have a Rubbermaid cart I put under the car to catch all the tools I extract one by one from the tool box. I have not lowered the car onto the cart YET! I should invest in a top loader service tool box and roll it next to me.....

If you only have room for 1 lift, think carefully about your usage and pick what seems to match best.

I followed the trend of my track friends. Guys that serviced their own car had 2 post. Guys that stored their car and used a shop for service had 4 post. You can always make things work in a pinch.
YMMV

Even a baseball cap or a soft welding cap seems to limit the blood spewing from a head strike event.

Especially once your hair thins.

 

[larry4406]

Even a baseball cap or a soft welding cap seems to limit the blood spewing from a head strike event.

Especially once your hair thins.

I wear a ball cap virtually everywhere as I have become bald.
- hat provides UV protection
- remove the button on the top center of the hat as its a confirmed skewering scrapping device...
- loss of hair means loss of advance warning "probes" which are semi replaced by feel of hat movement....

My scalp is a mine field of scars as is my pillow at night....

 

[finn]

I wear a ball cap virtually everywhere as I have become bald.
- hat provides UV protection
- remove the button on the top center of the hat as its a confirmed skewering scrapping device...
- loss of hair means loss of advance warning "probes" which are semi replaced by feel of hat movement....

My scalp is a mine field of scars as is my pillow at night....

Every time I center punch that bean in the top, I tell myself I should remove that infernal thing.

But I never do.

 

[larry4406]

Every time I center punch that bean in the top, I tell myself I should remove that infernal thing.

But I never do.

Which begs the question, WTH is the purpose of that center bean on the hat short of pain?

 

[Jagmandave]

I have a midrise scissor lift as my shop has low ceilings, that said it still works extremely well for what I do. My buddy has a drive on ramp and while it's good for stuff down the middle, it's a complete PITA when I need to take a wheel off......so it all comes down to what you're going to do with it. To me the best of both worlds is a scissor lift that will go as high as a two post - open down the center and no posts to get in the way of getting in and out of the doors.

Like one of these...... Scissor Lift

 

[kngelv]

The 2-post vs 4-post stuff is just nonsense. I'd take either one over a floor jack and jackstands. If you have a bridge jack or jack trays then you can easily get all four wheels off the runways on a 4-post. Some things are actually easier on a 4-post for example suspension work like shocks and leaf spring bushings. Oil and coolant changes are faster too. Dropping a trans is easier on a 4-post. Body work is also easier on a 4-post. Pulling a motor, easier on a 2-post. I have a 4-post and wish I had both.

James

 

[dave*99]

Dropping a trans is easier on a 4-post.

Please explain. I’m not seeing that one. Seems about equal

 

[kngelv]

Please explain. I’m not seeing that one. Seems about equal

I have two jack trays plus an air jack. Very easy to drop the trans out. I guess it's a wash but I'm always nailing the trans-jack with my shin or foot, plus there is no rocking when muscling it out. I prefer the 4-post. Engine pull is trickier because of the front crossbar on a 4-post. With a rolling hoist you need the arms under the front end and you have to raise the 4-post a good 5 inches for clearance. My lowest locking point is higher so I have to block the runways. That is a pain and why I like the 2-post more.

James

 

[dave*99]

I have two jack trays plus an air jack. Very easy to drop the trans out. I guess it's a wash but I'm always nailing the trans-jack with my shin or foot, plus there is no rocking when muscling it out. I prefer the 4-post. Engine pull is trickier because of the front crossbar on a 4-post. With a rolling hoist you need the arms under the front end and you have to raise the 4-post a good 5 inches for clearance. My lowest locking point is higher so I have to block the runways. That is a pain and why I like the 2-post more.

James

The first trans I pulled was a C4 on a 67 mustang. Jack stands. Knees under the pan. Hands under the bell housing. Drop onto belly and squirm out from underneath. I was 17 and weighed 145. In the garage alone. Man was I stupid. And broke.
1,2,3,4 post lifts all beat that.

 

[finn]

The first trans I pulled was a C4 on a 67 mustang. Jack stands. Knees under the pan. Hands under the bell housing. Drop onto belly and squirm out from underneath. I was 17 and weighed 145. In the garage alone. Man was I stupid. And broke.
1,2,3,4 post lifts all beat that.

Only thing better is a gravel driveway instead of a concrete floor.

Of course cardboard is a great equalizer.

 

[dave*99]

Only thing better is a gravel driveway instead of a concrete floor.

Of course cardboard is a great equalizer.

If I had gravel I wouldn’t need bed sheets to sop up the trans fluid I collected in the bathroom trash can and then knocked over under the car.

 

[Mike in Ohio]

I have a 4 post, last job was transmission service on my brothers ,06 ford freestyle. It has 2 filters, one requires removing the left front wheel, and the transmission mount behind it leaving the trans needing support. Used a floor jack at the normal lift point on the car set on the lift ramp to remove the tire. Used the bridge jack to support the trans. 20 year old car with 20 years of Ohio salt corrosion, we must have adjusted the lift height 25 times trying to get everything to break loose. With a 2 post you would be stuck at whatever height your transmission support was at. To be fair with a 2 post both the wheel and trans mount would be easier to remove, better access, but the whole job would have been harder overall.

Like others have posted I wanted a 2 post, but didn't trust the concrete in my shop, I so far have no regrets over getting a 4 post instead, I have been able to do everything I needed to do with it.

 

[kngelv]

The first trans I pulled was a C4 on a 67 mustang. Jack stands. Knees under the pan. Hands under the bell housing. Drop onto belly and squirm out from underneath. I was 17 and weighed 145. In the garage alone. Man was I stupid. And broke.
1,2,3,4 post lifts all beat that.

Yeah but nothing beats a memory like that. I still remember changing the timing belt on a 1982 Plymouth Champ outside in my parent’s backyard during a snowstorm. This would have been in 1989 or 1990. I had a hodgepodge of sockets and wrenches back then. Fun times.

James

 

[c39er]

When I was 16...I did exactly the same as dave*99.
Always a bit of a sore ribcage and greasy t-shirts.
Had to fill my stomach full of air to firm up the stomach and ribcage to support the unkown weight of the trans coming out and down.
Roll it off to the side could be tough at times as the trans could get hung up on my shirts.
Mom hated doing my clothes.
55+ years later now I have three lifts, a pit and trans jacks.
Life is good.

 

[OX1]

Like others have posted I wanted a 2 post, but didn't trust the concrete in my shop, I so far have no regrets over getting a 4 post instead, I have been able to do everything I needed to do with it.

Brings up one more win for 4 posts. Most come with wheel kits and can be moved. 4 post I bought for my 05 Cummins Dodge was great where it was, until I got a new 23 Ford PS. Both 4 dr, long beds, but Ford cab is much larger and WB is longer (even rear bumper sticks out farther with steps built in corners). Had to move 4 post over a foot "inboard" away from door, or would not have been able to close main door with Ford on lift.

 

[T VETTE]

I had a Direct 4 post lift mostly to allow more room for storage of other car underneath but did do some small front suspension work, oil changes and really liked it because my lift could be moved around with those caster wheels that were included. The car on lift was a rotisserie restoration and I could really keep the underside clean as the top. Only draw back is it is a rather large foot print in the shop.

I moved from that location and built another 4 car shop and looking to put in another 4 post drive on.

 

[Hohn]

Even a baseball cap or a soft welding cap seems to limit the blood spewing from a head strike event.

Especially once your hair thins.

I've discovered the merits of a bump cap.

 

[Specracer]

We have many 4 posts and a 2 post. A couple comments:

Rolling jacks, on a 4 post, are great, as mentioned expensive.

I have a lift that does not have the roller jacks, I have used a pair of quick jacks sitting on the ramps of the 4 post (seems crazy, but works well).

I have also used TALL jack stands and dropped the car down onto the stands to get all 4 (or 2) wheels off.

One negative of a 4 post is that the ramps can get in the way, examples: like trying to fit in a ball joint press, maybe lowering down an engine you might not have the width or generally reaching over / around the ramps.

 

[racecougar]

When I was 16...I did exactly the same as dave*99.
Always a bit of a sore ribcage and greasy t-shirts.
Had to fill my stomach full of air to firm up the stomach and ribcage to support the unkown weight of the trans coming out and down.
Roll it off to the side could be tough at times as the trans could get hung up on my shirts.
Mom hated doing my clothes.
55+ years later now I have three lifts, a pit and trans jacks.
Life is good.

Same here. Laying on my back on a piece of cardboard atop gravel. Worst one was a TH400 in my '82 Chevy; that sucker was heavy!

Everything is soooo much easier with a lift nowadays.

 

[Skellyii]

The first trans I pulled was a C4 on a 67 mustang. Jack stands. Knees under the pan. Hands under the bell housing. Drop onto belly and squirm out from underneath. I was 17 and weighed 145. In the garage alone. Man was I stupid. And broke.
1,2,3,4 post lifts all beat that.

I'm with ya on that one, but I wasn't stupid, I was just broke.

My first trans was a Powerglide swap on a 1965 Impala SS on the street in front of my parents house. We didn't have a garage or a driveway. Jack stands and a bumper jack. I was 17, probably around 150, and it was about 40 degrees outside. It had been snowing off and on recently, so there was sand and salt on the street. I had to throw away all of the clothes I wore because there was no way to get the sand salt and ATF out of them.

I've had both 2 post and 4 post lifts since then, no regrets with either one.

 

[kmacht]

I think I have settled on a 4 post as long as I also buy a jack tray and a rolling jack with it. The majority of my work is simple maintenance (oil changes, brakes, pumps, sensors, exhaust etc). I rarely do full engine swaps and only occasionally will pull a transmission. The ability to roll the 4 post lift around is also a huge benefit as I have a 18" beam down the center of my garage i will need to work around depending on if im lifting my 74 beetle or the yukon xl.

Im lookimg mostly at the Halo brand of lifts. Anyone with a negative experience with that manufacturer? The price is just under 5k for a 9k xl lift with three drip trays, a jack tray, a hand pump rolling jack, and steel ramps. Im recovering from hernia surgery so it will be a few weeks befire I can go get one but will post pictures once i get it installed.

 

[gizardlizard]

Are those ALI certified? Didn’t see it listed as so under specs.

 

[66Caprice]

Get at least two of the jack trays. That way you still have the rolling jack if you need to put something up on 4 jack stands. My Bendpac has 4. I can spread them out and lay plywood over them for a complete surface to walk on.

 

[Milton Shaw]

Remember that the hood of the truck is not as tall as the cab. If you can position the hood under the beam you get quite a bit more lift. On that convertible top down and windows down gives another foot, although that might not be your car. I have an inground lift at a 12 foot ceiling and used to use it on cars all time, now I have better cars, worse back and muscles and so I don't use my lift for cars as much as I used too. I have a steel 4x8 foot welding table that stays on the lift most of the time.

 

[dave*99]

Remember that the hood of the truck is not as tall as the cab. If you can position the hood under the beam you get quite a bit more lift. On that convertible top down and windows down gives another foot, although that might not be your car. I have an inground lift at a 12 foot ceiling and used to use it on cars all time, now I have better cars, worse back and muscles and so I don't use my lift for cars as much as I used too. I have a steel 4x8 foot welding table that stays on the lift most of the time.

And close the damn hood. I worked in a garage that had an 8’ fluorescent light over the lift bay. Once a month someone put a car up with the hood up and smashed the tubes.

 

[pbon]

I occasionally get into bigger projects, so when I moved and had to change from a 2 post to a 4 post lift dye to the wood floor in the carriage house at the new house, I studied the width between runners for the various 8000-9000 lb 4 post lifts, and chose Bendpak HD-9XW because it was the widest and thus most likely to allow an engine drop out the bottom. But it is much less likely you can do it with the subframe and suspension attached so you have to either dismantle piece by piece or get the car up high enough to swing the assembly perpendicular so it can then drop down through the opening.

 

[kmacht]

Just following up since I started the thread. I ended up ordering a Halo 9k pro lift with a rolling bridge jack. At this point I'm not sure I would recommend them. They were very quick to take my money but then gave me the run around for weeks when I aaked why the invoice didn't include when or where to pick it up. They told me I could avoid shipping costs if I picked it up at their warehouse in new jersey but they refused to tell me where their warehouse was located as well as when I could pick it up. After threatening a chargeback through my credit card company last week they finally admitted they didnt actually have the lift they sold me at a warehouse in new jersey. They agreed to ship one to a freight terminal closer to me and provided a tracking number. That sounded fine but the lift is still showing at the origin location after 5 days and the delivery date keeps slipping out by 1 day every day. The latest estimate has the lift showing up next week but Im not hopeful at this point based on everything that has happened since ordering. Maybe the lift will show up and I'll be happy with it but right now my opinion of the company is not very high. Ill post again once I either recieve it or get my money back. Just be careful if you decide to buy from them.

 

[AC-WC]

Wow-that blows!

 

[kngelv]

I would cancel that order right now. If they lie about shipping then any warranty is useless and I would not be comfortable standing under a lift by them. Their site shows 2-3 day shipping right now so why are you waiting weeks. You already caught them in a lie. Do a charge back and cut ties. I've been on his site enough to know that I would never buy from one of these no name lift companies selling the exact same lift. I know lifts are expensive but buying **** just to have one does not make sense. No company is perfect but people with Bendpak, Wildfire, Backyard Buddy, Advantage, Mohawk, etc. have way less issues than others. Also I have found that calling the companies directly usually gives you a nice cost savings. Good luck.

James

 

[gregs]

I would agree to see what it takes to get it cancelled and refunded. There is a good chance the lift will have some minor damage or missing parts. If they are giving you the run around now I would assume the same response when you need help with issues. I have seen the Halo lifts popping up on my FB feeds in the last few months. I am guessing they are marketing the company without the support behind them. There are plenty of other companies that compete in that same lift and price range.

 

[mikedodge]

Yeah I'd get out of it. If they're delaying and hard now how will they be once they have your money and you have issues?

It seems like a lot of these less common lift companies are the kind thst they're all selling the same product with a different name on it and it's being drop shipped from wherever and they have little to no control over anything. At least wildfire and some of the other non major brand ones might be selling the sane sort of thing but seem to actually have customer support.