raising the car in the garage

[dunl]

What are some inventive and original ideas people use to raise their car in the garage? I removed a tranny today, and had to get the vehicle pretty scary high to slide the tranny out from underneath. Very scary with jack stands on it.

I could build a ramp for it, but would I be gaining anything over using a jack? At some point the ramp is going to be built too big to fit under the bumper, right?

[pawoSD]

I hate jackstands, I use ramps 99.9% of the time.

Build a super-ramp.....it'd be one heck of a project...but I envision a ramp that is modular....where you drive up on it, then add a piece that brings you up another 6-10" (that interlocks to the previous piece) and then drive onto that piece, and so on and so on....till the car is 4' in the air. Small ramps in the rear secured to the front pieces for stability with a cable or chains (so it doesn't launch them trying to get up the front and rear pieces at the same time....would be optimal.

If I have to do a tranny job, I am going to construct such a behemoth.

When I did my driveline work, I used our normal 2 foot tall wood ramps that we use for most everything...on the rear, and built little ramps for the front wheels that brought the front up about a foot. This gave enough room to work ok under the car for that job. However, it took some effort on the car's part to get up this setup....2' climb in rear and 1' climb in front at the same time takes some torque and traction. The rear ramps have roofing shingles nailed on them for grip. (and it still did some skidding on the way up) but it worked great. Super stable sitting on the ramps, same as if it were on the ground. Way too shaky on jackstands, especially with the brute forces needed to work on the drive line parts...

To rotate the rear wheel to turn the driveshaft when working....I used my floor jack with a piece of wood under one of the trailing arms, and raised the wheel off the ramp just enough so the tire wasn't touching the ramp anymore.....super stable and this allowed me to freely turn the system. The car was well chocked. The front ramps had 5" high wood blocks screwed to the ramps with 6 3" screws and the rear wheel had a 4" chock. It wasn't going anywhere.

[sedecrem]

Years ago my grandfather doug a pit in his garage about 5' deep as I recall , poured some concrete walls floor and steps, and then covered it with 2x6 boards set on a ledge set 1-1/2" below the slab grade. when needed he removed the boards and then used the pit to grease the suspension of his cars, change oil, etc.. This of course was back when most cars reqired such service with regularity('40s & 50's).

I used that pit some 15 years after he died to replace the clutch in a 1976 Plymoth Arrow I had when I was in school. It worked great.

[pawoSD]

Originally Posted by sedecrem

Years ago my grandfather doug a pit in his garage about 5' deep as I recall , poured some concrete walls floor and steps, and then covered it with 2x6 boards set on a ledge set 1-1/2" below the slab grade. when needed he removed the boards and then used the pit to grease the suspension of his cars, change oil, etc.. This of course was back when most cars reqired such service with regularity('40s & 50's).

I used that pit some 15 years after he died to replace the clutch in a 1976 Plymoth Arrow I had when I was in school. It worked great.

I've wanted to do that too....but for some reason my dad isn't up to the idea of digging a huge hole in the garage floor.

[winmutt]

I use ramps and jacks when removing the tranny. Ramps in the rear and jacks in the front and ALWAYS keep a jack underneath JIC.

[rs899]

Dunl-

On that W116 w/four bolt tranny, I dropped the tranny and separated the bellhousing from the gearbox so that I wouldn't have to jack the car so high. You can't do this with the newer 722.3xx trannys ( all one big piece)

Rick

[dunl]

I didn't think of doing that, just assumed it was all one piece.

[Stevo]

I dont jack it up to "scary" hight till the tranny is ready to pull out, then I jack the car up more, roll out the tranny jack (all without getting the car), put the car back down to "NON scary hight' and continue on to clutch, what ever. I dont need too work under there when its high enough to get the tranny out.

[chetwesley]

I had the idea to dig a pit in my yard (I don't have a garage), and didn't know this was actually something people did. It seemed like it would be cheap enough to dig the pit in the yard and then either have it lined with concrete or just dig some extra space on the bottom and sides to be able to line it with cinder blocks (cheap!). Cinder blocks would even allow some cracks for drainage if it rained.

You wouldn't have to worry about the car falling off of anything... just would have to make sure it doesn't fall in the pit!

[winmutt]

Originally Posted by chetwesley

I had the idea to dig a pit in my yard (I don't have a garage), and didn't know this was actually something people did. It seemed like it would be cheap enough to dig the pit in the yard and then either have it lined with concrete or just dig some extra space on the bottom and sides to be able to line it with cinder blocks (cheap!). Cinder blocks would even allow some cracks for drainage if it rained.

You wouldn't have to worry about the car falling off of anything... just would have to make sure it doesn't fall in the pit!

I would be more worried about a cave in...

[dunl]

I would worry about that as well, as it isn't always apparent how much moisture or stability the ground has.

[estod]

Concrete pits -- often with a couple of steps in the front -- used to be pretty common in smaller or country gas stations with a couple of bays for repairs -- a lot cheaper than a lift, and no maintenance.

I remember them having ridges on the sides to help keep you from dropping a tire in the pit.

[OldPokey]

An important drawback to pits is that you have to keep them ventilated. Cars can emit all kinds of noxious vapors while being serviced. If those fumes are heavier than air they can collect in the pit - some of them are explosive while others just displace oxygen.

[Sbean]

Yes, one example is that gasoline fumes are heavier than air, and explosive. This can get very exciting... Plenty of boats and houses have been burned starting with gasoline vapor. Steve

[nate300d]

Originally Posted by pawoSD

I've wanted to do that too....but for some reason my dad isn't up to the idea of digging a huge hole in the garage floor.

I wish I would have designed a pit in my garage. I do not want to do that now....I have hydronic heat tubing in the floor.