car jack question

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NissanMaxima

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Hi all:

I've never used car jacks since I never had a need to work under a car. But now with my 2015 Corolla, it sits so low to the ground I can't get under there to change the oil without using ramps. I want to have a set of car jacks for extra security but had a question. Of course I run the car up on the ramps first, but then do car jacks "crank" up to the desired height and you lock them in that position, or do they have a set of holes that you insert a pin at the highest point possible?
 
You need a floor jack AND jack stands. You use the floor jack to lift the vehicle to the desired height, then you lower the car down onto jack stands that are locked into place.

This is the only safe way to do it.

If you have oil change ramps, they are safe as-is. Drive the car fully onto the ramps, set the parking brake, and chock a wheel. No need to add a jack into the equation and create a potentially unsafe situation.
 
Car jacks...or Jack stands? Many simple Jack stands just have pin locators for height but I belive I have seen "delux" types that are more variable in their height adjustments.
 
I use Rhino ramps and then put a jack stand under the rail of the car where you would place a jack. Get the jack stand and high as you can and then slide it back to the rear of the car until it jams in there. Use chocks, too.

Some jacks ratchet up and some have pins. The ratchet ones seem more popular these days. That's what I have from Harbor Freight.
 
I use ramps and just put jack stands on each wheel with handbrake applied.

Lately I just slide under and do as is..but not sure how low the 2015's are..
 
Originally Posted By: Leo99
I use Rhino ramps and then put a jack stand under the rail of the car where you would place a jack.


You learn something everyday. Thanks for this tip, I have always used floor jack, which can be a pain.
 
As said, a jack and a jack stand are 2 different things.
The jack lifts the vehicle, a jack stand keeps it safe and is used to support the vehicle (vs the jack lifting the vehicle). You never get under a vehicle with just a jack holding it up.

If you use ramps, you don't have to use a jack stand, but some do "just in case". There are stories of ramps collapsing an breaking, and without a jack stand, can cause some serious damage.

There are a variaty of jackstands out there. Some use a pin to adjust, some use a ratchet type for adjustment. Just make sure to get a set rated higher than the vehicle you are using it on (some say double the capacity to be on the safe side).

Just go to a parts store and look at them and play with them first to see what you want. Sears, Harbor Freight, and local parts stores all have them, cost can vary depending on weight limit and where you buy it.
 
Originally Posted By: Rolla07
I use ramps and just put jack stands on each wheel with handbrake applied.


How do you "put jack stands on each wheel" (whether or not you are on ramps)?

Can't picture it.

Couldn't do it anyway since I only have two jack stands and no ramps, but I'm curious.
 
Originally Posted By: Ducked
Originally Posted By: Rolla07
I use ramps and just put jack stands on each wheel with handbrake applied.


How do you "put jack stands on each wheel" (whether or not you are on ramps)?

Can't picture it.

Couldn't do it anyway since I only have two jack stands and no ramps, but I'm curious.


Meant to say under front wheels as in just behind ramps..not back wheels..not sure why i said each wheel lol..
 
A great setup that I use on my Honda Fit would most likely apply to you.

Go to a Canadian Tire type store they have an Aluminum Garage Jack that frequently comes on sale for very cheap. I have no familiarity with US retailers and who carries what just as a cross reference using the web so you can see pictures and read specs (min max lift heights, weight of the jack my jack is 80 big lbs I'm a 40 year old larger man but my Office and my home that I stay is an old condo building in old Dorion that I have to walk up 3 flights of stairs with and it is really heavy.)

What is great about it is it is Dual Piston so a few pumps is enough to get the wheels off the ground without having to jack like mad so to speak.

Keep in your toolbox two short lengths of 2x4 to set in front of your wheels.

Reverse a bit to take a run at these two pieces of wood you get pretty good at resting your wheels on top of them. Set your parking break.

You now have enough clearance to get a proper jack to the factory jack location that you should find in your owners manual or sign up to a website that is dedicated to your brand and post the question as to where it is.

There is a freedom in investing the time and patience to learn how to finesse a car safely into the air that is a bit of a dying art form by way of the standard transmission.

I am planning on having a short seminar either demoed on Youtube or with a large group of people if someone will lend a shipping area to me to hold the small event. I would link it to a local charity and maybe speak to Honda to sponsor it.

I had ramps skip out from under my car when I was living in the West Island and trying to do my first oil change on my Fit after I just had the car for 4 months (early OC advocate).

The ramp just so happened to get caught under the rocker panel and make a small deformation (god bless High Tensile steel Honda started using for quite a while now) and dented a small resonator (passenger side).

Anyway post any questions and I will very patiently describe the steps to help out have fun and be safe, watch a few youtube vids they are great.

Never forget your wheel chocks!!
 
Last edited:
Thanks all. My bad... I did mean "jack stands" to be used in addition to my Rhino Ramps for extra security. I did not realize some came wit the "ratchet" mechanism so that can be cranked up to the fixed height that the car ends up being on the car ramp.
 
So I'd like to get a set of quality jack stands. US Jacks and Hein Werner appear to be very good based on other threads I read and both appear USA made.

However..
1. The Hein Werner says the ratchet style has 5/8" "height intervals". Does that mean it ratchets up 5/8" at a time? I guess I thought they had an infinite number of height adjustments so you could just crank them up till they touched car but I guess a step mechanism would be fine as you could just slide it into place near the jack points of the car on each side, right? The US Jacks didn't mention anything about "intervals"
2. I looked up my car and it has "curb weight" of just under 3000 pounds. Assuming they use short tons at 2000 pounds per ton, a 3 ton jack stand on each side should be plenty, right? Or would the 6 ton be worthwhile just to have something extra beefy?
 
The 3 ton will work just fine, but as said, many will say go overkill. I have some 3 ton stands that I use for my F150.
Remember, with 2 jack stands, you will only have 40-60% of the weight on the stands, the rest on on the other 2 wheels.

Jack stands do not lift up a vehicle at all, they support it. You drive your car up on ramps, then put the stands under the regular jack points and then adjust them as high as you can at that point (there is no cranking, you just lift the adjuster arm up and it locks in place, no weight on the stands at that time). There may be a small gap between the stand and the vehicle. Some may say slide the jack stand to a point that it touches, but that point may not be a point designed to support weight. If used with ramps, it is just in case the ramp collapses (not likely) and gives a secondary item to fall onto instead of you.
If you use a regular floor jack, then you would acutally be supporting the weight on the jack stands (jack car up, put stands under it, adjust them to height, then lower jack so weight is on stand).
 
I would think that a 3000lb stand would be fine, they'll be easier to move around and position as well.

All the jack stands I've seen have discrete height levels, so you'll likely do what blupupher said, ratchet it as high as you can you, then if you can, slide it rearwards so that the stands are vertical and ideally touching the proper pinch weld location for jacking. If it doesn't touch, I wouldn't worry about it.

I've seen screw style jack stands that are typically use for trailer stabilizing and leveling, I wonder how those would work since you could adjust it touch the car.

Like others have said, if you don't already, get some wheel chocks first.
 
Can't you play with jack stands in the store? Or are they strapped down or boxed?

They have a crude ratchet, where you lift the "saddle" up from the base and it clicks on its way up. Like a roller coaster going up hill. Lift a lever and it'll fall back down.

Your car should have pinch welds underneath the rocker panels, under the door sills, for the factory tire changing jack. This is an okay (factory supported legitimate) jack/ support point but it's so close to the tire you'll get interference from the ramps and the base of your stands.

If you go further inboard, you should find some "frame rails" bent into the unibody, looking like 2x4s coming down from the floor pan. These are as good if not better for jack stands.

Since your car is inclined upwards, you should find a place somewhere fore-and-aft where you can click the stand up within 5/8" and get it in there fine. You want it to catch the car in case the ramps fail.

If you get to a spot where the stand is 1/16" too tall, you can lift on the car body, remember, it's on its suspension still, and kick the stand where you want it.
 
Thanks everyone. I have several wheel chocks and always use them with the ramps but thanks for emphasizing that.
 
Originally Posted By: EdwardC
I

I've seen screw style jack stands that are typically use for trailer stabilizing and leveling, I wonder how those would work since you could adjust it touch the car.


Doubt they'd be rated for the weight of a car. You can also get adjustable scaffolding footings which look fairly substantial, (though again I don't know what they are rated for) and which might fit in a standard jack stand support, though so far I havn't been able to find any...er...lying around.

There are or were also industrial size screw jacks which I understand were used to lift most of the 19th century buildings in Chicago when they put in the sewers.
 
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