Found QuickJack at Costco for $1099. Will it work with my Modena?

Please do......I've bled the crap out of it.

 

Oh well there's your problem, you need to get the air out as well ...

I know, probably not appreciated but in times of extreme exasperation you either resort to comedy or drink. I don't think drinking will help this ...

I'll let you know how it goes.

Now ... I'm going to read the instructions to try and figure out which tools I need to bring. I'm planing on taking a couple of saw horses and do the assembly on those while sitting my mechanics hydraulic stool. At my age working on the ground just hurts too damn much. My wife will be my helper for putting it in place under my Espada

Any tips for what to bring?

 

I just watched this and it seems pretty straight forward. Maybe you have a defective cylinder?

 

Yes.........
correct size wrenches, I believe there are two sizes required.
Large crescent wrench.
Air compressor and tire air gauge.
3 quarts of auto transmission fluid.
Correct size allen wrench for bleeding.
Beer.

 

We've decided to put it off for about 5 days for warmer weather and in the mean time I can do all the pre-assembly of the hoses and such. Metal is no fun to work with at 40F.
I have at least a gallon left over of Walmart ATF form my first lift so I'll be using that. Then 2 qts is not enough because of bleeding? How does the bleeding work? A mess on the ground or ?

 

No mess. You hook up the lines, and after pressurizing with air, I raised the lift a ways then let it down. Then follow the bleeding procedure in the manual.
I only had a few drops come out and cleaned up easily with a paper towel. But you want to fill the lines with fluid before you bleed.

 

That sounds like a good idea ... so before the have the quick disconnect fittings on?

 

Yesterday I set up the hoses and pump as prep for my remote install. I scanned through the manual and I can't find anything dealing with the issue of all of that air that would be injected into the hydraulic side of those cylinders if you don't pre-fill the hoses? It seems to me that there isn't a natural way for the system to purge itself of air. Perhaps a turkey baster will help with the pre-fill of the hoses? This seems like it could be quite messy though.

I found this in one review out there:

So you're not alone and given the independent nature of two sides of the lift mechanism I think this maybe inevitable.
I have to wonder if periodic bleeding to remove air bubbles is something that's going to be an ongoing requirement. I have a car with a high pressure braking system like that.

 

No, I just hooked up the lines to the pump and raised the platforms with fluid from the pump. Then lowered them, then bled. Hardly any air came out at all.

 

OK perhaps I misunderstood. So you didn't pre-fill the lines before assembly you just let the pump do that in the initial turn on and THEN went though their bleed procedure?

Hmmm. Anyone who has bled hydraulic systems with unfortunate designed turns or elevation changes knows that some times this can be a beotch. So if there's physical space beyond that port air could hide there.

I guess repeated bleeding is the only way then. Perhaps changing the positioning of the ramp so that the port hole is at the highest elevation will get the last bits of air out?

I'm hesitant to open that bleed screw while the system is under any pressure in order to effect a "pressure bleed"

 

The bleeding instructions tell you to raise each platform vertically......then open the bleed screw. Do not try to open it while under pressure or there will be a big mess.
I figured out that you need to fill the lines from the pump first. Too bad they don't cover that better in the instructions. I have bled mine about four times and cannot get any more air out at all.

 

Could you be more specific. The pump itself needs to prime and bleed air out. So how did you bleed the lines first after that?

I had none of these issues on my portable big four post lift with the leveraged dollys. That system just seemed to self bleed.

 

I followed the printed instructions and couldn't get any air to bleed out, so I hooked everything up and raised the platforms to the first lock position, then lowered them. Then I raised each platform vertically so the bleed screw was pointing up. Opened it with the allen wrench and as per the printed instructions let it bleed for about a minute, then tightened it again. I had very little air coming out. My pump has a bleed valve on the fluid reservoir and when you lower the ramps you can hear air bleeding out there, so I think it does self bleed. The assembly instructions are quite vague about this. If you google the video it explains much better.

 

I'll have a look.

Well if there is a self purge capability then raising the pump and hoses well above the lift may facilitate the air purge over a bit of time.
I do wonder why they don't just assemble the fittings on everything and then ship? It might save them a bunch of issues. I'm very familiar with this stuff so it's not a problem for me.

Just opening up that video I have to say my ramp boxes look nothing like those. LOL Mine are all beat to **** broken open at the end but they do have the nylon strapping thank god.
Hopefully everything is OK inside. If it needs to go back I'll drop it at a store.

UPS delivery is a rock grinding operation for packages here. Heavier duty double boxing for the ramps. probably a good idea. The pump was just fine other than the cheap crap tape was almost completely split open. The actually packaging is fine. That plastic tray of fittings was wide open with the parts everywhere though. A rock grinding operation ...

Thanks for your comments.

 

Not impressed with his bleed procedure either. I can see how you could still air trapped after doing all that. It would be nice to pre-bleed the pump and hydraulic line before hand. Maybe a bridge too far though. I don't need a huge mess of oil.

I'll report back. ONWARD =>

 

After round one. Not a happy camper. Seven hours later here's how it went ...

I discovered one of the ramps was a retread with a non adequate plug on the cylinder so all the oil leaked out and the schrader valve was barely screwed in and also didn't hold air so we tried to use the cap to do so.

I decided to try and set it up anyway as I had some travel time invested. I had already pre-assembled the fittings on the hoses and pump.
I set the ramps up on a couple of saw horses and went to work.
On mine I could not get the right angle fitting on the cylinders in the manner they suggested as it interfered during rotation. So I removed one end of the cylinder and everything was fine.

This seems to be a constant refrain from the various reviews on websites, that the quality control is a bug issue. The parts often don't match the directions so be prepared to punt.
But my getting one bad cylinder is just atrocious. It doesn't even match the other one in piston length. No kidding, they're 1/2" different. I really want this to work though because it's potentially a good solution to my problem.

One thing it completely relies upon is equal operation simultaneously by both ramps with only a hydraulic and not a mechanical equalizer.

This is a big issue during bleeding of the air which is a huge PITA in this design. If one side has more air than the other or has a cylinder that performs differently you have a problem. That's the situation I ended up with. I bleed them by having the ramps on the ground and the pump up high on the saw horses. Then with the ramps raised to the highest position and locked in place I lifted the hose end of the cylinders up high and operated the bleed screw to get the air out. I had to do this several times like 4 or 5 and then I got more regular operation. But even with me standing on them they had trouble coming completely down. I suspect with a car on it this would resolve itself better? The idea of an air charge to help with this is I find questionable. Indeed one of my cylinder's (the used one) didn't work properly. Not only did the schrader valve not seal but when I recharged it part way through the set up, the ramps operated more equally then but quickly that one also started getting jerky which says to me that possibly air is leaking back past the main seal and into the hydraulic fluid. That cylinder also had a bit of hydraulic fluid on the shaft most of the time

Quality control sucks.

Bleeding these things is a PITA. Best to have two people and watch where you place your hands fingers and feet. The bleed screw is a total PITA to get to on a cold and windy day in December with everything painted black and fumbling with a 3/16" allen wrench but we managed. The wind was very annoying blowing everything immediately awry it it didn't weigh a lot.

I have to wonder if perhaps pre-filling the pump part way and bleeding it. Then assembling the hoses and pre-bleeding the main hoses at least wouldn't be a huge help for their customers?

Now we'll see how they do with a replacement cylinder and a huge apology for wasting one day for me so far.

Packaging did protect the ramps enough to prevent damage but it was almost ready to come completely apart. The pump box was stressed but intact and the box with in a box was a good idea.

 

You are correct about the angle fittings. On one of my ramps it would hit the frame when I tried to screw it in. I forced it a bit and managed to get it tight. I also had one bad air valve that didn't leak air but was hard to get the air compressor hose onto to fill with air. The assembly instructions leave much to be desired, but at this point mine are operational and seem to be working well. I do have one ramp that drops faster than the other from about 8 inches up to the floor. It does work better with a load on it. Seven hours!!!!!!!! I'd be pissed too.

 

I just used mine for a rear ball joint switch out and then an oil change on my 612. Everything worked great. Lifted no problem and it was great to be able to use a creeper and not worry about jack stands.

I did however have a slight air leak in the left side nipple. I was able to use the jack by tightly closing the cap. Quickjack is sending out a new air valve to me via priority mail.

 

Check out the other thread. I posted some informative video's.

 

Which thread? I still haven't heard back from them. Tomorrow if they don't respond adequately back it gores goes to Costco with a huge negative review.

 

Discussion in '360/430' started by whatheheck, May 11, 2018.

 

Mine works fine now.

 

Hopefully they send me a new cylinder soon. First they need to return my call though ...

I was thinking a bit about the whole thing and I think they could easily pre-bleed the entire thing so that everything just snaps together.
It would be that big a deal for them but it sure would be great for their customers.
I think 4 or 5 bleeds does the trick but having to screw around tilting those ramps is no fun and I bet some people get hurt.
Grab handles welded on the sides would be great. Much easier bleed valves too.

BTW how do you route the short hoses. In some photos I see them coming out the back and in others over the rail. It looked to me like they'd get pinched coming out the back?

 

Always run the short hoses out the end with the wheels on it.

 

What happens when you drag the ramp with those puny wheels on it?