Do I Need Axle Stands
If you plan on raising the car because you need to get under it, then yes, you’ll need axle stands to support the car safely. You must never get under the car with just the jack supporting it.
As with any type of car jack, axle stands must only be used on firm, level ground. Make sure the ones you buy can support the weigh of your vehicle.
Essential Jack Safety Precautions & Tips
- Make sure you use a car jack only when trying to lift the vehicle off the ground, not to hold it in place for a long while.
- Always use a jack stand when you are working underneath the vehicle. Using only a car jack is not enough, and many people have been crushed under the vehicle. A car jack is only secure when changing a wheel.
- Never jack up a car without blocking the wheels. You can use bricks, wedges, or chocks to block the wheels on the side where the car isnt raised.
- If youre not aware of the safe lift points, go online and figure it out. Never jack a car if youre unsure about the safety areas.
- Place the car in the Park in the First gear, and use the handbrake before you jack up the vehicle. It reduces the risk of rolling.
- Make sure the jack and jack stands you choose are suitable for the weight of your car.
- Avoid changing a tyre on a freeway or highway. Opt for road service or wait for the highway patrol.
- It is essential to park a vehicle on level ground before you jack it up. Use a car jack on a flat, level surface.
You know the different types of car jacks and how to use them, and you are aware of the safety precautions one needs to follow. This brings us to the end of our car jack guide. Hope you found this helpful and informative.
If you have any doubts or questions, feel free to comment below.
Where To Place Jack Stands On Your Vehicle
Knowing where to place jack stands is important if youre going to do any kind of work under your car. Even something as simple as changing a tire requires your car to be safely lifted off the ground. Heres what you need to know about where to place jack stands so you can safely work on your vehicle.
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What About A Bottle Jack
The bottle jack works in much the same way as a trolley jack, using hydraulic force to lift the car. It has the bonus of being smaller and easier to store than a trolley but this means it isnt quite as stable.
Again, make sure the relief valve is closed, then unscrew the top of the jack to the correct length the instructions should tell you how far you need to extend it. Then position it under the jacking point, insert the handle and pump until the car is raised.
Lower it again in the same way as the trolley jack.
Floor Jacks How To Use Them
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Best Way To Jack Up Car
Its the nightmare of many roadtrippers: Youre on the road and you hear a loud popping noise. Oh no! Youre going to have to pull over and fix your flat on the fly.
But dont worry! By knowing how to jack your car up — a relatively straightforward job that enables you to do a number of tasks, including changing a tire and accessing anything near the undercarriage — does not have to be as scary as it seems.
The act of lifting all or part of your vehicle off the ground — or jacking up your car — is an important step in servicing your automobile. While it can be a relatively easy process, there are a few important things to know before you begin. Here, weve put together a few tips to help ensure you do not cause any damage to your car — and make sure you stay safe!
There are a few essential pieces of equipment you will need before you begin. First, of course, is a car jack. There are two types of car jack: a pneumatic jack and a scissor lift. The pneumatic jack, or pneumatic bottle jack, is the more professional of the two types. It allows the operator to lift very heavy objects — like, say, an automobile — without using much effort at all. It uses a hydraulic piston to raise the jack when the operator pushes down on a lever.
Lift Your Car In The Right Spot
This one requires a bit of brainwork . Depending on what you need to work on is where you should put the car jack. For example, if youre trying to change the wheel youll want to jack up that corner of the car. Putting the car jack in the right position might seem like common sense, but it can save you time and money.
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Find A Safe Place To Pull Over
Get off the road and as far away from traffic as you can. If you’re on a highway and near an exit, take it. The goal is to get off the road entirely and on to solid, level groundsuch as a parking lotwhere you can use a car jack safely. Failing that, you want to find your way to a road or street with as little traffic as possible, where you can pull off to the side, away from the flow of cars, and be on a spot solid enough to support a jack. If you’re on a highway and can’t get off, you’ll just have to find the safest location you can you can’t drive for miles on a flat tire without destroying it and possibly damaging your vehicle. In that case, pull over to the right shoulder, as far off the road as possible. Make sure you’re on a solid, level surface, so that the jack doesn’t sink into the ground rather than lifting the car. A soft surface might also cause the jack to lean to one side as it’s lifting the car, which can cause the car to fall.
How To Make A Cider Press With A Car Jack
If you are making cider from free apples you need a press. Here is a really easy way to make one from scratch without spending loads of money buying something, that you may not use that much afterwards. In fact, you may not need to spend anything at all, if you have this stuff lying around.
NB – this guide is a companion to my “How to make cider” Instructable
This uses things you can find in the house/garden/shed.
- Fruit vat – a strong plastic open storage crate. It must be watertight but one you don’t mind drilling a hole in!- porous cloth such as muslin, old net curtain, nylon mesh
- Frame– 6x strong wooden baulks – cross-section minimum 4″x2″, length about 3′ each- 1x board of minimum thickness 1/2″ – 8x 6″ bolts of thickness 1/4″ with matching nuts – Some screws. Minimum of 6 to attach the board to the frame.1 1/2″ is fine. You could use nails.
- Press– a car jack- a board of minimum thickness 3/4″ to spread weight
- Juice vat– any container to catch the juice
- Tools– a saw to cut wood- spanners to tighten bolt- screwdriver or hammer to attach base board to the frame with screws or nails
All dead simple stuff. Read on…
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How To Use Hydraulic Car Jacks
Unlike traditional screw jacks that are manipulated with long cranks, hydraulic car jacks use high-pressure liquid displacement to lift cars. If employed properly, hydraulic car jacks are easy to use for most people and provide more power than ordinary, mechanical screw jacks.
Step 1
Locate the jacking point, which is usually found about one foot behind or in front of the wheel on which you are working. Check your owner’s manual if you have trouble locating it.
Step 2
Stack the plywood and place the stack on the ground where you plan to use the hydraulic jack.
Step 3
Set the jack on a stable point on the plywood stack.
Step 4
Loosen the wheel you plan to work on before you jack up the car. Otherwise, the force you will exert to loosen the wheel may cause the jack to tip over.
Step 5
Release the locking mechanism located on the hydraulic jack handle. This mechanism allows you to lock the handle safely when it’s not in use.
Step 6
Jack up the car by operating the lever on the hydraulic jack. Move the lever or jack handle up and down to raise the car about 1 1/2 inches off the ground.
Step 7
Place the jack stand under the axle-stand point underneath the car but never under the axle itself. Check the owner’s manual if you are not sure where the axle-stand points are located.
Step 8
Remove the jack stand when you are finished working on the car.
Lower the car until the jack is no longer supporting its weight.
Tips
Things You’ll Need
What To Understand Before Jacking Your Car Up
First, ask yourself which part of your car needs to go up in the air. For instance, if you need to change your oil, you should be raising the end of the car that houses the engine. For most cars, its at the front, but in some, its in the middle or at the rear. If you just need to change a tire, its the corner thats flat that needs to get off the ground.
Additionally, keep in mind there are four wheels, so four points where the vehicles total weight is distributed. If your car weighs 4,000 pounds, youve got approximately 1,000 pounds weighing down each wheel, though the its layout and its weight distribution could alter this equation. Floor jacks and stands vary in weight capacity, so read the fine print carefully before you buy to ensure what you take home is sturdy enough for the job.
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My Hydraulic Floor Jack
My personal hydraulic jack is the costco 3 ton “arcan” ALJ3T aluminum jack. Not every store may carry it, the price is about $145 after everything. It’s about 58 lbs vs. 100 lbs for acomparable steel jack, has a lower padded bar to avoid scratching your car, and has a range of3.7-19″ so it will fitunder most lowered cars but lift high too. It’s not a racing “quickdrop” jack so lowering it is safe and controlled – avoid racing jacks ingeneral. It also has a quick lift feature. Another good one is thearcan “professional” XL35R. It has a lift of 3.5-21.4″ andis rated at 3.5 tons but is steel and weighs 101 lbs. I’ve heard that itcan be found at some costcos for $99 but after using a 100 lb jack, lugging itaround gets old fast so I recommend the aluminum jack. My experience with Craftsmanjacks is that many tend toleak and stop lifting after a while due to dirt clogging an internal valve. They can be cleaned and rebuilt but I avoid craftsman jacks now because of theircurrent design.
How To Use Wood As Jack Stand Backups
After raising the car with a hydraulic floor jack by the jack points asspecified in your factory service manual, put the first layer of blocks under all fourtires. Once it’s raised, use a high lift floor jack to fit the second layer under thetires. Always rest all four wheels on blocks before raising to the secondlevel to keep the car level. If you try to lift the car while it’s at agreat angle it could slip and fall. Apply the parking brake, put the car in gear or park, and chock thewheels. Neverget under the car while raising, lowering, or adjusting the car. Hydraulicjacks could blow a seal and collapse, get tipped over or slip, or have thejacking point slip, so don’t get under the car unless it is completely secure!
For some tips on jacking up your VW TDI, see 1000q:mk4 Golf/Jetta factory jack points, 1000q:mk4 VW Passat jack points, or 1000q:mk5 Golf/Jetta factory jack points. Obviously, nothing on these pagescan replace or supercede the information in your factory service manual.
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Certifying A Salvage Vehicle As Rebuilt
A salvage vehicle is a vehicle that has been identified as stolen and dismantled or damaged as a result of a collision, impact , fire or flood.
In order to register and put a plate on a salvage vehicle:
- it must be inspected, certified and/or repaired by a specialized Motor Vehicle Inspection Station, licensed to conduct more in-depth, structural inspections
- you must get both a Structural Inspection Certificate and a Safety Standards Certificate from the inspection station
The vehicle will be re-branded from salvage to rebuilt once you submit a Structural Inspection Certificate at any ServiceOntario location.
Place And Raise The Jack
Now, use car jacks, make sure that they have enough weight capacity for your vehicle. If you have a mechanical-type car jack, insert the rod and crank, raising the jack until it connects the lift point of the car. But, if you have a hydraulic type car jack, place the handle in the body of the jack and lightly pump the handle to lift the jack until it contacts the car frame.
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All About Car Jacks And Stands
Almost everyone has changed a tire at some point in their life. While a spare tire is acknowledged as a necessity, the second most important tool for the job is a jack. Without it there is no way to lift the vehicle off the ground.
Jacks and jack stands are not just for changing a tire. They can also convert any space into an automotive workshop in no time at all, making it possible for users to perform maintenance and vehicle repairs right in your own driveway.
Jacks and jack stands are extremely safe and reliable as long as they are used correctly and the correct jack and stand is used for the vehicle weight.
Auto Repair: How To Use A Jack Safely
The most obvious reason to jack up a car is to change a tire, but other jobs such as inspecting brakes may also require you to get under the vehicle. This section explains how to use a jack safely and efficiently.
Caution:Before you attempt to jack up your vehicle, observe the following safety precautions:
- Jacks are used only to get a vehicle off the ground. They should never be used to hold a vehicle in place.
- You must use jack stands when you work underneath your vehicle. If you don’t, you run the risk of serious injury or even death. People have been crushed to death when vehicles that were improperly secured fell on them.
- Never jack up a vehicle without blocking the wheels to keep it from rolling. Use bricks, wooden wedges, or metal wheel chocks to block the wheels at the opposite end of the car from the end that is to be raised. Keep whatever you use for blocks in the trunk so that you don’t have to go hunting around if you have to change a flat tire.
Tip: If you find yourself faced with the job of changing a tire and you have nothing with which to block the wheels, park near the curb with the wheels turned in. This may not keep you from getting hurt if the car rolls off the jack, but at least innocent motorists and pedestrians won’t have to deal with a runaway driverless vehicle!
Remember: These precautions won’t eliminate the risk of changing a tire on an incline. If you can’t get to level ground or wait for assistance, you change the tire at your own risk.
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Jacking Up Your Vehicle And Implementing Jack Stands
Materials Needed
Step 1: Park on a solid surface. Make sure your vehicle is parked on a flat concrete surface and that the conditions of the floor on which you will be using the jack stands is solid and free of debris. This will ensure that the jack stands will stay in place.
- Warning: Do not, under any circumstances, attempt to jack up a car on an uneven surface or on a soft surface like grass or dirt. The consequences could cause severe injury, and it also has the potential to be fatal.
Step 2: Set the parking brake. When you park the vehicle, make sure you use the parking brake and that it is fully engaged.
Step 3: Use wheel chocks. Depending on what end of the vehicle youre working on, place wheel chocks on both sides of the tires at the end of the vehicle you will NOT be jacking up.
Wheel chocks ensure that the vehicle will not roll when you jack it up.
This is especially important if youre working on the back end of the vehicle, which is most likely where the parking brake is located. If you lift the back end of the vehicle, the front wheels can still roll, so always apply wheel chocks to the wheels before using a floor jack.
Step 4: Test the floor jack and look for defects. Test the floor jack with your foot or hand before using it to make sure it engages and disengages properly.
Step 5: Check the owners manual for your vehicles jack points. Before using the jack stands, check the owners manual for factory approved jack points.
