How to lift your car

[ddub]

I am not skinny enough to crawl under and I am unwilling to pay the price of a real car lift. What reasonably priced, reasonably easy and very safe methods have you found for raising the car and supporting it while you work under it?

[Gunslinger]

Just get four jackstands...use a floor jack to lift the car, slide the stands under it at solid locations and lower the car onto them. They're not expensive and easy to use.

[StudHawk60]

I use a floor jack and jackstands.

[showbizkid]

Same here... I generally use the floor jack to lift under the steering centerpoint, then place two jackstands under the frame a-pillar extension fishplates. Then I raise the rear end with the floor jack under the third member, and place the jackstands at the outer ends of each axle tube. Steady as she goes!

[63 R2 Hawk]

Harbor Freight has some heavy duty floor jacks that are probably good enough for the average hobby mechanic. Get something with the heaviest capacity, highest lift and get four sturdy, tall jackstands. I have used ramps but don't really like them. I also like their aluminum lightweight floor jacks, but they're not cheap. I finally broke down and got a two post asymetric lift, cost $2300USD and $400 to have professionally installed, getting too old to be grovelling under cars and trucks......

[warrlaw1]

Short ad they screened at the drive-in for a local crane company "If you can't get it up...call us!"

[Commander Eddie]

All good ideas. Here's one more.
I often use a hydraulic floor jack to lift the car and then use portable ramps. You just jack it up high enough to get the ramps under the wheels and then lower the vehicle down on to them. I find the ramps move when I try to drive up on them and if you are using them on all four wheels it gets even more tricky. And unless your car sits pretty high you can't stage the rear ramps under the car anyway. Jacking and lowering works best.

[jclary]

I use Jacks and jack stands. Unless the jack is in my way, I keep them under the car along with the jack stands. One additional note...when the car is on jack stands, DO NOT PUSH AGAINST THE CAR TO MOVE YOUR ROLLING CREEPER OR TO ASSIST YOU GETTING UP!!!...you can cause the car to fall off the stands if your chassis is oily and slick. People have died this way, even with jack stands.

[JohnMSeymour]

I use jackstands and the ramps also. But I like to use railroad ties cut to 20'' and stacked two high under the rear axel. Even a California earth quake won't knock the car off them.

[Corvanti]

i do basically the same as most above, but i have 2 floor jacks. (i had to pick up the second one when i had my '99 Corvette that needed a lower start point). 4 jack stands and leave the floor jacks in place for additional safety.

BTW, "China" Freight has a "Rapid Pump" 3 ton floor jack on sale right now for $79.99 with a coupon. if you don't get the mailer, i'm sure you can print out a coupon at H.F.'s website.

[sweetolbob]

All of my jack stands are 6 ton rated, not that I have anything that heavy but for the extra few bucks they are just so much more substantial and have wider bases than the lower rated ones. Jacks are 3 ton or better, but as with 63 R2 Hawk above, the best investment I've made in many moons is an 8000# XLT four post lift for $2600 installed.

I've been under the 74 Avanti for the last three weeks completing exhaust, fuel and drive train components. The lift just makes everything so much easier to get to and work on.


Bob

[SN-60]

I use Jacks and jack stands. Unless the jack is in my way, I keep them under the car along with the jack stands. One additional note...when the car is on jack stands, DO NOT PUSH AGAINST THE CAR TO MOVE YOUR ROLLING CREEPER OR TO ASSIST YOU GETTING UP!!!...you can cause the car to fall off the stands if your chassis is oily and slick. People have died this way, even with jack stands.

How many folks really think about this?.....excellent point.

[Dag]

In adition to jack and stands already mentioned, a got a set of portable hydraulic ramps that really has proven useful for a lot of work:

[63t-cab]

Some times I'll borrow my brother's ramps He made 40 years ago.drive the car up on them,and then the ramp part un hooks so the wheels are on the box.then I jack the back up to meet the same height,and usually works for what i want to do.

[63t-cab]

Man could I use a set of those,I'll have to see if maybe Harbor Freight has something like that.

In adition to jack and stands already mentioned, a got a set of portable hydraulic ramps that really has proven useful for a lot of work:

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