I knew I would be working on the 911 quite a bit when I bought it, so I ordered an inexpensive home "lift" to help facilitate the work. Here's how it is going.
How it started
I read up online, looking to see what kinds of experiences people were having. The number one issue with jacking up 911's is the older ones don't have dedicated jack points. I am lucky there; the '88 has them so it's easy to work with.
I looked at the different QuickJack models and picked out the BL-5000SLX. It seemed to be the right length to handle a small car like the 911, or our Beetle or Spitfire. It also handled our 'grownup' cars like the Volvo wagon we had.
Getting it set up could trip some folks up. You need to provide automatic transmission fluid (ATF) for the hydraulics. You also need to have a source of compressed air handy. The unit uses an electric pump to raise the jack and a cylinder with compressed air in it to lower the jack. You'll probably need to check on the compressed air periodically to make sure it is fully charged. You need to bleed the hydraulics when you first set it up as well. Nothing complicated but it would have been handy to know ahead of time. I don't own an automatic transmissioned anything so I had to run out and buy some ATF.
I bought a couple sets of rubber blocks to support the cars, and that has worked out well.
I did develop a hydraulic leak at one point but a little plumbers tape and a wrench took care of that. We'll call it user error.
They sell brackets to hang these on the wall; I just leave them on the floor of the garage, there is plenty of clearance and frankly they're moveable but heavy.
I just scootch them together in the middle of the floor to store them...
...and then park on top of them. Plenty of ground clearance even for an old Euro-height 911.
The Quickjack has 2 locking positions so even if the hydraulics were somehow to fail, the car isn't coming down. I had the 911 up in the air for over a week while I wrestled with the front suspension re-build. Zero issues. I like the piece of mind.
Works great for the Beetle too. This is the higher of the 2 locking positions. Almost high enough to drop the engine I think...
I like being able to roll them outside (they have built in wheels) to work outside on a sunny day, or to do a deep clean on the car.
After doing winter driving clinics and other winter runs, it is good to be able to get the power washer under it and make sure we're not carrying any salt around. I use a gentle foaming nozzle so as not to do any damage, and gentle brushes.
Below is how the car arrived as delivered:
Since then we've installed new oil lines, new shocks, & new brakes but the rest of it is just several rounds of gentle cleaning. A little more to go, but we're nearly there. Much nicer to work on and much easier to see if anything is leaking.
I also use the quickjack to get the snows on and off our cars and do oil changes. It makes everything fast and easy. Overall, a good investment. I get a lot of use out of it. I could not have done the front suspension work without it.
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