Bendpak Lift

WWM3 · 05-28-2010, 05:46 PM

My father in law has a Bendpak lift and we tried to put my e90 335i up on the lift and we were unable to.

Either the front or rear set of arms were not long enough (depending where the car was parked). Does anyone here have experience with lifts, especially this brand? I'll have to look for the model # probably, but for the life us we could not figure out how to get the car up. We would get a set of arms under the front or rear lift points but the other set wouldnt match up. Anyone have any suggestions? We put my mustang up on this thing no problem before. Do BMWs use special lifts? Thanks!

GMWNashville · 05-28-2010, 07:15 PM

not sure what the issue is...put many bmws on post racks before..

ENINTY · 05-28-2010, 07:42 PM

I have a Rotary SPOA10 lift. It's an asymmetrical lift, which means the columns are rotated 30 deg. rearwards so to allow for more room to open the doors of the car. I bought my lift in 2004 before I got my E90. It fit both my E30 and E37 Z3 pretty well. When I got the E90, the front arms of the lift were too long and wouldn't reach back to the lift points on the rocker panels. Rotary fixed the problem in 2007 by building different arms that allowed the lifting shoe to sit farther inward (closer to the column). My E90 now fits perfectly. I imagine that Bendpack had the same problem. A lot of the newer (German) cars have lower and wider lift points on them (that's what my lift retailer told me at the time - he supplied the local BMW dealership and Indy with the same lift I have). My brother has a 2005 Chrysler Crossfire and it fits the same as my E90.

I'd check with Bend Pack and see what they say about it. You may be able to get a new or different arm kit that will fit newer chassis cars. Most lifts are designed to reach to the frame of the car/truck. On unibody cars, the front arms are meant to catch the unibody frame rails coming off the firewall, or out on the rocker panel just behind the front wheel. On the E90 the lifting block really fixes the position of where the arm shoe can contact the frame.

Bendpaks are nice lifts BTW.

WWM3 · 05-29-2010, 07:27 AM

Ok thanks. I'll grab his manual and give Bendpak a call and see if they have any recommendations/solutions. The lift seems really nice and he was telling me that this is the first car he hasn't been able to raise. I wasn't sure if this was just a BMW thing or if I was doing something wrong. I just couldn't believe that there wasn't a way to put my E90 up on this thing. The lift is relatively new (about two years old). I'll be seeing him on Sunday and I'll grab that info to call on Monday.

05-28-2010, 05:46 PM	#1
WWM3 Lieutenant Colonel 968 Rep 1,901 Posts Drives: 2018 GT3 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: PA iTrader: (9)	Bendpak Lift My father in law has a Bendpak lift and we tried to put my e90 335i up on the lift and we were unable to. Either the front or rear set of arms were not long enough (depending where the car was parked). Does anyone here have experience with lifts, especially this brand? I'll have to look for the model # probably, but for the life us we could not figure out how to get the car up. We would get a set of arms under the front or rear lift points but the other set wouldnt match up. Anyone have any suggestions? We put my mustang up on this thing no problem before. Do BMWs use special lifts? Thanks!
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05-28-2010, 07:15 PM	#2
GMWNashville Colonel 172 Rep 2,373 Posts Drives: 19 G05, 16 F80, 10 E70x5D Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Nashville, TN iTrader: (2)	not sure what the issue is...put many bmws on post racks before..
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05-28-2010, 07:42 PM	#3
ENINTY Banned 173 Rep 3,415 Posts Drives: 2006 325i Sport Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Virginia iTrader: (0)	I have a Rotary SPOA10 lift. It's an asymmetrical lift, which means the columns are rotated 30 deg. rearwards so to allow for more room to open the doors of the car. I bought my lift in 2004 before I got my E90. It fit both my E30 and E37 Z3 pretty well. When I got the E90, the front arms of the lift were too long and wouldn't reach back to the lift points on the rocker panels. Rotary fixed the problem in 2007 by building different arms that allowed the lifting shoe to sit farther inward (closer to the column). My E90 now fits perfectly. I imagine that Bendpack had the same problem. A lot of the newer (German) cars have lower and wider lift points on them (that's what my lift retailer told me at the time - he supplied the local BMW dealership and Indy with the same lift I have). My brother has a 2005 Chrysler Crossfire and it fits the same as my E90. I'd check with Bend Pack and see what they say about it. You may be able to get a new or different arm kit that will fit newer chassis cars. Most lifts are designed to reach to the frame of the car/truck. On unibody cars, the front arms are meant to catch the unibody frame rails coming off the firewall, or out on the rocker panel just behind the front wheel. On the E90 the lifting block really fixes the position of where the arm shoe can contact the frame. Bendpaks are nice lifts BTW.
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05-29-2010, 07:27 AM	#4
WWM3 Lieutenant Colonel 968 Rep 1,901 Posts Drives: 2018 GT3 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: PA iTrader: (9)	Ok thanks. I'll grab his manual and give Bendpak a call and see if they have any recommendations/solutions. The lift seems really nice and he was telling me that this is the first car he hasn't been able to raise. I wasn't sure if this was just a BMW thing or if I was doing something wrong. I just couldn't believe that there wasn't a way to put my E90 up on this thing. The lift is relatively new (about two years old). I'll be seeing him on Sunday and I'll grab that info to call on Monday.
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