this lift looks cool, but it's kinda low...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5e5c8euXEw&NR=1

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 560SL convertible
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
2005 Dodge Sprinter 2500 158"WB
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

I found this interesting...

!!!!
they use similar lifts on flight decks for planes... a tad larger of course...

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 560SL convertible
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
2005 Dodge Sprinter 2500 158"WB
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

I think the max under car height is 52". Not ideal but it will work in 8' ceiling height garages. price is just under $2k I think.

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Joe

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1980 300SD - 495k miles - 'The Ambassador'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Former Family Members
95 C280
73 280SEL
90 300D
87 300SDL (X2)
86 560SEL
84 300D
80 300SD

Uhh...at first I thought that was attached to the exhaust?

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1987 300TDT - 195,000 (Original #14 head)
1993 190E 2.3 - 105,000
1981 300D - 250,000

The guy that travels the world in the lifted yellow 300TD has one of these.

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1981 300TD 4 speed manual
Euro bumpers, zender valance and skirts, H&R springs, billy HD's, leveled sls, real AMG Pentas 16x8 et11, vdo boost/egt gauges intergrated into ash tray, eurolights, led 3rd brake light

There are extensive discussions and threads on the Garage Forum, and some debates too. That forum delves deep into lifts and their uses in a wide variety of climates and applications. You may want to take a look.

Naturally there are supporters of different kinds of lifts, brands, price ranges, weight limits etc.

I'm grabbing one that might be too much but it's hard to beat: a garage owner who's retiring and sold his building has a 20 foot, drive-on four-post commercial lift with a weight limit of 30,000 and he will deliver, if I will pay him 2,000. So I can't pass this up, just need to wait for warmer weather.

You may want to talk to local garages, a lot of larger, heavier lifts are going for cheap, as people change businesses in diffeent locations. Just a suggestion.

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Strelnik
Invest in America: Buy a Congressman!

1950 170SD
1951 Citroen 11BN
1953 Citroen 11BNF limo
1953 220a project
1959 180D
1960 190D
1960 Borgward Isabella TS 2dr
1983 240D daily driver
1983 380SL
1990 350SDL daily driver alt
3 x Citroen DS21M, down from 5
3 x Citroen 2CV, down from 6

Since you are building consider a pit! MUCH more user friendly cheaper and versatile than a lift - particularly when working alone! I have always had one in my garage and I can guarantee you would never regret it. No clutter and can be covered when not in use - tools all handy on garage floor. There are many occasions when you need the car on its wheels or need to jack or block up in places. (e.g. tranny or suspension removal etc). Think about it.

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Beagle

Thanks all for replies. Lots of cool ideas. I'm want the lift for wrenching. Parking under a project car sounds cool too. But I have a 2 carport acting as my garage now out by the road so parking is not an issue. The neighbors love it I'm sure. Imagine all you who won't post a picture of your messy garage having no front or back walls on that garage and it being out 20 feet off the road. Its kind of embarrassing but i keep cars parked in front of it most of the time.

I like the pit idea. I had thought of that earlier but then thought it would be harder to build and forgot about it and my friend doing my concrete foundation and the brains behind the operation didn't think much of the idea.. I think i'm going rethink that though. Do you just do a concrete block rectangle around your pit and then pour around it and inside the block? Or do you make forms and do concrete walls? I'll research on the garage forum. I can see how for most stuff a pit would be the best -- oil change, radiator swap, AC work -- you get the best of both worlds. Plus i could always get a little lift and for when i needed to lift it and i could have bigger second story above the bay that way. Awesome.

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What Would Rudolph Do?
1975 300D, 1975 240D, 1985 300SD, 1997 300D, 2005 E320 , 2006 Toyota Prius

Its not? Whats it attached too?

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What Would Rudolph Do?
1975 300D, 1975 240D, 1985 300SD, 1997 300D, 2005 E320 , 2006 Toyota Prius

That looks cool. so each post has its own hydraulic pump and you just get as many as you need and put em where you want on the car?

Definitely overkill for me. I'm after a safe cheap preferrably used option so i can get better quality.

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What Would Rudolph Do?
1975 300D, 1975 240D, 1985 300SD, 1997 300D, 2005 E320 , 2006 Toyota Prius

No hydraulics, they use a worm screw.

My pit is 1.5m deep, 1.2m wide and 4.5m long - steps at inside end. Floor is concreted and walls bricked and plastered. Covering is 1 inch X 1foot planking flush with floor. Fluorescent lighting is recessed into walls. Bar fridge is optional. You will need to dispose +/-7m³ of earth.

Think of all the times you're gonna need to work under and over the engine - up down - up down #$$#% .

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Beagle

Don't see these very often, but I was blessed with a single post air over oil lift that came with the shop building quite some years ago. It will lift a 60's Imperial or Chrysler wagon with the air set at 115 psi. It is very much like a filling station lift from back in the 40's and 50's, with a huge plate over the top of the 1' diameter post and two heavy beams riding on the outside of the post. Whole configuration recesses into an 8" deep mini-pit except for the post which goes down about 5.5'. There are two sliding rigs which are adjusted to lift on the front and rear suspension areas.

It is not really great for our IRS Benzes and it does not handle tranny work at all nor drive shaft work very well. However most other things are handled quite well and is very non-tippy once you set up the sliding lifters. Best of all it is paid for and the ceiling is a nice 12' high. Oh by the way, the required air compressor also came with the buiilding!!

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1961 190Db retired
1968 220D/8 325,000
1983 300D 164,150

Pits are a good idea, and a cheaper way to go, maybe. have to figure out the cost of digging the hole, cement forms or cement blocks and the labor to construct it. compared to the cost of a above ground lift. they both have their uses, and good and bad points..

One thing I would recommend with a pit, have an exit on both ends and ventilation. another thing to think about, is ground water seeping in.
there is the safety issues of the open pit if it isn`t covered or safety rails put up after removing the vehicle.

I was looking at the first U-tube video linked, then got to watchng the other videos. sure don`t want this hapening to your MB.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvNKBe6DZhk&feature=related

Charlie

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there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works