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Ever wonder how to jack up a car on grass, some will say don't do it. Just depends on how much grass you have. This is a fail proof way to get it done. The grass wasn’t level ground and I was afraid the stands would slide across the steel which they did slightly but all was fine for a two day repair on the brakes, so I’ll be adding some half inch plywood by glueing it to the steel so the stands feet can bite a little.
stands are from Jackpoint Jackstands and they are sitting on 3/8 inch hot roll steel plate 2ft by 4ft which was enough to accommodate a 3 ton floor jack. After two days this 4800 lb car didn’t phase the steel as it was still flat; so was the grass.
Glad it worked, but that's playing with fire. Plywood on steel won't help much on slick grass.
You need a solid, level base. Get some thick pavers or a real jacking mat. For a two-day job, that steel plate could have tilted or sunk. Don't risk it next time.
If that steel plate sinks in the ground, I'd be careful where I walk more than worrying about that car falling. Each corner of the car weighs 1200 lbs, the jackstands are rated at 4000 lb each and the steel plate is rated at 75,000 lbs per square inch and each piece is 2 foot by 4 foot. If a sink hole opens up thats a different story. To be perfectly clear, if that steel sinks, my concrete driveway will sink too.
If that steel plate sinks in the ground, I'd be careful where I walk more than worrying about that car falling. Each corner of the car weighs 1200 lbs, the jackstands are rated at 4000 lb each and the steel plate is rated at 75,000 lbs per square inch and each piece is 2 foot by 4 foot. If a sink hole opens up thats a different story. To be perfectly clear, if that steel sinks, my concrete driveway will sink too.
Tell that to infantry personnel who made the fatal mistake of sleeping under tanks in various wars and were subsequently crushed as the tanks settled into the ground.
Ever wonder how to jack up a car on grass, some will say don't do it. Just depends on how much grass you have. This is a fail proof way to get it done. The grass wasn’t level ground and I was afraid the stands would slide across the steel which they did slightly but all was fine for a two day repair on the brakes, so I’ll be adding some half inch plywood by glueing it to the steel so the stands feet can bite a little.
stands are from Jackpoint Jackstands and they are sitting on 3/8 inch hot roll steel plate 2ft by 4ft which was enough to accommodate a 3 ton floor jack. After two days this 4800 lb car didn’t phase the steel as it was still flat; so was the grass.
How did you raise the back to put it on jack stands? I will have to do brakes soon but don't wanna use the differential even though everyone seems to these days. Thanks 👍
The stands are from Jackpoint Jackstands. They were designed to jack the car up where you're supposed to and then place the stand in the same place and then let the car down on top of them. They are very unique and each stand is rated to hold 4000 lbs. It would be impossible for the car to fall off of them the way they are designed which is why I use them. The car weighs 4800 lbs so each one is only holding up 1200 pounds. The steel plate I use in the grass is 2 foot by 4 foot each A37 Hot Roll steel plate 3/8 inch thick and has a minimum yield strength of approximately 34,000 to 37,000 pounds per square inch (psi). The weight of the car is pretty irrelevant for the steel from an engineering standpoint. The ground beneath it is very dry and hard so there was no indication I ever did this after I removed everything from the gras, except the grass was very flat. These stands do not provide a lot of height for getting under the car but one could raise the stands with wood blocks if needed. I did a complete brake job on it over two days like this.
The Jackpoint Jackstand website says they are making height improvements for the stands but they're not available yet until Mid December because John Walton, the Law Professor who invented them recently sold the business and the new owners are re-tooling everything to expand production as John kept selling out in the US and across Europe. I can't wait to see what they did to gain more height. I won't use any other jackstand ever again, these are the best.
Tell that to infantry personnel who made the fatal mistake of sleeping under tanks in various wars and were subsequently crushed as the tanks settled into the ground.
A tank is 70 tons, my car is a little over 2 tons, big difference and the ground is not soft here, its actually very difficult to dig a hole in my yard its so hard. No worries Mate, I wasn't under it, just did brakes from the side. I did however feel confident putting my legs under it and the thought did cross my mind of it cutting my legs off if it fell but sinking was never a thought and falling off these stands is impossible unless a stand broke or the steel plate broke. Everything we do on a daily basis has risks, I try to minimize risk as much as humanly possible but when you're poor and you have to cut corners instead of taking your car to a shop that you trust will do the job right without damaging your car, being poor raises the risk of everything you do.
I just wanted to add that last summer my sisters best friend came home one day and found her husband crushed to death under his mini van. He was changing the oil and I guess he had to remove the front wheel to get to the oil filter and while he was under it, the van somehow fell. We sometimes put a lot of faith in jack stands and jacks because they were sold to us from a store but many fail. Just google jack stand lawsuit. I once tried to drive my Lincoln Town Car onto Rhino Ramps on grass and they collapsed as they dug into the dirt. It was very stupid of me so lesson learned, they are just plastic so I wasn't expecting much from them. Ever since I try to seek out the best equipment available and even then I'm still cautious and shoot for overkill when doing things to try preventing an accident or damage to my car. I did my research before attempting whats seen in this picture.
I have 2 floor jacks, 4 jack stands, 4 wooden ramps I made, a scissor jack and then a bunch of scrap wood like 4x4's and larger pieces of timber I all use when working on the car.
For working under the car that doesnt involve removing the wheels I will use the wood ramps. if i need the car higher for more room like when servicing the transmission i'll have it on the ramps then jack it up more then use jack stands also.
When I was replacing the rear passenger brake line where the rear wheels had to come off I had a floor jack at each rear jacking point and left them there, shoved pieces wood under the arms of the jacks so they cant lower if they fail. Then I placed a jack stand under the subframe where the spring control arms bushings are. Even then I had no reason to get under the car since I spliced in the brake line at the drivers wheel well.
When I replaced the rear shocks I did the same and had no reason to get under the car since all the work is in the wheel wells.
Replacing the springs I had to reach under the car from the rear just to remove/install the spring arm bolts. But to torque everything down I lowered the car back down on my ramps and crawled under so it was not up on jacks or jack stands.
Working on the exhaust it goes up my ramps no wheels off.
My wood ramps are just two planks of wood stacked so I can fit the two for the rear under the car and drive up but if im doing the oil ill just add another plank to two of them.
Servicing the transmission.
Forget what i was doing here, probably working on the brakes since I have brake cleaner out. To fit the floor jack under I have to drive the car up on at least one plank.
I have 2 floor jacks, 4 jack stands, 4 wooden ramps I made, a scissor jack and then a bunch of scrap wood like 4x4's and larger pieces of timber I all use when working on the car.
For working under the car that doesnt involve removing the wheels I will use the wood ramps. if i need the car higher for more room like when servicing the transmission i'll have it on the ramps then jack it up more then use jack stands also.
When I was replacing the rear passenger brake line where the rear wheels had to come off I had a floor jack at each rear jacking point and left them there, shoved pieces wood under the arms of the jacks so they cant lower if they fail. Then I placed a jack stand under the subframe where the spring control arms bushings are. Even then I had no reason to get under the car since I spliced in the brake line at the drivers wheel well.
When I replaced the rear shocks I did the same and had no reason to get under the car since all the work is in the wheel wells.
Replacing the springs I had to reach under the car from the rear just to remove/install the spring arm bolts. But to torque everything down I lowered the car back down on my ramps and crawled under so it was not up on jacks or jack stands.
Working on the exhaust it goes up my ramps no wheels off.
My wood ramps are just two planks of wood stacked so I can fit the two for the rear under the car and drive up but if im doing the oil ill just add another plank to two of them.
Servicing the transmission.
Forget what i was doing here, probably working on the brakes since I have brake cleaner out. To fit the floor jack under I have to drive the car up on at least one plank.
Smart, have you heard of Jack Rods, they keep the jack from falling if it gives out. These are my wood ramps that I use for other maintenance, the video shows three 2x4's on bottom but I have since added another 2x10 under those for more lift. I built these in 2011 and they've sat outside ever since and over time I kept adding more to them to make them higher. Each time I added height I gave an overall fresh coat of paint.
[QUOTE=s550hollywood;9234521]Smart, have you heard of Jack Rods, they keep the jack from falling if it gives out. These are my wood ramps that I use for other maintenance, the video shows three 2x4's on bottom but I have since added another 2x10 under those for more lift. I built these in 2011 and they've sat outside ever since and over time I kept adding more to them to make them higher. Each time I added height I gave an overall fresh coat of paint.
Smart, have you heard of Jack Rods, they keep the jack from falling if it gives out. These are my wood ramps that I use for other maintenance, the video shows three 2x4's on bottom but I have since added another 2x10 under those for more lift. I built these in 2011 and they've sat outside ever since and over time I kept adding more to them to make them higher. Each time I added height I gave an overall fresh coat of paint.
Guys... pour concrete. Install hoist. You will be forever wondering why you didn’t do that a decade or longer ago.
If I had the money to pour concrete and install a hoist I would likely just take the car to dealer for repairs. I also don't have a place for it. I'd actually prefer to have a lift inside a garage like dealer shops use.
I can do most things with just a floor jack and some pieces of scrap wood.
Just got done applying some CorrosionX XD under the rear of the car to get ready for winter. I had to reach under the car to do some areas but my body wasnt under it. I think CorrosionX is great stuff if you want to protect metal from rusting.
I like using scrap pieces of composite trim on the floor jack because it compresses slightly but resists cracking. Keeps the jacking pads on the car from being flattened.
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