Quickjack lifting points

[Grandmas73]

Hi all,

I'm looking at the two piece lift from Quickjack or Bendpac (same I think).

When ordering you can spec solid lift blocks that I could use at the torque boxes or slotted blocks to be used on the rocker pinch weld.  Given the choice, what's the preferred lifting point? 

BTW This is for a 73 vert, I always lift with doors closed and top up. Stiff as I can keep her.

I'm leaning towards solid blocks on the torque boxes but I would like some experienced thoughts on this. 

Thanks

 

[73pony]

Just a suggestion. I put in a lift about two years ago and was going to go with a two post. Decided against it and went with a 4 post drive on with a trolley jack. It wasn't that much more money than the two post and is far more versatile. If I need all four tires off ground at the same time I use the trolley jack to lift the back end then put the axel on jack stands on the jack plate that was included then move the trolley jack to the front. Plus if your doing work on the car like exhaust, trans, etc where you don't need the wheels off the ground it is far more stable and less stress on the car.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Ford says torque boxes with the upper control arms blocked. 

I talked with many local shops before I ordered a lift. They said if to just change oil a 4 post or a pit like most oil change shops have. If you were going to work on the car a 2 post was much better. If you go to the Ford dealers you will see very few 4 post. My son works in BMW and they use only 2 posts. Saleen uses 2 post. Why jack a car up 6 feet to jack a car up 6" on a 4 post? I am all for the easiest way. 

We changed out clutch in my sons 2018 GT mustang saturday. Would been impossible on a 4 post. You have to remove the exhaust to the rear in one piece. Nothing in the way on 2 post but impossible on 4 post. Each has it's place if you are just changing oil 4 post if you are working on cars 2 post. Ask any local repair shop which is more versatile. 

BTW I was going to do sort of an experiment on my 73 vert with lift. I was going to pull a string and see what the deflection was using the rockers and the torque boxes. I know if you open the doors when on lift you will not shut and that is a pretty much rust free California car. 

Not everyone has room or height for a 2 or 4 post lift but something is much better than nothing.

 

[73pony]

Ford says torque boxes with the upper control arms blocked. 

I talked with many local shops before I ordered a lift. They said if to just change oil a 4 post or a pit like most oil change shops have. If you were going to work on the car a 2 post was much better. If you go to the Ford dealers you will see very few 4 post. My son works in BMW and they use only 2 posts. Saleen uses 2 post. Why jack a car up 6 feet to jack a car up 6" on a 4 post? I am all for the easiest way. 

We changed out clutch in my sons 2018 GT mustang saturday. Would been impossible on a 4 post. You have to remove the exhaust to the rear in one piece. Nothing in the way on 2 post but impossible on 4 post. Each has it's place if you are just changing oil 4 post if you are working on cars 2 post. Ask any local repair shop which is more versatile. 

BTW I was going to do sort of an experiment on my 73 vert with lift. I was going to pull a string and see what the deflection was using the rockers and the torque boxes. I know if you open the doors when on lift you will not shut and that is a pretty much rust free California car. 

Not everyone has room or height for a 2 or 4 post lift but something is much better than nothing.

While I'm not that familiar with the exhaust on the 2018 mustang, I'm not sure how it would be impossible to remove it on 4 post. I have pulled mine in one piece from headers back with no problem at all. dual exhaust with H pipe.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

I am sure I could never change your opinion. But I would suggest to any considering a lift go to several repair shops and ask the owner if they had one lift they could have would it be a 2 post or a 4 post and that will give you the answer. I did. I doubt you will have anyone say 4 post. That is more of a storage type lift which has it's place. I am considering getting one just for storage not a work lift.

 

[73pony]

I am sure I could never change your opinion. But I would suggest to any considering a lift go to several repair shops and ask the owner if they had one lift they could have would it be a 2 post or a 4 post and that will give you the answer. I did. I doubt you will have anyone say 4 post. That is more of a storage type lift which has it's place. I am considering getting one just for storage not a work lift.

No you're probably not going to change my opinion, nor am I trying to change yours. I asked a question about why you stated it was "impossible" to remove the exhaust on a 4 post when I have done it several times with ease. If the two post works best for you great. The 4 post set up I have works best for me.

 

[Hemikiller]

I've worked on 4 post, 2 post, single post and scissor style undercar lifts. If I could have only one lift, it would be a 10k lb 2 post.

4 post are very claustrophobic and at 6'3", a total PITA to work under.

Single post are mostly useless and not something one would have in a home shop

Scissor lifts are nice if you have nothing else, but the lift height is not great and undercar access is minimal.

2 post is typically what you'll find in garages today, and with a set of post jacks, extremely safe.

If you're bucks down, a set of home made cribbing blocks is hard to beat, even better than jackstands.

 

[mustangandy]

Thing with the Quickjack, which I looked at and rejected, is that I couldn't see that you could line the lift up in line with the body as the front and rear jacking points are not parallel together as the front is more inboard than the rear. As the Quickjack tilts backwards when lifting this means that the lifts on each side of the car are going in opposite directions as the car lifts which I didn't think would work. If you could place them parallel front and back then yes sure they would. I ended up going with a pair of these (so four individual lifts working as 2 pairs front and back) as they lift vertically.

 

[71coop]

I am sure I could never change your opinion. But I would suggest to any considering a lift go to several repair shops and ask the owner if they had one lift they could have would it be a 2 post or a 4 post and that will give you the answer. I did. I doubt you will have anyone say 4 post. That is more of a storage type lift which has it's place. I am considering getting one just for storage not a work lift.

No you're probably not going to change my opinion, nor am I trying to change yours. I asked a question about why you stated it was "impossible" to remove the exhaust on a 4 post when I have done it several times with ease. If the two post works best for you great. The 4 post set up I have works best for me.

I agree - I don't get the statement that four post lifts are only good for oil changes... I've had 2 four-post lifts between my last two houses, and like 73Pony, I use the jack trays and jack trolley. I have used them to do engine work, suspension changes/upgrades, steering upgrades, transmission swaps, exhaust work and brake changes/upgrades on both my 71 Mustang and 79 Corvette, plus an engine swap on a 2002 Acura. never had an issue with working around the 4 posts, especially with the trays.

Oh yeah, I also do oil changes too. Including my wife's Accord Hybrid and my crew-cab Silverado. But to say that's all a four post is good for is just plain silly.

 


Here is my Mustang right after purchase - went straight to my "useless" four post lift...

 




And this statement - "I know if you open the doors when on lift you will not shut and that is a pretty much rust free California car. " Also not true for  a solid car from my experience. I had the Mustang in a trans shop recently to deal with a leak I couldn't find - the owner put her on a 2-post lift. He was starting to raise it when I realized I needed to get something out of my glove box, and I was able to easily open/close the door while up in the air about 2-3 feet.

 

[7173Vert]

Quite simply, I don’t trust the quick jack construction over the long term. When I restored my J Code Vert I purchased a Babco scissor lift. Very well built and worked great for the restoration. I even managed to install the dual exhaust while on this ( would not recommend though...). This past winter I purchased a 3500kg (7000 lb) 4-post strictly to store a car on. Not to say I won’t use it to work under from time to time, but, my ceiling height restricts me from raising a car to the highest point. I would raise it enough to lay under if needed. In most cases, I would use the scissor hoist for repair work. I don’t trust 2-post lifts...

 

[71coop]

In my previous house/garage, I could not raise my car all the way - I could get the vette maybe 5 feet off the ground maximum. The lift was still a worthwhile investment and I used a small chair with rollers to sit in while working underneath. it was actually a pretty convenient and comfortable way to work.

 

[73pony]

In my previous house/garage, I could not raise my car all the way - I could get the vette maybe 5 feet off the ground maximum. The lift was still a worthwhile investment and I used a small chair with rollers to sit in while working underneath. it was actually a pretty convenient and comfortable way to work.

Yeah I have 14' eve height in the shop and went with the extended height lift so all kinds of room. I can lift the car high enough I can't reach it and I'm 6'2".

 

[7173Vert]

In my previous house/garage, I could not raise my car all the way - I could get the vette maybe 5 feet off the ground maximum. The lift was still a worthwhile investment and I used a small chair with rollers to sit in while working underneath. it was actually a pretty convenient and comfortable way to work.

I can lift mine no more then 56” off the ground... I will also look at a rolling chair Setup when the time comes. When there’s the will, there is a way...

 

[Mister 4x4]

I agree that each type of lift has their own characteristics, pros & cons, and advantages/disadvantages.  

However, the closest I've come to using a 2-post lift was having a 2-post drive-on lift at the Auto Hobby Shop on base.  Even though it was a drive-on lift, it still had specific load balancing requirements, otherwise risking dropping the vehicle off the lift.  Fortunately, it had flip-down support posts to set it down level at a good work height, but getting the car centered properly for load balancing was a major PITA, and forget using the doors to get in/out of the cars.

Give me a 4-post drive-on lift any day of the week.

I'm also not an expert on 2018 Mustang GTs, but: 1. Why are we replacing a clutch after only 2 years?  And 2. Why the need to remove the entire exhaust system simply for a clutch job?  If it's a performance thing, that's a perfect opportunity to upgrade the exhaust while swapping in a hot clutch, so why take such care in removing the entire exhaust in 1-piece?  If not, and the exhaust needs to stay intact, simply dismantle the hangers and drop the exhaust far enough to wiggle the transmission free and handle the clutch replacement... or drop the rear axle and pull it out that way (for as much work as it's being made to sound like)... all of which is still quite doable on a 4-post drive-on lift, BTW.

 

[Hemikiller]

Why the need to remove the entire exhaust system simply for a clutch job?  If it's a performance thing, that's a perfect opportunity to upgrade the exhaust while swapping in a hot clutch, so why take such care in removing the entire exhaust in 1-piece?  If not, and the exhaust needs to stay intact, simply dismantle the hangers and drop the exhaust far enough to wiggle the transmission free and handle the clutch replacement... or drop the rear axle and pull it out that way (for as much work as it's being made to sound like)... all of which is still quite doable on a 4-post drive-on lift, BTW.

Sometimes it's a lot easier/faster to unhook the hangers vs removing the bolts. Four bolts at the manifolds, o2 sensor wires, pop the hangers and it's on the ground, out of the way.

 

[Mister 4x4]

Why the need to remove the entire exhaust system simply for a clutch job?  If it's a performance thing, that's a perfect opportunity to upgrade the exhaust while swapping in a hot clutch, so why take such care in removing the entire exhaust in 1-piece?  If not, and the exhaust needs to stay intact, simply dismantle the hangers and drop the exhaust far enough to wiggle the transmission free and handle the clutch replacement... or drop the rear axle and pull it out that way (for as much work as it's being made to sound like)... all of which is still quite doable on a 4-post drive-on lift, BTW.

Sometimes it's a lot easier/faster to unhook the hangers vs removing the bolts. Four bolts at the manifolds, o2 sensor wires, pop the hangers and it's on the ground, out of the way.

Understand and agree, but 'removing the exhaust to the rear, and all as one piece' said to me, "up and over the axle" as well.  That's not so easily done all as one piece no matter what kind of lift is used.

Again, I'm no expert on this matter - just trying to picture it all.  But, a quick Google image search shows that with IRS, the exhaust passes under the rear-end assembly, so not so much the case of having to wiggle it out from above the rear axle like with the solid axle cars (I hadn't taken the IRS into account).  I'm trackin' now -  still completely doable on a 4-post lift, though.   

 

[Grandmas73]

Wow, step away for two months and we got quite the two post vs four post debate going on here :whistling: :biggrin:

I don't have the height nor will I, and that's why I'm looking at the Quickjack like in the brochure I added.  They seem to want to use grooved rubber blocks on the pinch weld along the rockers, or I could use blocks at the torque boxes as has been suggested by some(probably the way I'll go).

Thanks for the many replies.

View attachment 43364

 

[Grandmas73]

Ford says torque boxes with the upper control arms blocked. 

I talked with many local shops before I ordered a lift. They said if to just change oil a 4 post or a pit like most oil change shops have. If you were going to work on the car a 2 post was much better. If you go to the Ford dealers you will see very few 4 post. My son works in BMW and they use only 2 posts. Saleen uses 2 post. Why jack a car up 6 feet to jack a car up 6" on a 4 post? I am all for the easiest way. 

We changed out clutch in my sons 2018 GT mustang saturday. Would been impossible on a 4 post. You have to remove the exhaust to the rear in one piece. Nothing in the way on 2 post but impossible on 4 post. Each has it's place if you are just changing oil 4 post if you are working on cars 2 post. Ask any local repair shop which is more versatile. 

BTW I was going to do sort of an experiment on my 73 vert with lift. I was going to pull a string and see what the deflection was using the rockers and the torque boxes. I know if you open the doors when on lift you will not shut and that is a pretty much rust free California car. 

Not everyone has room or height for a 2 or 4 post lift but something is much better than nothing.

Are those blocks, put between the control arm and the frame to prevent full extension when hanging free? Similar to this (found at Autorestomod.com)

 

[Kilgon]

Lifts! Lifts! Lifts!  How about a set of ramps for the front and jack stands for the rear.  Worked for me for over 3 years.  Of course I fell asleep a lot while I was laying under the car.  :lollerz: