QuickJack portable lift for track - status just posted on Garage Journal

Basil Exposition wrote: Anyone get an MG Midget on it? The length makes it a tight fit between the wheels.

Wheelbase of 80 inches? Yikes, that's gonna be tight. It looks to me like the 89 inch wheelbase of the Miata was the design target, so I'd be surprised if it fits a Midget. The frames might fit between the wheels, but since the lifting blocks can't be placed at both ends (or else there would be no room for one of the sides) it seems likely to wind up being unbalanced.

I'd definitely try to test-fit on someone else's before buying one if the Midget is a priority.

In reply to codrus: You mentioned it has a fore aft motion when lifting. Bout how far foreward(pr back) does it travel during the lift?

itsarebuild wrote: In reply to codrus: You mentioned it has a fore aft motion when lifting. Bout how far foreward(pr back) does it travel during the lift?

If you watch my video you will see. It's about 10 inches I would guess from memory.

In reply to codrus:

It's only 61" long in the collapsed position. The dimensions are on their website, there is no guess work on whether or not it will fit your car if you have a tape measure. http://www.bendpak.com/Shop-Equipment/QuickJack/BL-3500.aspx

Petrolburner wrote: In reply to codrus: It's only 61" long in the collapsed position. The dimensions are on their website, there is no guess work on whether or not it will fit your car if you have a tape measure. http://www.bendpak.com/Shop-Equipment/QuickJack/BL-3500.aspx

Sure, but the wheelbase is measured from wheel center to wheel center. An 89 inch Miata wheelbase with two 23 inch tires on the car leaves 67 inches. Subtract another 2 on each side for wheel-to-fender clearance and that's 63 inches of vehicle frame on which to lift. Yes, some of the quickjack frame (the bit that becomes the side) tucks under the tire, but it's still tight on a Miata, which is why I'm speculating that this was likely the original design target.

I agree that measuring from the specs is a good idea, I'm just not optimistic about the idea of it fitting a Midget.

Petrolburner wrote:

itsarebuild wrote: In reply to codrus: You mentioned it has a fore aft motion when lifting. Bout how far foreward(pr back) does it travel during the lift?

If you watch my video you will see. It's about 10 inches I would guess from memory.

12 inches according to the specs (goes from 61 inches long in the flat position to 49 all the way up).

If you look at the geometry the fore-aft movement is almost the same as the lifting height because the "side" of the frame moves through a circular arc of almost 90 degrees.

codrus wrote:

Petrolburner wrote: In reply to codrus: It's only 61" long in the collapsed position. The dimensions are on their website, there is no guess work on whether or not it will fit your car if you have a tape measure. http://www.bendpak.com/Shop-Equipment/QuickJack/BL-3500.aspx

Sure, but the wheelbase is measured from wheel center to wheel center. An 89 inch Miata wheelbase with two 23 inch tires on the car leaves 67 inches. Subtract another 2 on each side for wheel-to-fender clearance and that's 63 inches of vehicle frame on which to lift. Yes, some of the quickjack frame (the bit that becomes the side) tucks under the tire, but it's still tight on a Miata, which is why I'm speculating that this was likely the original design target. I agree that measuring from the specs is a good idea, I'm just not optimistic about the idea of it fitting a Midget.

Neither am I, which is why I asked the question. Going from measurements alone, 61" will fit between the two tires, but barely. That doesn't give me confidence enough to spend $1000.

hmmmm.... me likey... I just wished the 3500 would lift to the total that the 5000 does...

and for those looking to crawl in from the side... you could just use it as a jack... fit stands... and then drop the unit and remove it....

oldeskewltoy wrote: and for those looking to crawl in from the side... you could just use it as a jack... fit stands... and then drop the unit and remove it....

are you sure? Since it displaces the car front to back as it goes through its arc, I wonder about this.

glueguy wrote:

oldeskewltoy wrote: and for those looking to crawl in from the side... you could just use it as a jack... fit stands... and then drop the unit and remove it....

are you sure? Since it displaces the car front to back as it goes through its arc, I wonder about this.

sure... nope... but a well fitted stand should only require a small amount to either load it, or unload it(3/4")...

I doubt at near full lift that you have considerable movement forward for 1" of drop...

but as you say... I'm not sure.

from my perspective I have a tiny garage... yet I've done a LOT of work that requires 18"-20" of lift.

yeah, I'm just terrible at trying to visualize stuff like this.

I tried using it to put the car on jackstands. It doesn't really work with the Miata because there's nowhere to put them that the that doesn't interfere with the quickjack. I don't think the fore/aft motion would matter in this case, so it might work for bigger/longer cars.

This is pretty cool. I'm realizing that anything bigger than a 2 car garage will be tough to come by where we're moving, so I need to be clever about space management, and I imagine a 2 post will just take up too much space. This may be just the ticket, although obviously you can't use it to store cars stacked.

One gripe though, what's with the exposed pump apparatus? A simple enclosure would be nice.

Not sure why it's exposed. Ease of maintenance, assembly, cooling, cost? A cover may have bumped the cost over a grand and they probably had the sub $1k mark as a target. The pump doesn't warm up much even with multiple cycles so if you wanted to, you could cover it. Or put it inside of a plastic toolbox and cut exit holes.

I'm designing a platform in my mind to use on top of the 2 jacks so that I can lift my motorcycles. It would make a perfect height to work next to the bike sitting upright in a chair instead of kneeling or hunched over.

Remember that one of the goals of the quickjack is portability, so they want the pump to be as light and small as feasible. You need access to the power lugs, ATF reservoir, and the hydraulic disconnects anyway.

I put her up on the lift just to dry the body and wheels now, because I can

Any ideas on issue I'm having trying to get the BL-5000 working would be appreciated. Put it together using pressurized systems knowledge and ability to read the schematics because Ranger doesn't seem to get the instruction manual right. Anyways, have fluid in and topped off as suggested, aired cylinders to ~48psi, and the motor works fine but like under absolutely no load - doesn't not go up. No Fluid leaks, no air leaks - disconnect the hoses and no evidence of hydraulic fluid being in them. So great, is there something I need to do with the bias valve or anything else, or do I have a defective Hydraulic power unit...and will need a SECOND replacement (due to Bendpak messing up and sending the wrong power unit the first time..actually they sent me someone elses order entirely). Like the concept but Bendpak is not inspiring much reason for me to put confidence in them...

Vracer111 wrote: Any ideas on issue I'm having trying to get the BL-5000 working would be appreciated. Put it together using pressurized systems knowledge and ability to read the schematics because Ranger doesn't seem to get the instruction manual right. Anyways, have fluid in and topped off as suggested, aired cylinders to ~48psi, and the motor works fine but like under absolutely no load - doesn't not go up. No Fluid leaks, no air leaks - disconnect the hoses and no evidence of hydraulic fluid being in them. So great, is there something I need to do with the bias valve or anything else, or do I have a defective Hydraulic power unit...and will need a SECOND replacement (due to Bendpak messing up and sending the wrong power unit the first time..actually they sent me someone elses order entirely). Like the concept but Bendpak is not inspiring much reason for me to put confidence in them...

Are you sure the cylinders are supposed to be pressurized?

The instructions I got with mine (from the vendor who sold it to me, not directly from Ranger/BendPak) was that the cylinders were originally intended to be air springs provide positive return force, but that they had later altered the design and now they were not supposed to be pressurized (in fact, the fittings do not provide a sealed connection). I have the 3500 unit, though.

Does it pump fluid out the fittings if you hold the quick connect open?

codrus wrote:

Are you sure the cylinders are supposed to be pressurized? The instructions I got with mine (from the vendor who sold it to me, not directly from Ranger/BendPak) was that the cylinders were originally intended to be air springs provide positive return force, but that they had later altered the design and now they were not supposed to be pressurized (in fact, the fittings do not provide a sealed connection). I have the 3500 unit, though. Does it pump fluid out the fittings if you hold the quick connect open?

Your guess is as good as mine on regards to the schrader valves. The Power unit doesn't match the Rev B Installation/instruction Manual at all (what do I have..Rev C or D?!?!, I have extra parts that have zero mention anywhere and don't fit as intended, and their drawings are royally pathetic. Their drafting department would have been fired immediate where I work...as would their QC department...sheesh, shody overlook (found debris in my QD's while inspecting the connector inventory) and half attempted documentation. Definitely earns its made in China status 100% - but maybe I'm a little bias working for the employer I do.

I air checked all line sequences and there is zero blockage issues... air flow through the QD's is fine. Backtracked the lines all the way down to NO fittings attached to the bare output ports and it wont pump any fluid out... that is why I'm pretty sure it is an issue that needs to be resolved with the Hydraulic power unit. Need to contact Bendpack (yet again...) unless anybody else with the BL-5000 has a simple solution....

Added video:

BL-5000 Hydraulic unit no pumpy...

mine still sux after shipping this and that back and forth I finally got my car up, left there for 6 weeks, not under pressure just the safety bars, let the car down, it goes down, raise the car again no go WTF..........http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/ranger-quickjack-or-as-i-like-to-call-it-quickjoke/91630/page1/