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I’ve been looking at the quick jack and The Kwik-Lift I can see good and bad in both, but I really like the fact that The Kwik-Lift gets your car higher off the ground. Might make it easier to remove a transmission. Storage seems like a problem for The Kwik-Lift but you can park on it. I don’t know what either one of them weight. They both say they are portable. Just asking for opinions
Here's a review I left on a reddit comment a while back. Bit of a read, but it's my whole experience.
Originally Posted by ME
I'm going to counter your positive review with one that's a bit more critical.
First off, I have a 99 C5 Corvette. It's a LOW car. Stock, I have approximately 5" of ground clearance. I changed to a shorter profile tire (but much wider) and immediately lost another inch of ground clearance. I have a low-profile 3" jack from Northern Tool. It's served me well over the years, but the Corvette has a unique problem. The only place to properly lift it is by using pucks in the frame rails. Once you have it in the air, the only way to support it is via the same pucks....one of which the jack is currently using. Also, if you lift one side of the car too high (like the height of a jackstand) the other side now has no clearance for the jack to get under the car.
What you end up with is a "see-saw" of small back-and forth actions to get the car in the air. Minimum time: 30 minutes EVERY TIME you want to raise the car. It started to get on my nerves because even simple things like rotating tires became an absolute hassle.
In comes the QuickJack!
Wanting something easier to raise the Corvette with, I started digging. I had seen the QuickJack on CorvetteForum for a few years and did some more research. It seemed to be a 50/50 shot on people loving it or hating it.
Those who loved it, had very limited space to do any sort of work, but were also only doing very minor repairs/maintenance. Nothing more than oil/tire rotations/brakes. Those who didn't like it, were comparing it to the cost of a 2-post lift and the overall utility when using it on other vehicles. In addition, there were some quality complaints and a repeating issue with the fittings for the hoses leaking. Not wanting to commit to a full 2 post lift at the time, and finding a good deal, I rolled the dice and bought a set.
There's something BIG to note about the QuickJacks. There's a VERY strict weight rating on these things. There's 3 models: 3500 pounds, 5000 pounds, and 7000 pounds. Every time you go up in rating, the parts get thicker, heavier, and the unit's minimum height increases along with the overall lifting height. My corvette, stock, is 3150 pounds with a half tank of fuel. I'm 350 pounds below the weight limit of the basic unit, so that's what I bought. Whatever you do, do NOT attempt to lift a heavier vehicle than the rated capacity. These things do NOT have ANY sort of overhead for pushing the limits. Ideally, you buy one that's well above the weight limit for your car.
Onto the actual review.
First off, I have never in my life received a more poorly packaged product. The cardboard was paper thin and every corner was torn and falling apart. Parts of the unit were exposed (the corners). Taking the cardboard off was like tearing paper. Two of the other boxes that contained the power unit and hoses were completely loose. I'm amazed they showed up at the same address properly.
Next, the instructions that came with the kit were 1) incomplete and 2) HORRENDOUS in quality. Now, I'm a mechanical engineer by trade. I can follow instructions. I have no issues with things like IKEA furniture. However, the "booklet" I got with the kit had pictures of items that looked nothing like my kit and the document as a whole looked to have been printed from a JPEG file. It skipped several steps in several places during assembly. I ended up going to their website and downloading a PDF version of the instructions. This version was FAR better and had proper instructions for setup and bleeding the system.
Overall, assembly was easy, barring the instructions. Thread tape on the NPT fittings, tighten everything down, fill it with ATF and you're good. Bleeding the system wasn't hard either. However, bleeding the backside of the air cylinders (what pushes the system back down when there's no load) was a PITA and made tremendous mess as the cylinders were packed with grease for shipping. Over time, they also lost pressure and needed regular re-airing.
Using the system was, for the most part, very simple and easy. It slides under the car, you place the rubber blocks in, and press the button. It raised "mostly" level and was reasonably quick. The little safety arms automatically fall into place when you hit 2 different heights. It is, however, HEAVY. They have pictures of some guy holding one of these in each hand on the box. Yeah, no. Unless you're Andre the Giant, you're not going to be just casually strolling around with these things. They're large, heavy, and flexible. Attempting just grab one and lifting it is going to result in pinched fingers. It's definitely a one-side-at-a-time deal.
Stability on the quick jacks was.....okay....ish. Side-to-side, it was pretty darn stable. You'd have to hit the car at a full sprint to even attempt to tip it over. However, front-to-back, it teetered a bit more than I was comfortable with. Because the system lifts as a trapezoid, one end of the car is going to overhang the base more than the other. In my case, it was the front. Attempting to turn the system around rendered it useless due to my jacking points. I didn't have much say in the matter, so I just put jack stands down as a precaution. In addition, the locking arms are only on 1 side. When you set the system down on them, it tweaks it a bit, and you can see the bar visibly deform. Not much for instilling confidence.
The lifting height was also okay-ish. It only lifted about 16-17". While this made doing tire swaps, oil changes, and brake swaps MUCH easier, everything else wasn't much better than having jackstands. The clearance was slightly higher, but now I could only access the underside of the car from the front or rear. The sides were completely blocked off. If you had to do exhaust or fuel work (fuel filter), you really didn't have a whole heck of a lot of room. That, and combined with the front-to-back teetering made me really question on whether I wanted to attempt any work that requires lots of torquing or removing significant portions of weight.
And then the leaking started. The double-quick-disconnect fittings they use are designed to provide a very clean break when you separate them. Consequently, there's lots of o-rings internally. If any one of these fails, the fittings will leak. I initially thought the thread tape wasn't sufficient, so I cleaned up every fitting again, retaped it all, and figured I was good. I came back the next day to 3-4 ounces of ATF underneath every fitting and the power unit. My garage isn't the nicest place, but the concrete is reasonably clean. I cursed the fittings, cleaned up the mess, checked the power unit, and disconnected the hoses. Turns out, even disconnected, they leaked. I came home to another mess. At this point, I regretted my decision. I was never able to fix the leaking. I inspected the fittings, cleaned them up, changed to a different ATF, but nothing solved it. I ended up just putting cardboard down under the fittings, and I put the power unit in a tupperware bin. Periodically, I'd check the level. Some people have had luck contacting QuickJack and getting replacement fittings. I never bothered.
Overall, my rating of them isn't stellar. Maybe a 2 out of 5. The quality of the product itself, the paint, the packaging, the instructions, and the welding is what I'd expect for $1000. It's built cheaply and it shows. The leaky fittings are a 50/50 shot. Some people never have issues, others (like me) had constant problems. However, it does function as intended. It lifted my car quickly and never actually failed on me. Stability was good left-to-right, but was sorely lacking front-to-rear. Lifting a larger vehicle closer to the weight limit would have been a risk. Usability of the lift really depends on what you're doing. If you're just doing light suspension work, swapping wheels constantly, or doing brake work, it'd be superior to jacks and stands. If you're in a tight garage, it could really benefit you. If you need to do more in-depth work like removing large portions of the car or suspension, you'd be better off with beefier jack stands that can go higher and be positioned as needed.
If you're dead set on buying one, get the 5000 pound version. It's made of thicker tubing and the quality seemed to be a bit better (buddy has one).
I sold mine last year (for what I paid for it) when I bought a 2 post lift. Fully installed, it was $3800 or so. That includes electrical work, shipping, and install. I didn't have to lift a finger. I'm MUCH, MUCH happier with the two post. It's more stable, lifts higher, and doesn't leak all over my ******* floor.
Last edited by Vetteman Jack; 04-16-2018 at 09:24 PM.
Quick Jack 5000 here. Best $1,300 I've ever spent. I put my car up in the air pretty often and this thing is well worth the money. When I build a shop I plan to get a 2 post lift and keep the quick jack on the side for other projects, but for just having a garage this is priceless. I haven't found a downside to it yet. I got the 5000 because I have a crew cab Silverado that occasionally needs to be worked on so I wanted to be able to lift most vehicles and not just the C5.
I love my quick jack as it does what I want with my limited space and height of my garage. There are many You Tube vids on the quick jacks which I looked at many before ordering mine.
Last edited by Vetteman Jack; 04-16-2018 at 09:25 PM.
I bought a used kwik-lift off of Craigslist for $500... and it works great.
If you've got the space, you could disassemble it & set it off to the side for storage. My main gripe (which would be the same for a Quick Jack) is lining the car up to pull onto the ramps... it's a process, and can sometimes take a while. I use a 2x4 to serve as a stop for the front tire, since the towers MIGHT scrape your bumper (depending on how low you are) if you pull too far forward. When not in use, I DO park on mine as well. I built new approach ramps (34" long) since my C5Z is so damned low... yes, I'm one of those who wants to RAISE his C5Z back up a little... it scrapes on everything. I can see the virtue of both lift types. My decision was primarily based upon finances, tho I can't flaw the Kwik Lift design... sturdy... low tech... low maintenance... & does what I need it to do.
Handling/assembling is a 2 person affair. Once it's all together & in place, you can put the ramps onto the towers & pull on/off on your own. One thing to watch out for is the cross-bar in the rear. It has an offset center section to get your floor jack under. Be sure to tilt that center section down when pulling on/backing off... especially if you're lowered.
I bought a used kwik-lift off of Craigslist for $500... and it works great.
If you've got the space, you could disassemble it & set it off to the side for storage. My main gripe (which would be the same for a Quick Jack) is lining the car up to pull onto the ramps... it's a process, and can sometimes take a while. I use a 2x4 to serve as a stop for the front tire, since the towers MIGHT scrape your bumper (depending on how low you are) if you pull too far forward. When not in use, I DO park on mine as well. I built new approach ramps (34" long) since my C5Z is so damned low... yes, I'm one of those who wants to RAISE his C5Z back up a little... it scrapes on everything. I can see the virtue of both lift types. My decision was primarily based upon finances, tho I can't flaw the Kwik Lift design... sturdy... low tech... low maintenance... & does what I need it to do.
Handling/assembling is a 2 person affair. Once it's all together & in place, you can put the ramps onto the towers & pull on/off on your own. One thing to watch out for is the cross-bar in the rear. It has an offset center section to get your floor jack under. Be sure to tilt that center section down when pulling on/backing off... especially if you're lowered.
there's not really any lining up with quick jack. you pull the car in, slide them under the sides. with the lift blocks on the quick jack it it almost touching the jacking pucks anyway. so there's no real "lining up" other than just sliding them under and making sure the blocks are under the pucks. takes about 30 seconds.
there's not really any lining up with quick jack. you pull the car in, slide them under the sides. with the lift blocks on the quick jack it it almost touching the jacking pucks anyway. so there's no real "lining up" other than just sliding them under and making sure the blocks are under the pucks. takes about 30 seconds.
some people build approach ramps (at both ends) flush with the quick jack (in the down position) & just park on it... but I see your point.
Oh I saw one guy that just pushed the quick jacks to the middle with the handles coming from underneath and just rolling over the handles. If I used mine that much I would for sure do that.
St. Jude Donor '13-'14-'15-'16-'17-'18-'19-'20-'21-'22-'23-'24
I bought a KL the summer I bought my C5. After the novelty wore off, about a year or so, I found it to be more of a PITA. Sure, I parked on, but I can’t tell you how many times I tripped over it too!
It’s big, heavy and not really what I would consider portable.
If my garage had the ceiling height, I'd get a two post lift. It doesn't so I bought a nearly new Kwik Lift with a bridge for $ 500.00. It is heavy but will hold my Impala at 4,500 lbs as well as the Z06. The bridge makes it possible to do brake jobs and work on suspension. I would buy a second bridge if I could find one. I have installed headers, done exhaust work and brake jobs using it. There is plenty of height to use a creeper to sit up under the car. I'm 5'6" so there's that.
It has not moved since we set it up in the garage. I just park one of the cars on it with the back of the lift in the down position. No need to drop the front. If you have 2K or more to spend get a nice two post, but you can find used Kiwk Lifts in the $ 500 dollar range and it beats jack stands by a mile.
Kwik Lift for me. Had one when I had my first vette and when I sold the car sold the lift, big mistake. Now have another vette and another Kwik Lift. Even if I sell the car am keeping the lift. With the center bridge you can do just about any job on the Kwik Lift. I love mine.
I got the Quickjack 5000 a few weeks ago and couldn't be happier, wish i knew about this a while ago! Makes life so much easier, here it is at the first lock.
04-16-2018, 03:24 AM
Quick Jack or Kwik-Lift need opinions
