Jack stand placement - feedback?

[edunn14]

Some people may have better things to do on NYE . . . But not me!

I put the car in the air for the first time earlier this month. Went fine, car was on 4 stands and didn't budge with a good push, but the jack stand heads weren't flush on the jacking rails. I'll attach some pics. I didn't get under the car as planned because of this. As you can see on at least one stand the pinch weld took the full brunt and the jacking rails didn't seem to really be doing anything aside from giving me a good place to put the jack (which worked flawlessly, getting the whole side up in one go).

Did I just place them wrong? Or should I go with k-member up front and sub-frame in rear for Jack stand placement next time? Hoping to change my engine and diff oil in the next month or two.

Or, option 3, this looks fine and I am making a mountain out of a molehill as long as I have a wheel and the jack itself as backup?

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[Inthehighdesert]

You’re fine like that. When I do use jack stands I put blocks of rubber between the stand and the contact pount. I just use the gym mats cut up in 6”x6” squares. It makes up for if theres a little undulation in the floor or surface your working on, and makes it very solid.

 

[eisenhauer01]

Hard to tell exactly where things are in your pictures, but I can tell you on my 15 GT, I jack up one side and then the other using my BMR low profile jacking rails (look similar to yours).
I then proceed to put jack stands under the pinch welds on each correspond side. I have found that the driver's side rear requires me to put the jack stand on a different part (closer to the ground) of the pinch weld to make good contact compared to the passenger side rear. Hopefully this makes sense. Basically not everything is symmetrical and perfect all of the time. My thoughts anyways. Happy New Year bro.

 

[MD18EcoStang]

I don't know, pairing green and black jack stands seems kinda sketchy. Be careful!

 

[Buldawg76]

I place the front jack stands under the rear of the subframe rails between the two bolts holding the subframe to body and the rear jack stands on the pinch welds at the location indicated in owners manual and the triangle pointer in the pinch weld itself referenced in owners manual,
I use jack stand pads sold at harbor freight on the top of jack stand.

I jack up with jack on jacking rails one side at a time.

https://www.harborfreight.com/autom...pads-for-3-ton-jack-stands-2-piece-59432.html

BD

 

[GAGT350]

Some people may have better things to do on NYE . . . But not me!

I put the car in the air for the first time earlier this month. Went fine, car was on 4 stands and didn't budge with a good push, but the jack stand heads weren't flush on the jacking rails. I'll attach some pics. I didn't get under the car as planned because of this. As you can see on at least one stand the pinch weld took the full brunt and the jacking rails didn't seem to really be doing anything aside from giving me a good place to put the jack (which worked flawlessly, getting the whole side up in one go).

Did I just place them wrong? Or should I go with k-member up front and sub-frame in rear for Jack stand placement next time? Hoping to change my engine and diff oil in the next month or two.

Or, option 3, this looks fine and I am making a mountain out of a molehill as long as I have a wheel and the jack itself as backup?

Did you need to get the low profile jack or just the regular one?

 

[skinnyb]

I do the same, but I usually use the sub frame rail just in front of the bolts on the front. And the pinch weld right at the rear of the jacking rail on the rear. And I always keep the jack in place as a precaution on one side, and I slide a wheel under the other side once I have one removed... Just always been my go to way to do it, you never know. I live by myself so safety is always paramount for me if I go under the car. Only time I normally go all the way under is when I change the oil though. I get my mechanic to do most other things on his lift... But the wheels and tires come off at least twice a year for cleaning

 

[Buldawg76]

I use car ramps to just change the oil since its plenty of room and much less work compared to jacking the car up. Jack stands are for tire rotation or other simple chassis work. I have a buddy with a lift in his shop so if I have to do any major work I go to his shop.

BD

 

[Wildwildwest]

Some people may have better things to do on NYE . . . But not me!

I put the car in the air for the first time earlier this month. Went fine, car was on 4 stands and didn't budge with a good push, but the jack stand heads weren't flush on the jacking rails. I'll attach some pics. I didn't get under the car as planned because of this. As you can see on at least one stand the pinch weld took the full brunt and the jacking rails didn't seem to really be doing anything aside from giving me a good place to put the jack (which worked flawlessly, getting the whole side up in one go).

Did I just place them wrong? Or should I go with k-member up front and sub-frame in rear for Jack stand placement next time? Hoping to change my engine and diff oil in the next month or two.

Or, option 3, this looks fine and I am making a mountain out of a molehill as long as I have a wheel and the jack itself as backup?

I put stands on the jacking rail right where jacking points are (actually Jack car on rail closer to center). Very similar to what these pictures show and is stable when up on all 4 stands. I have rubber covers for my stand tops and they wrap around jacking rail and into jacking point a bit. I feel best place for stands are the 4 points where car is to be jacked…also balanced well when raised on 4 stands.

 

[skinnyb]

I use car ramps to just change the oil since its plenty of room and much less work compared to jacking the car up. Jack stands are for tire rotation or other simple chassis work. I have a buddy with a lift in his shop so if I have to do any major work I go to his shop.

BD

I did that on my 22 GT but my Mach 1 has the HP splitter so it sits a bit too low and the low profile Race Ramps are not in my budget

 

[greasy]

If I’m working on the car and the wheels don’t need to come off, the car goes on to cribbing under each wheel. It’s the safest method for garage work without a lift in my opinion. If the wheels need to be off, the only jackstands I’m comfortable using are the Esco ones. I’ve used the other style and they can be sketchy as hell. But either way, when I’m lowering the car I have the jackstands in approximate position, and then just before contact I stop the jack and make sure the car lands on the jackstands exactly as intended. The issue with the u-shaped cradle on the jackstand is it can apply pressure to the jackstand side to side causing it tilt or being unstable. It would be easy enough for you to adjust appropriately if it’s not sitting right.

 

[MD18EcoStang]

If I’m working on the car and the wheels don’t need to come off, the car goes on to cribbing under each wheel. It’s the safest method for garage work without a lift in my opinion. If the wheels need to be off, the only jackstands I’m comfortable using are the Esco ones. I’ve used the other style and they can be sketchy as hell. But either way, when I’m lowering the car I have the jackstands in approximate position, and then just before contact I stop the jack and make sure the car lands on the jackstands exactly as intended. The issue with the u-shaped cradle on the jackstand is it can apply pressure to the jackstand side to side causing it tilt or being unstable. It would be easy enough for you to adjust appropriately if it’s not sitting right.

Those look nice, although I've been fine with stands like the OP's. I know what you mean about how they can cause some tilting if not positioned precisely, i.e. when the top of the u-shaped cradle makes contact with the part you want sitting at the bottom. But, if I see that happening, I raise it up and reposition.

 

[526 HRSE]

You have jack rails on the car. What is the concern?

 

[edunn14]

Just wanted thoughts on the jack stands not sitting flat on the rails and whether that was user error, something to ignore as long as the car is stable, etc. If you look at the pics my placement still put some stands using mostly the pinch weld instead of the rails, defeating the purpose of the rails.

Thanks to all that have replied. I think if I'm putting all 4 wheels in the air I'll use the rails again with better placement attempts, for oil changes may just use the k-member up front

 

[526 HRSE]

Just wanted thoughts on the jack stands not sitting flat on the rails and whether that was user error, something to ignore as long as the car is stable, etc. If you look at the pics my placement still put some stands using mostly the pinch weld instead of the rails, defeating the purpose of the rails.

Thanks to all that have replied. I think if I'm putting all 4 wheels in the air I'll use the rails again with better placement attempts, for oil changes may just use the k-member up front

I would stay off the pinch weld as much as you can. With that said, i never really put 100% of the car weight on jackstands if i'm working under it. More like 50/50 with the jack in place. Maybe i'm paranoid after seeing a car flatten a dude when i was a kid.

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