The Money Mustache Community
General Discussion => Share Your Badassity => Topic started by: trammatic on November 06, 2012, 10:59:30 AM
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So in the shops, they have those hydraulic vehicle lifts that jack the things like 6' in the air so the mechanics can stand under them to do vehicle maintenance. It's not really the height that matters, but the fact that you have more maneuverability under the car. So I cut a 6' x 3.5' hole in the garage floor, and dug it 4' deep. I built cinder block walls on all 4 sides, and left the floor dirt to let any rain water drain away. Now, I drive the car over the hole, so that it straddles the 3.5' dimension, and typically, the car only covers part of the 6', so getting in and out is a snap.
I borrowed a friend's cement saw, and dug it out by hand. The whole thing took a day to build and about $100 of cinder blocks/rebar/morter. When I'm not using it, I usually leave the car parked over top of it to prevent accidents... It's amazing how much difference it makes in working under a car.
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Wow that's awesome. What do you use to lift the engine?
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I've never had to pull the engine, but to support it when changing the engine mounts, I have a floor jack and a 4x4 of lumber. Probably not the most structurally sound, but it doesn't have to support THAT much weighta.
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Impressed and trying to figure out how to copy it.
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Sounds cool! Can you take some pics? I'd like to see the finished product.
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I'm not sure how to upload photos, but here are a couple images from the web that are similar:
(http://www.leicesterhedgehogrescue.co.uk/images/garage-pit.jpg)
(http://www.gaffta.org/wp/wp-uploads/2010/02/Garage-MechanicsPit.jpg)
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Great idea, it would certainly come in handy. For safety, you could use some 3/4 inch plywood with 2X2s on the bottom to keep it lined up on the hole. Might also need some 2X4 bracing if you actually wanted to be able to walk on the top. But I have kids around to fall into it during the day, if not I'd just leave it uncovered also.
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I don't drive all that much, so I just leave the car parked on top. But I think a cover would be nice...I have a couple old doors that I replaced from the house that might fit over it. hmmmm
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Did you need any special building permits for that or anything? Seems like a great idea! Would love to have that (if I had a garage). Working on the street is a pain in the ass.
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You did an amazing job here but you must know that these pitts have been BANNED in most cities/provinces/states.
A lot of people died and got burned because they were trapped under a car.
I've managed to do most of my own repairs with just a jack and 2 stands