midnight mechanic

after filling up the hydraulic jack yet again with hydraulic oil, then it spit the plug out, and hydraulic oil hit my eyes and face! Then when jacking the car up, it slipped off the frame rail. (that's why jackstands exist). What a pita!!!

How about I use a 1100 pound scissor jack? The car weighs ~2400 pounds so the jack is lifting ~1200 pounds. This scissor jack has a 6 x 22 inch lifting surface, and 22 by 15 ground base. And it weighs 37 pounds

And I keep the broken down hydraulic floor jack around for the thieves to grab thinking they are making off with something.

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

I would personally just invest in another floor jack. There are good deals out there. I even have one I bought from Napa back in 05 and it still works great! I got my current floor jack from Sam's Club for $99 and it came with two jack stands. Has worked great for a couple years now. Scissor jacks are dangerous. If you position the floor jack properly, it should not slip off anywhere. And yes, as you stated, jack stands are a good idea.

midnight mechanic

If are you referring to the jack in my link, how can that be dangerous? My concern is exceeding the 1100 pound rating by 100 pounds.

I always use car ramps under the car body, and wooden blocks as a double fail-safes if I have to get under the car. And just go with jackstands if I'm not under the car.

The advantage of the scissor jack (in the link) is a wider lifting surface, so I won't need to place a board between the car body and the jack to lessen the pressure on the frame rails. And I won't have to be super accurate in the jacks' placement.

GSLSEforme

I have a higher quality version of the jack in your link that i use for servicing motorcycles and ATVs and while it is perfectly suited to that purpose,on some of the largest ATVs,it is near its safe lifting limit and this is on a proper motorcycle lift table with ATV strapped in place.

While this type of jack is versatile in the powersports world,it is not the best tool for the job in lifting your car. A proper hydraulic floor jack(used on a hard,level surface) is the only safe consistent way to lift any car and use of jackstands should be THE preferred supporting components.
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It is important to place both the jack and stands in specific places under the car that are reinforced for this purpose,damage can be done in using areas not designed to support weight of car. On 1st gens i always lift the back of the car by putting a wood block on saddle of floor jack and placing under pumpkin(center section) of rear axle for lifting and putting stands under rear frame rails each side. Jack stands can also be placed each side under rear axle tubes( as close to wheel end of axle for most stability) though on some cars rear swaybar makes this difficult.
For lifting front of car,i roll the jack under the front of car in the middle and place jackpad under crossmember directly behind oilpan(i use a droplight to put eyes on the exact spot of contact) and lift from here. This is the strongest area for lifting front of car and front frame rails are best place to put jack stands. If you only have 1 pair of stands you can support opposite end of car by placing ramps under tires or on frame rails if you're doing tire/suspension work.
If the car is to be on stands for some time i put long sections of 2" x 4" wood blocks on top of each stand to help spread the load of car at each supporting point. ALWAYS check to be sure car is solidly supported before you get under it.

My current car is lowered a fair amount and i use a low profile extended frame 3 ton floor jack to be able to clear the body and reach where necessary. I like this particular jack as it has a 31" lift height. Lots of companies make floor jacks like this,i have seen some in Northern Tool,Harbor Freight that are comparable in price to scissor jack op is considering. 1st gens are comparatively light cars and a really heavy duty jack is not necessary.

tommyeflight89

iTrader: (4)

I agree with above.

I am not sure why you would want a scissor type jack for lifting a car at all. A decent low profile floor jack will easily lift the front or rear of an FB from the cross member or diff housing in not time. Lower it onto jack stands.

midnight mechanic

scissor jack has a longer wider lifting area, the ground contact is longer and wider. It also lifts straight up where as a hydraulic jack's base has to move horizontally towards the lifting point. Scissor jack uses circular motion, while the hydraulic jack uses vertical so the jack handle can't move its full range for the pump when starting the lift.

If I get a replacement hydraulic jack, it will the low profile. The extra work/time it takes get the clearance by driving the wheels over 1 1/2 inch thick board isn't worth the cost savings of a standard jack. When lifting the rear, the differential pumpkin fits nicely in the hydraulic jacks' cradle, but the handle motion is still limited. When lifting the front, and with the jack position under the center cross member, I will be under the car when pumping the jack. I hate that!

I still have to undercoat the area from when the jack slipped off the frame rail.

DivinDriver

iTrader: (15)

Your car must be substantially lower than stock; a stock-height 1st Gen is about the easiest car to lift with a good-quality standard floor jack that you'll ever run across.
Get a good-quality full-length floor jack and a set of proper stands. If you need low-profile it will cost you a bit more, but it's your car and safety you're investing in & it's a tool you'll be using a lot. Long-reach units are available if short-stroking it for the first dozen pumps is too onerous for you.

And don't skimp on lift capacity; any engineer will tell you not to load lifting equipment to anything near rated capacity. You want a healthy amount of overcapacity to deal with possible temporary overloads, like when the load shift and you get downward shock (or here in CA where an earthquake may come along while you're lifting and add some vertical G's - yes, it happens.)

I personally won't buy a floor jack of less than 2-ton capacity, even if I only expect to lift around half that. I plan to live to a ripe old age.

midnight mechanic

Sounds like no one as ever tried a 1100 pound rated scissor jack before and lived to tell about it. The frame rails of my car at 6 inch high. The 2 ton hydraulic jack saddle is 5 inch high. The frame rail slipped off the 2x4 block.

Since I live 2 flights up in an apartment, having a big *** low profile jack would be a contending factor that others here don't have to deal with. I may end up biting the bullet and getting the big *** low profile hydraulic jack. A hernia is better than getting crushed. The scissor jack arrives wednesday. If you don't hear from me ever again , you know what happened.

I don't trust jackstands with their narrow contact area and narrow base if I'm going to be under the car. We had an earthquake 15 years ago down here in 'bama. A lot of house trailers fell off their cinder blocks.

It was 31 years ago to tomorrow's date when a denny's waitress ran a red light in her '73 ford marquis station wagon and totalled my 914. I had collapsed lung and a hemothorax. She was taking her husband to the VA hospital.

GSLSEforme

I have used my scissor jack to raise and position suspension components like raising differential housing to ride height while car is on stands. My scissor jack is not exactly light,need two hands to lift and carry. Guesstimate 50 lbs.

Speaking of supporting the car on jackstands,a good quality grade of commercial jackstand positioned properly is THE safest way of supporting a vehicle for short or long term.

In 40+ years as an auto technician by trade i have never had a car fall or shift on stands. I'm comfortable doing any work underneath,after i've tried to shove the car off stands 1st before getting under. Do the same when setting lift pads under car,when car is just inches off ground i always rock the hell out of it. If there's a problem and it shifts,better it happens 2" off ground and not 7'up when i'm under it.

Jackstands in pics are all rated 6 tons,never had 6 tons on them but easily 2 tons apiece. They support my full size Ramcharger easily,it weighs 6600lbs. I have 8 of these and they're all over 30 years old. They are commercial grade,were not inexpensive,you get what you pay for applies here. This is not the area to skimp to save money,you only get one life. There's a lot of light duty junk out there that should be avoided.

It is important that you have a level surface to support the car and the stand supporting car,concrete is best,pavement 2nd. Any other surface needs some preparation to have a sold base for stand to sit on.

t_g_farrell

iTrader: (1)

You can also put the jack stands under the front mounts for the torsion bars if you need room around the bottom of the engine or steering hardware to do some work. I also use these mounts to jack up my car (cause its lowered) to put the stands under the front rails too. Takes 2 jacking operations up front but then I don't need to drive up on wood to get the front end higher.

I agree with GSLESEforme, always bump and shake the car before getting under it. You'd be surprised how often you discover a short stand or a small amount of free movement that needs fixed or shored up sometimes.

midnight mechanic

I just used the 1100 pound rated motorcycle jack to remove a front tire. It worked fine. There was plenty of clearance for the carpet padding so the undercoat remains intact.

The 2 ton hydraulic jack seems so clunky now.

midnight mechanic

Just used my 2 ton hydraulic jack while changing the transmission oil. It started sagging at the end of the project. I added hydraulic oil to the jack, and it spit oil out again. It was just 8 months ago I went through this bullshit. I will never use that POS again!

Harbor Freight and Home Depot have comparable floor jack prices. Looks like a 100 pound +$100 jack is in my future.

ray green

iTrader: (14)

You might want to consider finding a used professional hydraulic jack locally, they don't come up often but you can get lucky.

I did this, waited a few months until I found a like new garage stored Lincoln 2 ton floor jack on craigslist for $100.

Now made by Hein-Warner, these are high quality and rebuildable jacks that last forever




The best part is they're so much easier to use than a cheap harbor freight jack.

They provide a very solid lifting platform with a low profile and they lift the car securely with just a few quick pumps.

And they are safe, safe, safe. I would never use a cheap jack again, scissor, hydraulic or piston.

GSLSEforme

Buy a good quality floor jack AND stands,your life depends on it! This is not the area to go cheap...Why would you use that "broken down"jack again,cursing it? If it's not worth maintaining/repairing,belongs in scrap pile. $100 for the jack you're looking at will be a low quality unit that will generate a subsequent new POS post at some point.
It SHOULD go without saying,a floor jack-any floor jack,even your scissor jack is a lifting device and not meant to support vehicle while under it working on it.

GSLSEforme

Beat me to it,Ray! Good used like you describe is a good deal and can be rebuilt for@$25 when time comes. Cheaper jacks are just that,throwaways.

midnight mechanic

"any floor jack,even your scissor jack is a lifting device and not meant to support vehicle while under it working on it."

And that's I had blocks under the differential in the back with boards as fail safe under the rear wheels, and jack stands in the front with steel car ramps as fail safe under the front wheels.

ray green

iTrader: (14)

Of course MM, we wouldn't presume you wouldn't use safe jacking practices.

Anybody smart enough to own an FB is way too smart to risk their *** under a car that's not safely jacked up.

(And i know one professor who is no longer with us who wasn't that smart).

We're just saying don't skimp on shitty jacks that don't jack, squirt oil and yes, can catch you off guard in a way that might not be safe.

And those harbor freight units are notorious. The last one I bought there was a 10 ton piston jack I got for lifting beams under my porch during a repair.

First time I used it it broke, and I wasn't even close to lifting 10 tons.

Avoid the frustration and ultimately the expense, because you save nothing buying disposable tools.

Get a jack you can enjoy and abuse, like my 2 ton Lincoln.

Like I said, when I got it it was like new, garage stored, a bargain at $100 from a would be mechanic that maybe used it twice.

Since then I've beat the hell out of it, left it our in the rain (got no garage) and it just keeps on jacking.

Cars, stuck T posts, logs when I'm cutting wood, the house, whatever needs a lift.

Even my freshly opened Coors Light:

.

t_g_farrell

iTrader: (1)

Gah! Ray, don't drink that Coors Lite stuff. Obviously I need to visit with some real beer.

I have an old Sears jack thats at least 20 years old, bought new. Rebuilt one time and works like a charm.

Qingdao

iTrader: (3)

Meh, you guys are all hate on the HF jacks.... Aluminum HF jack is the BEST, hands down. Weighs NOTHING and lifts like a charm.

Now jack stands. That's another story. DON'T cheap out on the jack stands. Get the oldest thickest heaviest jack stands you can find at an ancient pawn shop.

Who is working on a car supported by a jack? That's a bad idea regardless of auxiliary safety measures. Lift the car then drop it on the stands, then pull the jack out from under the car. 2500#'s can have quite a lot of potential energy if it has time to accelerate 1". Another words if the jack fails catastrophically a force much greater than 2500#s is going to hit those jack stands. Also, the car will not be guaranteed to come down strait; it might topple the stands over.

1BADRX7

+1 for the HF aluminum jacks. I have one and it has always worked. I purchased their long reach low profile jack for another car and that works like a charm as well. I also had to purchase a 3 ton steel jack to lift the suv/truck and would hate to be carrying a steel jack up/down flights of stairs. Aluminum is the way to go.

midnight mechanic

So I can get by with a HF aluminum jack? Which one do you have? Post a picture, I like pictures!
I use boards with slight pressure from the wheels' suspension now. A car not dropping down straight....Yikes!!! something else to guard against.

ray green

iTrader: (14)

Well MM, if you live on the second floor and need to lift your jack a lot, maybe an HF aluminum unit will do.

But only for a year or two, then it will break.

And fare warning. aluminum recycle prices have plummeted since Trump took office.

(Round here we're only getting 25 cents a pound).

But if you're working on level ground you should at least get a metal HF, they cost less and last longer, maybe even three years if you're lucky..

Now as far as weight and jacks go, in my opinion the more pounds the better, you get a more stable platform.

My Lincoln 2 ton must way upward of a hundred pounds, like a jack on cement wheels, the thing don't move when it's got a load.

No fun to carry around, but if I need to move it more than 10 feet, I just use my trusty furniture truck:

Qingdao

iTrader: (3)

My HF jack is about 5 years old I suppose. Its the smallest one, but it gets the car up high enough to get the trany out. I don't see why you would need the car higher than that. I think it weighs in at about 25#s if that.


MM is that car on asphalt? If so you went way overboard with all the wood. Place those two jack stands on the axle itself; NOT on the lower trailing arms. Those arms are not meant to be load bearing... the axle is. If you bend those arms you will throw off your thrust angle and rear pinion angle. I know where you placed them is close to the axle, but still not as stable as on the axle itself as they were designed to be.

If you are on soft ground you'd be best off taking a piece of plywood and putting it on the ground. Place the base of the jack stands on the plywood and drop the car on the jack stands supported by the axle.

midnight mechanic

I use to place the jackstands where the shocks attach to the axle. But now I like to have the wheels in contact with a car ramp or a stack of boards so there is some tension on the suspension. The car ramp is at a 90 degree angle to the wheel. And that's asphalt.

The equalizer bar runs under the axle.

I fear earth quakes, and other cars colliding with my car when I'm under it.

I've done all the scheduled maintenance required for lifting the car up for this year. Next year I'll check the brakes and do the wheel bearings.

t_g_farrell

iTrader: (1)

In the rear I put t he stands under the chassis mounts for the lower control arms. Very stable and lets the rear suspension hang down to make it easier to do work on things around the axle. When I remove tires I place them under the hubs just in case something did try to fall down, at least I have the wheel to take some of the load. I also do a bounce test to make sure the car is stable before under it.