How to weld a car lift. Do-it-yourself car lift for the garage

If the car engine is seriously damaged, the repair will be quite expensive. This explains the fact that many motorists, having the appropriate knowledge and experience, are ready to start repairs on their own. They are ready, but do not start, because for this the engine must be pulled out of the hood, and at the end of work, installed back. It is impossible to do this with bare hands, without a special lifting mechanism.

But wit and developed logic, as you know, will help you find a way out of any situation. And if you have a garage, you can use the experience of craftsmen and build a self-braking worm lift.

Note! Many experts do not advise using a worm gearbox as a car lift: they say that the worms will loosen very quickly and stop holding the engine.

This is certainly true, but only when the lift is used, say, every day. But you do not plan to remove the engine of the same car every day, so the strength of the mechanism should be enough for a long time.

To make an engine lift, prepare the following materials/tools:

Do-it-yourself garage lift: instructions

Stage one

To begin with, embed steel corners into the side walls of the room so that the hood of the car is located just under them. Then put a centimeter plate on the shelves of the corners and fix it with eight “M8” bolts. It will not connect to the corners themselves, so in the future you can change its location above the car engine.

Stage two

Fix the worm gear on the plate. Then take the key, put it on the drive shaft, fix it. Next, make a ø2 cm hole in the tile for the chain, then pass the chain through the finished hole and close it into a ring.

Stage three

Put another “sprocket” on the output shaft, this time smaller, connect them.

Stage four

Make two more holes ø3 cm in the plate, pass the chain through them, throwing it over the smaller key. The second chain must end with a steel hook capable of supporting the weight of the engine.

Features of the operation of such a lift

The operation of the worm structure should take place as follows. Unscrew all the bolts securing the engine to the frame, bring loops made of five-millimeter steel cable under it, then throw the ends of these loops onto the hook. After that, sort out the ringed chain in such a way as to make the drive shaft of the structure rotate.

From the drive shaft, the rotation you created will be transferred to the load shaft, which will lead to tension in the cables. Start lifting the engine, but slowly and with the utmost care. When the engine is completely out of the hood of the car, stop lifting - the load will be securely held by the gearbox.

Drive the car about one meter deep into the room to make room for the table.

Note! Use a sturdy table for this that can withstand heavy loads. It is desirable that it be on wheels for more convenient movement in any direction.

If the car is too big

Sometimes it is necessary to repair engines not only for cars. In this case, you will need at least two assistants - they will pull the engine, hanging on cables, to the table, which you must move to the bumper of the car in advance. At the same time, you will rotate the gearbox through the chain, but only in the other direction.

Once faced with such a situation, you will probably begin to think about modernizing your design. Alternatively, you can equip the steel plate with wheels that will allow you to pull it to the side wall in order to lower the dismantled engine onto the table there. Moreover, you can go further and equip the lift with an electric motor with a reduction gear. And that, as they say, is a completely different story.

For several decades now, the simplest and yet most reliable way to lift a car is to turn it on its side. Indeed, after all, not only the engine needs to be repaired from time to time, but also other parts that can only be reached with the help of a viewing hole. However, not everyone has such a hole, and craftsmen designed an extremely simple, if not primitive design.

This lift requires a minimum of three people. This method can hardly be considered perfect, because no one wants to risk scratching the car on the concrete floor. However, if there is no other way out, then such a car lift can help you out.

Its design is extremely simple, and the manufacturing technology is clear even from photographs.

Here is another very similar design, with only a few significant differences.

Video - Car lift to the garage

An inspection hole can become an alternative to the lift (of course, if the design of the garage allows you to dig it). If you make a hole in human height, then you can easily inspect the bottom of the car. If it is not possible to equip a viewing hole, then you can get by with a flyover (but it requires sufficiently high ceilings in the room).

To work with the bottom of the car, you must either drive the car into a pit or raise it on a lift. But what if there is no such possibility, but you need to fix it?

The lift works on the principle of a book, lifting the car by 45 degrees. It is lifted from a simple regular jack. 15-20 minutes and you can safely work.

Description of a homemade car lift

1. Shoe. The material for the manufacture of metal 3-4 mm and a metal bar with a diameter of 12 mm is welded in order to fix the jack. It is important to maintain the internal size not to narrow. This is necessary to move the shoe along the rack.
2. Rear beam. Material 32 Angle 1500 mm long 4 pcs. They are assembled in a square, when assembling it is necessary to use clamps. A metal rod-square 26x21 350-360 mm long is inserted into the inside of one of the finished squares, electric rivets are made into the pre-drilled holes after cleaning. The node is collapsible.
3. Playground. Material sheet metal 3-4 mm. A platform measuring 350x150 is assembled, the sides are bent or a strip 20 mm wide with drilled holes for fastening the inserted board is welded onto the tacks. A strip of rubber is attached to the board. Stiffeners and guides are welded under the bottom of the platform, do not forget to weld in the jumper. The size of the site is not critical. It is important to maintain the size between the guides, the platform is put on the upper beam, along which it must move freely.
4. Rear connector. Material sheet metal 3-4mm. It is assembled from two halves, between which a strip of metal 3-4 mm thick is welded along the perimeter of the parts. Leave the front open. Don't forget to weld in the jumper at the bottom of the assembly.
5. Rack. Material 32 corner 1540mm long. - 4 things. 36mm-4pcs. The corner is also assembled into a square welding seams with tacks 30-40mm, use clamps during assembly. After connecting the corner, it is necessary to drill: in the lower part of the hole with a diameter of 26mm, stepping back from the edge of 31mm, that is, 5mm remains for welding the metal rod in the inner part of the structure. Next, we drill holes with a diameter of 13mm, the first at a distance of 100mm, then 80mm and the next 190mm. Size 80 and 190mm are repeated respectively. Holes are needed for metal pins fixing the shoe and the top beam. After we have assembled the square profile and drilled it, we connect it together with segments of the corners also assembled into a square profile. With this assembly, it is necessary to insert spacers between the profiles of the same size, that is, 36mm or a finished top beam. After welding, without removing the spacers, allow the parts to cool. Check that the top beam can pass freely between the two square profiles.
6. Front connector. The material is two pieces of an inch pipe of 300 mm each, a corner of 32 about 330 mm long and a rod made of a bar with a diameter of 26 mm, a length of 420 mm. Take a corner and mark it. from the center 60 mm in each direction, at this distance we save the corner shelf, and from these marks to the edges we cut off the shelves with a cutter or a hacksaw. A hole with a diameter of 16 mm is drilled in the center of the corner, which is necessary for connecting the lower beam, taking into account the size of the bolt head. Then we bend the corner into a U-shaped figure. It is better to connect the prepared parts assembled with the RACK. Track. so as not to burn the pipe during welding. The entire front connector is movable. That is, the U-shaped corner along the edges with pipes should rotate on a metal rod.
7. Top beam. Material corner for 32mm long 1710mm-2pcs. sheet metal strip 64mm wide. And a few bushings, which I will describe below.
The corner is assembled into a U-shaped profile, a simpler channel. From one edge in the middle, an insert made of metal 3-4 mm 160 mm long is welded, it is necessary for different openings. Then a plate is welded on top with tacks, everything is sewn into one piece and a rectangular profile is obtained. The insert must also be welded to this plate. On the opposite side, our profile is muffled with a 4-5 mm metal plate, everything is scalded around the perimeter and cleaned. A sleeve is also welded to this end in the center: an inner diameter of 20mm, an outer diameter of 35mm and a length of 35mm, for connection to the rear node. From the front side of the upper beam, two guides for the jack are welded, there are holes for the jack stopper on them, an 8mm bolt with a nut is inserted into them (MANDATORY). Also, a bushing with rollers and a bushing for the safety pin are welded on the upper part.
8. Fingers. Material metal bar with a diameter of 12mm. Cut to size and fold, preheating the fold. Quantity 3-pcs.
9. Bottom beam. Material 32 corner, M16 nut. The corners are assembled into a square profile also by welding - tacks. An M16 nut is welded from one end (tighten the bolt before welding so as not to clog the thread). For connection to the front node. From the other end, drill a hole, stepping back from the edge of 20mm in the center, a hole with a diameter of 12mm for the bolt. For connection to the rear node.

No auto repair shop is complete without a car lift. The equipment is available on the market in a wide variety of models from local and foreign manufacturers. The car lift installed in the car service will pay off quickly, but buying a car lift for personal needs is a stupid expense. Moreover, it is realistic to build a car lift with your own hands.

Varieties of car lifts

The owners of personal cars are well aware of how rapidly the prices for the maintenance and service of such vehicles rise annually. The smart decision will be do-it-yourself car repair when qualifications and experience allow it. A separate tool is already in the garage of motorists, but things are different with the pit repair room and equipment. However, some important devices (for example, a car lift for a garage) can be created independently.

Before choosing a drawing for a future lift, it is worth analyzing the existing equipment versions and choosing the best one for your garage. Lifts are:

• single-column and two-column;
• hydraulic;
• rack;
• pneumatic;
• screw.

The advantages of single-column variations are in compact dimensions - an ideal option for use in a small garage. A two-post lift will provide an opportunity to carry out repair work of any level of complexity. Hydraulic car crane is practical. It is necessary to observe the level of fluid in the seals. rack and pinion lift has a simple design and protection of parts from contamination. For the effective operation of a pneumatic crane, you need to buy a pump. And the screw version is characterized by low load capacity and lift height, so it should be considered last.

Best device design

Your future homemade car jack must have a certain design. The two-column mechanism (there are options with an electromechanical or electrohydraulic drive) is used throughout. The first consists of a threaded shaft with a bearing nut. The shaft is rotated by means of an electric motor with a gearbox.

In the second case, the shaft is replaced by a hydraulic drive. And the scissor lift has also proven itself well in business. Special levers act as "scissors" And. The lifting of the load is carried out by hydraulic drives with electric motors. Each design can be suitable for your specific usage conditions. Any considered installation turns out to be quite difficult to build a similar car lift for the garage with your own hands. Indeed, even when creating a motor lift, difficulties arise, and here the task becomes much more complicated.

Important Safety Points

You must be prepared for the fact that the creation of a useful system (a homemade lift to the garage) will be associated with significant financial costs and manufacturing difficulties. But the main thing is the need for strict observance of safety rules. Among them:

• elimination of the risk of injury during the manufacture of the device;
• ensuring the reserve of the carrying capacity of the equipment;
• creation of locking mechanisms.

The last point deserves special attention, because such devices will protect against the consequences of emergency situations. Better anticipate them and regularly check the condition of the shaft and nut in the case of an electromechanical drive, and for electro-hydraulic equipment, it is important to check for damage to the cylinders and hoses.

Tipper lift

To avoid costs and a lot of difficulties, you can give preference to a simple garage lift-tipper. The device will allow you to roll the car to one side, and the angle of inclination can vary from 45 ° to 60 °. This is enough for most repairs.

To build such an assembly, you will have to create and connect a number of parts: the front rack, beams (upper, lower, rear), shoe. You will also need various connecting elements. It will take a lot of work with metal, therefore it is necessary to have special tools - welding, grinders and drills with a set of drills for metal. The main material for work is 4 mm steel sheets, corners and bushings.

It is worth starting the manufacture of a jack from the base - the shoe. It is necessarily made of steel and in full accordance with the drawing. The importance of free movement shoe on the front pillar in a vertical plane. The rack consists of two squares, which are welded from 32 corners with a length of at least 1500 mm. They are combined by means of segments of the corners, and the distance between them should not prevent the free movement of the upper beam. After that, you need to drill holes for the support pipe and fingers - metal clamps for the upper beam and shoe.

Creating the top beam

Next, proceed directly to the creation of the upper beam. For her, take two corners of 1.5 m and weld them into a U-shaped profile. It is also necessary to weld a metal insert in the middle, which will ensure the fixation of the jack. The beam will be ready when you weld a plate of the appropriate length and height to the profile. The result is a rectangular beam. One of its ends must be tightly welded - a bushing will be attached to it, and the guides for the jack are welded to the other end.

The platform for the beam is created from a steel sheet. You can bend its sides to get a semblance of a box, or weld the walls of this very structure. Inside the site there will be a piece of wood of the right size, which is fixed with fasteners, and rubber is mounted on top of the tree. The platform is attached to the beam by means of a pre-welded lug.

Final stage

In order for the machine to be securely supported on the opposite side being lifted, a rear beam is required. It is welded from 4 corners 32, 1500 mm long, so that in the end we get a square the length of a car. The beams are interconnected by means of a special node on the rear beam. The bottom beam is also created from angles and connected to the upright and back beam. The matter remains small: to make fingers-stupors and install a jack. As a result, you will get an effective tipper.

For self-repair or maintenance of the car, an inspection hole or a lift is required. Not every garage can dig a hole, so many car owners are thinking about installing a lift themselves. After reading the article, you will learn how to make a car lift with your own hands, what you need for this and how much such work will cost you.

What types of lifts are

There are three main types of mechanisms that are used to repair machines:

Lifts are also divided according to the method of lifting the car:

• scissor;
• platform;
• forklifts.

The most popular type of lifts are screw fork lifts. Their basis is a long threaded shaft made of tool steel, which can withstand loads up to 2-3 tons. However, it is almost impossible to make such a mechanism at home due to the complexity of manufacturing forks. Therefore, screw platform devices are more suitable for do-it-yourself manufacturing. They are made in the form of two parallel channels laid with ribs down and attached to screw drive mechanisms that provide platform lifting. In such devices, the requirements for shafts are noticeably lower, because not two, but four shafts provide lift. Their significant disadvantage is the need to use a jack to repair the suspension, because the wheels of the car do not hang in the air, but stand on channels.

Often, forklifts and platform lifts for cars are made with a chain drive. According to their characteristics, they are in no way inferior to screw ones, but they are more difficult to make with your own hands. After all, coordinated work of all drive electric motors, as well as braking devices, is required. For the manufacture of scissor lifts, a hydraulic drive is most often used, although some DIYers are experimenting with a chain or screw drive.

Lift - do it yourself or buy a used one

The main problem faced by anyone who wants to make their own car lift is the high cost of parts, which makes it much cheaper to buy a used device. After all, hydraulic cylinders of sufficient length and carrying capacity cost tens of thousands of rubles. Custom-made strong worms (threaded shafts) made of tool steel will cost at least as much. As a result, the costs for building the simplest do-it-yourself scissor lift reach 100-120 thousand rubles, while the cost of new Chinese devices of various types starts from 80 thousand rubles.

Reliability and security

In addition to cost, there are two more factors that cast doubt on the feasibility of making a do-it-yourself lifting mechanism for a car - these are reliability and safety. The weight of even a small car often exceeds one ton.

If the car lift cannot withstand the load, the car will fall on whoever is under it. Such cases are known. All of them ended in death or severe disability.

The vehicle may fall off the lift for the following reasons:

• the weight of the machine turned out to be more than the drive or actuator is able to withstand;
• the locking device turned out to be of the wrong design;
• the locking device could not withstand the load;
• The lift legs are insufficiently or incorrectly secured.

To make a lift with your own hands, you either have to take a ready-made scheme, hoping that its author carefully calculated the strength of all the details, or perform these calculations yourself. Such work can only be mastered by a highly qualified engineer; it is beyond the power of an ordinary motorist. In addition, it is necessary to calculate what load the drive and brake mechanism can withstand. If any of these calculations are wrong, the car lift turns into a deadly trap. No less important is the calculation of the basis of this mechanism. It is not enough just to pour a thick layer of concrete here, because it is necessary to provide fasteners located in strictly defined places.

Detail search

If you nevertheless decide to build a car lift with your own hands, and you are not afraid of the danger of this homemade product, then start the selection of parts by looking for a drive mechanism and a stopper. These details can be found in the following locations:

• stores selling components for special equipment;
• enterprises with old construction equipment on their balance sheets;
• enterprises that are updating the park of woodworking or metalworking machines;
• ferrous and non-ferrous metal collection points.

For a scissor lift, you will need two hydraulic cylinders of suitable capacity and length, a compressor for them and hydraulic hoses. The scissor circuit is the easiest to manufacture, but it is impossible to make a reliable brake in it. Therefore, if a hose bursts or one of the cylinders leaks, trouble cannot be avoided. Shafts and electric motors with gears suitable for platform or forklifts are easiest to find where old machines are replaced with new ones. It will cost much less than ordering worms to a turner. And the stopper of such mechanisms is not difficult - a helical bar with a latch, made of steel 1–2 cm thick.

Output

If you still decide to take a chance and make a car lift with your own hands, then before choosing any scheme and proceeding with the assembly, find those who have already made such a device. See how it works, make sure it's safe. After all, you are risking not a car, but your life. If, at the time of the fall of the car, one of the family members turns out to be under it with you, then you will put his life in danger.

For repair and maintenance of vehicles, a lift is often required. This design is designed to fix the car and lift it to a certain height, which provides access to the suspension, running gear and many other elements of the vehicle. A similar design is often found at service stations, less often in private garages due to the high cost. If desired, you can make a homemade lift for the car. It will cost relatively inexpensively and is practically in no way inferior to purchased models in terms of performance.

Choosing the most suitable design

First you need to decide what type of structure will be created. To do this, it is enough to pay attention to the lifts of factory origin - they become the main base for creating a home-made structure.

The most widespread are:

By way of lifting the car distinguish the following types of construction:

1. Forklifts.
2. Scissor.
3. Platform.

The force can be transmitted from a screw, chain or hydraulic drive.

A home-made car lift for a car with your own hands should be created taking into account the fact that the design must be safe, securely fix the vehicle. Do not forget that during the execution of almost any work, the master is under a vehicle whose weight is more than a ton.

Difficulties in the manufacture of the lift

The installed car may break down for the following reasons:

Difficulties in manufacturing arise due to the fact that some structural elements cannot be made by hand. An example is long lead screws. Therefore, they rarely make a scissor lift with their own hands. Drawings of home-made structures often provide for the creation of a tipper, which is much easier to manufacture. Do-it-yourself scissor lift drawings, if necessary, can be downloaded on the Internet, but it should be borne in mind that most of the parts will have to be purchased, due to which the cost of the finished structure will not decrease. In addition, you will have to calculate the strength of all the elements used.

Such work can only be performed qualitatively by an engineer who has extensive experience. If errors are made at the time of the calculations, there is a possibility that the lifting mechanism will not withstand the applied load. Therefore, in the absence of confidence that the skills and knowledge will be enough to implement a complex project, it is best to create less complex mechanisms that will be more reliable.

DIY car lift in the garage can be made as follows:

This design is most suitable for lifting the engine and other heavy units. It is less suitable for lifting a vehicle.

In conclusion, we note that it is almost impossible to create a classic lifting device from improvised materials, which is found in service stations. To work with the chassis or the bottom of the car, you can create a tipper.