Can I keep the jack stand there?

[Mazza]

So far, I have only ever put the car up on two axle stands, lifted up the front end and each side , but never lifted the rear end or put it up on 4 stands. My only concern that when you have it on two stands and started lifting to put the other two under that it will move while lifting. Is it better to lift the car onto the 4 stands at their lowest point and then raise them a bit at a time to get it up higher?

 

[mrscalex]

No need to jack up a bit at a time. In any case that could potentially add risk from repeated operation.

However I would only ever set the axle stands to the minimum height required. Most of the time that's just to get the wheels off. There are actually very few things that need the car on 4 stands. Work on the gearbox, propshaft and exhaust spring to mind. Otherwise most jobs only need the front or back raised only. And again, most jobs only need access from the side not putting your whole self and in particular head under the car.

Do you know what though. All this talk of cars falling on people has caused me to think again about how I tackle the clutch swap I need to do. I know from my Mk I Escort gearbox out days it's a nasty job. I think I'll look again at hiring a 4-post ramp but it's a very specialised thing in this country. There's one in Abingdon I'm going to look at though. They are around £100 a day for 1-off use. I don't really want to part with that money and there's the risk of going over time but it will make it so much easier and safer.

Or if any benevolent member of the forum has access please PM me! Happy to make a donation to the forum instead of someone else's pocket Happy to travel it's actually only the release bearing that's knackered.

 

[hard top]

@mrscalex can't you find somewhere, some one, etc with a pit?
Mate of mine has one in his garage at home, only had to pay with a crate of beer to use it.

 

[mrscalex]

@mrscalex can't you find somewhere, some one, etc with a pit?
Mate of mine has one in his garage at home, only had to pay with a crate of beer to use it.

I'd like to do that - yes. Let's see if someone offers off the back of this thread. Otherwise I'll do a new post

 

[buze]

So far, I have only ever put the car up on two axle stands, lifted up the front end and each side , but never lifted the rear end or put it up on 4 stands. My only concern that when you have it on two stands and started lifting to put the other two under that it will move while lifting. Is it better to lift the car onto the 4 stands at their lowest point and then raise them a bit at a time to get it up higher?

If you have the car on two small stands, even at the minimum height, they WILL move precariously when you lift the other side of the car (the car moves laterally, and their footprint is too small), it's a bit nerve wracking... I did it last year, and decided it wasnt for me at all. That's why I bought these 6 tons stands, these didn't move at all. I've put the small ones at the back, as it's the lighter part of the car.

 

[motco]

I use these wherever possible. This specific make is no longer available, but others are and because they are adjustable in height you can slip stands under the car and drop the ramps and remove them if wheels need to come off.

 

[Althulas]

In Oxfordshire http://thisisyourgarage.com/?doing_wp_cron=1535034519.6842870712280273437500

I have a mate in the village setting up a place with a four poster and was awaiting for the electricals to be sorted. I haven’t seen him for a while due to working away but would mean a trip up to Banburyshire. I can find out for you and a price for use.

 

[buze]

I use these wherever possible. This specific make is no longer available, but others are and because they are adjustable in height you can slip stands under the car and drop the ramps and remove them if wheels need to come off.

Liking these... Are these they kind you use an electric screwdriver to lift? What's their lifting capacity, and height? Looks like a good safe too to raise one and, and as you did, install stands as a backup!

 

[t-tony]

I use these wherever possible. This specific make is no longer available, but others are and because they are adjustable in height you can slip stands under the car and drop the ramps and remove them if wheels need to come off.

Front wheel chocks aren't doin' much ...................?

Tony.

 

[motco]

As I said, they are no longer available - don't know why. They employ two 4 tonne hydraulic bottle jacks and a parallelogram of links. A small engineering company in the Midlands made them for a while but I suspect not profitably.
Because of the action of the lift, you have to leave the car out of gear and with the handbrake off - level ground is necessary. I put those chocks in place as a 'back-stop' to the detents that the wheels sit in on the ramps. The car rolls forwards as the ramp rises in the use shown in the picture.

 

[Jack Ratt]

You can still get car ramps with build in jacks. I'm sure they are available on Ebay

 

[motco]

You can still get car ramps with build in jacks. I'm sure they are available on Ebay

Yes indeed, just not these. Most, if not all, of those offered on eBay or anywhere else, are screw driven as buze mentioned. I see no disadvantage with screw driven lifts or hydraulic provided that there is a secondary lock in case either the screw strips or the hydraulics fail. Actually it is almost more important in the case of my type, made as they were as a series of one-offs, that the integrity of the structure is sound - the welds, etc. The forces involved at the early stage of the lifting process are huge due to the scissor action being at its most inefficient when closed. It's like a scissor jack that comes with most cars, hard to start but gets easier.

 

[the Nefyn cat]

Made my own ramps out of a couple of broken scaffold boards (horses can be naughty sometimes), only got three layers on at the moment but thinking about going one more, plenty of room to drain oils etc. Ain't no way they're collapsing on me, had the lorry on them a while ago (6 tons empty) and no worries at all.