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Safely Jacking the Car Up High

MattB77

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Jun 26, 2015
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So I've just ordered myself a new higher lift trolley jack and 4 taller jack stands. But what I wanted to ask you guys is how do you safely get the whole car on top of these taller stands? I've had a good look for hours on the internet but never really found much help so I hope you guys can.

To give you the details my old stands range from 12" - 20" and the new ones will go from 21" - 34" while the new jack will get me up 30" high. My car sits pretty low at 6" off the ground and its jacking points are under the diff & under the crossmember under the engine bay. Its jack stand points are just inside the pinch welds along both sides of the car between the front & back wheels.

So how do you go about getting it up there? My first thought is that if you first chock the rear wheels and jack up the front 30" and put the large stands in that would put the car at quite some angle which would put horizontal pushing forces on those stands. It could also stop me from accessing the diff as the back of the car would lower.

So do you go in stages? So put the front up half way, say 15", and then jack up the back all the way upto 30", then return to the front to get that upto 30" as well? This could still put some horizontal forces on those front stands as the car would pivot on them as you jack up the rear (and obviously the front wheels would not be chocked). To be even safer you could go up in even smaller steps?

Perhaps instead of pivoting the car on those front axle stands it would be better to have the wheels on a ramp (or construct some solid blocks of wood) and in that way you could chock the front wheels as well.

So maybe I'm over thinking this but I'd certainly like to be on the safe side. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
 
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bixxjs

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I always put the car on ramps then Jack the front of the car upto the required height,then do the same for the back of the car.

The top and bottom bases of the front 2 stands are braced,you can see the bolt holes in the photo.
The bracing was removed for photographic purposes.
 

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nbpt100

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I always put the car on ramps then Jack the front of the car upto the required height,then do the same for the back of the car.

I like how you are using the ramps but those front stands don't look that stable for that height. Maybe you have had good luck so far but if you could tie those two stands together you would be super safe.

I like the idea of doing it in stages. What I now use are blocks of wood 12 x 12 in cross section or greater as a base and then block up with smaller pieces to get my height. Extra pieces of wood decking work great for the last few pieces.

Similar to what they do in boat storage yards. Much more stable than jack stands and they dont dig in to your drive way.
 

maxpower_hd

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Apr 17, 2015
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I've always done it in stages. I use my shorter stand first and get all four up as high as I can then jack again and put the taller stands under. Mine aren't 34" tall though.
 

Rewind97

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Feb 15, 2013
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bixxjs...........that just scares the **** out of me. Imagine this..........you're under the car and one of your buddies drops by. Y'all chatting it up then he decides do lean against the side of the car about the front wheel........that puppy's coming down on top of you.

Get some lateral cross bracing on those NOW!!!
 

skruft

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I would not put a car on stands that high.

(Ever since I dropped my '66 Lincoln on myself I have been very conscious of this business)
 
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MattB77

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Jun 26, 2015
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I would not put a car on stands that high.

(Ever since I dropped my '66 Lincoln on myself I have been very conscious of this business)

I probably won't use the full height of these stands but I'm not worried about the stands height as they've been designed with this in mind. As such they are solidly built and have a large footprint on the ground. They're the pin style type and not the ratchet type but are basically just a much bigger version of a normal sized set.

As for jacking up the car I'm thinking of building some cribbing that I can use to get the car half way up and then I'm not pivoting the car on the jack stands. Once the car is fully up I can also use it to act as a fail safe just in case the stands fail for whatever reason. To be honest I've never really liked getting under a car so I like to make it as safe as possible before I do.
 

bixxjs

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Safety warning,the 2 front stands are cross braced (removed for photos)the top and bottom bases are drilled for bolts.
 

GTO

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NJ,FL
I always put the car on ramps then Jack the front of the car upto the required height,then do the same for the back of the car.

The top and bottom bases of the front 2 stands are braced,you can see the bolt holes in the photo.
The bracing was removed for photographic purposes.

The front looks way too sketchy for me to climb under.....:scared:
 

wasabiboys

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Oct 16, 2010
Messages
76
This just sounds so so dangerous. Why risk it? You really want your car sky high get a lift or get a friend with one.

Even this looks more kosher. Not my car setup or anything off google.
 

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Slednut

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Putting the jack under the front cross member works good, just know that either the jack or the car must move or the jack could slip off the cross member. If your floor is rough put the car in natural before jacking it up.

My car is on stands right now, the sills are a little over 20 inches off the ground. When I remove the tires I put them stacked two high under the car close to where I’m working for safety.
 

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lakeroadster

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Perhaps instead of pivoting the car on those front axle stands it would be better to have the wheels on a ramp (or construct some solid blocks of wood) and in that way you could chock the front wheels as well.

So maybe I'm over thinking this but I'd certainly like to be on the safe side. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

Before I bought my 2 post Rotary lift I made some boxes from left over 2x decking and plywood materials.

Worked pretty well. I'd drive the car up on ramps, then raise the back and install the rear boxes under the tires. Then jack the each front wheel, using the lower control arms, and place the boxes under the wheels.







 
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wmm2

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Cincinnati, Ohio
I prefer better bracing....

The details in that picture are great.

  • For safety, he chocks the back tire, so he doesn't seem to have a death wish
  • He's working on the passenger side, so why not jack it up so he doesn't have to be so far under it.
  • And is he welding a gas tank in the street?
Anything that tries to kill him is going to have to take a number and wait.
 

Ilikeike

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I made block stands to put under the wheels with 2"x 4" two one way, two the other way,and so on.... Gives you a little more room under the car if you don't need to remove the wheels, seems like jack stands are always in the way when your moving around under the car.
 
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nbpt100

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The details in that picture are great.

  • For safety, he chocks the back tire, so he doesn't seem to have a death wish
  • He's working on the passenger side, so why not jack it up so he doesn't have to be so far under it.
  • And is he welding a gas tank in the street?
Anything that tries to kill him is going to have to take a number and wait.

I think that pic is a joke. Photo shopped.
 

pelletman

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Apr 5, 2016
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I always put the car on ramps then Jack the front of the car upto the required height,then do the same for the back of the car.

The top and bottom bases of the front 2 stands are braced,you can see the bolt holes in the photo.
The bracing was removed for photographic purposes.

I don't care what kind of bracing you put between those. You are nuts
 

Marcm157

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Jan 12, 2014
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Newburgh, NY
I always put the car on ramps then Jack the front of the car upto the required height,then do the same for the back of the car.

The top and bottom bases of the front 2 stands are braced,you can see the bolt holes in the photo.
The bracing was removed for photographic purposes.

Bracing or not this is plain nuts...
 

BaMaDuDe87

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AL
I always put the car on ramps .......The bracing was removed for photographic purposes.

No way in hell I'd get under that. Why would you remove any bracing from that contraption "for photo purpses"?

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
 
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MattB77

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Jun 26, 2015
Messages
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While 'bixxjs' has inadvertently attempted to hijack this thread I appreciate all the help from you guys that have helped with my original question....time I think to build some wood cribbing!
 

rharman

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SoCal
What Turbo wood worker said!......Good Luck! You can do it just take your time and use common sense.

This is definitely a task that screams out for over-engineering.

Some of the pics I've seen on this thread just have me shaking my head.
 

Sticks McGee

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Jan 6, 2015
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Trail Creek, IN
Before I bought my 2 post Rotary lift I made some boxes from left over 2x decking and plywood materials.

Worked pretty well. I'd drive the car up on ramps, then raise the back and install the rear boxes under the tires. Then jack the each front wheel, using the lower control arms, and place the boxes under the wheels.








I like that set up.
 

nbpt100

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This is definitely a task that screams out for over-engineering.

Some of the pics I've seen on this thread just have me shaking my head.
That first picture is scary.

You don't need to do any bending moment calculations here. Just Over design it if in doubt. A good carpenter with common sense will get the job done safely.
 
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