Jack / Jack Stands ?

[Bitten in '69]

Your life, your choice. Once upon a time folks used to crawl under cars up on concrete blocks too...

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[302cui]

I use this

 

[FreePenguin]

My little workhorse. It makes terrible noises though half the time especially when I use it on my jacking Rail to lift a whole side up

Will eventually get a new one. And these

I bought the stand and jacks because they was blue. Lol

 

[tom_sprecher]

My little workhorse. It makes terrible noises though half the time especially when I use it on my jacking Rail to lift a whole side up

Will eventually get a new one. And these

I bought the stand and jacks because they was blue. Lol

I have used a jack and stands very similar to the above for the past 16 years on race cars and my Mustang. Not the F-250.

 

[FreePenguin]

Just used them for a bit today. Lol does this look safe? I was re adjusting my y pipe and exhaust. One harbor freight Jack coming right up

 

[NGOT8R]

Just used them for a bit today. Lol does this look safe? I was re adjusting my y pipe and exhaust. One harbor freight Jack coming right up

Do you have jacking rails? If so, put another jack stand toward the front for better stabilization.

 

[FreePenguin]

Do you have jacking rails? If so, put another jack stand toward the front for better stabilization.

I do, but always did it this way, I don't like the idea of half the car leaning over on the other side. figured it isn't really good for it, vs 1 quarter section being higher than the other 3.

I mean ive been doing this for a few years, havnt died yet lol but yeah. prob isn't the safest. it was wasted effort, ive done it like 3x readjusting my axle back, the passenger side keeps falling down, it appears the weld / hanger is separating from the muffler.

We will find out how AWE stands behind its warranty. the one side isn't supporting its weight and sagging compared to the other side ):

 

[tom_sprecher]

I always lift all four corners level off the ground, and use fore and aft jack stands spaced as far apart as possible on the jacking rails. This distributes the load and maximizes stability.

 

[CJJon]

Safety aside, I would never put such a load on a unibody car.

...but it is stupid dangerous though.

 

[boB]

Your life, your choice. Once upon a time folks used to crawl under cars up on concrete blocks too...

Yep, right up until the pinch weld cracked the concrete block in half. No more!

 

[Johnnybee]

I saw these on Jay Leno’s Garage but they are not inexpensive by any stretch.

 

[BluePonyGT]

I've had my car in the air a LOT. Mostly because of all of the subframe stiffening, suspension upgrades (ala Steeda) and everything else I've been doing to improve this platform. I've had the subframe unbolted more than once.

1. Get full length jacking rails. That is a MUST. The full length ones from steeda are awesome. They're coated so they stand up to all of the road grime, and they're tough enough where floor jacks and jack stands won't tear them up too much.

2. Get a really reliable low profile floor jack. I have an aluminum craftsman that's clutch before Craftsman went to pot. Get something thats rated for the weight of your vehicle. I usually put a shop rag on the head of the jack but in a way so it doesn't slip so I can avoid tearing up the jacking rails. More on that below with the floor jack heads themselves.

3. Get 4 reliable floor jacks that are meant for heavy duty stuff. I have a set of smaller craftsman ones for a car/sedan, and maybe I've used them once. To get under the car reliably I end up using my 4 ton truck jack stands I've had since 2000. They're Powerbuilt, but to be honest a lot of these are all made by the same or similar companies. The point is you have a set of jack stands that provide factor of safety of 2 or more. They can handle twice the load you're asking them to. I've literally beat the hell out of these things working on old trucks.

4. Get some of those rubber/plastic covers for your jacks. They sell a cheap set at HF and they push right onto the engaging head on your floor jack. This way you won't tear up your jacking rail.

5. Lift your car starting on one side by lifting using the jacking rail near the center of mass front to back. That's roughly 1/3 to 2/5 down the rail towards the front of the car. Since these cars for the most part from the factory come with disconnected subframes I would NOT put just one jack stand under that side. Put in two at once, and aim for a stable point along the jacking rail - where they bolt to the underside of the car or just fore/aft of it with enough room to get the wheel off, etc. Then do the other side.

Don't just set your floor jack to the optimal height to start. I usually pick a height that lets me get the wheel off the ground and that's fine. If you want to get it higher than do that later once you have all 4 jacks in place. Then you can lift one side, adjust the floor jacks higher, then do the other side.

I also have speedramps, but the ones that separate so I can get the wheels in the air then remove the ramp part. Very handy if I don't have to take the wheels off.

 

[Michael_vroomvroom]

I always lift all four corners level off the ground, and use fore and aft jack stands spaced as far apart as possible on the jacking rails. This distributes the load and maximizes stability.

I'm thinking that a minus of doing it like that is that is if one stand fails, and the other stand on the same side is as far away as possible, a potentially terrible accident is much more likely to happen. If the distance between the jack stands is shorter, the other jack has more of a chance of holding that whole side up high alone, at least long enough to get out from under the car. I thus prefer to place the jack stands about 1/4 of the length away from each end of the frame/jacking rails on our cars. They seem to be stable with the stands positioned like that too, and the frame seems rigid enough to think the other three jack stands will hold the car in position if one stand brakes when placed like that.

Interested in hearing other opinions though.

 

[Sharpy200]

I’m currently using this. It has locking pin and way better than crappy HF one

I have 4 identical to this from a UK company they are really good

 

[Michael_vroomvroom]

Just used them for a bit today. Lol does this look safe? I was re adjusting my y pipe and exhaust. One harbor freight Jack coming right up

Looks suicidal. Sometimes jack stands fail I'm sure. What will happen if the one and only jack stand you use in this situation fails while you're under the car?

If nothing else, at least leave the jack lift in place too, just a tiny amount lower than the car frame so that it does not carry any weight as-is and wears out the seals on the jack, but if the jack stand should happen to fail, the car will drop onto the jack lift before it drops on your head.

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