Lifting up our vehicles to perform repairs is something that is necessary for all of us on occasion. To make sure you are safe while doing this, make sure that you have a pair of jack stands ready to take the full weight of the vehicle.
It is important to use car jack stands and not just a simple jack, since jacks can and do fail every so often – and you don’t want to be under the car when that happens! Once you have seen an accident happen once, you will make sure that you take proper safety precautions from then on, but please take my word for it – you must use jack stands if you are going to be working under a car or similar vehicle.
They only take a few moments to slide underneath and securely support the vehicle, and you can then work on it in safety.
Here is how to utilize automobile jack stands correctly:
- Using a normal jack, lift the vehicle up. Once the chassis is off the ground, you can move onto the next task.
- Look under the car to see where the jacking points are located, or you can look at your owner’s manual. If you are not sure then the axles are normally a good place to start.
- Take a jack stand and position one under the jack point, make sure it is properly aligned.
- Now, using the single jack slowly let the vehicle down bit by bit, still checking to see if the stands are in the right
place.
- The stands should now be supporting all of the weight of the vehicle. You should now be able to remove the jack. Walk to the front of your automobile, and place your hands on the hood. Give it a gentle lateral push to make sure it there is no rocking.
You can now work under the vehicle without fear of it falling. To lower it, repeat the procedures in reverse. Remove the jack and stands once finished. That was easy, wasn’t it?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
this is an exelent video for people that dont know anything about their own cars this is? a good start.
how high are the jack stands that you use? minimum & maximum. . and…how? high can the trolley jack lift the car up?