Rick Potter
07-09-2013, 4:31 AM
I have a cheap four post lift in a garage for car storage. It has been acting up lately, motor is cavitating (somehow pulling in air), the posts keep twisting out of line because they are not bolted down, per the mfg.of another brand, and lately the dogs have gotten way out of adjustment. It is normal for this lift to shift slightly on the floor as it goes up and down, caused by the twisting of the cables, and they end up out of line, until they finally 'pop' and shift on the floor about an inch. It is always a surprise and startles you pretty good.
Slop in the linkage has caused the dog on the R/rear post to engage later than the other three, and has caused it to NOT disengage twice now...which leads us to our story.
I had my 56 Ford on the top, and my 03 Mustang on the bottom, one day when I decided to lower the 56 down enough to open the door to toss in the new registration. No need to move the Mustang, as I only needed to lower it a foot or so. So, I ran the lift up to take the weight off the locking dogs, pulled the lever to release the dogs, and started to let the 56 down a couple notches. Unknowingly, the R/rear dog did not pull out far enough to release, and I didn't realize it. I also could not see it, as it was caddy corner to the lift controls. The lift started to come down, a post moved and startled me, so I stopped. Couldn't see any problem, so I continued down till I noticed the L/rear post was leaning. Leaning a LOT. It had never done that before, so I stopped it where it was (between dog holes) to investigate.
Well, the back of the lift was all out of line, and the R/rear dog was still hung up on the top of the lift, while the other three posts were down at least six inches below. Here comes the problem. Do I try to straighten it out, or get the hell out of the way? The lift takes up most of the room in the garage, and it is very tight walking around it.
No one is home to call for help, except a grand daughter who might notice me missing the next day. Would my wife prefer the cars or me? Both of them are basically her cars, and she might need some time to decide . After some thought, while cowering in the corner, I decided to try running the lift back up so I could get all the dogs engaged. It never dawned on me that the R/rear would decide to let go while I was going UP.
BANG, it let go as soon as I started moving the lift. The R/rear dog that was still engaged let go, and the whole lift dropped at least six inches, and caught itself on the next lower set of dog holes. The posts all shifted with one moving several inches. All this happening too fast for me to react at all, which didn't really matter since there was nothing I could do anyway, except hide in the corner again. The cable going to the R/rear post had a lot of slack in it, but I decided to try to get both cars off the lift so I could inspect it.
I drove out the Mustang, then lowered the 56 and got it outside also. Then I tried running the lift up and down empty, but it really started cavitating at that time and I only managed to get it up to the first set of dog holes, where I locked it in place and tightened up the cable. That didn't work either, and further inspection found that the cable had come off its pulley. Finally got that fixed, but still no pump working. Finally called in an expert, who will reset everything, and bolt down the lift Thursday.
If that does not work, I am going to have to spend some money on a new BendPak lift.
Lucky Rick Potter
PS: The lift is not bolted down because it is made to be rolled around on some optional wheels.
Slop in the linkage has caused the dog on the R/rear post to engage later than the other three, and has caused it to NOT disengage twice now...which leads us to our story.
I had my 56 Ford on the top, and my 03 Mustang on the bottom, one day when I decided to lower the 56 down enough to open the door to toss in the new registration. No need to move the Mustang, as I only needed to lower it a foot or so. So, I ran the lift up to take the weight off the locking dogs, pulled the lever to release the dogs, and started to let the 56 down a couple notches. Unknowingly, the R/rear dog did not pull out far enough to release, and I didn't realize it. I also could not see it, as it was caddy corner to the lift controls. The lift started to come down, a post moved and startled me, so I stopped. Couldn't see any problem, so I continued down till I noticed the L/rear post was leaning. Leaning a LOT. It had never done that before, so I stopped it where it was (between dog holes) to investigate.
Well, the back of the lift was all out of line, and the R/rear dog was still hung up on the top of the lift, while the other three posts were down at least six inches below. Here comes the problem. Do I try to straighten it out, or get the hell out of the way? The lift takes up most of the room in the garage, and it is very tight walking around it.
No one is home to call for help, except a grand daughter who might notice me missing the next day. Would my wife prefer the cars or me? Both of them are basically her cars, and she might need some time to decide . After some thought, while cowering in the corner, I decided to try running the lift back up so I could get all the dogs engaged. It never dawned on me that the R/rear would decide to let go while I was going UP.
BANG, it let go as soon as I started moving the lift. The R/rear dog that was still engaged let go, and the whole lift dropped at least six inches, and caught itself on the next lower set of dog holes. The posts all shifted with one moving several inches. All this happening too fast for me to react at all, which didn't really matter since there was nothing I could do anyway, except hide in the corner again. The cable going to the R/rear post had a lot of slack in it, but I decided to try to get both cars off the lift so I could inspect it.
I drove out the Mustang, then lowered the 56 and got it outside also. Then I tried running the lift up and down empty, but it really started cavitating at that time and I only managed to get it up to the first set of dog holes, where I locked it in place and tightened up the cable. That didn't work either, and further inspection found that the cable had come off its pulley. Finally got that fixed, but still no pump working. Finally called in an expert, who will reset everything, and bolt down the lift Thursday.
If that does not work, I am going to have to spend some money on a new BendPak lift.
Lucky Rick Potter
PS: The lift is not bolted down because it is made to be rolled around on some optional wheels.