Floor jack fun

[Dafey]

My 2ton jack only go`s up 13"...Now I have a 4" lift too. Granted the axels are not any higher BUT there at the limit of the jack,not enough to get the tires off the ground.
So I need something to put under OR on top to help get 6"-10" of lift.

I was thinking to cut some 1/2 plywood I have into squares that fit inbetween the jacks wheels..and screw them all together??
I did this to fit into some old rims to sit jackstands on to reach the frame.
I cant think of any safe thing to sit on top...

 

[dremu]

If you do a search you will find a great many things NOT to do.

For jack *stands* I've seen a great many terminally stupid tricks, including cinderblocks and plywood (often combined ) The *good* solutions for crazy high stands seem to involve pipe and tripods.

However, for a jack proper, you *want* it to move (unlike stands which you very definitely do NOT want moving ) The trick there is to have it roll when you want it to, and stop when needed.

Plywood is tricky as a structural member, as each ply *will* crush, particularly if it's the cheap stuff (i.e. not A-grade or whatever it's called -- been YEARS since I've done woodworking) and has voids on the inner plys. What happens when there's a knot under the contact point to the jack? Once that ply crushes, there's more weight on the next one, and pretty soon you've got some compressed plywood.

Hate to say it, but when safety is involved, you gotta pay to play. $70 will get you a 3-ton jack with 20" lift at Harbor Freight; they also have a 2.5 ton long-frame that does 31" + (but it's $170, grrr.) [You'd also have to pay for the ride as it looks like the HF's in NM are three hours from you, which sucks. Roswell is BFE, isn't it?]

Sears lists a 19" lift one for $72, but they don't actually seem to have it.

$90 gets you 20" at Kragen, and both stores in town say that have it. (How I love the Internet... I never have to call pimply-faced eighteen-year-old idiots at parts store counters!)

http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductDetail.aspx?MfrCode=PNE&MfrPartNumber=280038&CategoryCode=3397

Your current jack may have a screw assembly on the cup so that it lefts up some ... but you're right, putting anything on the top is asking for trouble. Even with a welder, *I* wouldn't do anything to the top, 'cuz would increase the leverage on the center, which is a weak point.

There are some ~15" lift units available, but when it comes to safety, I like overkill. I finally killed the first floor jack I bought (a Craftsman) after about ten years ... with a stunt that involved dragging the crewcab sideways. I got a slightly more upscale one, also a Craftsman, as a replacement, and if I'm nicer to this one, I figure I've got a couple of decades yet to go.

-- A

 

[wasted wages]

8 ft 4x6 timber cut into 2 ft lenghts work great around the shop..

a 1ft piece laid on the 6" side on the saddle of the jack give you an extra 4 " lift. I wouldn't go any more than that though...

 

[supersize75k5]

I currently have a piece of 6x8 luber on a set of jackstands holding up my 2500 hds front..never had an issue, although its funny that I choose to do this when I have a car lift

 

[dremu]

Yeeeeah. Maybe. I have a stack of 4x4 chunks I use for lift help with my ATV jack, but then that's a 12x12 lifting area, not a 4" round cup like the floor jack.

Since you're lifting at the axle tube, you don't have much contact area -- basically just the bottom of the tube. If the tube slips on the lumber, the lumber will eventually want to spit itself out from the leverage, and then your truck will go BOING and the jack might go through your brakeline, shock, or muffler.

Trucks should not go boing, especially when you are ANYWHERE near the underside. (You remember my shed incident? Imagine if it had been off the ground ... or if I hadn't been on a creeper. My ribcage woulda been crushed by the front wheel going over my sorry a$$.)

Compare the cost of one emergency room visit (possibly including ambulance transportation and surgery) to the cost of a decent floor jack. ("Thy friends will console thy widow in ways generally unacceptable to thee" ... I think you have a weird marriage, but still )

-- A

 

[wasted wages]

I just center it under the pumpkin,,,make the lift and then place jackstands...

I NEVER work under a rig supported on a jack EVER.

The block just gives you an extra 4" for the lift.

 

[70jimmy]

I have floor jack similar to the one you speak of. I use a 4 X $ chunk that is 3 feet long. It fits between the wheels of the jack and I center the jack on top of it and lift the truck, then use the jackstands.

I have 6 inch lift and 37's. 14 bolt FF and 10 bolt front

 

[eagle mark]

I have floor jack similar to the one you speak of. I use a 4 X $ chunk that is 3 feet long. It fits between the wheels of the jack and I center the jack on top of it and lift the truck, then use the jackstands.

I have 6 inch lift and 37's. 14 bolt FF and 10 bolt front

That is probably dangerous. But the real problem with that is the jack is supposed to roll when lifting. If the truck is in neutal and rolls very easy it may compensate. But it's still wrong and dangerous. But then so is a high lift...

I have seen a 4x4 square tube, .250 wall used under the round swivel plate on a floor jack. It looked safe and worked very well.

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

IMO, there is nothing wrong with using "sketch" methods (i.e. using wood on top of a jack) to get the truck up in the air. The important thing is that you use good methods to secure the truck; i.e. real jack stands that are tall and strong enough to support the truck.

If the wood on the jack spits out the truck falls back to the ground and nothing is hurt. Once the tires are off, well, you know that's a different story.

 

[smalltowncowboy]

3 ton floor jack and 20 ton jack stands that extend to like 31 inches, picked them up from harbor freight. dont remember the price of the jack but the stands were like $70 a pair.

 

[dremu]

If the wood on the jack spits out the truck falls back to the ground and nothing is hurt.

Mmm. It can still bounce, and the jack can still get caught on components, and/or spit out at the user. Ever use a jack handle tube as a cheater pipe? Wanna be hit by one?

And if you're not working on a perfectly level surface, the truck may want to move, which can be anywhere from frightening to deadly.

Once the tires are off, well, you know that's a different story.

Amen to that. Rotors should not be used to break the fall of the truck -- that's why they're "brake" rotors and not "break" rotors

-- A

 

[77crewcab]

I use two of the mini movers dollies from harbor freight. I put them side by side in which ever manner needed so that the jack will fit completely over the dollies then I screw 2x4s into the tops of the dollies to secure them together. I then screw some 2x4s on top of the others crosswise for the jack to sit on for stability and to make it so the jack wheels do not touch anything. This way the dollies roll as you jack up the vehicle, the jack is very stable, and it provides about 6-8 inches of lift under the jack. I have about 20 of the little moving dollies, they work great for MANY things.

 

[BoondocK5]

I'm in the midst of my 56f/64r swap. I've had to pull the tires off just to get it low enough for the jack stands to even contact the frame, thats with axle sitting on the ground. and I've got the 26 inch stands from MAC, and two 3 ton snap on floor jacks.



Aint it fun...NOT!

 

[jonathon]

I'm worried about this.. part of what I need to buy is some good jack stands for the frame when I do my lift.. my work area is gravel so a floor jack is kinda useless

 

[BoondocK5]

you could probably be OK with ply wood on the ground with a jack stand on top of it, it'll wreck the plywood, but oh well. thats just for the gravel though.

I worked through my problem by just removing the tires, and putting them back on when finished. I just had to move the axle around on the concrete.

 

[lectric80]

Probably the simplest and least expensive way to do it is to pick up a bottle jack. It will have a screw top that you can raise to just below the axle, then raise the truck. That is what I use for my on the road jack, I have no lift so a regular floor jack will lift my Blazer.

 

[abig84]

do you got one of those crappy 19 dollar jacks? you can probably just go buy a decent fullsize 2 ton for like 40 bucks. i got 38s and and im able to lift the axle. if your talking about getting it to the frame. good luck i dont even think the long jacks will reach mine

 

[jonathon]

Probably the simplest and least expensive way to do it is to pick up a bottle jack. It will have a screw top that you can raise to just below the axle, then raise the truck. That is what I use for my on the road jack, I have no lift so a regular floor jack will lift my Blazer.

That's what I'll probably use.. I've got two 4 ton bottle jacks and a 12 ton that goes really high. What I'm thinking is I'll jack it up off the axle till it gets high enough to take the tires off and put stands under the frame, then unbolt the axle and lower it down onto stands. Not swapping it out so I figure it should be pretty easy, just slow.