/diy/ - Do It Yourself

>>1775709
>Tell me why its a dumb idea.
Because your wife is going to drive into it sooner or later.

>>1775709
Fuck man. I'd get drunk and fall in there.

>>1775709
Huge liability that makes it damn near impossible to insure your property, even if it were grandfathered in.

>>1775709
get a lift instead

>>1775709
Ramps or a lift will be cheaper in the long run and safer for all involved. You won' have water drainage issues with a ramp or a lift. There's also a problem of gases/fuels pooling down in the pit if the ventilation is properly flowing.

>>1775709
somebody is going to fall into that hole eventually

>>1775709
>Tell me why its a dumb idea.

It's actually a nice bait thread because no one ever thought about this for more than about 30 seconds, unless they do engine oil changes and perhaps fluids in trans and diffs. Otherwise it's a useless hole.

>>1775709
They suck to work in. I have. They made sense in ancient times when you had to be a mechanic to own a car (1930s and prior) and people could not afford lifts, but they're miserable to work in and cost precious floor space. I'd rather work on plain concrete with no pit or lift than have a pit wasting shop space.
Copy success and pour footing for a lift, then buy the lift. Ask any mechanic. Pits went away for many good reasons I can't be arsed to type.

>>1775709
Good luck getting insured. Illegal now on the freedom continent.

>>1775709
I have one, it's about 5' deep and I'm 5'10". It's a piss idea and a wicked fire hazard. Everytime I get in it, I'm like "please don't let me die down here"

>>1775720
>>1775742
>get a lift

>>1775759
>lift fail
Lift is verb, not noun

>>1775709
Fumes sink down into it because they're heavier than air, then you fall asleep and die inside

I've wanted to build a permanent ramp out of cinder block. But figured it was a stupid. Also load compasity..

Based pit poster here...

Make a good solid cover for it. We used 8" channel iron that sit down into angle iron embedded into the top of the concrete so that they're flush with the floor. Bonus point for the channel iron is that it is strong enough to use as a jacking point when jacking up a transmission to get the crossmember out, or jacking up an engine to pull engine mounts.

Since we put a lift in we don't use it much, but the pit still has its applications for heavy truck/equipment service and pulling things such as our forklift onto (it would exceed the weight capacity of our lift, and would be sketchy as fuck anyhow even if it didn't). It used to be all we had so it got used for clutch jobs, transmission swaps, oil changes, basically everything...

>>1775759
That looks like mechanic fail not lift fail. The lift stands proud.

>>1775759
not balanced on the frame or what?
>Clearly the dude crouched down's fault.

>>1775709
Because the inspection pit idea you stole from Pennzoil is actually a basement with a grated top, full ventilation and workstation and not just a hole you climb into. What happens if the person pulling the car over the hole for you drops his cigarette, slips the wheel and the car falls into the hole while you're in there?

>>1775709
you're going to suffocate you massive fucking faggot. also, what the hell are you going to do in there when there's nothing you can do with your wheels on the ground aside from changing oil once a year

>>1775756
every Valvoline or instant oil change has a pit in it

>>1775709
>>1775759

>>1775842
they don't make them like they used to

>>1775782
This. Carbon monoxide is heavier than air so if your engine is running it could pool down there. Afaik it's one of the main reasons they fell out of favour. That and probably because a lift is simpler to install

>>1775842
Organ donor being parted out, hence lifting the fenderwells instead of getting in the way by lifting from below. Salvage is cool.

>>1775709
It's a good idea. I wouldn't go with that design though. And if you live in tornado land it can double as a shelter.

>>1775839
Depends on the jurisdiction and commercial code is not residential. West Michigan I know its illegal. Other places demand ventilation, explosion proof fixtures etc. It's a huge pita vs stands. But you don't know without asking your local jurisdiction.

>>1775865
>And if you live in tornado land it can double as a shelter.
It better have a stormproof structure above it or all you get is a potential grave.

aside from the obvious safety issues, the void into the soil underneath needs to be poured monolithic or it will start leaking ground water due to differential pressure, even after time the hairline cracks in the bottom of the pit will begin seeping water.. just a bad idea.. buy a lift..

>>1775759

In fairness, you got to be a real dumb shit to drop a car off a lift. I was a mechanic for 20 years, the only time I ever saw any accidents with a lift were because either the person running it was like brand new and nobody told him how to run one, or there was some kind of mechanical failure with the lift. In all the cases of mechanical failure, it was entirely predictable and the lift was neglected and had serious issues for years before it finally failed.

And also if you're dumb enough to drop a car off a lift, you're probably also dumb enough to drive a car into a pit.

Pits though fell out of fashion for the most part decades ago. I only knew one guy who built one in the 70s, and he filled his in the 90s. For as much work as it'll take to make one, you don't get a lot of benefit. It's easier to change your oil for example, which is why only quick lubes use them currently, but it's still pretty damn easy to change your oil without a pit.

The problem with pits, and drive on lifts, is it's actually quite restrictive of what you can do with the vehicle. You can basically only reach whats directly down the center of the under body, nothing else...which you could still basically do with a jack and 4 jack stand.

For the price you'd pay to get a pit dug, you could afford a good lift, which can lift the entire vehicle up and give you easy access and full ability to remove basically everything on it.

>>1775802
>but the pit still has its applications for heavy truck/equipment service

The only places I know besides quick lubes that use pits are heavy duty tractor trailer places.

It's basically impossible, or at least way to expensive, to jack trucks that size all the way up, so the best is the next best option.

Although...I have to say i never found them to be any more convenient when I worked on heavy trucks. A creeper and having one axle in the air still worked just about as good.

>>1775709
>Tell me why its a dumb idea.

1. Fire/Entrapment injury: if something goes wrong you wont be able to crawl out of a pit easily. In Jiffy Lubes theire "pit" isnt really a pit but rather a basement, they can easily escape.

2.Fumes/Suffocation
Unless you build this bigger and with ventilation you could easily suffocate as many hydrocarbon gasses are heaving than atmosphere and will settle into the pit and you will get dizzy, not realize it, faint, and die.

In the Navy on ships they always had saftey training on this about this. Ships have to have lots of airtight compartments (so they can seal off and prevent sinkage in case of attack or crash). However this creates problems because gases dont ventilate well and they can hang out low on the ground.

There is a reason "confined space" is hazard pay.

Nice grave.

>>1775774
tell that to an airfoil.

>>1775716
>>1775710
>>1775715
You're supposed to cover them with these plates when not in use

>t. friend built one in a rather large garage he built for parking and maintenence of 5 cars but which is now solely used to stash garbage

Also wooden planks are used or even purpose built automatic rolling plank systems

>>1775856

yeah i ain't working under that shit senpai

>>1775839
Can you not understand a pit may work well, IF you are doing oil change after oil change?

Is OP running a quick lube shop? If so, maybe a pit is for him. Otherwise, stop being a giant faggot and understand context.

>>1775759
Mexicans!

>>1775891
most heavy truck shops have at least a set of these mobile lifts

my work delivers to our local county government repair shop and they use these on all their school busses

Mechanic here
Real answers?
It's dangerous.

>>1777411
They're literal death traps.

>>1776144
I see.

>>1777401
>most heavy truck shops have at least a set of these mobile lifts

No they don't. I worked at about 4 heavy duty truck shops over the years, most didn't have those.

One had something similar to that, but only had about 1/2" of the lifting capacity, and we only had two of them to make sure none of us tried to lift an entire truck.

Most truck shops just tell people to grab a creeper, as any shop is wary of buying any amount of equipment for the shop that isn't absolutely necessary. Mechanics are dipshits for the most part, and have tendency to abuse shop equipment and use it for stuff it wasn't designed for. So shops aren't crazy about the idea of pay tens of thousands of bucks for a piece of equipment that can be ruined by one idiot in a rush.

>>1777554
Not him, but here in east US there's not a garage that doesn't have those of some sort. That's for general garages and shops that work on semi trucks/dump trucks.

>>1776144
>but which is now solely used to stash garbage
what a nigger

>>1777740
Yeah it's awful. He's not even a nigger, he's a white father of four, ex airforce. But a hoarder pur sang. If only I had that kind of (work)space

>>1775709
>have to climb in an out constantly
>dangerous in existence
>potentially large impact on structural integrity
>costs near as much as a lift
>limited in capability: can't fit a tranny jack under, can't access suspension/outer frame
>can easily bury a body in it if needed
>limited mobility while inside

Don't underestimate the ready-grave aspect of it. It isn't a terrible idea.

>>1775709
I have a slight dip in my driveway that I straddle with my car to change the oil. I can see a very minor thing like that being useful, but a full ditch doesn't seem worth it

Because women exist and will find a way to drive into it while you're working in it.

>>1778955
>drive into it while you're working in it
you are p. stupid for a man

For the cost to dig and pour that. You could easily get a lift 4 post are great for storage to and can be ordered with a castor kit to. Move it around 2 post are great to if you're not stuoid about it it's safe but height is usually an issue in most residential garages

>>1775709
I grew up in a country garage that had one and they're pretty damn easy to live with. Just cover it over with boards/planks when not being used otherwise someone will take a tumble and break their shit.
About the only downside is they can get kind of grotty with oil spills and depending on the work it can get kind of tiresome to climb in-out when there's certain types of work like around suspension mostly, which is a lot easier to do under a lift. But if you don't want a lift, hey its a hole in the ground and its pretty hard to fuck that up

>>1779128

This, seriously, it is a hole in the ground that you drive over. Make sure the walls are adequate and your ground water table is below the bottom of the pit, or include a sump pit and sump pump to keep it dry.

Fuck the doomers claiming you'll die in the hole due to fumes. You can put a fan down there to help circulate the air, and maybe don't get in there and run the fucking engine for a half hour in the shop. Or if you spill a bunch of gasoline, evacuate the pit area until it has time to clear out.

You know common sense type shit.

>>1775869
fucking metal

>>1779200
Well the main thing for us at the time is that essentially
>Good fucking luck finding a lift for a tractor or 10t truck
That's really where the pit shines in that not everything you're working on is just the odd beater sedan or 4wd

>>1775709
It's a cool idea.
My friends dad put one in, unfortunately it was always filled with a foot of water

>>1781234

Sump pit and sump pump.

>>1775848
Carbon monoxide is not heavier than any major component of air.

>>1775709
>s

its has its limitations, you will have to climb down there, always be on your feet look upwards, with a lift you can roll under with a tolling chair, if you forget some tools and youre in the pit, you will have to get out again.

>>1779128
>About the only downside is they can get kind of grotty with oil spills

At a redneck garage near me they did oil changes in a pit for years.

One day he asked me why his dog wouldn't drink the water, he drank like crazy when they got home.

His pit leeched so much oil into the ground it polluted his well. You could see the oil in a glass of water in the sunlight.

I wondered why he never tasted the oil, he usually drank 2 gallons of cheap white wine throughout the day!

>>1775842

looks like something that could've happened in an auto shop class in high school.

some smoothbrain muppet didn't realize you can adjust the arm lifts to make them shorter, and probably got reamed out for not paying attention.

>>Fuck the doomers claiming you'll die in the hole due to fumes.

Im sure you'll be fine.... if not, one less faggot.

>>1782995
Lot of those old head mechanics just dumped the oil anywhere and it really wasn't until the last 20-30 years it started getting clamped down on. Before that you had randoms throwing it in garbage tips, into waterways and god only knows where and when. Mechanical work is enough to turn most people into some kind of low functioning alcoholic that hates everybody, my least-favourite job aside from filling lpg cylinders in the garage was fixing tyres.
Olde timey bead-breaker powered off the compressor, then the wrestling with a fugghueg crowbar to get the tyre off the rim, endless cursing and then plugging the hole(s) because apparently disposing of self tapping screws is usually best done by throwing them across roads.

To this day, I will happily pay someone else to suffer horribly to fix tyres, fucked if I want to do it!

>>1775709
These are popular in mexico. are you mexican?
~t. totally not mexican

>>1775709
Park a car over me and leave. I die. Fire. Slippery as a mutherfucker at best and cost 10 times what a lift does.

Seriously just buy a lift. Infinately more universal and oddly enough multitudes safer. I worked in a pit at a tire shop. Shit is sketchy as fuck at best

>>1775716
Yeah this

>>1775759
Op has dumbass friend bring even dumbasser and drunker friend. Faggot falls into pit and breaks his leg.

Faggot now owns the pit and op anus

>>1783114

Quit letting faggots on your property.

>>1775709
I'm going to get one of those in-garage tornado shelters. Bit larger but still has a sliding lid. Will have to build a walkway since the pit would be too deep to work on most vehicles I own.
Got a hydraulic frame lift on order. An Eastwood Quick Jack. Not bad and easily moved so I can work in the driveway.

Just get a fork lift instead. Need to check undercarriage? Lift that baby up and go to work.

>>1775709
You'll fall in.
Your wife will fall in.
Your kid/dog/raccoon/neighbour/homeless guy will fall in.
Your car will fall in.
Drop a wrench now means move the car, hop in the pit, grab wrench, get out the pit, move car back, repeat.
Drainage
Spillage
Gets in the way of suspension work, wheel removal, etc.
Less handy for engine/tranny/frame work than you're anticipating
Claustrophobic/unpleasant
Lighting is always dismal
Literally the same thing as ramps and stands, except you've mutilated your garage and spent 20x more.

If you're going to use it regularly, get a cheapo used hoist, crappy ones are a grand.

>>1783114
You're the dumbasser, drunker friend who thinks you wouldn't have it covered safely when you're not using it... Dumbass.

>>1777401
I'll play this game.

>>1785111
ooo trips. One more
Even if you use >>1775842
keeping balance (and using frigging hold down straps) is critical.

>>1785112
one more

>>1785111
>>1785112
>>1785113
kek, should have posted a slowpoke