Lifting car in narrow garage

[bayzoo]

Hi,

Keen to hear of any good solutions for lifting a car in a single garage. I’m interested in a house but it’s only got a garage about 3.1m - 3.5m wide and I think my current SGS jack will be a tight fit. Are bottle jacks any good? I’ve got compressed air. I’ve also heard the Quick Jack is decent but quite heavy/cumbersome.

Thanks

[rokkkan]

I've just taken the plunge on a quick jack after years of looking at them. So far, I'm pleased with it. Width wise they sit under the chassis rails of the car so that isn't a problem. What i would check is the length of your garage. Due to the design of the quick jack when they raise the car, it brings the car forward approx 12 inches (Quick jack call it radial shift). If you are pushed for space i'd certainly check this. I've had limited use with bottle jacks - one thing to look out for is they have a limited lift height (due to the inherent design).

[Belle427]

I hate working in a small garage and try to avoid it where possible but the quick jack looks a good purchase.
Sure it will limit access to certain areas but to be able to raise all 4 wheels at once is a massive bonus for me.

[Dave.]

Quickjacks "require" 6ft (iirc) space all around according to the manual.

I assume this is for safety to allow you to gtfo of the way if something untoward were to happen.

I've had mine two years, they can be a bit of a pain to line up, even moreso of you've not got much room to play with.

This is the only instance I found of something going wrong:

https://www.myg37.com/forums/g37-sedan/298456-quic...


ETA -

Edited by Dave. on Saturday 15th July 08:57

[rokkkan]

I also suspect quick jack's 6ft (minimum) guidance is to protect you if the car falls. 6ft either side of 3ft car would need a pretty big & empty garage. I have the newer model with the increased lift height; it's pretty impressive whilst remaining stable and secure.

Back to the OP question re: bottle jacks - I'd never use them as a permanent solution but potentially to get the car onto more secure axle stands. I've also tried a scissor jack (in conjunction with trolleys jacks) to assist getting the car to the required height for axle stands. I've always found the process of getting the car onto four axle stands pretty un-enjoyable.

[Demelitia]

What’s the space like at the front and back of the car, and what sort of car is it?
Does it have a central jacking point front and back like a BMW (pad under front subframe and rear diff).
Failing that, could you get the jacking beam that suits your jack so you can get to both front and both rear jacking points at once, lift each end and plop it on some stands?

[DodgyGeezer]

Excavate an inspection pit?

[Cold]

Splurge some money on a scissor lift.

https://automotechservices.co.uk/products/as-7530d...

[Heaveho]

Cold said:

Splurge some money on a scissor lift.

https://automotechservices.co.uk/products/as-7530d...

I've got one of these. If you get one and the garage is narrow, you'd be well advised to bolt it down as they can move a bit when the tyres come back into contact with the ground.

[Konan]

bayzoo said:

I’ve also heard the Quick Jack is decent but quite heavy/cumbersome.

Takes a bit of time to work out a good routine with them and get the knack of decent positioning. Also depends on the car.

If the jacking points are easy to see and the car isn't low, it's ten minutes to pick up.

I've got a lowered car with big overhangs and that's twenty minutes of faff before I get them positioned correctly but, in fairness, I can't see any way I'd ever get all four wheels up and drop it in stands using a trolley jack.

[Dave.]

Konan said:

bayzoo said:

I’ve also heard the Quick Jack is decent but quite heavy/cumbersome.

Takes a bit of time to work out a good routine with them and get the knack of decent positioning. Also depends on the car.

If the jacking points are easy to see and the car isn't low, it's ten minutes to pick up.

I've got a lowered car with big overhangs and that's twenty minutes of faff before I get them positioned correctly but, in fairness, I can't see any way I'd ever get all four wheels up and drop it in stands using a trolley jack.

Same here. And remembering which combination of lifting blocks to use for multiple cars is a pain in the arse too.

I bought the extra ones with the slots in them for the pinch welds, lining those up is an additional faff too, but I trust those a lot more than I would the standard flat ones.

[Konan]

Dave. said:

Same here. And remembering which combination of lifting blocks to use for multiple cars is a pain in the arse too.

I bought the extra ones with the slots in them for the pinch welds, lining those up is an additional faff too, but I trust those a lot more than I would the standard flat ones.

I've got the pinch weld ones but, unfortunately, they mean that the lift itself digs into a bit of the car floor on one car. I have to use a combination of a short one at the front and a large one at the rear and then line that up perfectly in order not to catch the cars sill trims. The car's lift points are so far apart I also have to use the length extenders.

That car was born awkward. I'm actually going to add little markers on the lifts and the sills to make life easier.

I've also noticed that on nose heavy cars (FWD hatches) it's vital to make sure you have the jack oriented so the nose isn't on the overhanging bit of the lift. If it is, I can actually rock mine up and down a good few inches.

Had a look at that failure you posted on as I'm always paranoid with any kind of support. The only thing I can think of is the chap had them quite a way out of parallel and as he lifted, they pivoted a little, rolling the lift block over before it had enough load on it. I've seen mine start to do it if I'm not quite in line.

Bendpak arn't exactly an unknown name and no doubt they've shifted a ton of them. My only real reservation is that they're too easy to buy and 'chuck them under and push the button' considering the potential safety issues (not that trolley jacks are restricted items!). Every lift, I tweak, adjust,test, think.... If they offered a training course, I'd attend it, same as I would before trying to operate a post lift.

When I took my gearbox off I was aware there'd be a lot of pull, push, shunt so I used the lifts to get the car high enough to drop onto 4 x 3ton axel stands and then positioned another 4 x 2ton stands at various cross-members.

Still, I've had a car up and down 5 or 6 times this weekend modifying and exhaust and I can't imagine what it would've been like trying to do it off jacks!