DIY Mod on My Lift 4 – Can I Re-Use the Stock Motor?

Hey everyone,

I’m the owner of a Lift 4 and just installed a replacement battery (my original is sitting dead on the shelf). Knock on wood, everything’s working perfectly… but I’m already scheming for the future. I’d love to eventually swap in a fully DIY setup—aftermarket ESC, custom battery pack, hand throttle, etc.—and keep the Lift pod/motor.

My main question is:

  1. Can I use the stock Lift 4 motor with a VESC-style (or other aftermarket) ESC?
  • Has anyone actually wired a Lift 4 outrunner into a third-party controller?
  • Did you have to build a special Ampseal→JST harness for the Hall/thermistor lines?
  • Any quirks around cooling channels or mounting once you pulled the stock E-Box out?

If you’ve done this (or even tried), I’d love to hear:

  • What controller you chose and why
  • How you handled the sensor wiring and connectors
    *other ideas you have for me.

A Lift replacement or custom?

Yes, I have used a few different ESC and VESC on the lift motor as its just a standard BLDC motor (just a very nice high quality one)

Does the Lift 4 motor also run a hall sensor? There are only 3 phase wires that are connected to the motor.

Just run the same watercooling lines.

Whichever feels most comfortable in your hand. I find the Maytech much better in hand compared to the Lift controller with I actually find uncomfortable.

If you re-use the external ebox housing, all the connectors can stay the same.