I had a guy forward me this info
"I know we have all read and heard many a times,when you jack your car up to work on it PUT THE DAMN JACK STANDS UNDER THE CARS FRAME. Well I just got a call from my Aunt and Uncle that my cousin 2 years older than I am (and i'm 42)who's name is also Kevin was working on his truck today,had it jacked up but decided to use loose stacks of 2x4's under the front tires for support stands,well the jack collapsed the truck fell on his chest and he was pronounced DEAD at the scene.Not only does this suck because i lost a close family member but i also lost one of my best hunting buddies. Now you have read and heard the story again but this time there is no happy ending USE YOUR STANDS!!!"
READ RELATED THREAD
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/floor-jacks.969/#post-70422
http://www.corvette-guru.com/uploads/sm ... acking.pdf
(4 of the 12 ton rated HF jack stands, set at the height of the lower jack stand in the picture below set under a corvettes frame hold a corvette securely at the correct height for using a mechanics creeper )
most home garages have an 8 FT ceiling height making installation of a decent lift and required clearances difficult, obviously if your car is 5.5 feet tall from pavement too the roof and you have a 8 ft ceiling you can,t lift the car to more than about 2 feet or so off the garage floor before the roof starts getting close to the ceiling clearance, especially if you've installed fans or shop florescent lighting fixtures.
while thats ok if you want too work on a mechanics creeper on your back, you certainly can,t sit or stand under the car too work.
I try to look for and buy American made products any time I can and don,t mind one bit paying an additional 10%-20%-even 30% more because I know from experience that theres frequently a good deal more quality components than in import clone parts, making the parts well worth the cost difference, there not much point in saving 30% on a part or tool that won,t do the job its designed to do, or one that can,t do its job safely!
but in a side by side comparison the import looked to be better made,
So I think your fighting a lost battle here,the last time I researched this, a decent 10-12 ton rated American made jack stand that has a wide base and can get a car frame 20'-24" off the floor safely, is well over 200$ EACH
Ive used 6 12 ton rated jack stands like these for almost 20 years now in my shop they are well made
http://www.zr1netregistry.com/jackupzr1.htm
http://www.homedepot.com/buy/tools-hard ... 70912.html
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... _200330725
http://www.harborfreight.com/12-ton-jac ... 34924.html
These super heavy duty jack stands will hold most cars and trucks safely at near 2 feet off the ground. Perfect for repair work or storage.
5/8 in. x 4-3/4 in. Clevis Pin available at home depot for $4 each
I've painted every third jack stands tooth yellow and the second tooth , the one below that red and the first tooth below that blue,
this makes matching the height on all 4 stand far faster too adjust , the third notch for the pawl,
is the preferred creeper height, under my corvettes,
for clutch and brake jobs
and where the pin slides through and locks,
with the pawl and pin engaged the stand height will not change accidentally
Height: 19-1/2'' to 30-1/8''
Base: 12'' x 12-1/2''
Shipping Weight: 69.50 lbs.
"how do you get the HF 12 ton jack stands under the vette?, my floor jack won,t lift that high (20")"
GOOD VALID QUESTION!, PROBABLY WE SHOULD discuss it
If your going to work under your car I hope you support the car safely, some of you might think Im old fashion but some repairs (even thou I own a LIFT) are easier to do with (4) 12 ton jack stands and a mechanics creeper, but for your own safety ID STRONGLY SUGGEST you buy and USE 4 of these 12 ton jack stands and work on a LEVEL CONCRETE FLOOR when ever you can, yes IM well aware that you can buy smaller ,less expensive jack stands, how much is YOUR LIFE WORTH!, if its worth a couple hundred dollars, and a few minutes of your time, to keep from being killed or crippled for life I figure its worth the time and money
most common floor jacks have a max lift height between 18"-22" I have a pair of 3 ton floor jacks,that originally only lift to 20" and thats really too tight to clear,
your surely not alone in having too lift the car in steps to place the taller 12 ton jack stands or similarly tall jack stands that allow full access under the car.
now in my case I found the darn floor jack won,t fit under the corvette as it sits on the shop floor unless you use some careful planing first, I drive the vette up on plastic rhino ramps to get the necessary clearance, I place the first floor jack and lift the front K-member and place the two front 12 ton jack stands on the frame near the a arms on the frame, I then remove the front floor jack and place it and my second floor jack under the rear side frame behind the doors on each side, I jack each side up a bit, then swap to the other side in several stages IF im alone, (naturally if I have help both sides get jacked up at the same time)untill its high enough to place each of the two or four remaining 12 ton jacks into place under the frame.
now a bit of info Ive installed 1 3/4" thick rubber pads that are approximately 4" in diam. on both my floor jacks to both get the necessary lift and protect the frame from scratches these are made from thick sections of earth mover or dump truck tire tread rubber I found at a dump
http://www.kwik-lift.com/index.html
IF you have limited height the QUICK LIFT RAMPS MIGHT BE AN OPTION
when your looking to buy a floor jack, Id strongly suggest you, verify it fits under 3" when all the way down and ideally lifts to 22" all the way up and hopefully lifts a 2.5-3 ton rating, this will allow it to be used on a corvette fairly easily and allow you to use the larger and much sturdier and more stable jack stands easily, the problem many guys have is either the jack won,t slide under the corvette frame easily or it won,t lift the corvette high enough for the larger jack stands that make use of a decent quality mechanics creeper easy to use.
Id at least take it apart and inspect it, its more than likely a couple leaking O-rings or a busted return spring, that will cost under $7 to replace.
Ive found most floor jack problems are related to leaking seals.
and your correct a decent floor jacks no longer reasonably priced, yes you can buy some fairly functional imports but any American made jack Ive seen lately that will provide 22" of lift allowing use of decent strength jack stands to be placed under the cars frame and is at least 2.5 ton-to- 3 ton rated , is going to be expensive.
finding a floor jack that meets All three parameters is not all that simple
QUOTE,POSTED BY KEVIN!
BTW
read these threads also
http://www.zr1netregistry.com/jackupzr1.htm
http://www.myturbodiesel.com/1000q/multi/wood-block.htm
viewforum.php
http://www.levo-artis.com/
the ONLY thing Ive bought from HF that IM totally happy with is the (6),12 ton jack stands
http://www.harborfreight.com/12-ton-jack-stands-34924.html
personally I prefer the 6 and 12 ton rated jack stands if IM working on the car, and prefer that the wheels and frame get supported but if only the front of the cars up on jack stands,using wheel chocks behind the rear wheels certainly are a good idea
both the design and quality of manufacture matter its your choice but remember your going to be under the car ,no mater what you select, so be damn sure its sturdy with a healthy safety margin and a wide base,making them hard to tip,and be sure theres a good bit of metal in the design,several good designs , are available
theres NOTHING preventing you buying the HF design and drilling a few 5/8" holes to allow inserting a grade 8 bolt in those as a second safety either
http://www.harborfreight.com/12-ton-jac ... 34924.html
they hold up my 3300lb corvette just fine, at the correct height to use a mechanics creeper
but I suppose having a 700% safety margin helps
I prefer using a decent mechanics creeper as Im older and it makes access easier, the stands set on the first notch seem to be a comfortable height
at least for my creeper
I know lots of guys who have built vehicle support pads from stacked 2x4s like these, and its cheap and easy to do, compared to the 12 ton jack stands,, but heres a few tips, use a good deal of wood glue on the contact points between the layers, 2x4s generally come in 8 foot lengths you get (6) 15 1/2" long sections of 2x4 per 8 foot length (remember the saw blade removes 1/8" per cut,and you need to keep the stack solid, a 15 1/2" x 15 1/2" section of 3/4" plywood sandwiched between the second and a second section next to the top layer adds a great deal of structural rigidity and tends to reduce the supports tendency to come apart.
you can drill each end of each 2x4 in the same location and use a carriage bolt and washers and nuts or thread rod and a counter sink to clamp the stack firmly, but its the wood glue thats the true binder, if its used correctly.
use pressure treated 2/4s for the lowest layer, and glueing a bit of old inner tube to the lower floor contact area prevents them from sliding easily. most jacks only lift to about 18" so it makes a great deal of sense to actually jack up your car and measure the distance between the tires and the floor before assembling a support stack , only to find its too tall for you to slide it under the tires.
adding a handle on the side like in the picture above, makes moving the support stack easier.
the 12 ton, jack stands still work better in some cases because you will need to remove the tires from the car and most jack stands are adjustable as to height while the support stack works best under the tires.
2x4s can commonly be had very cheaply , youll need about 12-16 , too build (4)supports, and a couple hours at most, I doubt youll have $40 invested in 4 once your done if you shop carefully
BTW if you purchase a single 3 ft x 5 ft rubber waffle mat it can be cut to produce four matching sections of rubber pads that can be screwed and glued to the support stack lower surface this prevents the pads from sliding on wet floors and reduces the damage potential damage to the support over time,if the stack of wood were subjected to water on the shop floor
http://www.homedepot.com/s/rubber+floor+mats?NCNI-5
this may help
http://revlimiter.net/blog/2010/07/mega ... -review-1/
http://revlimiter.net/blog/2010/07/mega ... -review-2/
verify your floor jack fits under 3" when all the way down and ideally lifts to 22" all the way up and hopefully lifts a 2.5-3 ton rating, this will allow it to be used on a corvette fairly easily and allow you to use the larger and much sturdier and more stable jack stands easily, the problem many guys have is either the jack won,t slide under the corvette frame easily or it won,t lift the corvette high enough for the larger jack stands that make use of a decent quality mechanics creeper easy to use.
finding a floor jack that meets All three parameters is not all that simple
http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=969&p=24460#p24460
http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=3178&p=26472&hilit=creeper#p26472
a car lift in your shop
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=34924
If your going to work under your car I hope you support the car safely, some of you might think Im old fashion but some repairs (even thou I own a LIFT) are easier to do with (4) 12 ton jack stands and a mechanics creeper
prices are up recently,
http://www.harborfreight.com/12-ton-jac ... 34924.html
http://promocodesforyou.com/index.php?i ... 7AodJGG8BQ
check on sales, look for discount coupons and ask for the manager of the store as he has a great deal of leeway in pricing, when I bought mine the standard price was $60 a pair, but I went during a sale and they were marked 10% off plus I told the store manager I had a desire to buy 2 pairs if he made it worth my while, he dropped the price to $150 for 6 stands and no sales taxes
look closely at the FLIMSY JACK STANDS IN THIS PICTURE,
Ive seen several of that particular jack stand design , suddenly fail and collapse
I would strongly advise pitching them in the dumpster if you own any
YES IT TAKES SOME TIME AND EFFORT BUT YOU COULD FABRICATE SIMILAR CAR SUPPORT STANDS VERY ECONOMICALLY IF YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO SCRAP WOOD<
FROM SOME LOCAL BUILDING SITE!
Im not a huge fan of most of the stuff HF sells , but one exceptions the 12 ton jack stands Ive used the (6 ) I purchased to use along with a decent mechanics creeper ,in my shop for over 20 years with zero problems,have been fine, but they were $49 a pair when I bought them
http://www.discountramps.com/sports...utm_source=criteo&CA_6C15C=820562990000000237
http://www.harborfreight.com/12-ton-jack-stands-34924.html
they are far more stable than the flimsy 3-6 ton rated crap I see sold at most auto parts stores , and places like walmart
and they allow you to get the car up to 22" or so and still not be easily rocked or tipped if you position them correctly on the frame
I'm also a big believer in supporting both the wheels with support stacks and the frame with stands as I don,t care to do push ups with my corvette when I'm under it, on a mechanics creeper as I know two guys from my high school that have had cars fall on them, and a couple minutes safely supporting a car beats being dead any day
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=34924
http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=26
at some point its just not all that much cheaper to build things that are lower quality, those HF stands are fine!
Ive had six of the 12 ton jack stands in near constant use for MANY YEARS, trust me! I agree that much of what HF sells is crap, those stands are an exception, go look at them! they are stable, massive and decent designed stands, and yes it helps to have two floor jacks because at the low , first notch setting they are still fairly high from the floor, giving you plenty of access under a corvette or (Z)
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=34924
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/attachm ... points.pdf
12 ton jack stands #34924
normally $80 for two, now on sale for $55 for two
3 ton next too 12 ton stands
http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=26++
use the frame behind the front wheels and forward of the rear wheels BETWEEN THE TINY ARROWS SYMBOLS STAMPED IN THE SHEET STEEL,or in the front, the (K) member frame, cross over, that the suspensions mated too,to support the car, read the link
you can use the front k-frame as a floor jack lift point but Ive always preferred to slide a 12" long and 6" wide section of 3/4" plywood between the floor jack pad and the k-frame to spread the lift /load and prevent scratching the k-frame, you will find you need to place the car on small ramps before you have sufficient clearance for most floor jacks doing that
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/attachm ... points.pdf
another option, is using jack stands under the frame AND ADDITIONAL home made wood stands under the tires as a extra support or even in place of jack stands if they are properly designed, ...wood GLUED AND BOLTED TOGETHER
"I have been looking for a lift for a while but my problem is my garage is not high enough for a full lift. What I want is a low rise or mid rise portable lift I can store under the car and it will be low enough to drive over when not is use. When I need it I can raise it up and have access to the underside of the car. Does anyone have one of these and which would you recommend. This is for a home garage. Thanks"
this will do everything you asked for in a low clearance garage
http://kwiklift.com/commercial.htm
http://kwiklift.com/Options.htm
what youll USE the lift for and WHERE you use it will have a major influence on the correct choice, one of my neighbors owned one for years,and it works fine, as long as you realize that you need to use a floor jack to raise the ramps and theres room for a mechanics creeper, for oil changes, clutch jobs etc., but its not like a true lift and small jack stands as safety back ups are a good idea,under the ramps, you don,t want to trust just the small end stands alone, and you need to chalk the wheels and put on the brakes so the car can,t roll, on the ramps.
it comes with instructions and some common sense its a great tool if your ceiling clearance prevents a real lift.
personally I think is a great tool but a real twin post lift gives you far more access to the suspension and area under the car if you can use one so the extra cost may be well worth it, to upgrade or wait until you can afford a real lift if your not fighting clearance issues but just looking at cost alone.
think thru what youll use it for and think of cost as a important but not the only factor in your choice.
I thought long and hard about getting a kwick-lift , but I just used 4 12 ton jack stands until I could afford a true two post lift as most of the things I use a lift for require access to the suspension and removing wheels etc,
http://www.kwiklift.com/Options.htm
http://www.kwiklift.com/Options.htm#SIZE
down
up
Ive used them at a couple friends garages that only had the common 8 ft ceiling height double garages, and they work really well, but I used the heavy duty version so I don,t know about the standard versions
now theres not much at harbor freight thats well worth the price but these are low tech and well worth the cost, Ive had 6 in the shop for years, they are just the correct height at the lowest setting to work under your car and FAR AWAY MUCH LARGER AND STEADIER, more heavily built, and not nearly as easy to tip the car over with when you use them as the cheap and more common 3 and 6 ton jack stands most guys use
are you not going to feel like a moron if the car falls from some cheap bargain jack stand when for a few dollars more you could have had substantially larger and strong and much more stable stands under the frame?
the guy who got killed at the start of this thread probably would not have purchased one, since he didn,t even have decent jack stands,
but its silly to think how little extra expense it takes to save a life
http://www.creepex.com/indexEN.html
now heres a TOOL that at first glance may seem silly, BUT the more I look at this the more I think its a good idea , after thinking about it it makes perfect sense.....its a creeper with a built in safety roll cage to prevent getting crushed if the car did fall
a DECENT WELDER and some WELDING SKILLS, a short trip to the local metal supply store, a few quality casters, and a free weekend could result in a custom version magically appearing in your garage for under $200, but having a nice chrome /padded ,pro made version will look nicer
I just can,t tell you how often a decent welder comes in handy around the shop
This is the picture they show on how it can protect you.
your corvette will have enough clearance for you, on a creeper,
the transmission jack and removing the transmission with 4 12 ton jack stands on the frame
no one is going to tell you a set of (4) 3-6 ton jack stands are not significantly cheaper than the (4) 12 ton rated versions , but the much stronger and taller and more stable larger jack stands ARE far less likely to tip, break or fail under load... whats your life worth?
yes it requires lifting the car in stages with most floor jacks, yes thats a bit of a P.I.T.A. , but it makes working on the car far easier.
Unfortunately some of us are shaped like this.
but thankfully ,beer guts
are generally flexible enough to survive a few minor/limited impacts with a cars underside, or many of us would be dead by now, but Ill be building a 19" clearance model If I weld one up, simply to take full advantage of the 20" plus under the cars frame with the 12 ton jack stands
I also have bought shop equipment from
http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/
with good results, and have had fast service
these car skates or wheel dollies make moving a car you can,t drive easily around the shop far easier, and a couple tall jack stands come in handy under a lift at times
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...-diy-project-video-well-worth-watching.15647/
http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/2-Ton ... t58001.htm
http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/Move- ... htmd-4.htm
"I know we have all read and heard many a times,when you jack your car up to work on it PUT THE DAMN JACK STANDS UNDER THE CARS FRAME. Well I just got a call from my Aunt and Uncle that my cousin 2 years older than I am (and i'm 42)who's name is also Kevin was working on his truck today,had it jacked up but decided to use loose stacks of 2x4's under the front tires for support stands,well the jack collapsed the truck fell on his chest and he was pronounced DEAD at the scene.Not only does this suck because i lost a close family member but i also lost one of my best hunting buddies. Now you have read and heard the story again but this time there is no happy ending USE YOUR STANDS!!!"
READ RELATED THREAD
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/floor-jacks.969/#post-70422
pulling the pan and replacing the oil pump, or pan gasket
question comes up, can you replace the oil pump or oil pan gasket while the engine remains in the c4 corvette, Ive replaced BOTH oil pumps alone and oil pumps and oil pans, or just oil pan gaskets or installed windage trays several dozen times, on c4 corvettes, and similar cars, both L98 and...
garage.grumpysperformance.com
http://www.corvette-guru.com/uploads/sm ... acking.pdf
most home garages have an 8 FT ceiling height making installation of a decent lift and required clearances difficult, obviously if your car is 5.5 feet tall from pavement too the roof and you have a 8 ft ceiling you can,t lift the car to more than about 2 feet or so off the garage floor before the roof starts getting close to the ceiling clearance, especially if you've installed fans or shop florescent lighting fixtures.
while thats ok if you want too work on a mechanics creeper on your back, you certainly can,t sit or stand under the car too work.
I try to look for and buy American made products any time I can and don,t mind one bit paying an additional 10%-20%-even 30% more because I know from experience that theres frequently a good deal more quality components than in import clone parts, making the parts well worth the cost difference, there not much point in saving 30% on a part or tool that won,t do the job its designed to do, or one that can,t do its job safely!
but in a side by side comparison the import looked to be better made,
So I think your fighting a lost battle here,the last time I researched this, a decent 10-12 ton rated American made jack stand that has a wide base and can get a car frame 20'-24" off the floor safely, is well over 200$ EACH
Ive used 6 12 ton rated jack stands like these for almost 20 years now in my shop they are well made
http://www.zr1netregistry.com/jackupzr1.htm
http://www.homedepot.com/buy/tools-hard ... 70912.html
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... _200330725
http://www.harborfreight.com/12-ton-jac ... 34924.html
These super heavy duty jack stands will hold most cars and trucks safely at near 2 feet off the ground. Perfect for repair work or storage.
5/8 in. x 4-3/4 in. Clevis Pin available at home depot for $4 each
I've painted every third jack stands tooth yellow and the second tooth , the one below that red and the first tooth below that blue,
this makes matching the height on all 4 stand far faster too adjust , the third notch for the pawl,
is the preferred creeper height, under my corvettes,
for clutch and brake jobs
and where the pin slides through and locks,
with the pawl and pin engaged the stand height will not change accidentally
Height: 19-1/2'' to 30-1/8''
Base: 12'' x 12-1/2''
Shipping Weight: 69.50 lbs.
"how do you get the HF 12 ton jack stands under the vette?, my floor jack won,t lift that high (20")"
GOOD VALID QUESTION!, PROBABLY WE SHOULD discuss it
If your going to work under your car I hope you support the car safely, some of you might think Im old fashion but some repairs (even thou I own a LIFT) are easier to do with (4) 12 ton jack stands and a mechanics creeper, but for your own safety ID STRONGLY SUGGEST you buy and USE 4 of these 12 ton jack stands and work on a LEVEL CONCRETE FLOOR when ever you can, yes IM well aware that you can buy smaller ,less expensive jack stands, how much is YOUR LIFE WORTH!, if its worth a couple hundred dollars, and a few minutes of your time, to keep from being killed or crippled for life I figure its worth the time and money
most common floor jacks have a max lift height between 18"-22" I have a pair of 3 ton floor jacks,that originally only lift to 20" and thats really too tight to clear,
your surely not alone in having too lift the car in steps to place the taller 12 ton jack stands or similarly tall jack stands that allow full access under the car.
now in my case I found the darn floor jack won,t fit under the corvette as it sits on the shop floor unless you use some careful planing first, I drive the vette up on plastic rhino ramps to get the necessary clearance, I place the first floor jack and lift the front K-member and place the two front 12 ton jack stands on the frame near the a arms on the frame, I then remove the front floor jack and place it and my second floor jack under the rear side frame behind the doors on each side, I jack each side up a bit, then swap to the other side in several stages IF im alone, (naturally if I have help both sides get jacked up at the same time)untill its high enough to place each of the two or four remaining 12 ton jacks into place under the frame.
now a bit of info Ive installed 1 3/4" thick rubber pads that are approximately 4" in diam. on both my floor jacks to both get the necessary lift and protect the frame from scratches these are made from thick sections of earth mover or dump truck tire tread rubber I found at a dump
http://www.kwik-lift.com/index.html
IF you have limited height the QUICK LIFT RAMPS MIGHT BE AN OPTION
when your looking to buy a floor jack, Id strongly suggest you, verify it fits under 3" when all the way down and ideally lifts to 22" all the way up and hopefully lifts a 2.5-3 ton rating, this will allow it to be used on a corvette fairly easily and allow you to use the larger and much sturdier and more stable jack stands easily, the problem many guys have is either the jack won,t slide under the corvette frame easily or it won,t lift the corvette high enough for the larger jack stands that make use of a decent quality mechanics creeper easy to use.
Id at least take it apart and inspect it, its more than likely a couple leaking O-rings or a busted return spring, that will cost under $7 to replace.
Ive found most floor jack problems are related to leaking seals.
and your correct a decent floor jacks no longer reasonably priced, yes you can buy some fairly functional imports but any American made jack Ive seen lately that will provide 22" of lift allowing use of decent strength jack stands to be placed under the cars frame and is at least 2.5 ton-to- 3 ton rated , is going to be expensive.
finding a floor jack that meets All three parameters is not all that simple
QUOTE,POSTED BY KEVIN!
BTW
read these threads also
http://www.zr1netregistry.com/jackupzr1.htm
http://www.myturbodiesel.com/1000q/multi/wood-block.htm
viewforum.php
yeah most of us do it! but try harder to avoid doing stupid things that you never expected to go badly
one Of the guys I know in Florida, gave me a phone call.... to tell me about a serious personal, screw-up he was involved in, guys we all get in a hurry and do stupid stuff at times, but think it through, simple stuff can get you killed! it seems he had purchased a new 4x4 truck he needed to...
garage.grumpysperformance.com
http://www.levo-artis.com/
the ONLY thing Ive bought from HF that IM totally happy with is the (6),12 ton jack stands
http://www.harborfreight.com/12-ton-jack-stands-34924.html
personally I prefer the 6 and 12 ton rated jack stands if IM working on the car, and prefer that the wheels and frame get supported but if only the front of the cars up on jack stands,using wheel chocks behind the rear wheels certainly are a good idea
both the design and quality of manufacture matter its your choice but remember your going to be under the car ,no mater what you select, so be damn sure its sturdy with a healthy safety margin and a wide base,making them hard to tip,and be sure theres a good bit of metal in the design,several good designs , are available
theres NOTHING preventing you buying the HF design and drilling a few 5/8" holes to allow inserting a grade 8 bolt in those as a second safety either
http://www.harborfreight.com/12-ton-jac ... 34924.html
they hold up my 3300lb corvette just fine, at the correct height to use a mechanics creeper
but I suppose having a 700% safety margin helps
I prefer using a decent mechanics creeper as Im older and it makes access easier, the stands set on the first notch seem to be a comfortable height
at least for my creeper
I know lots of guys who have built vehicle support pads from stacked 2x4s like these, and its cheap and easy to do, compared to the 12 ton jack stands,, but heres a few tips, use a good deal of wood glue on the contact points between the layers, 2x4s generally come in 8 foot lengths you get (6) 15 1/2" long sections of 2x4 per 8 foot length (remember the saw blade removes 1/8" per cut,and you need to keep the stack solid, a 15 1/2" x 15 1/2" section of 3/4" plywood sandwiched between the second and a second section next to the top layer adds a great deal of structural rigidity and tends to reduce the supports tendency to come apart.
you can drill each end of each 2x4 in the same location and use a carriage bolt and washers and nuts or thread rod and a counter sink to clamp the stack firmly, but its the wood glue thats the true binder, if its used correctly.
use pressure treated 2/4s for the lowest layer, and glueing a bit of old inner tube to the lower floor contact area prevents them from sliding easily. most jacks only lift to about 18" so it makes a great deal of sense to actually jack up your car and measure the distance between the tires and the floor before assembling a support stack , only to find its too tall for you to slide it under the tires.
adding a handle on the side like in the picture above, makes moving the support stack easier.
the 12 ton, jack stands still work better in some cases because you will need to remove the tires from the car and most jack stands are adjustable as to height while the support stack works best under the tires.
2x4s can commonly be had very cheaply , youll need about 12-16 , too build (4)supports, and a couple hours at most, I doubt youll have $40 invested in 4 once your done if you shop carefully
BTW if you purchase a single 3 ft x 5 ft rubber waffle mat it can be cut to produce four matching sections of rubber pads that can be screwed and glued to the support stack lower surface this prevents the pads from sliding on wet floors and reduces the damage potential damage to the support over time,if the stack of wood were subjected to water on the shop floor
http://www.homedepot.com/s/rubber+floor+mats?NCNI-5
this may help
http://revlimiter.net/blog/2010/07/mega ... -review-1/
http://revlimiter.net/blog/2010/07/mega ... -review-2/
verify your floor jack fits under 3" when all the way down and ideally lifts to 22" all the way up and hopefully lifts a 2.5-3 ton rating, this will allow it to be used on a corvette fairly easily and allow you to use the larger and much sturdier and more stable jack stands easily, the problem many guys have is either the jack won,t slide under the corvette frame easily or it won,t lift the corvette high enough for the larger jack stands that make use of a decent quality mechanics creeper easy to use.
finding a floor jack that meets All three parameters is not all that simple
http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=969&p=24460#p24460
http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=3178&p=26472&hilit=creeper#p26472
a car lift in your shop
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=34924
If your going to work under your car I hope you support the car safely, some of you might think Im old fashion but some repairs (even thou I own a LIFT) are easier to do with (4) 12 ton jack stands and a mechanics creeper
prices are up recently,
http://www.harborfreight.com/12-ton-jac ... 34924.html
http://promocodesforyou.com/index.php?i ... 7AodJGG8BQ
check on sales, look for discount coupons and ask for the manager of the store as he has a great deal of leeway in pricing, when I bought mine the standard price was $60 a pair, but I went during a sale and they were marked 10% off plus I told the store manager I had a desire to buy 2 pairs if he made it worth my while, he dropped the price to $150 for 6 stands and no sales taxes
look closely at the FLIMSY JACK STANDS IN THIS PICTURE,
Ive seen several of that particular jack stand design , suddenly fail and collapse
I would strongly advise pitching them in the dumpster if you own any
YES IT TAKES SOME TIME AND EFFORT BUT YOU COULD FABRICATE SIMILAR CAR SUPPORT STANDS VERY ECONOMICALLY IF YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO SCRAP WOOD<
FROM SOME LOCAL BUILDING SITE!
Im not a huge fan of most of the stuff HF sells , but one exceptions the 12 ton jack stands Ive used the (6 ) I purchased to use along with a decent mechanics creeper ,in my shop for over 20 years with zero problems,have been fine, but they were $49 a pair when I bought them
http://www.discountramps.com/sports...utm_source=criteo&CA_6C15C=820562990000000237
http://www.harborfreight.com/12-ton-jack-stands-34924.html
they are far more stable than the flimsy 3-6 ton rated crap I see sold at most auto parts stores , and places like walmart
and they allow you to get the car up to 22" or so and still not be easily rocked or tipped if you position them correctly on the frame
I'm also a big believer in supporting both the wheels with support stacks and the frame with stands as I don,t care to do push ups with my corvette when I'm under it, on a mechanics creeper as I know two guys from my high school that have had cars fall on them, and a couple minutes safely supporting a car beats being dead any day
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=34924
http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=26
at some point its just not all that much cheaper to build things that are lower quality, those HF stands are fine!
Ive had six of the 12 ton jack stands in near constant use for MANY YEARS, trust me! I agree that much of what HF sells is crap, those stands are an exception, go look at them! they are stable, massive and decent designed stands, and yes it helps to have two floor jacks because at the low , first notch setting they are still fairly high from the floor, giving you plenty of access under a corvette or (Z)
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=34924
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/attachm ... points.pdf
12 ton jack stands #34924
normally $80 for two, now on sale for $55 for two
3 ton next too 12 ton stands
http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=26++
use the frame behind the front wheels and forward of the rear wheels BETWEEN THE TINY ARROWS SYMBOLS STAMPED IN THE SHEET STEEL,or in the front, the (K) member frame, cross over, that the suspensions mated too,to support the car, read the link
you can use the front k-frame as a floor jack lift point but Ive always preferred to slide a 12" long and 6" wide section of 3/4" plywood between the floor jack pad and the k-frame to spread the lift /load and prevent scratching the k-frame, you will find you need to place the car on small ramps before you have sufficient clearance for most floor jacks doing that
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/attachm ... points.pdf
another option, is using jack stands under the frame AND ADDITIONAL home made wood stands under the tires as a extra support or even in place of jack stands if they are properly designed, ...wood GLUED AND BOLTED TOGETHER
"I have been looking for a lift for a while but my problem is my garage is not high enough for a full lift. What I want is a low rise or mid rise portable lift I can store under the car and it will be low enough to drive over when not is use. When I need it I can raise it up and have access to the underside of the car. Does anyone have one of these and which would you recommend. This is for a home garage. Thanks"
this will do everything you asked for in a low clearance garage
http://kwiklift.com/commercial.htm
http://kwiklift.com/Options.htm
what youll USE the lift for and WHERE you use it will have a major influence on the correct choice, one of my neighbors owned one for years,and it works fine, as long as you realize that you need to use a floor jack to raise the ramps and theres room for a mechanics creeper, for oil changes, clutch jobs etc., but its not like a true lift and small jack stands as safety back ups are a good idea,under the ramps, you don,t want to trust just the small end stands alone, and you need to chalk the wheels and put on the brakes so the car can,t roll, on the ramps.
it comes with instructions and some common sense its a great tool if your ceiling clearance prevents a real lift.
personally I think is a great tool but a real twin post lift gives you far more access to the suspension and area under the car if you can use one so the extra cost may be well worth it, to upgrade or wait until you can afford a real lift if your not fighting clearance issues but just looking at cost alone.
think thru what youll use it for and think of cost as a important but not the only factor in your choice.
I thought long and hard about getting a kwick-lift , but I just used 4 12 ton jack stands until I could afford a true two post lift as most of the things I use a lift for require access to the suspension and removing wheels etc,
http://www.kwiklift.com/Options.htm
http://www.kwiklift.com/Options.htm#SIZE
down
up
Ive used them at a couple friends garages that only had the common 8 ft ceiling height double garages, and they work really well, but I used the heavy duty version so I don,t know about the standard versions
now theres not much at harbor freight thats well worth the price but these are low tech and well worth the cost, Ive had 6 in the shop for years, they are just the correct height at the lowest setting to work under your car and FAR AWAY MUCH LARGER AND STEADIER, more heavily built, and not nearly as easy to tip the car over with when you use them as the cheap and more common 3 and 6 ton jack stands most guys use
are you not going to feel like a moron if the car falls from some cheap bargain jack stand when for a few dollars more you could have had substantially larger and strong and much more stable stands under the frame?
the guy who got killed at the start of this thread probably would not have purchased one, since he didn,t even have decent jack stands,
but its silly to think how little extra expense it takes to save a life
http://www.creepex.com/indexEN.html
now heres a TOOL that at first glance may seem silly, BUT the more I look at this the more I think its a good idea , after thinking about it it makes perfect sense.....its a creeper with a built in safety roll cage to prevent getting crushed if the car did fall
a DECENT WELDER and some WELDING SKILLS, a short trip to the local metal supply store, a few quality casters, and a free weekend could result in a custom version magically appearing in your garage for under $200, but having a nice chrome /padded ,pro made version will look nicer
I just can,t tell you how often a decent welder comes in handy around the shop
This is the picture they show on how it can protect you.
I'm always amazed at the number of people who never bother too read the instructions or look over the specifications, on a floor jack, they purchase!
theres alway a compromise in quality and price ,but any tool must be able to do its intended job or its a waste of time and money
and the reason youll use a floor jack in many cases is simply to raise the car high enough to place jack stands.
but no mater what the price is if your going to buy a floor jack,
it must be durable and be able to lift a car to at least 22" height in my opinion,
simply too allow you to get the car up to a reasonable height to slide a decent quality jack stand under the cars frame,
without having to do that in several stages.
you need room for both easy access and in many cases a transmission ON a transmission jack
http://creepex.com/bodyguard/
related info
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/mechanics-creepers.3178/#post-38649
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/under-car-safety.26/page-3#post-64755
https://www.harborfreight.com/12-ton-jack-stands-34924.html
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...ack-makes-all-the-difference.5512/#post-43359
if you own a decent welder and a tap measure, hacksaw or similar metal cutting tools and a drill,
you could certainly design and fabricate your own custom creeper without a great deal of welding or design skill required after looking at this and doing a few measurements
https://www.harborfreight.com/8-inch-pneumatic-swivel-caster-42485.html?_br_psugg_q=8+inch+caster
https://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-rubber-swivel-caster-61844.html
https://www.harborfreight.com/folding-mechanics-pad-93896.html
your corvette will have enough clearance for you, on a creeper,
the transmission jack and removing the transmission with 4 12 ton jack stands on the frame
no one is going to tell you a set of (4) 3-6 ton jack stands are not significantly cheaper than the (4) 12 ton rated versions , but the much stronger and taller and more stable larger jack stands ARE far less likely to tip, break or fail under load... whats your life worth?
yes it requires lifting the car in stages with most floor jacks, yes thats a bit of a P.I.T.A. , but it makes working on the car far easier.
Unfortunately some of us are shaped like this.
but thankfully ,beer guts
are generally flexible enough to survive a few minor/limited impacts with a cars underside, or many of us would be dead by now, but Ill be building a 19" clearance model If I weld one up, simply to take full advantage of the 20" plus under the cars frame with the 12 ton jack stands
I also have bought shop equipment from
http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/
with good results, and have had fast service
these car skates or wheel dollies make moving a car you can,t drive easily around the shop far easier, and a couple tall jack stands come in handy under a lift at times
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...-diy-project-video-well-worth-watching.15647/
http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/2-Ton ... t58001.htm
http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/Move- ... htmd-4.htm
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