Car on jackstands -- safe to start?

[moribundman]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
I have a bunch of floor tile bricks (those 60 cents concrete bricks of 1' x 1' x 2" at Home Depot) and every time I need to change oil in my IS I will build a ramp, with some wood stick along the edge to smooth out the steps. It takes some effort, but save me the space of having to store a set of ramps.


This post, while priceless, is disappointing without pictures.

 

[oilboy123]

Rhino ramps are only $30 on sale all the time. It's a good option for some.

 

[BrianWC]

I do this every time I change my oil. I use a floor jack just back from the correct jacking point and found it only deforms the area slightly. I then put the jackstands in the correct place. Every now and then I run an extra quart of new oil through to help precipitate a good drain. I just lean over while the car is jacked up and crank her up. Never had issues. I'd note that I have had a car come off jackstands before while changing tires. It didn't damage or deform anything even though the car was essentially resting on its brake rotors and the stands did not shoot out like mad projectiles.

 

[brianl703]

Originally Posted By: CivicFan

I use the beam under the radiator to jack up my cars - there is a spot marked with an arrow for that (they are Honda-s). Then I place the jack stands under the reinforced areas behind the front wheels and lower the car on them.


Most cars have a frame that the engine and transmission are bolted to. The front control arms are bolted to it, too. It runs from control arm, to the front, along the radiator and back to the other control arm.

You can jack the car up and/or place jackstands anywhere along that frame. I would suggest putting a shop towel between the jack or jackstand and the frame to keep from scratching it up.

 

[demarpaint]

When I was in college I met a buddy whose father dug a pit inside one of the bays of his 4 car garage. He really spent some time on this project, and set it up where the pit could be safely closed up after using it. Talk about a great place to do an oil change or any underside work on your car.

His dad recently passed away, and will be truly missed. He was a big help to us when we were in college, helping us work on our cars. He saved us a ton of money and passed along a lot of his knowledge.

Frank D

 

[bluemax1]

I can testify to the fact that a car PROPERLY mounted on jackstands is quite secure.

I do ALL the mechanical work on my car(s), from rebuilding engines to exhaust work, 4-wheel alignments, suspension, brakes etc.

I've had the car up on 2 jackstands and all 4 wheels off the ground on 4 jackstands numerous times, and for the most part, been underneath the car while it was up in the air, sometimes working underneath the car for a 16 hour stretch with breaks only to get something to eat/drink and to use the bathroom.

Then again, I know where to place the jackstands under my car (they don't go under the frame rails the way most folks tend to do it). I place them under the frame supports. The first time I tried it, I grabbed the car and pushed and pulled to see how stable it was. Doesn't budge.

One of the things I've done with the car up in the air was to test the 4-wheel steering in the VR4. The procedure in the manual states to raise the car with all 4 wheels off the ground, start the car and accelerate it to greater than 50 mph and then turn the steering wheel to the left and right to ensure that the 4ws system does turn the rear wheels concurrently. No problems whatsoever with the engine running and all 4 wheels spinning at 55mph.

I DO however use a floor jack to raise each axle up before placing the stands as opposed to a bottle/corner jack (that can only raise one corner of the car at a time).


Max