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Easy methods to jack car up


RichD1

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I like the axle stand modification - good idea.

I was very tempted to buy a crawler too - my neighbour has one. He said he used it once 20 years ago and hasn't used it since.

The main issue is if you try and undo a nut, you will move before the nut rotates!

These are very good .... Under £20 /mat from Halfords --

http://i1381.photobucket.com/albums/ah224/Mobydick100/mats/b1e647183de47a633ac3c036fffdc37b_zpsb3deace0.jpg

 

I go down my local carpet shop and buy off cuts. I can usually get a four foot wide strip as long as the garage for £5 - perfect for working under the car. I just leave it there until it is filthy, then roll up and take to the dump. Much nicer to crawl on than the floor, plus it keeps the floor clean and absorbs oil.

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I've also got old house carpet in my garage(s) - makes it all feel much warmer when working on the cars. - I must be getting really soft & old!!.

 

Also got a Mechmate pit in one of the garages - great for the access it provides to the underneath of the car, but can get full of spiders etc over winter!!

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I use a similar approach to David above but using two wheels stands at the front that I made from some timbers left over from our extension - once the front end's on these I can jack the back up without any risk of the front falling off axles stands etc. I do have to park the rear on a couple of 6"x2" timbers first so I can get a jack under when the front's up on stands.

 

DSC01035.jpg

 

 

 

You could even turn them into ramps so you could just drive up onto them,

 

ramp2b.JPG

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Just spotted this on Gumtree. Could probably just about justify this price.

 

http://www.gumtree.com/p/other-miscellaneous-goods/car-scissor-lift/1084514007

 

What do you think? They're located in Ireland so not able to view.

 

I like this type of scissor lift as you do get access to the middle of the car if required. Would have to flush mount so as to maintain a 2 car garage.

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Just spotted this on Gumtree. Could probably just about justify this price.

 

http://www.gumtree.com/p/other-miscellaneous-goods/car-scissor-lift/1084514007

 

What do you think? They're located in Ireland so not able to view.

 

I like this type of scissor lift as you do get access to the middle of the car if required. Would have to flush mount so as to maintain a 2 car garage.

 

My 2 cents-would give that a wide berth.

 

if you ever need to remove oil lines or weld sills,you find the body of the Lift in the way.

 

For the majority of jobs ,a ramp that lifts to waist height is more awkward than a car on blocks/stands.

 

The lift also looks very poorly made.

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Strongman Tools do a similar lift to that one on Gumtree but it looks much better built. Theirs is about £1800 but they do show deals that brings it down to about £1500. Worth the extra I would say. Also theirs has a removable brace at the bottom so you can wheel a trolley between the ramps which you would not be able to do with the other one.

 

I'll be getting one for my new garage. I worked out it will still be possible to do oil line or sill work with it.

Here's the link

 

http://www.strongmantools.co.uk/mid%20rise%20scissor%20lift.html

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You could even turn them into ramps so you could just drive up onto them,

 

ramp2b.JPG

Home made wooden ramps. You wouldn't get me under them!

 

I have some metal ramps just like these wooden ones, and the car is too low to drive them up either forwards or backwards.

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"I have some metal ramps just like these wooden ones, and the car is too low to drive them up either forwards or backward"

 

I was lucky enough to have some extensions made,out of 2 inch angle to metal ramps.The net length of ramps is approx 6 feet.

Edited by angusb
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i just thought I would add

 

 

 

How safe is it to work under the car when it's up on 4 axle stands?

 

plenty safe, always give your car a rock before you slide under it. I forgot my own advice, and in 22 years of working on cars (hobby and professional) i almost had a very bad week.

 

A 911 almost slipped off the front stands (while i was under it) - i had two axle stands only ( i own six, just using 2 this time) for the front, under the end of the torsion mounting point (where its curved) near towing "hook".

 

It was either the angle or whatever, but the point was i normally shake a car and didn't this time, and it almost slipped off while I was underneath. From now on when i'm doing the front only, it will be on 4 stands, with a jack under the cross member for safety, and the two under the rear torsion bar as normal. The rear seems fine when only on two stands (under each end of the torsion bar).

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+1 Always err on side of safety and it doesn't matter matter how steady the car seems, add additional back-up with using stacked wheels (if removed) under the sills, or large blocks of wood etc. I often use extra axle stands under the wheel hubs.

 

D.

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Has anyone got this type of axle stand from SGS? When used at full extension of 605mm are they stable?

 

http://www.sgs-engineering.com/jsr6-ratchet-axle-stands

 

If removing suspension they would have to be located under the jacking pads on the floor pan, but the tops aren't ideal for this location. Any better solution?

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Has anyone got this type of axle stand from SGS? When used at full extension of 605mm are they stable?

 

http://www.sgs-engineering.com/jsr6-ratchet-axle-stands

 

If removing suspension they would have to be located under the jacking pads on the floor pan, but the tops aren't ideal for this location. Any better solution?

yes,have set similar,this is a (Chinese?) copy of a Snap on axle stand.However well made the any stand,at full extension they become unstable.I will put it this way,love parachuting and Bungee jumping,would never go underneath a car 2 feet of ground supported only by stands.

 

A small shaped block of wood between stand and jacking point is easily made.

 

No stand is Ever as safe as using either properly made set of cribbing blocks,or using steel ramps to support cars weight.

A block will not tip or slip.

 

As good advice previous post,make sure there is a secondary method to catch car.

Edited by angusb
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I'm getting these stands ...happy to take a few photos when I get them -but won't be able to until early new year now.

I would agree with Angusb in that stands on full extension won't be quite as stable. From a physics point of view, once the load/weight acts outside of the footprint, the stand will tip. ..and the force to tip them is less, the more any stand is extended. One of the reasons I am getting these stands is they are tall (about 40cm) when fully retracted.

They are also rated at 12t and are therefore massively over engineered for our cars!

 

However, I can't quite understand why you need to jack it so high ....60cm under jack pads?

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I don't think you would need much more than 400mm IMHO.

 

If you raise it a bit too high, you find yourself working with more stretched arms - which equals a much more tiring position.

 

When I jacked my car under the engine ( jack max extension is 525mm) it raised the rear jack mounts to about 400mm. So not sure if these stands will fit under the jack points. However, they will definitely fit under the Torsion bar covers. You can also buy rubber inserts to fit on top of the axle stands which I think is a good addition. I'll send some pics as soon as I can ...not later than 4th jan!

 

Ps. Jack mounts are those welded points on 3.2 .... Not the jack pads.

Edited by Mobydick
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