Getting a vehicle off the ground for repairs or maintenance can be a frustrating and time-consuming process. Obscure jacking points, easily distorted plastic sill covers, questionable-looking pinch welds and more can all make lifting a car a real pain.
If you’ve got a car that doesn’t have much ground clearance, getting underneath it can be even more problematic – which is why, with lots of work planned on my Corvette, I finally relented and decided to invest in a QuickJack.
These portable hydraulic lifts, which are sold in different sizes and ratings, are designed to make the task of getting a vehicle in the air quick and easy. More to the point, they lift from points located along the sides of the vehicle; this means they will raise it in such a fashion that you can remove its wheels and access the braking, steering, suspension and powertrain components.
This was ideal, given that I wanted to routinely tinker with my car’s running gear, but there was another reason for opting for a QuickJack: safety. Trolley jacks, axle stands and ramps do the job but they can be perilous – and even more so if you're working on your own, as I often am – so a safer and less troublesome method of lifting a car has a lot of appeal.
A QuickJack isn’t a cheap solution, mind; the BL-5000SLX model, which has a lifting capacity of 2268kg and fits between the wheels of my car, set me back £1129.99. The expenditure doesn’t end there, though, as you’ll also need a 12-volt battery, some jumper cables, fluid for the hydraulic system and a compressor or tyre pump to pressurise the air cylinders that help the lifts descend.
This makes the initial outlay significant but, if you regularly need to lift cars to work on them, the cost could be easy to justify. Furthermore, especially if you're working on larger or heavier cars, buying a pair of decent trolley jacks, four high-quality axle stands, some lifting blocks and pad adaptors can tot up to north of £700 – so, if you don't have any or much lifting gear, the additional cost of skipping straight to a QuickJack might prove tolerable.
Fortunately, as you’d hope considering the price, the first impression is one of quality. The neatly packaged QuickJack kit includes the heavy-duty lifting frames themselves, a hydraulic power unit and all the required fittings and lines. You also get some Teflon tape to seal the threads on the fittings, as well as wheels for the lifts and a variety of lifting blocks.
The initial assembly of a QuickJack is not the work of a moment, so set aside an hour or two. It’s not a difficult process, thanks to a comprehensive manual, but you want to take your time and make sure that the components are free from leaks. You also need to ensure, in particular, that the fittings from the hydraulic rams are angled in such a way that the lines don’t clash with the frames while lifting.
After you have put it together for the first time and bled the system, it subsequently takes mere minutes to get it operational from a disassembled state; the lifts can be moved by a single person, and have wheels at one end to increase portability, while the hydraulic lines feature non-spill quick couplers that can be attached and disconnected in a moment.
Once you’ve positioned the lifts, and attached and powered the hydraulic pump, you have to place the supplied heavy-duty rubber lifting blocks in the receiver trays on the lifts. These blocks provide a cushion between the lift and whatever it is coming into contact with, which protects against damage and provides additional clearance.
The lifts are controlled by the pendant controller and rise in a steady and synchronised fashion, so it’s easy to ensure that the lifting blocks engage with the right points at the right time – and, once you’ve got some weight on the QuickJack, the rest of the lifting process is similarly smooth and composed.
You’re not relying on just the hydraulics to keep the lifts up, though, as there are mechanical locking bars on each frame. These engage in one of two positions, the highest of which grants enough room to slide under the car on a creeper, and ensure the lifts won’t drop – even if hydraulic power is lost. The lifts are solid and stable in their highest position, too, so working under the car feels safe.
What’s also useful is that you can safely run the car when it’s up on the lifts, which can be ideal if you’re trying to identify issues or check that a fix has worked properly. Additionally, if you don't intend to use the car for a while and want to avoid flat spots on its tyres, you can just leave it in the air on the lifts.
The biggest benefit is unquestionably the sheer ease of use and convenience. There’s no fuss or fretting; I simply slide the QuickJack lifts under the car, connect them up, position the blocks in appropriate spots and raise the vehicle. It’s all controlled, straightforward and predictable – and, because it’s so effortless, I’m more inclined to get out there and get on with the work at hand. That, to me, makes them worth every penny.
They’re not even difficult to store, as they can be slipped under a car or hung from brackets, and adaptors are available to make the lifts suitable for use with motorcycles, pickup trucks and SUVs. The QuickJack is very hard to fault, as a result, and makes many a task enjoyable instead of exasperating. If you often need get your car off the ground, and there is a QuickJack that suits your application, then this is an excellent portable solution.
Keyword: Garage gear: QuickJack BL-5000SLX portable automatic car lift review