Trust your LIFE with???

[UncleS2]

Jack- none.

Don't get under a car supported only by a jack. That's asking for big trouble, & if you do this a lot you'll eventually get it.

No foolin', don't trust a jack.

Stands: anything that's well made & rated for at least 1.5 times the car's weight. Example- my small pair of jackstands are rated for 3 tons- that's 6000 pounds. The Neon weights about 2700 pounds total, we can figure the front end at a safe overstatement of 2000 pounds, or 1 ton. So my small stands are rated for more than twice the total vehicle weight, and over 3 times the weight of the front end.

One other thing about jackstands, jacks, & our modern vehicles with sheet-metal box-member "frames" & lifting/jacking points- it's always best to use a piece of wood between the stand/jack & car. I learned this from an old foreign car mechanic long ago- so long ago that back then(late 1960's)American cars still had real frames!

It may be overkill, but it's still a very good idea. It's the old stand-on-the-empty-aluminum-beer-can principle.

 

[obbop]

Grandpa was at the town dump where folks would drop off unwanted cars for others to grab parts from. It was the 1960s in rural Nebraska, things done differently there and it was a "different era."

Anyway, gramps wanted some brake line so he used a jack.... a jack with no stands or other support.

Gramps was late for dinner..... sumpthin' he never missed. Granny called he son-in-law, my uncle. He went to the dump. Gramps never ate again. He was also squashed flat as a bug. Splat.

Even if that hadn't happened I would still have back-up support for my jack stands since I do not trust many things. Redundancy can be a wondrous thing.

 

[Clyde65]

quote:

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Originally posted by asiancivicmaniac:
I guess it's a personal preference but you think the rachet type stands are safer than the pins? With rachets I'm affraid someone or something might accidentally release it and cause the car to drop. Would that be possible?

---

I'm the same way, I don't trust the ratchet kind. There is just something about the way they are made, I don't know if it's the sloppiness or what; I just don't trust them. I like the pin type because the only way the pin's comming out is if somebody pulls it out; and that's not going to happen when it's loaded.

 

[grm386wa]

Just bought the Pep Boys special jack and stands special on Fathers Day. The jack stands are ratcheting type with a pin back up.

Seem well made, but who really knows.

I could buy a $2K lift and the hydraulics give out and squash me. Or I could buy a $20 set of stands that might last me a lifetime.

When its time to go, its time to go.
Be safe and be smart. Buy a slightly bigger stand than you need and leave the rest up to ....well.....whatever...

 

[porcupine73]

I use some 6 ton Harbor Freight jack stands I got for under $20, but I always use a 'back up' pair of jack stands too (Craftsman), because hey, you never know.

I don't think I would get under the vehicle with just one set of jack stands there. Depending on what I'm doing, I might leave the jack in place and just lower the vehicle onto the jack stands a little to stabilize the vehicle; otherwise it tends to rock a little when banging on the rotors and stuff if just on the jack, or if the jack just isn't in the way I leave it there with one pair of jackstands underneath.

 

[CMT]

quote:

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Originally posted by asiancivicmaniac:

quote:

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Originally posted by Chris Meutsch:
I have both jack stands and Ultra-ramps. The stands have "teeth" to rest on.....I wouldn't trust pins. The ramps are rated for 6000lbs. and I drive a CR-V and Civic, so no worries there.

---

I guess it's a personal preference but you think the rachet type stands are safer than the pins? With rachets I'm affraid someone or something might accidentally release it and cause the car to drop. Would that be possible?

---

I doubt it. When the weight of the car is on the stand, you probably have about as much chance of releasing that ratchet mechanism as you do of pulling the pin out of the other kind.

 

[The_Jeff]

I have the walmart 6-ton or whatever size jackstands. They're actually a little tall for my saturns, I have to jack the car significantly up to get around the "U" in the top of the thing then slide the stand in and lower. I jack under the subframe, and use two jacks, so I lift both sides of the front end similarly, reducing side loading issues. By jacking on the subframe I can put the stands in the very front of the rocker panel area (the factory reinforced position) then get the jacks out of the way. The further forward the stands are, significantly less weight is hanging over the front... where the whole powertrain is.

My philosophy is Walmart has the most to lose in a huge lawsuit, so they'll ensure the safest stands made by the best manufacturers.

And I back 'em up by tossing my wheels under the frame, takes no time at all and there's less to trip over in the driveway.

 

[JHZR2]

I dont like jackstands at all... call me a wimp, but if I cant do it with the car jacked up one side only (with a big log/wheels and ramp under the frame of the car to keep it from falling more than an inch), such as when I do brakes or tie rod ends, or up on real ramps, I pay someone to do it on a lift.

Cuts into the bottom line and kills the DIY spirit, I know... but it also guarantees safety and keeps me from screwing up thebig jobs that a pro would be better suited to tackle anyway!

I really dig that kwik-lift system... though it doesnt get you under the vehicle with its wheels off anyway... and suspension work is really the reason why Id be under there - correct me if Im shortsighted.

JMH

 

[deepsquat]

when ever I use jackstands..which is everytinme i am under a car! I like to still leave the jack under the car if at all possible..with just a small amount of tension on it...3way backup that way .

 

[KieferS]

If you OWN A VW DON'T USE THE JACK STAND! please- save a life- it could be yours. i don't know about the new model ones coming out- but if you own the 94-99 do not use the original 'widow maker' jack stands that came with the car. Mine has failed on me 3 times- and the third time i nearly lost me hand, and my friends has failed once when changing a bad tire on the free way. All enthusisat forums aknowledge this as well about VW jacks.

 

[jsharp]

quote:

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Originally posted by deepsquat:
when ever I use jackstands..which is everytinme i am under a car! I like to still leave the jack under the car if at all possible..with just a small amount of tension on it...3way backup that way .

---

I do the same thing. I use jackstands all the time but leave the jack under there too with a small amount of pressure on it.

 

[Oldswagon]

All of my vehicles are 4000+ lbs, and I have used jack stands countless times on all of them. I use a ratcheting style jack stand and there is no way to release the ratchet once any weight is on them. They are way over rated for my application, and built from very thick heavy gauge steel, with quailty welds. The cars are always very stable, even up on four stands. Of course, proper placement of the stands, a stable surface and testing the car afterwards for stability are all CRITICAL.

I am surprised at the amound of paranoia around jack stand use. I would be more paranoid about a ramp failing over a jack stand. I wouldn't put my 5000 lb Suburban on a set of steel ramps, and work under it. However, I have no issue at all using jack stands and crawling under the truck.

 

[1sttruck]

I have a set of jack stands that came with a 3 ton floor jack, but I don't use them. If I need to crawl under a jacked vehicle I use wood blocks, and keep some 4x8, 4x10, 2x4, etc. around for such tasks.

Awhile back a truck lost a very heavy load on one of the interstates around here, blocking some lanes for a day or so until it could be moved with special cranes and movers. The guys were using large wood blocks to support the load as they raised it.

 

[Win]

quote:

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Originally posted by jsharp:

I use jackstands all the time but leave the jack under there too with a small amount of pressure on it.

---

Times two. I have a set of three ton jackstands for primary support, and always have floor jacks or a second set of jackstands for backup.

I have thought about that kwik lift a few times, as my new GTO and my Xj8 are either too low to get a trolley jack under, or there is too much plastic in the way of a jack point.

I bought a set of Rhino ramps as a temporary solution, and absolutely hate them. I don't feel safe at all with them.

 

[Tosh]

quote:

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Originally posted by eljefino:
My philosophy is Walmart has the most to lose in a huge lawsuit, so they'll ensure the safest stands made by the best manufacturers.

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Big company=big lawyers. Not big conscience.

 

[carock]

Craftsman. They can be sued for big bucks and they know it.

 

[Chris Meutsch]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Clyde65:

quote:

---

Originally posted by asiancivicmaniac:
I guess it's a personal preference but you think the rachet type stands are safer than the pins? With rachets I'm affraid someone or something might accidentally release it and cause the car to drop. Would that be possible?

---

I'm the same way, I don't trust the ratchet kind. There is just something about the way they are made, I don't know if it's the sloppiness or what; I just don't trust them. I like the pin type because the only way the pin's comming out is if somebody pulls it out; and that's not going to happen when it's loaded.

---

 

[Chris Meutsch]

Let's compare steel to wood in terms of pin vs. rachet.

Pin---stick
Rachet---carved-out solid log in stair-step fashion.

You can't make the rachets slip when a car is on them. You'd have to be hitting them with a jackhammer.

 

[CMT]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Chris Meutsch:
Let's compare steel to wood in terms of pin vs. rachet.

Pin---stick
Rachet---carved-out solid log in stair-step fashion.

You can't make the rachets slip when a car is on them. You'd have to be hitting them with a jackhammer.

---

Exactly.

 

[Tosh]

Can you even get jackstands that don't have a spring-loaded retaining mechanism that prevents the pin from backing out?
Whether the style is pin or ratchet isn't so much the issue from a structural point of view. The weak links are the mating surrounding parts that the pin or ratchet puts under stress. (If it were ONLY a choice between a high strength shear pin or a forged steel ratchet body, I would put my life in the hands of the pin. Forgings aren't all perfect.)

Big picture: People get hurt when they use equipment improperly, or from deliberatly taking risks or not being trained to recognize the risk. Inadvertent side loading is a real danger. Like assuming a chassis member jacking point is horizontal and then jacking up one side. Now, motion may be depending on static friction alone.