Scissor jack safety?

[Goldhawg]

I bought a military grade scissor jack of ebay a few weeks ago to use on my bendpak (1.5T). Should be big enough to raise the front or the rear. But jacking it up it seems to shift to one side. It did the job for me but I'm wondering if this is supposed to be this way or if I'm doing something wrong (but what can you do wrong w/a scissor jack?).

Picture shows my cutlass front end completely raised off the lift, but w/top of scissor jack slightly offset from the bottom.

Thoughts?

 

[Kracin]

by the way its connected, that appears to be normal.


also, it appears that it is built that way to allow for the user to have an easier time turning the handle when its lower.

ever try to get a scissor jack started on some of them on a low car? (or one with a flat). you end up scraping your knuckles all over the place before you can get full turns with whatever handle they gave you.




just to be sure, i'd let someone else chime in, just stating what i see from the way its built.

 

[retrobuilder]

Suggest only using for very light loads or supporting spindles, transmission tail support, suspension parts or emergency spare tire changing. I tried what you are doing with 2T scissors jack. The base is small and easily tips. They do not support much side load. How do I know? We had it tilt and fall out from bottom on a Mustang luckily we still had wheels on the axle. If you must be sure you have really good wheel chocks in place on both sides. They May be good for lifting up a very low car for getting the floor jack in place.

 

[The Ratchet Man]

I have that exact same jack I bought a couple of years ago from the Army surplus store. It was NOS for $5 so I picked it up. Its very well made and even has a ball bearing in between the head of the screw and the crossbar to reduce friction.

Mine raises with the screw completely level. I don't see anything wrong with yours from the picture. Having said that, if the top plate and foot plate aren't aligned then by design that would make for an unstable platform, which doesn't make sense.

I'll try to dig mine out tomorrow and take a picture. It's in the bottom of my metal storage box and I don't feel like digging it out tonight.

 

[sdnative]

I know this is an old thread but any idea if these scissor jacks can be operated with a cordless drill attached to the head (instead of a crank handle)? If so what might the bit size be? I've seen this done with some civilian car/RV scissor jacks.

 

[uart]

Old thread, but seeing as it has been bumped I'll comment on the op.

I would say that "offset" style in the op is not meant for raising the whole front or rear end. It's probably only meant for raising either a corner or a side.

As for using a cordless drill, I've never done it but I guess it would work if the tool had enough torque.

 

[sdnative]

Old thread, but seeing as it has been bumped I'll comment on the op.

I would say that "offset" style in the op is not meant for raising the whole front or rear end. It's probably only meant for raising either a corner or a side.

As for using a cordless drill, I've never done it but I guess it would work if the tool had enough torque.

Thanks for the reply. I saw a few youtube videos showing a drill being used instead of a crank handle. That was on certain civilian car jacks though, not military.

 

[uart]

Thanks for the reply. I saw a few youtube videos showing a drill being used instead of a crank handle. That was on certain civilian car jacks though, not military.

Yeah I've seen videos of people doing it too, but haven't tried it myself as I usually use a hydraulic jack.

Whether the jack was originally for civilian or military purpose wont really make any difference. It's all about how much steady torque that your drill puts out and how much the jack needs to move it.

Cordless drills aren't usually designed for high torque in the same way that impacts are, so many of them are only rated at around 10 to 20 ft-lbs. Whether that torque is going to turn your jack will depend on how well it's lubricated and what weight you're trying to lift.

 

[brook41]

I owned a similar jack years ago. They have a tendency to lean and bend the baseplate, it got worse with age, so I tossed it.

 

[southpier]

is a hydraulic (bottle) jack inherently more stable than a scissor jack (for tire changing)? understandably there would need to be a base plate to give sound footing.

i need something for a 3/4 ton van "just in case".

is there a reliable source for a Hummer scissor jack? or even a Quaddro tech style? http://www.quaddrotech.com/

thanks

 

[ttpete]

For my vans, I used the factory mechanical bottle jack and a piece of 2X10 for a flat base for on the road tire changing. You could use a hydraulic version, but would have to crawl farther under to pump it up.

Ordinary scissor jacks are unstable and I won't use one because of that.

 

[Jason280]

I have a pile of scissor style jacks that I have scavenged from the scrap and junk yards, and I routinely use them with a cordless impact. In fact, I've converted a few by welding 3/4" nuts in place to make them easier to use with impact sockets. Some already come like this, as you use the same wrench on the jack as you do the lug nuts.

Ordinary scissor jacks are unstable and I won't use one because of that

Not sure I'd call them "unstable", especially when used within their designed parameters, but no less stable than a comparable sized hydraulic jack. Remember, most of the standard scissor jacks are limited to 1-2 tons, and should be used as such.

 

[FMC1959]

Even for a simple tire change, with a bottle or scissor jack, I would set it on stands to be on the safe side. Use the those Jacks only to raise & lower the vehicle. With a 4 wheeled mechanic jack I don't bother with stands unless going under the vehicle is required.