Scissor lift thoughts for engine / box removal

Just looking for options for a garage lift. Looks from the photos that there is good clearance for removing the engine and box as a lot I’ve seen have a cross bar. Anyone purchased this model ? CAR LIFT, MOBILE SCISSOR LIFT. 3 YEAR WARRANTY. GREAT FOR HOME/WORK USE | eBay WILL IT LIFT A CARAVAN ?. THIS LIFT IS MANUFACTURED BY AA4C AND THE. WILL IT LIFT A CAR ??! LIFT WEIGHT APPROX 350 Kgs. EXTRA CASTORS ARE INCLUDED TO MOVE LIFT AS IT IS HEAVY. Alternatively a 30 amp breaker, as fitted for the kitchen circuit, would be sufficient. www.ebay.co.uk

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I'm sure it's fine, but I'm not sure how confident I'd be getting under that given that the balance point is worryingly close to the leg ends that move toward the centre as it raises.

Can't you just turn it around to solve that issue?

Or maybe ratchet tie down the car to the ramp at a certain point just for a some added reassurance?

Bought mine in 2016 and have lifted my 993 (and Clio and Exige) numerous times for servicing, brake, exhaust and suspension work. Very sturdy bit of kit. Martin

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Good to hear Martin. I'll get one ordered. Thanks

I changed mine using a quick jack, and a pallet truck. If i did one again I would buy a hydraulic platform. With a QJ the engine is about 3-4" too tall to roll out under the supported body so my friend and wife just lifter the back end clear and out it rolled. With the engine and box missing the car is surprisingly easy to lift.

The hydraulic platform (available on ebay) is in place of the pallet truck.

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Mine came with a 13 amp fused plug fitted that I've connected via a domestic 13 amp consumer unit without tripping the circuit breaker or blowing fuses. But I suspect the peak current i.e. when you switch the pump on, does exceed 13 amps, hence the recommendation to connect to a >13 amp circuit. Martin

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I was more thinking that no matter which way round you orientate it, one of the bottom legs is not far from the middle point of the car. As I say, I'm sure it's fine and I'm glad others have used and had positive experiences - just looked a little questionable to my old and overly cautious eyes.

I put an in-floor lift in so I could fix all my oil leaks on these pesky air cooled engines...

I have 1 very similar to the op picture. I found it very unstable with the front of the car over the rams, especially if trying to place the car as rearward as jacking points allow. I was changing gearbox oil and pulled lightly on a suspension arm whilst repositioning myself. 2 seconds later the car had a temporary support under the engine and maybe a bit of wee leaked. I made and fitted brackets bolted to the floor as soon as the car was removed. The benefit though is I can now orient vehicles on the lift depending on access needs rather than centre of gravity. The ram arrangement does certainly get in the way.

I have one of these. Used it on my Chimaera, Tuscan and now the 996. No issues with stability (and the Tuscan was pretty heavy at reg front end). It's brilliant for pulling all the wheels off at once and servicing brakes/suspension, but not so great for working on the centre section of a conventional car, where a 4-post ramp might be more convenient. Just looking at my C4 and under-engine access is clear.

A little more money, but I'm in 'hand-wringing' mode over ordering this.... PORTABLE / ADJUSTABLE WIDTH 2/ TWO POST LIFT RAMP CLEAR FLOOR – LIFTECH Garage Equipment Liftech Garage & Logistics Equipment, No.1 Supplier of Vehicle Lifts and Ramps. liftech.uk.com

Oooh - I like that. I had a two post lift in my old garage, sadly my new one doesn't have the height. But this could be a solution.

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I went to pull the trigger yesterday only to learn they are not selling these any more. Knowing that they are a generic made in China white label product, I did some digging and it appears more than one of the vendors of these have removed them from their product offerings. There have been some reports of leaking seals and cylinders and next to zero aftermarket support for them, balanced by plenty of US based 'best thing I ever bought' reports. Further digging surfaced the origin of manufacturer, so the option to buy direct potentially still exists... (I do love a bit of detective work). [Hot Item] Mobile Low Clearance Narrow 2 Post Car Lift After-sales Service: Dedicated After-Sales Warranty: 12 Month Type: Double Cylinder Hydraulic Lift Lifting Capacity: 3T Driving Type: Hydraulic Certification: CE, ISO, RoHS, GS shfanbaocarlift.en.made-in-china.com I guess shipping costs would determine whether this is viable, once import and VAT have been factored. If a multiple purchase helped with shipping costs and someone else wanted to double up, it might be worth making an enquiry. The reason these appeal so much is the portability of them, in that with 5 bolts, they are out the way until you need them, overcoming the massive compromise of other 2 post lifts that when not in use are always in the way. Having owned (and regretted selling) QuickJacks, their price is now at a level that I wince at compared to a two post lift. I liked my Quickjacks but I'll admit they were an absolute faff to set up and get correctly in position, exactly parallel to each other, etc, and whilst a revelation compared to a jack and stands, I found myself feeling they were always not quite tall enough. The problem with most of the scissor lifts that you have to drive over is the ground clearance of 110-125mm they generally come with - my M30 would ground out driving over them. Plus I want the ability to raise and lower the car without having to cold start it all the time to position blocks of wood or drive over ramps etc. Hence the appeal of that two post lift - really does tick every box (for me).

I reached out for some info and got a very quick reply. Landed cost including shipping in GBP is £935 where I'm assuming VAT will be added. Having looked on the GOV website, it doesn't appear there are any duties payable. They've just sent me the PDF manual and all appears good and correct as per all other vendors. If only other fees are VAT, that's £1,122 into a UK port of choice. Given they accept credit cards, that feels like it's worth a punt? Consolidated shipping saves about a tenner per item so no point but ordering for less than a boat load. Sorry op to hi-jack the thread but thought it might be helpful.

Good detective work. Any chance of posting the PDF manual.

For the OP . Man in a garage on you tube. His earliest videos are about engine gearbox removal using a scissor lift. My lift is similar to his ,I also had to modify it by removing a tie bar for access reasons.

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So I ended up purchasing a pallet truck and an engine hoist to remove my engine and it worked an absolute charm. We jacked up the car as high as we could and put on stands , then once the engine was near enough ready to release we slid the pallet truck under the engine , and the trolley jack under the transmission with the Porsche jacking point cup perfectly locking in place , we then released the engine mounts , and gearbox mounts and slowly lowered the engine down . When the engine was as low as it would go we tied the rope around the rear bumper bar section (dead centre) and hoisted it up to gain the necessary clearance to remove engine. Once high enough adjusted stands , removed engine hoist and engine and box just slid out perfectly. Work an absolute charm and the pallet truck and engine house was peanuts

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Nice one!

I have a Kromer scissor lift, it's fantastic and always very stable even when lifting a friends Mercedes ML. They also do 2 post lifts for anyone wanting that instead. Kromer Car Lift UK Buy car lifts at Krömer! Here you’ll find a wide selection of: double scissor lifts, service lifts, two-post lifts, low-rise lifts, and equipment for tire service. kroemer-car-lift.co.uk

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Exactly how i did it but with a quick jack and a pallet truck. The scariest part is removing the gearbox bolts, which i take it is the picture of you lying under the car at the front. It is even more scary when it comes to putting the bolts back in, so good luck with that!!!!

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I think my M30 would ground out on that as it's 125mm ground clearance and only 90mm if you factor the air deflectors in front of the front wheels? It does look a fine piece of kit, but I'd have to drive over it every time I drove in and out of the garage which doesn't appeal. I guess if I had it put to one side when not in use, I'd still need to cold start the car, move a car off the drive way, back the Porsche out, drive back in again over the lift etc. A critical factor for me is the clear floor (not having to drive over anything) and ability to use use the lift without having to cold start or move the car.

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Yes it was a little touch and go , it was my brother in law in the photo releasing them and the prop. Will hopefully be re-installing within a week or so , providing I can take care of all the necessary jobs and swap the gearbox over to the new engine , etc… It’s actually really enjoyable getting the tools out and getting stuck in , not done it for some time

You might be surprised how heavy the gearbox is.....I was!!!!

Just bought this , I would recommend it.

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Which one is that? Does it take pads for the jacking points?

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I am not sure of the make, but will look at the weekend and let you know. It is supplied with blocks for the jacking points.

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I'm after one of these do you have a link? or where you got it from thanks looks good, I was looking at a lift giant one. is that mid rise? I don't have height issue as I build the garage to be able to take 4 post but I've changed my mind and going to go for this type of lift just not sure if I should go mid rise or full lift.

That is as high as it goes. It makes working on the wheel area's easy, but you will have to bend down to polish the underside !

To be honest that would be fine for what I intended to use It for, where did you buy It from?

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This is the make and manufacturers plate.

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This is the make and manufacturers plate.

Thanks Mark

I know I'm a bit behind the curve on this ... but would a scissor lift with around 1m of height be sufficient to lift the car to get the engine out (If engine can also be dropped down via a hydraulic 'pallet') .. I'm thinking probably yes? Was thinking of something like this for the portability ... I think portable 2-post and 1-post are not to be trusted with the weight shifts when the engine comes out.... https://www.twinbusch.co.uk/Scissor-lifts/Low-rise-scissor-lift::13.html

Looks doable if your platform goes low enough for the engine to clear the rear body bar. Before you buy try working under a surface that is 1m above you, you may find that height is awkward too high to lay down or too low too kneel . I'm 6'2" with a long back and find my lift an awkward height to work under with a 1.3 m height.

Had plenty of use of of mine. If I build the triple, I'll be sinking it into the floor though.

See my contribution to this thread.

I’ve been toying with the idea of getting a lift of some description as I need to do a couple of jobs underneath the car. I need to do the Tiptronic gearbox service and the the manifold removal and replacement of the exhaust system. My main query is making sure I’ll have the access I need under the car - I need to take the strut off under the gearbox first (or so I believe) and I want to make sure I’ll have the access I need to do all these jobs without the lift fouling or blocking the areas I need to access?

If I were doing that then i would remove the engine and box as one so as to work on it on the garage floor (or similar). I am just about to commence my engine/box removal and have a quickjack and a snazzy motorcycle lift. Re the exhaust manifold, I have done one so far and although it was 'time consuming' doing it on the floor was preferrable to doing it in situ. You will need a stormski jig but you probably know that already. And then there are the 'while im in her i might as well' jobs. So a quickjack would do the trick if you do not have the height/£££ for a 2 post lift.

I,ve just loosened my exhaust manifold studs (bar for one that snapped) whilst on a Quick Jack and found it no problem laying on the floor as you can keep good upward pressure on the stud. Plenty of room to remove manifolds. I'm confident that you will have clearance / headroom to lower and slide out the Tip gearbox but reckon dropping the engine and moving away from under the car will not have clearance, unless you also remove the air rams and pipes etc that sit on the top of the engine. I'd be interested to know if anyone has done this.

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My car is up on the Quick Lift for the winter so if you want to come up to St Austell to check it out please DM me.

I am impressed....that you only snapped one. That deserves an award. This will be my 2nd engine removal using a QJ. It is true that you cannot slide the engine and box out but I can confirm that with one friend either side (thats 2 friends) the rear can be lifted 10" or so (the body is essentially just a shell now and surprisingly light). My wife was also in attendence and used her 'pointing' skills to assist in the removal. So no need to remove the inlet paraphenalia..

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I measured whether my QJ would give sufficient height to pull the motor and concluded it would need to come out from the side, through the wheel arch area to get sufficient clearance. From memory, I recall there not being enough clearance for a direct rear pull? I might not have factored removing the crassh bar though. A thread covering the removal with pics would be great, but appreciate taking all the pics can be a faff. Best of luck with it.

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I may well do that - thanks for the offer!

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I did my first engine and box out 3 years ago hence my comment about lifting the back of the car a few inches to slide the 'lump' out. When i removed the engine I used a neighbours pallet truck and lowered the QJ so the engine rested on the raised truck bed, i undid the mounting bolts and raised the QJ leavung the engine on the PT which i lowered and whilst my 2 friends lifted the back of the car slid it all out. Underneath everything has to be removed which is not a problem except that one might find seized bolts in the ally cross member and rusting metal in the flat V shaped bars. The former can be drilled and tapped and the latter welded uo. I found the whole job to be spiritually rewarding and cured my fear of working on that tightly packaged engine. However my camera decided to fail so every picture taken was completely distorted!!!!

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Great stuff. Having had the trans out of mine recently for a quick wipe over, I'm confident the the nuts and bolts should be good. I don't need to take the motor out of mine, but it's the last part I'd like to fully clean. It will depend on how bored I get over winter whilst it's SORN. What I could do is put my car on the wheel stands as per below, then block up the QJs with some 4 x 4 fence post sections and lift again from there.

Nice picture, I was thinking of painting my engine in VHT with a high gloss finish and it will look just like that,,,,,mmmmmmmmmmmm

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Cool. With the exception of the transmission, everything else was glass bead blasted, to which I then gave a lightest dusting of cold zinc galv spray, just to try and prevent immediate oxidation of the bare aluminum. The transmission was just days of scrubbing and Scotch Brite pads before the same galv mist. They're a labour of love, eh?

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DM me but i am away the weekend of 15/16th Nov

I had the engines out of a 997 and recently my 996 with Quick Jacks. Bought at a good price from Costco. Not finished connecting everything up but its back in the car now. Got a YouTube if anyone's interested how I got it out.

Brilliant video. So it is possible to remove the engine using Quick Jacks.

Excellent, will watch the video now (asking for a friend).

My "friend' was interested to know how much clearance deficit was there with the engine fully assembled before it would clear, taking into account your trolley. Just wondering if for example it was laid flat on the floor and not a trolley, how much additional clearance would you need to slide it out the rear?

Very enjoyable and your engine has exactly what my 997 engine has, a deep score line on no6 which i believe is ring related. I shall be removing my engine using my quickjack when it stops raining!!! Interestingly i note your use of a hoist to lower the engine onto your trolly, My method when i first did an engine removal was to use a pallet truck raised then lower the QJ onto the pallet truck and lift the QJ then lower the pallet truck. This time I am using a motorcycle lift which has a higher lift, but essentiall the same method. However instead of taking the pheripheral components off the engine so it slides under the raised car I shall be engaging 2 friends to lift the rear 10" so i can slide it out. Thus making it alot easier. My car is a cab as was my previous engine out car so the rear is actually quite light. I shall be showing you video to my 'helpers' Well done on making the video and showing it here.

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I think that might do it, I did fully reassemble it before sliding it back and used the hoist to lift the back of the car 4 or 5 inches very carefully and it slid in on the trolley ok. I'll hopefully get round to that video after the one I'm doing at the moment. Unfortunately with a full time job I can't get them out as often as I'd like.

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10" Thats 10" taking into account the lowered height of the motorcycle hydraulic lift.

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My 997 Engine was basically destroyed so I took it out and sent the cases to Hartech. Those videos are on my channel as well.

I have just watched your very enjoyable and informative stripdown video. That scratch you discovered is without a doubt what i have in no6, Whats more important is that i want to buy a battery ratchet! I shall now go back to your channel and learn more. For a first poster I think you deserve a prize.

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The battery power ratchet, and impact gun have made things sooo much easier.

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What kind of torque can those battery ratchets bust loose? It's something I see on you tube all the time but have never pulled the trigger on.

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The Ryobi ratchet not a lot at 60NM but better than my air ratchet, the impact gun, quite a lot at 400NM with the brushless high impact model doing 1600NM. The 400NM was enough to undo the top shock on the step-daughters car that I couldn't move with anything else. Other makes may be better or worse.

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Cheers, I've got a monster DeWalt Impact and some other Dewalt cordless tools. After looking at their cost, I think I'm probably best buying a naked body only Dewalt, this one appears to have the guts and decent reviews. https://www.misterworker.com/en-gb/dewalt/battery-ratchet-18v-xr-in-cardboard-box-without-batteries-and-charger/96274.html

Thats a good price, i was looking at the 512 which is 60nm at about £49. Non original batteries and a charger are quite reasonable but need to do a bit more research as I have a Parkside impact gun and the battery fits their impact wrench also £49.

That video has just been added to my watch list! I have a Milwaukee M12 powered ratchet - its absolutely brilliant. One advantage I hadn't actually realised until I started using it is that it's superb in limited space. Rather than turning a manual ratchet by 5 degrees at a time and taking ages, just line it up, pull the trigger and off the bolt comes. The Milwaukee is also tough enough to use as a manual ratchet. So I often fit it onto the bolt, loosen it with a bit of force and then pull the trigger to get the bolt fully off the thread.

Better late than never. My car on the mid rise lift. The engine will come out at some point for a refresh. It will go up quite a bit higher when the garage door is closed.

Still tempted to get something like this. Must save a lot of time, jacking up car, axle stands etc.

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Once you buy a lift you instantly regret all the years you struggled without one.

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I don’t have enough height in my garage for a full lift one. What would you recommend, a mid rise, quick jacks or something else?

Blocks of wood a small trolley jack, axle stands is all that’s required, lift the car to 35 inches and it will clear.

Not quite a 911 problem but i been living with quick jacks I been messing around to get extra lift Made some grooved timber from 6x3 i had lying around as a experiment Stacking timber is dangerous and creates a slip risk This now gives me a total of around 20 inches 50cm of lift Im planning to drop the whole rear axle likely early spring and tackle a big list Dual clutch conversion, tubular manifolds, smaller faster starter motor and subframe powdercoating I want to gain more lift height i can like create the same shape timber from like 6x6 hard wood post total lift height 23inch 58cm I aslo wonder if using 10x5 sleepers will be safe as the box section recess is around 1.5 inches deep and 5 inch wide with a 8.5 inch protusion but allowing a total lift height 27inches 68cm I could get the new lifting pucks to gain another 2cm In floor scissor lift would the best anwer for a home garage is as completely out of the way when not in use I may just get 2 post at this rate as i can likely rasise either cars like 1.3m off the ground

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I don’t have much height so only have a mid rise - fine for my uses. AS-7532B 3.2T Mid Rise Scissor Lift - Automotech Services Limited The AS-7532B Mid rise scissor lift is surface mounted giving a low profile of just 110mm. Its unique design gives a clear working area between the platforms when the vehicle is being worked on. An ideal lift for busy body repair shops or tyre bays. Features Lifting capacity 3.2T Lifting height... automotechservices.co.uk No link bar, no need for air, just power and off you go.

Thanks, I’ll check it out.

Good without the link bar, I’ve not seen that before.

Do they have to be bolted to the floor or sunk into the floor? Ie are they freestanding?

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I levelled and bolted mine down but several I’ve helped setup since are all just free standing. The bases are HEAVY, you need an engine crane to move them. Once a car is on they are rock solid. Sunk into the floor is best - I will do that with mine at some point as for low cars you need different ramps at each end as the bases are circa 10cm tall when fully down.

I got the quikjack 7000tl which allows an extra 3 inch over the standard lift height - it slides in and out (if lowered car really benefitted from going on mini ramps first to get it under) and I worked easily under there all last winter - https://www.diy.com/departments/qui...3-175kg-capacity-model-7000tl/14339840_BQ.prd this is a pic of the detailing guy using them outside over winter to show height they will go to. and yes, i know it should have been the other way around............

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I have the older 5000slx its a hard pill to swallow upgrading foor 3 inches Arent the frames too long for your gen car?

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they just about fit under - but if you pop the car up on a little plastic ramp first it negates the tyres being in the way and slips under the jacking points just lovely - i have 18s on and that maybe makes a little difference, with 17s you would get a tiny amount more wiggle room. plus getting the car up on the ramps first it makes it easier to guide for the jacking points and pop a puck in too

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Fairs i find the wheelbase a tight fit

yeah i just drive her on to 4 of these little ramps to lift her about 2 inch and away we go...................they look taller in the image

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That would make life a lot easier. The last time I did a clutch it took almost as much time to jack up the car high enough as it did to get the engine and gearbox out. Getting it high enough. Lowering engine/gearbox in two steps Having a proper lift seems like the way to go.

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I did my first ever engine drop like that, never again. It’s best to remove the rear wheels and lower the car and engine onto a pallet then undo the last 4 bolts and lift the car off the engine leaving the engine on the floor. Waaaaaay less risky and less wrestling / funny angles to deal with. Couple of pics showing this using my mobile lift:

I like the idea, but my quick Jack allows me to do everything I need and I can move it around and either store it against the wall or put them in the center of the garage floor and drive the car over them

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i was the same when building my garage, i was hell bent on sinking a fixed ramp in to the floor but then saw these and figured out they suited me better as they can be moved out of way or even leant to a mate etc

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Plusses and minus both ways I guess, I need to have a think.

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Yes, there's no doubt using that technique with a ramp is a better and safer way to do it. I didn't mind lowering the engine so much, it's the jacking up, moving everything then doing it again that becomes tedious.