IXLR8

I have a MaxJax and there are numerous contradictory statements in it.

In the manual, it calls for a 30 amp (5-30R) wall receptacle, yet the pre-wired motor comes with a standard 120V - 15A (5-15P) plug on it.

The response I got from MaxJax was "the Power Unit requires a 20 amp 120V Garage Circuit. Sorry for the mis-print".

A standard 120V - 15A (5-15P) will plug into a 20A receptacle but the wiring would be 12 ga. Yet the motor wiring is 14 ga (short run).

It runs perfectly fine on a standard 15A circuit for the 30 to 45 seconds it needs to run.

coreseller

I asked three different people regarding the amperage of the breaker, got 3 different answers, 2 of them from guys at Greg Smith. In the short time I've had it mine has been running fine with the 20 amp receptacle and 20 amp breaker, once while my compressor cycled on. I do try to limit the pull on that circuit when using the lift though.

IXLR8

^ I had 4 standard 15A receptacles installed in my garage on 2 separate breakers.

Ideally, I should have put each on a separate breaker since I have lots of room on my 200A panel. Something to think about when building a garage.

The compressor is on its own 230V 40A breaker.

Ed Hughes

I've done two stacked 2 x 12's, with the staggered 45 deg cuts, and had no issue. When we moved back to Calif, I bolted several 2 x 4's on end, and cut tightened angle. I also bolted gate handles to them, to help when moving them.

EMBPilot

i saw a photo of your set up ed, your side ramps are no joke!

randytrish

I was reading through this post earlier and it was mentioned of the safety concern about the Harbor Freight lift. I've had the HB lift for over four years now and have used it on several different vehicles with no problems. I've used mine at least 100 cycles and have had no issues at all with it. Anyone interested in a mid-rise lift, I would look at the HF unit. I believe my out the door cost was $700 and 30 days to return it for any reason. It is actually very similar in design to the Atlas lift that the group buy was for.
Randy

jhg41977

I went back and forth on the HF because they look indetical. The shipping weight was around 150 lbs less so I went with the Atlas. If HF had one in stock I could look at i may have gone with it. The cost difference was substantial. It was on sale and I had a 25% off coupon.

Ed Hughes

I wasn't a fan of the safety stop design, and relatively few of them, when I looked at the HF unit, before I bought my BendPak several years ago. The hydraulic pump looked quite a bit cheaper too. They didn't come with the 3 sets of different pads I got with the BP either.

At that time, there were visible differences in quality, at least in my estimation.

jhg41977

Thought I would toss an update out there in case someone looks this up at some point with questions on the Atlas lift. I was able to drop the engine and transmission as a whole unit from my C4S without modification to the lift. It is tight but entirely possible. You really need the car back as far as it can go on the lift, really stretch those arms back. As far as stability when you do this? I put the car up a foot and a half and grabbed the front bumper lifting up and down to rock the car. It was not at all unstable. Went up a bit higher, still no issue.

I used the lift to raise lower as needed while disconnecting parts. Once all was disconnected, I used an atv jack with a redneck style platform on it to support the engine and transmission. I lowered the car to about a foot off the ground and then preloaded the atv jack slightly to support while I disconnected the engine and transmission mounts. Then I slowly and incrementally lowered the atv jack, checking for the items you always miss when disconnecting. After the atv jack was as low as possible, I used the lift to raise the car off teh engine and transmission. Note that the lift does not go straight up, it moves the car just slightly forward it seems. So just watch the back of the engine as you do this.

Ill update again after I reinstall the engine and transmission.

coreseller

Thanks for updating, that is awesome news.

veleno

How about engine/trans removal from a front engine vehicle, is it easier or just as complicated as a mid/rear engine car? I want to pick up a lift and need to decide between a scissor/2 post lift.

Ed Hughes

What kind of car? The answer to that is not yes or no.^^

95_993

With most front engined cars, the engine and trans if lifted out from the the top (upward) with an engine lift/hoist unless the entire front K-member/sub-fram is going to be dropped out.

Rear engined cars like a p-car, the engine is dropped out from the bottom which involves raising the car.

Basically both involve the same process (disconnecting wires, fuel lines, drive shafts/CVs, etc), but as Ed mentioned, it'll be very car specific as to what is done.

veleno

944, 911sc, nsx, accord, to name a few.

95_993

944 and accord from the top with a hoist. Don't need 2-post or scissor. Need a hoist.

911sc & NSX dropped out the bottom by lifting car.