saved up and bought a 4 post lift about a year and 1/2 ago. everything was fine, I thought. did a lot of research and ended up purchasing from a dealer on the east coast. when researching noticed almost all were made the same and were imports. I went ahead and upgraded to the 8000# model. so far all is/was well. working last week finishing up the detailing on the 40. had it on the lift and was lifting it to work on the bottom. had it about 2' up and heard a loud pop and it dropped about a 1' till the safety latches caught it. on of the cables snapped. luckily it wasn't up very far. I can imagine what might have happened if it was up 6-8' or so. since I am in the crane business I deal with wire rope on almost on a daily basis. I called my supplier and visited with him and then sent the broken cable to them to analyze and try and determine what happened. the only thing they could come up with is that it must have had a flaw in it, other than a very cheap grade of cable from china. It had a hemp rope center where as most cable has a wire rope center. all the wire rope we use has a wire center to give a higher breaking strength. needless to say I am changing all 4 cables to domestic wire rope that has a much better breaking strength than the import. also inspecting all the pulleys to make sure they are still solid and the bearing haven't been compromised in any way. on our cranes we will not use imported rope just for what happened to me might happen on one of our cranes. in our business when the load is on our hook it's ours till it's set and unhooked. way lot of liability for us to take any chances. same goes for our wire rope slings. I would suggest that all of you that have lifts that use wire rope/cable, inspect yours to make sure you have no kinks, broken strands and that the button ends and the stud ends are in good shape. it was a wake up call for me. just passing on a, could have been a major accident. at least the safety latches held and stopped it from tilting to one side and maybe collapsing completely. alan
Is there any way to tell what kind of cable you have by looking at it? I am shopping for a 4 post lift; the cables will definitely get looked at.
You're correct that some 4-post lifts are made the same and imported, but NOT almost all, and the reason for the big price differences. You usually get what you pay for, and that's very true with lifts. Backyard Buddy (my choice) and several others are made from U.S./Canadian steel IN the U.S., use high quality cables, along with much safer designs, like enclosed posts. But, they will cost twice or more over what a cheap import lift will. Glad you did not have a more serious problem with the failed cable.
had several ask about it. here's the info: it is a national pro series NPS CSP XLT HD 8000# bought it from pro-series equipment in Franklin, Indiana. they have a whse in Dallas area so had it shipped from there. alan
The reason for rope center cable it is more flexible , it can be purchased just as strong as wire center . Rope center can be wound on a tighter drum diameter than wire center cables . Probably used for space reasons in the lift posts . I'm thinking you just got a bad piece of cable , pinched or damaged in shipping maybe
I've had my BackYard Buddy lift for 22-years and have used it at least a couple of time a week. I haven't had to do a thing to it except readjust the cables a couple of weeks after I bought it, due to initial cable stretch.
Can you tell what kind of cable it is by looking at it, I have a new Bend-Pak in my new building and they have an attachment point on one end of the cable that looks Mickey Mouse to me, I damn sure won' be under that lift until the safety locks are engaged. If you are planning on buying a Bend Pak contact me I can give you a few pointers that will save you time if installing yourself.
Had a friend who bought a Backyard Buddy and I spent several days helping him set it up. His wife, who isn't a car girl, bragged to all her friends and neighbors of my help and referred to me as his "back door" buddy. Never did get it right, no matter how many times we vehemently corrected her!
Reminds me of the owner of the scrap yard I worked in. We used dragline cranes with 5000lb magnets. One day the shackle that attaches the dragline to the magnet broke. It was a pretty new shackle. The owner was wondering why it broke. The yard manager laughingly speculated that it could be the debris he mixed into the metal when he baled it. Mine is a Rotary purchased 11 years ago when they claimed everything was made in the US including the cable. My friend and I bought 2 of them. They had the wrong latch bars in the one I got of course. If one in a million is screwed up, I'm the one who gets it.
He said that they didn't have any cables for stock any more and would have to have someone locally make it. I asked him to get a price and get back with me. now its Friday and haven't heard anything. called my rope supplier and they will one to me early next week as they had to order the stud end. most of the rope I order is 3/4" - 1 1/2 in. the cable was 7/16 and they normally don't stock the components that small. going to replace this one so I can get the car down then take the other 3 out and replace them also. alan
This is great info. I, too, am looking to buy a 4 post lift. Still shopping but have definitely seen the radical price difference. As a side note, what do they recommend for maintenance/inspection?
I bought a BYB in 1999 or 2000 and I did an upgrade on the safety stops I ordered through the factory three or four years ago. I also bought upgraded pulley axles (correct term??) with zerk fittings. All in all, the BYB has been a very good investment. Using a 4' level, I adjust the stud cable ends from time to time to make sure everything is level. Also do a visual check on the cables a couple of times a year. I did put a 5000# forged eye bold on the front so I could use a turning block to winch dead cars from my trailer on to the lift.
This should tell people to always use the safety catch I have a two post And when I release the safety catches I walk around the lift and not under the car to release them.
Don't want to hijack this thread, but my shop has only 8'6" ceiling so a full lift is out of the picture, and no romm outside to expand or even outside use. Been looking @ the Max Jac which is sort of portable in that you bolt the twin side posts down to floor anchors, hydraulic pump & control unit hooks up with quick snaps like air lines, and then it lifts to a maximum of 48". Anybody used one?
^^^ Before I "expanded" the ceiling and roof, I, too, had about 8.5' ceiling but I got an awful lot of use out of my Backyard Buddy anyway. Seems I could drive it on, raise it a couple feet, set the locks, and roll under on a creeper and the car was just about right for arm's length work. I would have raised the roof much sooner if the setup hadn't worked so well. When I'm standing under a car and working on it and my back starts to get tired I begin to think that I can STILL work off a rolling creeper if I want to! Just suggesting that the ease of a drive on and drive off lift has a lot to offer and can still be quite useful even if you have a low ceiling. Our club members prefer BYB over about anything else if what they are buying means anything. It worked for me but your mpg may vary. Good luck, Al
Men, Men..... Well, we sometimes get sub standard stuff..... not to discount anything, and we all have good expectations...... But- have we ever thought of a yearly service? I for one, (and don't have one at home) stand under one daily. It get's inspected every 6 mo's. I have to rely on a lift expert for MY safety..... And- what he say's goes. And for p's and q's, I stick way over rated stuff on my rack (weight wise). Just because they are in our possession, does not mean that they are good forever, or, for the moment....... Please hear me and think....... been a rack jockey for 30 years and seen shit happen...... What's your life worth?
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