Would you use this instead of jack stands?

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Jun 8, 2017
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I know jack rod stands exist, but what about these things? They seem to check out as legitimate safety devices...it would make sense that the bracket holding the hydraulic cylinder would be strong enough to support the weight of the car...
 
No. I always think of a chemistry professor that I worked for in college, he told us many times that when life is involved never use anything for which it is not expressly designed. At the time this was in reference to someone using benzene to clean their hands, but I’ve extrapolated that into other areas as I’ve gotten older.
 
i'd trust it, my main concern with jacks is the seals occasionally die. and I use stuff as not intended all the time. dish soap makes a good engine degreaser and brake cleaner dries stuff out pretty good.
 
i'd trust it, my main concern with jacks is the seals occasionally die. and I use stuff as not intended all the time. dish soap makes a good engine degreaser and brake cleaner dries stuff out pretty good.
Me too but my life doesn’t depend on dish soap.
 
Doesn't the jack have wheels? The wheels roll....oh...no.

That can actually be a benefit. If something shifts weight wise in the car, and it settles on the remaining wheels on the ground, it can actually put a horizontal load on the jack stand, that it is not capable of compensating for. Jack stands are great at vertical loads, but not designed for, nor good at resisting forces in the horizontal direction. I would trust a high quality jack on wheels set at 45 degrees (or toward the opposite tire on the ground) with this device installed over a traditional jack stand (assuming parking brakes and wheel chocks are in use). If weight settles, the jack can roll just a bit, and keep the main force in the vertical direction.

We use hydraulic cylinder blocks every day in my line of work, they are extremely reliable, and specifically designed to "save a life"
 
Me too but my life doesn’t depend on dish soap.

you clearly don't understand how a hydraulic cylinder block works. The seals in the cylinder could fail catastrophically, but the block would still hold the load. The idea is to take the load out of the cylinder, and hydraulic fluid, and place it directly into the compression load on the metal block holding the load.

Neither the cylinder seals, nor the fluid is holding the load in a properly applied hydraulic cylinder blocking/safety device. We seriously use these every single day, and I don't know of a single failure. They are even designed of resisting an accidental power down...think of a skid steer loader where I have the boom arms and bucket blocked in the up position...the cylinder blocks can resist the arms falling on someone even if the machine were to somehow accidently power the engine, and command the boom to lower.
 
I won't get under a car that's on a single point of lift.
Maybe it would be okay if you lifted a corner, and were not under the car.
 
Not sure how much FEA, engineering, or FMECA took place - but it is something one could load test with a functional jack
 
I would urge you to use tools engineered for the specific job, to not use a tool beyond its intended scope, especially when it has a direct, serious safety implication.
 
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