4 post lift install hell

So. I got a lift, and I'm really struggling to get it set up and running. 
 

its level and the posts are plumb and it will go up and down fine for the first 3 feet, but past that it's like it's binding up. The cable will go slack on one corner and the safety stop trips and it sticks. 
 

Lifting it back up and starting again does not help, it still gets stuck in the same place. The only way to get it down is to push the lock back. Than it will go down again. Sometimes it has to be done a few times.

It's level all around. The cables are the same tightness when it's at the end of travel. When it goes up, the deck is all going up together. 

I haven't put a car on it yet for fear of it getting stuck. 
 

any ideas?????

reed

Pictures?

Sounds like one corner is binding in its travel.   Where it gets stuck you need to look carefully at all four corners to find which is in a bind.

I'd start with the corner displaying a slack cable.  Be very careful.  Jaring it loose could cause a sudden drop.

In reply to Purple Frog (Forum Supporter) :

It's like one side it binding, but I can't for the life of my figure out where. 

I won't guarantee this is the right thing to do, but one of the options is essentially to "just send it."

With the extra weight of a car on it, it probably won't bind, and running it up and down with the weight on it should settle the columns and the rest of the lift mechanicals a bit.

But... start low and have jacks/shoring available in case you need to lift a corner/end should it bind up on the way down.

Let's just say I might have been in a garage where something like this was done. 

Where are you located?
 

Is it the automatic safety stop? 

It's not the stops that lock into the rails in the columns, it's the stops that are actuated when the cables go slack. 
 
Im in west Seattle. 
 

thanks for all the help so far!

Is this unit advertised to be "free standing"?   I notice you don't have it bolted down.

Also, in the picture the pulley already looks to be twisted, not the best sign.

Yeah, that pulley isn't where it should be anymore...

Did you level the ramps on the stops then repeat with the cables? When it binds you see one column moving?

The pulley and chewed up metal around it worry me.

Are you sure the cable is on the correct side of that pulley?

What brand is it? Maybe we can get more eyes on a factory manual online and see what is fubar'd.

It looks like the pulley we can see is the slack lock and will engage if it can come toward us in the picture. I can see a pretty large pin on the side that is probably holding the pulley that takes the weight.

It's probably time to call the manufacturer...that pulley doesn't look right and those bolt hole make me think it should be fixed to the ground.

The holes in the feet could be for casters right? arent some of these 4 posts on wheels?

In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :

The caster kits attach to the vertical posts and use leverage to lift as the platform is lowered on them. At least that is how Bendpak and a few others do it.

My 4 post has holes and they are very not needed unless you are worried about someone wheeling it away. The casters attach to a pivot on the side, usually.

The lift is far more stable if you anchor it to the slab but you don't have to

That pulley should be perpendicular, not angled.

The cable is normally on the other side of that pulley.

Confirm the routing of the cables. Confirm them again. 
 

Assume they are wrong and you missed something, and confirm them again. 
 

I'm pretty sure they are not right.

Why is the metal all chewed up?

Is it used?  Did you confirm proper functioning before purchase?

I could be wrong but what looks like chewed up metal might be white lithium grease. 

In reply to dculberson :

Ah yes. I think you may be right. 

I have this exact lift. let me go out and take some photos of the install so you can confirm its all correct. 

Look like its not bolted down yet.

Check the lateral, longitudinal, and cross ways dimensions of the columns. and see if it the pairs of dimensions are the same.  It could be binding because something is spayed out of alignment.  

I would pick the corner of the base plates as your measuring points.