Car lift for a home garage use.

ablank135 said:
Atlas four-post with extended height
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I have the same lift. Note the loose cables. Once when my cables were loose one came off one of the pulleys. I didn’t notice and when I operated the ram, that cable got wedged tight between the pulley and cross bar and caused one ramp to tilt significantly. It was a b*tch to get it unstuck as I had to lift the tilted ramp with an house Jack (adjustable lally column) before I could pry the cable back in place. Now, when the lift is on the stops I only release the pressure enough to take most but not all the tension off the cables.
 
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JFENG said:
I have the same lift. Note the loose cables. Once when my cables were loose one came off one of the pulleys. I didn’t notice and when I operated the ram, that cable got wedged tight between the pulley and cross bar and caused one ramp to tilt significantly. It was a b*tch to get it unstuck as I had to lift the tilted ramp with an house Jack (adjustable lally column) before I could pry the cable back in place. Now, when the lift is on the stops I only release the pressure enough to take most but not all the tension off the cables.
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This happened to me once or twice as well. The cables will jump off a pulley and bind with the next cable over. I forget how I finagled it, but I did get the cable back on the pulley. The mfr does request full slack in the cables (and retraction of the hydraulic piston rod) when the safety locks are engaged, but I think this is just overkill.
 
ablank135 said:
This happened to me once or twice as well. The cables will jump off a pulley and bind with the next cable over. I forget how I finagled it, but I did get the cable back on the pulley. The mfr does request full slack in the cables (and retraction of the hydraulic piston rod) when the safety locks are engaged, but I think this is just overkill.
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This is good to know about full slack/cables slipping. I have the same 4 post lift (well, not the extended height) and I usually rest on the safety locks and then bump the cables to have a little bit of tension on them.
 
Dan Wood said:
This is really good info. Did the cables jump when the lift was up or when it was all the way down?
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For me it was at the top position. The cable bound up when I tried to raise it off the safety stop. Idiot that I am I didn’t notice this until I started lowering, and noticed one ramp was cockeyed by 10”. Was glad to have decent wheel chocks in place.
 
JFENG said:
For me it was at the top position. The cable bound up when I tried to raise it off the safety stop. Idiot that I am I didn’t notice this until I started lowering, and noticed one ramp was cockeyed by 10”. Was glad to have decent wheel chocks in place.
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Thanks John for letting me learn from your experiences. I just went out and tightened the cables.
 
JFENG said:
For me it was at the top position. The cable bound up when I tried to raise it off the safety stop. Idiot that I am I didn’t notice this until I started lowering, and noticed one ramp was cockeyed by 10”. Was glad to have decent wheel chocks in place.
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I wonder if it would be worthwhile to put in a cable tensioner to take up the slack, something with a spring-loaded swing arm to not let the cables come off the pulleys. I have a hydraulic two post lift, so it's not something I've had to worry about.
 
thedazeofrain said:
This is good to know about full slack/cables slipping. I have the same 4 post lift (well, not the extended height) and I usually rest on the safety locks and then bump the cables to have a little bit of tension on them.
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The other thing to watch with four-posters is leveling the corners. At least with Atlas, if the posts are not REALLY close to level (meaning the two at the door end adjusted UP for the pitch of your garage floor), it's possible for the locking extensions to, um, misinterpret their resting points and for one corner to drop an extra notch. With a bang. Even with my big wrench/socket and patience, I still had to call back a professional troubleshooter to fine-tune. I've also learned not to sweat (too much) the plumbness of each post, although I do check from time to time. They will lean an inch or so as a vehicle goes up and down. This could also be an effect of my unit not being anchored to the floor, now that I think about it.
 
ablank135 said:
The other thing to watch with four-posters is leveling the corners. At least with Atlas, if the posts are not REALLY close to level (meaning the two at the door end adjusted UP for the pitch of your garage floor), it's possible for the locking extensions to, um, misinterpret their resting points and for one corner to drop an extra notch. With a bang. Even with my big wrench/socket and patience, I still had to call back a professional troubleshooter to fine-tune. I've also learned not to sweat (too much) the plumbness of each post, although I do check from time to time. They will lean an inch or so as a vehicle goes up and down. This could also be an effect of my unit not being anchored to the floor, now that I think about it.
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Ya know, I’ve noticed some sway with mine. Minor, but I notice it at times when raising a vehicle up. Mine isn’t bolted down but I am certainly leaning that way now. My floor is as level as it will ever be. The slab was poured probably 14 years ago. The last thing I want is for the locking extensions to…misinterpret their resting points. Now that’s a scary one. Good looking out!
 
I do find it a little concerning that the 4 posts are not bolted down. I even have a caster kit with the lift that I will never use. I will probably bolt it down eventually.
 
Dan Wood said:
I do find it a little concerning that the 4 posts are not bolted down. I even have a caster kit with the lift that I will never use. I will probably bolt it down eventually.
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I have 2 4-post lifts which aren't bolted to the floor. Have had zero issues with this for over 10 years now.
 
My 4-post lift is not bolted down. Has lifted both my Mustang and now the E23. Very stable. No concerns.....
 
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Dan Wood said:
I do find it a little concerning that the 4 posts are not bolted down. I even have a caster kit with the lift that I will never use. I will probably bolt it down eventually.
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It's really a non-issue; Atlas even notes that it's optional. I did put some rubber exercise-floor material underneath each post foot since I did notice the lift "walking" a small amount after a few ups and downs. My pebbled epoxied floor is the main issue for that. A concrete or even smooth painted surface--it shouldn't move at all. It's substantial.
 
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