Lifting car onto jackstands

I work without the use of a car lift. Anytime I need to do anything like change a trans or rear axle it is jack stands for me. I do a couple extra things as well. After I have it up on the stands I jack the car up just a little to make sure the jack stand is sitting level and not in a bind. I do this because I have lifted one end of the car at a time and just make sure nothing shifted. Then I put my jack gently against the frame rail just as extra protection. If it gets in the way I reposition it but keep something extra there. Also if working where you are having push or pull on something I stop from time to time to make sure the jack stands are still in a good position. As for cinder blocks. When I built my house I used a solid poured concrete foundation and after 10 years there are cracks in it.


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Any good self respectin redneck would go out in the woods and cut some good tree stumps to your specs

 

I've had a LOT of cars up in the air over the last 55 years (yes, some of them on concrete blocks), and I feel the most secure using this method. I am in the process of changing out the oil pump in my (semi) O/T Corvette, and I have the rear wheels on ramps (the good kind with a recess for the tire) and the front on jack stands (common sense and a little observation will tell you where to put them). When it's time to get under it, I will put a couple of mounted tires under the frame towards the front. You can't be to careful. I have always been leery of a car on 4 jackstands; if you place them so they provide the most room to work, they don't seem to be optimally placed (and vice-versa). Also, I usually jack the car up so I can place the ramps exactly where they should be. It's possible to drive off the ends of ramps.

 

eight months ago a neighbor five house down from me was working in his barn alone ,had the car lifted with just the floor jack when it all went wrong.he was found days later because no one know he was out there.there was a estste sale at his place about a month ago.i walked into the barn were they had rows of smaller items lined up for the sale and the first thing that caught my eye was four jack stands.sometimes we know what to do we just need to slow down and do it.

 

Invest in quality tools including jack stands. I have a pair of old Walker brand stands I bought in 1960 and they are still good. I also have about a dozen newer tripod type with the extension that pulls up for adjustment, they are rated for six tons and probably would hold it. I even have a few old Ford axle bells cut down with a piece of U-channel welded on that are older than me that I would trust to hold anything up. BUT I WOULD NEVER USE A CINDER BLOCK!

 

I think the "No Cinder Blocks" has been beaten to death, but...

Concrete is strong in compression only (~3000 - 4000 PSI) - if that block is not 'loaded' purely in compression, parts of it can either bend / flex or even worse, go into tension - concrete in tension is worth about 150 PSI at best - and that assumes there are NO cracks (even on a microscopic level) -

Steel (jackstands) on the low end, is worth at least 36,000 PSI ...even in tension - a factor 10 fold over the best-case concrete block scenario.

There...finally got to put my professional registration to work on the HAMB!!

 

I have a total of 14 jack stands, all good professional series, in my shop for multiple car uses. I have 2 extra tall ones for the work like you mention. When does a hydraulic jack fail? When you least expect it, that's when. It takes seconds to set a stand, and if you don't have that time available you don't have time to do the work at all. Cost? What's a life worth. And I'll repeat what others have said, avoid the import flavor, and never, Never, NEVER, did I say NEVER? Yeah, NEVER use those bullshit pin and tin fuckers. Now to be truthful, I don't always stick a jack stand under the car. But at that point I'm just turning a wheel for a quick check or maybe a quick swap from one to the other and only lifting enough to clear the ground. More truth, I have built stuff with blocks, but not cement blocks. I use hardwood blocks to set racer stuff at the desired hgt and shim for level and plumb. Also I'm "in" the car where if it were to fall (impossible) it would fall maybe 6" down around me. Never happened in almost 20yrs, but you know what that means? The odds are now AGAINST me!!

Don't fuck around on this logic. Take the time, spend the $$, get extras. You'll always be glad you did. FWIW, I don't like those fuckin tin drive up ramps either. Your frame will more than support the whole car. My stands were tough enough to hold up a 7000 Cadillac V-16 Town Car, your Ford will be fine if you get the right ones. 4 legs, forged center stand, steel adjusters. Check resale shops, estate/garage sales, shop closing auctions/sales. sometimes you can find good stuff for less than 1/2 price.

 

In all the years I have been working on cars I have never had a jackstand slip, bend the vehicle frame or collapse. I don't buy cheap stamped metal stands and always use 4 minimum under anything where I am going to be under the vehicle. I will occasionally only use one (with wheel chocks) if I am changing a tire but that is just in case the jack goes bad and that's only happened a couple of times. It only takes one bumper jack popping out to make a believer out of you.

 

Even more words about cinder blocks.


The only thing worse than a cinder block is two cinder blocks (or more) stacked. There's a big difference between cinder blocks and concrete blocks.

Cinder blocks are made out of CINDERS (!) they crumble and they absorb moisture which speeds up crumbling. If they've ever froze with moisture in them they are worthless. Any movement of a cinder block while under pressure, will worsen the crumbling in unpredictable ways. Any part of a car resting directly on a cinder block will focus the crumbling force. Torque-ing a bolt, bumping the car, etc. can induce catastrophic failure.


Concrete blocks are much stronger than cinder blocks, they don't crumble as easily, they crack. DON'T USE THEM EITHER.

The only way to use a concrete block would be to place it (vertical, never sideways) on a smooth flat and solid floor (like concrete) then pad between the block and floor (and between block and block) with a wood or plywood layer in between (same size and shape as the block's footprint). Never put block on block or block on concrete or block on dirt. The wood spreads out the force lessening (but not eliminating) the chance of cracking. There still could be unseen flaws and/or cracks in concrete blocks so don't use them unless you have to.

If you have to use concrete block & wood, don't get under the car without a backup plan of something at least as thick as you and a lot stronger (tires, a jack, wood blocks jackstands etc.).

 

As inexpensive as jackstands are, there's really no excuse to not use them.

 

Love the backyard engineering advice... What are we talking, $39.00 for a set of two 4-ton jack stands? Am I missing something?

 

Get some GOOD jackstands, not harbor freight china crap!
What is your life worth.............

 

Ditto, NO cinder blocks..... I usually place the jackstands where the "X" member joins the side rails , on pre 40 Ford / Merc frames. That C.E. kit is a gem,... easy to install, great instructions.

It keeps them out of the way, and that's a really strong part of those frames.

4TTRUK

 

Ever need to get under a car when you are far away from the nearest pep boys?

Or need to get a car higher up than jackstands will go

Or it's not your car or garage or tools?

Sometimes you have to improvise and I've seen some people improvise some really stoopid stuff.

It's reasonable to discuss what's safe and what's not and how to make what's not safe, safer.

 

Gravity works every time, all the time & hasn't failed once since the beginning of time.

Cinder blocks are stupid
Stands can fail because they aren't idiot proof
Jacks fail daily
Lifts fail too

I really like the 12 ton stands. 4 of those under a car and its really solid. One notch up and there is plenty of normal creeper room. all the way up and you can sit underneath. Plus the safety margin of 48 tons to 4800 lbs max on any car is really good.

I have a bunch of 6 ton stands and really just like the 12s better.

 

The problem with using them under a car is that the force is often concentrated at a single point. When they are used in a wall, mortar is used to spread the load evenly. Wood will help but the load still might not be distributed evenly.

Put it on steel. I prefer the ratcheting style as it's easier to get the correct height. Screw type are even better but more expensive.

 

I spend a great deal of time laying next to these for some reason

 

I'm not telling you to do this I'm just telling how I do it.I have enough room to run two 4x4s under my car one in the back in front of the rear tires and one 4x4 behind the front tires using two jacks I jack up the rear enough to put jack stands under the 4x4 also make sure the front wheels are chock then move to the front 4x4 and do the same keep doing this till I have it at the right hight then I put a jack stand in the middle of the 4x4s under the car.Six stands and two 4x4s maybe overkill but what the hell

 

can you make a video?

 

I use steel ramps for the front, turned backwards so the car can not roll backwards. 6 ton jackstands in the rear, 4 of them if possible. also leave the jack in place. I am too old to die young but still no ready to go.

 

as a dumb kid years ago an old guy said you don't need jack stands

as I was pulling mu self out from under my 57 ford I had grabbed the bumper and they crumbled
it hit the ground and if I was not out already I would not be telling you this
there was wood on top of them

 

Make sure your jackstands are set straight up squarely on all four legs and not tilting.
Floor jacks rise/fall in an arc, not purely vertical. When jacking, either the jack or the car will move with the arc. This becomes an issue when setting jackstands because the load is moving while being set, sometimes tilting the jackstands as they are set.

Leave the floor jack in place, or find a new place to set it as a backup.

Always use a back-up safety like a wheel, wood blocks, another jack, or another set of stands. I like bottle jacks for this because they are small and don't get in the way of work. 24 ton bottle jacks are pretty cheap and blocks of wood even cheaper.

Oh, in case nobody mentioned it, don't use concrete/cinder blocks. They will scratch the paint off your frame.

 

My jack stands.

 

Good advice.

American Made (Rated PER stand).

12 Ton Harbor Freight (Rated PER pair).

 

Show off!


Where did you get that? Looks like you have a 2-car garage and limited ceiling height; looks like it works good.

 

Harbor Freight will sell you a pair of 3 ton jack stands for under $20 on sale.

They should be fine to hold one end of a 2-ton car off the ground.

Is it worth saving $20 to risk your life with the blocks?

 

I will ALLWAYS rock it as hard as I can. In fact I try to rock it OFF the stands. There is always at least one jack stand that will walk a little and it sometimes chips the driveway. Better a scratch in the pavement than falling on me.

 

get some2x10 pt lumber & cut it to about30 in long use it for this & put it up for he next time

 

Hollow core Concrete blocks = no no no.

Flat STACKED 4 x 8 x 16 SOLID Concrete CAP blocks with a 4x6x16 wood protective top layer have worked well but backed up with 4 GOOD jack stands.
Or vice versus.

Have some huge heavy truck jack stands but sometimes you need to work on more than one vehicle.