Using a floor jack

[Donald]

So unlike a bottle jack, the saddle of a floor jack does not go straight up vertically.

Should the floor jack be placed inline with how the vehicle goes down the road or at 90 degrees or it does not matter.

When the saddle of the touches the lift points of the vehicle, what is suppose to move a little to compensate for the saddle not going straight up? Should the floor jack roll a little or the vehicle shift a little?

 

[Nukeman7]

So unlike a bottle jack, the saddle of a floor jack does not go straight up vertically.

Should the floor jack be placed inline with how the vehicle goes down the road or at 90 degrees or it does not matter.

When the saddle of the touches the lift points of the vehicle, what is suppose to move a little to compensate for the saddle not going straight up? Should the floor jack roll a little or the vehicle shift a little?

It doesn't matter whether you orient the floor jack lateral to or in line with the body of the vehicle. Sometimes you will want to lift from the side and other times you will need to lift from the front or rear of the car/truck.

Since lifting the vehicle will cause the saddle to articulate towards the jack handle, the floor jack should roll forward a bit to offset some of the angular change. By the same token, the vehicle can roll forward or backwards due to the angular force as it rises. That is why you should apply the parking brakes and/or use tire chocks to minimize vehicle movement before lifting it with a floor jack. You might notice that a jackstand can tilt backwards as the vehicle is being lowered onto them by the floor jack if the tires are not chocked.

 

[joekingcorvette]

Always use a jack stand or blocks in case the floor jack fails and use your emergency brake to hold the vehicle from rolling. Also be carefull it doesn't hit the car when the jack handle is vertical.

 

[SHOZ]

I think it does matter. As the floor jack rises either it needs to move or the car does. If you are at a right angle to the direction of the wheels it will pull the saddle of the jack towards the jack.

When using a floor jack make sure either it moves or the car does as you raise it.

 

[jetman]

99% of the time it doesn't matter. The floor jack has wheels. If whatever your lifting won't give the jack will roll towards it. Floor needs to be smooth enough for the jack to roll easily.

 

[Warstud]

Always use a jack stand or blocks in case the floor jack fails and use your emergency brake to hold the vehicle from rolling. Also be carefull it doesn't hit the car when the jack handle is vertical.

Keep in mind the Emergency Brake is for the Rear Wheels so if there off the ground it wont matter . Also keep in mind whether the vehicle is FWD or RWD . On a Front Wheel Drive vehicle the Rear Wheels will spin freely .

 

[demarpaint]

99% of the time it doesn't matter. The floor jack has wheels. If whatever your lifting won't give the jack will roll towards it. Floor needs to be smooth enough for the jack to roll easily.

+1 Floor jacks need to roll to adjust for the vehicle moving. I have a piece of 3/4" plywood cut for my floor jack too, if I have to jack a car on the driveway vs. inside my garage. All four wheels of the jack are on the plywood and it is big enough to allow the jack to roll. Jacking a car on blacktop in the summer is a great way to wreck a driveway without the jack being on something. My buddy dropped his car jacking it up on blacktop in the summer, the front wheels sunk into the black top not allowing the jack to roll and it fell off the jack, luckily no one was near it and the wheels were still on the car. Having said that I don't own a vehicle that is low to the ground, if I did I would have to either work in the garage or drive onto wood to get the car high enough to get the jack with the plywood under it.

 

[GMBoy]

+1 Floor jacks need to roll to adjust for the vehicle moving. I have a piece of 3/4" plywood cut for my floor jack too, if I have to jack a car on the driveway vs. inside my garage. All four wheels of the jack are on the plywood and it is big enough to allow the jack to roll. Jacking a car on blacktop in the summer is a great way to wreck a driveway without the jack being on something. My buddy dropped his car jacking it up on blacktop in the summer, the front wheels sunk into the black top not allowing the jack to roll and it fell off the jack, luckily no one was near it and the wheels were still on the car. Having said that I don't own a vehicle that is low to the ground, if I did I would have to either work in the garage or drive onto wood to get the car high enough to get the jack with the plywood under it.

Good points and advice. I also keep a good piece of plywood handy for uneven jacking events.

 

[eljefino]

One pebble under the wheel can ruin the whole process. Sweep before you jack.

 

[paulo57509]

This happened decades ago. I dropped a '68 Lemans off jack stands by not paying attention. I had the rear on stands and started raising the front. Instead of the jack walking toward the jack pad, the car moved forward. Tipped the jack stands and down came the car.

Fortunately, no one was injured and the car was not damaged. The concrete under the jack was worn and pitted. Since then, I always check the surface under the jack and make sure the jack walks when lifting, regardless of which end is on the ground or in the air.

 

[SHOZ]

I jacked up my Taurus at the track once on soft ground and the car slipped off the jack landing square on the oil filter. Had to go bum one to continue....

 

[Dave9]

So unlike a bottle jack, the saddle of a floor jack does not go straight up vertically.

Should the floor jack be placed inline with how the vehicle goes down the road or at 90 degrees or it does not matter.

What others have stated is correct, but most posts seem to be overlooking something.

A floor jack is a lot more stable, the closer you (can reasonably...) get it to 90'. This increases the span of its footprint relative to the lift angle of the vehicle. In-line with the vehicle the jack footprint (width of the jack) is only about half (if not less) the footprint of the jack wheelbase when at 90'. Granted it's not "necessarily" a problem on a good, hard, flat surface, and promptly placing jack stands, but the higher you jack up the vehicle, the more it matters.

 

[JHZR2]

The jack should move. The car moving is never a good idea IMO.

I use plywood under my jack as I’ve never had them reliably roll.

 

[MNgopher]

Block the vehicle in, and the floor jack needs to roll. I make sure the surface the jack is on allows as free of rolling as possible, typically the finished concrete garage floor that has been swept before hand.

 

[Donald]

What others have stated is correct, but most posts seem to be overlooking something.

A floor jack is a lot more stable, the closer you (can reasonably...) get it to 90'. This increases the span of its footprint relative to the lift angle of the vehicle. In-line with the vehicle the jack footprint (width of the jack) is only about half (if not less) the footprint of the jack wheelbase when at 90'. Granted it's not "necessarily" a problem on a good, hard, flat surface, and promptly placing jack stands, but the higher you jack up the vehicle, the more it matters.

I see your point. However when trying to get to a jacking point and the jack at 90 degrees the wheel may be in the way. If I can jack up the vehicle and remove the wheel then I can get the jack in the proper position. But like a catch-22.

 

[4WD]

In most cases - when I use one or two of my 4T floor jacks - I’m gonna grab the suspension/axle - so very little travel under load - and that minimizes these things discussed here …

 

[Dave9]

I see your point. However when trying to get to a jacking point and the jack at 90 degrees the wheel may be in the way. If I can jack up the vehicle and remove the wheel then I can get the jack in the proper position. But like a catch-22.

There's a lot of degrees between 0 and 90.