Are Quickjacks Worth It?

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by Sapphireho

I'm kinda like and don't like my quickjack. Dislikes are the rails are very heavy for an older guy with mobility issues, it doesn't go high enough for my trucks, and won't work with the Lotus. It only works with the twin and the 911. Takes me a lot of up and down and moving around to get the rails and blocks aligned. likes are, once it is in place, if you have a lot of suspension or under car work to do, it gets the car a nice distance off the ground in a very safe manner.

that is entirely dependent on what you bought and whether you're trying to make one size fit all.

My Quickjack 5000LT (bought in 2019) worked well for a variety of vehicles.

without extension ramps, it worked for my S13, S14, and a friends BRZ

with extension ramps, it worked well for my Subaru Legacy, Lexus ES, Volvo V60 CC, a couple of Honda Odysseys, and a Tesla Model 3.

for extra height I use the larger blocks. for something close to a truck I'd rather use the larger 7000 series lifts.

the basic 5000 unit is good for smaller 2 door or 4 door cars with short wheelbase.

[Sapphireho]

Originally Posted by mav1178

that is entirely dependent on what you bought and whether you're trying to make one size fit all.

My Quickjack 5000LT (bought in 2019) worked well for a variety of vehicles.

without extension ramps, it worked for my S13, S14, and a friends BRZ

with extension ramps, it worked well for my Subaru Legacy, Lexus ES, Volvo V60 CC, a couple of Honda Odysseys, and a Tesla Model 3.

for extra height I use the larger blocks. for something close to a truck I'd rather use the larger 7000 series lifts.

the basic 5000 unit is good for smaller 2 door or 4 door cars with short wheelbase.

I have the 5000SLX

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by Sapphireho

I have the 5000SLX

same as what I have then, I have the regular one with SLX extension frames.

not ideal for a truck, I agree, but I can also lift my car up and do a tire rotation, oil change, and anything else within an hour.

YMMV. and obviously you need to be able to push around a 100lb frame on the floor.

[Capt Spaulding]

Originally Posted by Sapphireho

I have rhino ramps and I cannot use them for my twin, and I am only slightly lowered with TRD springs. They are too tall.

I found that a foot long 1x8 laid flat across the front of the ramp provided enuf lift to work with the ramps.

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by nissanfanatic

I asked on youtube as well but anyone look at the Bendpak MD-6XP?

The problem I see with the Bendpak is it's limited use. How do you service the transmission fluids with all that stuff in the way? With the quickjack you can at least still get to everything. It may not be the easiest with only front/back access but you could drop the transmission still. Absolutely not possible with the Bendpak.

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by nissanfanatic

I asked on youtube as well but anyone look at the Bendpak MD-6XP?

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

The problem I see with the Bendpak is it's limited use. How do you service the transmission fluids with all that stuff in the way? With the quickjack you can at least still get to everything. It may not be the easiest with only front/back access but you could drop the transmission still. Absolutely not possible with the Bendpak.

the REAL problem with the Bendpak Bendpak MD-6XP is that it weighs 900+lbs (for the shipping weight).

you're not moving that thing once it is put down in the garage.

at least with the Quickjack I can easily lift it to be stored vertically on the hanger hooks that is included with the kit via Costco. sure there might be easier or cheaper setups, but I really have not found anything else that can be as flexible for a variety of cars, stock or modified.

[Spuds]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

The problem I see with the Bendpak is it's limited use. How do you service the transmission fluids with all that stuff in the way? With the quickjack you can at least still get to everything. It may not be the easiest with only front/back access but you could drop the transmission still. Absolutely not possible with the Bendpak.

Having just done my TOB, I think it would have been a PITA to try it with a quickjack.

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by Spuds

Having just done my TOB, I think it would have been a PITA to try it with a quickjack.

I would say, based on experience, that with Quickjack you'd only be able to do transmission or drivetrain work if you lifted on pinch welds using the pinch weld adapter blocks.

if you use any lift point more inward then you lose access to the drivetrain.

Quickjack is useful for doing 4 wheel rotation, any moderate suspension work involving all 4 wheels, any front engine work, or even just storing the car in an off-the-ground state for an extended period of time.

[Spuds]

Originally Posted by mav1178

I would say, based on experience, that with Quickjack you'd only be able to do transmission or drivetrain work if you lifted on pinch welds using the pinch weld adapter blocks.

if you use any lift point more inward then you lose access to the drivetrain.

Quickjack is useful for doing 4 wheel rotation, any moderate suspension work involving all 4 wheels, any front engine work, or even just storing the car in an off-the-ground state for an extended period of time.

So are jack stands and a floor jack. I'd take a quickjack for anything that doesn't have specified center jack points, sure. But the twins have center jack points so lifting them with a floor jack is pretty easy. I suppose a quickjack would be useful if I didn't have room to pump a floor jack, but then where are you storing the quickjack? And I can use the same floor jack for other stuff if I need to, even while the car is on stands.

[Ohio Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by mav1178

I would say, based on experience, that with Quickjack you'd only be able to do transmission or drivetrain work if you lifted on pinch welds using the pinch weld adapter blocks.

Do you still have access to all the underpanels' fasteners (especially with the 2017+/JDM underpanels) with the Quickjacks?

Originally Posted by Spuds

So are jack stands and a floor jack. I'd take a quickjack for anything that doesn't have specified center jack points, sure.

That's my thinking as well. I also doubt Quickjacks are really that much less of a hassle (than jack and stands) - seeing uncut videos of people lifting their cars there's still a bunch of fiddling with positioning - raise the jacks, check alignment, raise some more, check again, etc. (and do that on all 4 corners at once, so walk around the car a bunch of times). The biggest benefit would be if you need to raise and lower the car a bunch of times without driving it (maybe for suspension work where you want to torque down bolts with the suspension loaded?), but otherwise I just can't get myself to consider the splurge on Quickjacks over jacks and stands.

[cjd]

Originally Posted by Ohio Enthusiast

Do you still have access to all the underpanels' fasteners (especially with the 2017+/JDM underpanels) with the Quickjacks?



That's my thinking as well. I also doubt Quickjacks are really that much less of a hassle (than jack and stands) - seeing uncut videos of people lifting their cars there's still a bunch of fiddling with positioning - raise the jacks, check alignment, raise some more, check again, etc. (and do that on all 4 corners at once, so walk around the car a bunch of times). The biggest benefit would be if you need to raise and lower the car a bunch of times without driving it (maybe for suspension work where you want to torque down bolts with the suspension loaded?), but otherwise I just can't get myself to consider the splurge on Quickjacks over jacks and stands.

No on the fasteners... Unless you set them really on the edge.
I use mine for annual maintenance and alignment where the car is up and down a lot. Way too much setup work for the winter tire swap and even just for an oil change. They're heavy and I have little access one side of the car making it really difficult to position, though i do usually move the car over a bit first which helps. I got mine when I decided to start doing my own alignments and corner balancing. That's a minimum of once a year, maybe more.

[Ohio Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by cjd

Way too much setup work for the winter tire swap and even just for an oil change. They're heavy

Thank you very much for sharing your experience! Most folks just rave about their Quickjack, it's great to see a more realistic representation of using them.

[Wally86]

Originally Posted by Ohio Enthusiast

Thank you very much for sharing your experience! Most folks just rave about their Quickjack, it's great to see a more realistic representation of using them.

I use my quick jacks for everything but I like the safety of the bars more than most people, I suspect. That said, lining up the pinch blocks is incredibly annoying. To the point that I'm tempted to take the second set of blocks that costco threw in and using a forstner bit to drill holes and glue in some neodymium magnets to get them to stick to the car...

Other than that annoyance, I've loved mine any time I need to get under the car. For me, it makes oil changes fun. I can get on the creeper and check the rest of the car from front to back too.

[Spuds]

Originally Posted by Wally86

I use my quick jacks for everything but I like the safety of the bars more than most people, I suspect. That said, lining up the pinch blocks is incredibly annoying. To the point that I'm tempted to take the second set of blocks that costco threw in and using a forstner bit to drill holes and glue in some neodymium magnets to get them to stick to the car...

Other than that annoyance, I've loved mine any time I need to get under the car. For me, it makes oil changes fun. I can get on the creeper and check the rest of the car from front to back too.

Have you used a floor jack and jack stands with your 86 before? How much time and effort does it save? Where do you store the quickjack?