Group buy on a lift....

[Ray]

I've arranged a group buy on a new lift that has come on the market. You can see it here: http://www.bendpak.com/Shop-Equipment/QuickJack/ (they retail for $995 including shipping.)

The price (including shipping) is $908 (retail is $995.) Call Robert 800-253-2363 ext 181. You MUST tell him that you are from The Factory Five Forum and he will ask for your screen name, in order to get this reduced price. Delivery looks like mid-April if ordered this month and the price, for now, will be good until May-01-2014. If you have any questions, please give Robert a call*******

This group buy and topic has been approved by the site admin.

Ray

[SnowCobra]

Hi Ray, I appreciate your efforts arranging the group buy. However, if you haven't already you should check out http://www.ezcarlift.com/ The great thing about this lift is that you can slide under the lift/car from the side. The bendpak lift has structure and parts in the way of accessing the underside of your car from the side. The EzCarLift seems to be very open and offers the most access out of any other lift I've seen. It also uses a power drill to raise and lower, no air/oil needed, which is nice. Only problem is that it cost almost twice as much as the bendpak lift. Anyway, thanks again for your efforts.

Ryan

[jimgood]

Only problem is that it cost almost twice as much as the bendpak lift.
And those little, tiny rollers need a fairly smooth surface. The bendpak lift will work on hard packed gravel if necessary, like the paddock at VIR.

[bill3422]

Thanks Ray! Looks like a good deal for those of us with low height garages. I had been looking at the other units. This looks nice.

[hrosenthal]

I think I'm going to do this. Thanks.

[jimgood]

My lift arrived today. Crappy packaging and the rubber lift pads stink to high heaven. But everything was intact and looks good. I have not had a chance to set it up yet. I'll report back when I do. I put the lift pads outside to let them degas.

[RM1SepEx]

The biggest issue for me is the lack of plastic caps and plugs to protect the quick release hoses. Also each time you reconnect the hoses you lose a little hydo fluid. The capacity of the tank on the lift pump is marginal so you may need to have extra fluid with you... One side of mine will not go to full height.

[hrosenthal]

I'm expecting mine today. I was really looking forward to the convenience this will be for me. I hope I don't regret my decision.

[RM1SepEx]

It lifts well, I was hoping for better portability...

[jimgood]

Thanks for the info, Dan. I'll be on the lookout for that issue.

I am already planning on three mods (like I don't already have enough projects to do):

Plastic caps for the couplers
Aluminum plates to completely cover the bottom for use on loose surfaces
An aluminum box with wheels to pack it all in

[68GT500MAN]

Mine works great for what I am using it for. The smell did remind me of Harbor Freight.
Doug

[RM1SepEx]

The power pack on mine (DC version) leaves the quick connectors sticking out the side UGH dangerous for damage

My serial number plate fell off the first time that I used it!

I'm also looking at how to best package it for transport. I need to be able to bring it with me in my enclosed trailer!

[hrosenthal]

I got mine set up tonight.
It went pretty smoothly until I pressed the 'UP' button.
the motor just whined, but didn't push any fluid.
After some trial and error, I figured out that the halogen lights I was using were on the same circuit and the motor wasn't getting enough juice.
Once I turned off the halogens, it worked fine.
As per a bendpak tech that I spoke to, I ran it a few times before putting it under the car. The first couple of times the two lifts weren't synchronized, but they evened out by the third or fourth time.
They also don't lower without pressure, so I had to manually push them down.
By the time I put it under the car, it worked flawlessly.
This will be a big timesaver for me. My wife uses the 2nd spot in the garage, so I can't leave the car up for any extended period of time (I can't get the body buck in unless I lower the car).

[j.miller]

For 900$ I have a short lift in my shop just the the right height for putting cars together after paint.....It's PERFECT! Thanks Ray!

[68GT500MAN]

2X what Jeff said.

[jimgood]

Can someone tell me how you got the cap off the tank to fill it? I tried just pulling straight up with my fingers. No go. I stuck a screwdriver under the edge and pried up on it. No go. And, yes, I'm trying to remove the cap toward the center of the tank, not the one with the yellow label that says it's a vent.

Edit: Never mind. I figured out the cap. Now I have other problems. What a debacle.

[jimgood]

So, as usual, the instructions leave something to be desired.

In order to get the cap off, I had to use a screwdriver and pry it off. The rubber seal came off with it. I then had to reapply the screwdriver to separate the rubber seal from the plug and insert the seal back into the tank.

Next, WTH are these things? They came packed in the box with the power unit (i.e. not attached to anything). There are no instructions to attach them. They are depicted in the parts diagrams as "AIR BOTTLE TUBE WELDMENT" and are shown being attached to the cylinders. So, when I was assembling everything I attached them.
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=29182&d=1400259783

I followed all the other instructions to attach the fittings and hoses. I filled the tank with a quart and a half of ATF and ran the lifts into the Up position. Before they got fully up, the tank had drained down to about 1/3 so I topped it off (per the instructions).

Once the lift got all the way to the top, I pressed the Down button and nothing happened. When I press the button, I can feel a slight click at the power unit but nothing. I put my leg on one of the lifts and pushed it down while pressing the Down button. It dropped a couple inches but sprang back up. So now, both my lifts are in the up position and will not go down. And oil spewed out of the vent on the top of the tank and spilled all over the floor. Nice. I removed the two silver tubes from the cylinders but that did nothing.
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=29181&d=1400259781

So, anyone have any advice?

[Pylons]

is there some sort of safety catch that needs to be released?

[jimgood]

is there some sort of safety catch that needs to be released?
There is a safety catch but that wasn't the problem. The safety catch is a square tube on each side that swivels into a cup. However, I had these swiveled up and out of the way so I could cycle the things up and down without messing with them.

I found my problem; two of them actually. First, as hrosenthal pointed out, you have to press down on them to get them to lower while holding the button. In my case, I had to stand on them one at a time and bounce. It took a couple of minutes of this on each one in order to get them down. I guess Bendpak/Ranger doesn't say this because they don't want you to fall off and sue them. I weigh close to 190 and they would not lower by merely standing on them. I had to bounce.

Second, the vent in the top of the tank is very hard to pull up. But it needs to come up a little more than an inch. I had only popped it up about half an inch. When the lifts are lowering, they are reversing the flow of oil back into the tank.

So, where the instructions say "Note: It may be necessary to top off the tank on the first lift to achieve full rise", ignore that. Pour in just enough to keep the oil level just above the point where the tank connects to the motor. If you top it off, you're going to end up with a spill like I had.

One more note on these...I had thought that when these are not in use, they can be stood in a corner out of the way. But when you stand them up vertically, they will expand. It would be nice if they had a clip to keep them closed for storage. But I guess that could be a problem when you forget the clips and try to use them.

[jimgood]

Manufacturers waste so much time thinking how NOT to get sued that they seem to have no capacity to write useful instructions. So, in addition to what I posted above, here are a couple of tips and observations.

Page 2 - "This instruction manual has been prepared especially for you." Oh, really? How is that possible? See Page 3.

Page 3 - "Do not attempt to install this jack if you have never been trained on basic motorcycle jack installation procedures." Screw you, Bendpak/Ranger. You gladly accepted my money in exchange for this product yet its sales literature does not include this caution and you didn't ask me if I had been trained before taking my money. And where might one obtain this training anyway?

Page 7 - Step 3.5 - "Install the 90 degree fitting w/ O-ring...". Oh, you forgot to mention two things...
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=29189&d=1400269604

And...
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=29191&d=1400269606

Page 8 - Step 4.1 - "Note: It may be necessary to top off the tank...". See post above. And notice that you have to read the label on the vent cap of the oil tank in order to know that you should only operate the unit with the vent cap open. It does not open easily so pry the crap out of it. It should look like this:
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=29190&d=1400269605

Page 8 - Step 4.5 - "Cycle the lift up and down a few times...". Oooops. You forgot to mention that one cannot cycle the lift down with out considerable weight on it. Hmmm...now you're in a pickle. How do you tell someone not to lift a car with it the first few times but also that it won't drop down on its own?

Page nowhere - Even though they're included in the box with the power unit, there is no explanation of the purpose of these items. I only know that the lift appears operate without them.
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=29202&d=1400273594

Ok. Beyond the dumb instructions that only the manly men of the Motorcycle Institute of Technology will understand because they've slept through the training on basic motorcycle jack installation procedures, it looks to be a pretty decent product. It goes up and it goes down...eventually.

[hrosenthal]

So, where the instructions say "Note: It may be necessary to top off the tank on the first lift to achieve full rise", ignore that. Pour in just enough to keep the oil level just above the point where the tank connects to the motor. If you top it off, you're going to end up with a spill like I had.


I did the same thing. Fluid all over the place

[hrosenthal]

Page nowhere - Even though they're included in the box with the power unit, there is no explanation of the purpose of these items. I only know that the lift appears operate without them.
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=29202&d=1400273594



If you watch the install video on the Bendpak site you can see that these are supposed to be pre-installed for the purpose of enabling control of the lowering speed.

I didn't realize it at first and called Bendpak. They told me to leave them off.

[RM1SepEx]

I have big time fluid spills too after topping off

You need to use the big ugly silver tubes or oil comes out of the top port

Read the directions, it says never leave the quick connectors uncovered to avoid dirt/damage... BUT they didn't include caps! I called and asked for them, hard to buy our own w/o knowing what type to buy...

29203

Every time you disconnect/connect you lose some oil from the system, there isn't enough in it to do this 3-4 times, then the lift won't go all the way up

I also complained about handling them, I'll be using bungees for now.

I'll be working up a cover with an access hole. I'll also add a place to keep a small 12-16 oz bottle of fluid

Let's keep each other posted, I prefer to steal good ideas vs re-inventing the wheel! ;)

[jimgood]

If you watch the install video on the Bendpak site you can see that these are supposed to be pre-installed for the purpose of enabling control of the lowering speed.

I didn't realize it at first and called Bendpak. They told me to leave them off.

That's funny because when I took them off it didn't help with the lowering speed at all.

I took some measurements last evening. The overall dimensions of the lifts stacked is 62" x 11" x 5.5". I would add a 1/4" fudge factor to that.

I'm in the planning stages of a box. I'll share the plans when I get them figured out but it may take me a while. Between mowing and honey-dos I can't seem to get time to do much of anything else outside of work.

[hrosenthal]

That's funny because when I took them off it didn't help with the lowering speed at all.



It's not a matter of taking them off or leaving them on. I think the lowering speed can be adjusted by setting the air pressure in the silver cartridges.
That's what I took away from the video. I haven't installed them, so this is second hand information.