Vintage Auto Parts: Tips for Restorers and Repairers

Vintage Auto Parts: Tips for Restorers and Repairers

4 Useful Safety Features to Look For in 4-Post Wheel Aligner Lifts

Malena Capel

If you want to install a 4-post wheel aligner lift in your garage, then you need to find the right product for the cars you'll work on. You also need to ensure that your lift has all the safety features you need. Which features are important?

1. Locking Systems

A safe wheel aligner lift will have an on-board automatic locking system. These locks hold the ramp in place at each corner of the car at any point through its lift height.

Look for models that have an individual lock on each leg. Independent locking systems are typically safer. If one lock fails, then the car is still held in place by the others. If a centralised locking system fails, then none of the locks can stay in place and the car might crash down.

2. Cable Safety Systems

If you buy a hydraulic wheel aligner lift, then the system contains hydraulic and steel cables. In this case, you need to look for systems that have anti-rupture safety features. If a cable breaks or fails when a car is in the air, then it could list to one side or even tip over. Anti-rupture safety systems prevent this from happening even if a cable suddenly develops a problem.

It's also worth looking at products that have a connected steel cabling system. If cables are connected, then the lift's movements are synchronised. The ramp stays flat without sloping. Sloping can be dangerous as the car could slip if it isn't firmly secured.

3. Lowering Limits and Alarms

You need to take care when lowering a lift with a car on it. Everyone in the area should keep a safe distance to avoid accidents.

Some wheel aligner lifts lower to a certain safe point and then stop. Some then sound an alarm. This feature prevents people from getting their feet caught under the lift. Once the lift stops, you have to manually lower it all the way down.

Other lifts will go all the way down, but they sound an alarm when they get close to the floor. This warns people to move out of the area.

4. Emergency Lowering Options

If a lift works on electric power, then you might run into problems in an outage. The lift could get stuck in place and you won't have a safe way to move the vehicle.

To keep things safe here, look for lifts that have emergency power controls. These controls allow you to lower the lift manually if it can't work automatically.

To find out more about these and other useful safety features, talk to 4-post wheel aligner lifts suppliers.


Share

2022© Vintage Auto Parts: Tips for Restorers and Repairers
About Me
Vintage Auto Parts: Tips for Restorers and Repairers

My name is George. After working as a teacher for two decades, I retired, and now, my heart, hands and time are wrapped up in restoring a vintage car. I love it, and I want to share some of the minutia of that passion with others. My wife doesn't always want to hear about auto parts, but they are always on my mind. I want a place where I can share buying tips, restoration tips and repair tips, and this blog is the perfect place. I plan to write about my own restoration work as well as general info on auto parts. Thanks for reading.

Tags