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Safe jacking and jackstand points

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  • #1

    Safe jacking and jackstand points

    I'm looking into different options on how to raise my car up for oil changes and such. Here are the options I'm concidering...

    1. Rhino ramps are usually 8.5" high, which I don't think is enough. They're cheap and easy to use but I think the underside of the car is gonna be right in my face when I'm trying to work.

    2. Jacking the car with a floorjack and putting jackstands underneath. This mehod will give me plenty of clearance but I have no clue where safe jacking points on my car are. The shop manual doesn't say anything other than how to use the sissor jack that comes standard with the car. Also where are the right points to put the jackstands?! I'm paranoid about punching a big whole right trough a floor board.

    3. A big ramp that I can drive right over. The kind of ramps they use at dealerships to show the undersides of cars. I've been looking but I can't find something like that anywhere. Are they even sold to the public? If anyone knows where I can score one of those, that would be super.

    If anyone has real world experience on this subject please share your exploits.
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  • #2
    jack the car up, just look underneath for steel bars going across, and they are usually right on the outer edge of the underside. My car actually had hard plastic w/ a raised lip that you were supposed to put the jack under. I suggest you not listen to me anyway.

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    • #3
      What kind of car do you have? I don't have to jack up the blazer as I can easily crawl around under it and with the jeep ... well, I can practically sit upright under there

      But the answer is the factory recommended jack points ... where ever the manual says you should use for the scissor jack, you can use for another jack as well. Usually you can put the jack stand right next to it. Of course you NEVER want to rely on any jack to support the vehicle weight, especially if you are going to be under it.

      However, it may be worth it to do the oil change at like jiffy lube or something since they now do it for so cheap, that it's pretty much worth it ... unless you really like to take care of your car yourself. Plus they'll lube your suspension and drive lines and check other fluids as well.
      Last edited by Sip; 03-28-2005, 06:03 PM.
      this post = teh win.

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      • #4
        What Sip said. Usually behind the front wheels, or in front of the back wheels, there should be a contact point consisting of the frame itself. I usually use the ramps you drive up on myself when I have to work on anything under the cars. I love 'em. No time wasted jacking the car up, then planting it down on jack stands. Only issue is the front of my cars being so low, the front air dam/valance can fold a bit on the initial contact due to the slant of the ramps, but they form right back to shape once they pass that point. And once the wheels are planted in the little dip at the top of the ramp, the car's not going anywhere. I still put something behind whatever wheels are on the ground just to be on the safe side. You should be able to pick up a set of those at most any parts store. They won't look like the ones you find at the dealer. Just some simple ramps. More like these.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Crimson Glow
          What Sip said. Usually behind the front wheels, or in front of the back wheels, there should be a contact point consisting of the frame itself. I usually use the ramps you drive up on myself when I have to work on anything under the cars. I love 'em. No time wasted jacking the car up, then planting it down on jack stands. Only issue is the front of my cars being so low, the front air dam/valance can fold a bit on the initial contact due to the slant of the ramps, but they form right back to shape once they pass that point. And once the wheels are planted in the little dip at the top of the ramp, the car's not going anywhere. I still put something behind whatever wheels are on the ground just to be on the safe side. You should be able to pick up a set of those at most any parts store. They won't look like the ones you find at the dealer. Just some simple ramps. More like these.
          The link you have is what I referred to as "rhino ramps". My suspicion is that those will not give me enougn clearance to work comfortably, otherwise I'd go out and buy a set tomorrow. How much clearance do you get with those?

          As far as what Sip said, jiffy lube does nothing but change oil and look for other things to charge me for around where I live. $39.99 is not worth it to me, since I put a lot of miles on my car and am getting oil changes frequently. I'd have more fun doing things myself than having some 18 year old telling me my anti freeze is dirty, as if I don't know.

          As far as using the car manufacturer recomended jacking points, my car has a lip attached to the frame which is designed for a scissor jack. I tried using the floor jack on it and I almost crushed the lip, I'm never tryng that again. Besides, floorjacks are made to lift two wheels off the ground at a time, so the jacking point will have to be somewhere in the middle of the front and rear.

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          • #6
            It would still help to know what kind of car you got
            this post = teh win.

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