Sizing my First Floor Jack for 850 Wagon...

[j-dawg]

I bought a 2.5-ton jack and jack stands from Sears for $60, and they've been sufficient for every car I've owned since.

Don't use the jack stands as "safety backup", use them as your primary means of holding the car up. The car will be more stable on them. Give it a good shove once it's settled on the jacks. These cars are super-easy to lift - there are a ton of fat plates on the chassis that are far enough out to be easily accessible by jack and solid enough to hold the weight of the car on a tiny point.

[mecheng]

I use solid wood blocks, I never liked jack stands. I also keep the jack as a back up but the main weight on the wood

[plumsmooth]

Interesting; where I work the the Vermont Studio Center Art Residency, I saw a pile of short 2-3 ft 8 by 10's.
My friend the Sculptor Tech said they were leftover remnants from Railroad ties and were only like 5 buck for 2 or less.

Might be good for alternative...

[cn90]

The most important thing is the jackstand.
On uneven, soft surface, use a piece of 3/4"-thick plywood

[plumsmooth]

Plywood for the Jack-stand, Jack, or Both?

[erikv11]

...
Get one of this. Don't mess with the small tiny jack.

http://www.harborfreight.com/15-ton-com ... 60569.html

I agree with this post, I would only use a skinny little jack as a last resort or temporary solution.

If you're going to shop for a floor jack then first priority is one that is safe (wide stance, I would actually go to 2 tons minimum, an 850 wagon is a 3300 pound car I believe?) and second would be convenience factors (longish arm is good to get the car up high but there are workarounds as suggested, light weight can be an advantage). Even though it will work, avoid a skinny little one. Especially if you might ever use it on an uneven surface.

I have one of those cheap little 2-ton jacks, it is a Craftsman actually, but I only use it for things like jacking up control arms or an engine etc, not for lifting the vehicles. About 10 years ago I picked up a nice wide one, 3 tons capacity, for lifting vehicles. Overkill but super effective and safe.

[abscate]

There is no way to make an uneven AND soft surface safe for jacking short of pouring concrete.

I might use this for wheels off but I would never go under the car with uneven non-cement /tar surface that isn't level.

I'm always fighting people in the boat community blocking things with cement blocks....no...never...

The most important thing is the jackstand.
On uneven, soft surface, use a piece of 3/4"-thick plywood.

Ditto that above from cn90

Aluminum Pittsburg low profile racing jack from HF is the one you want.

[obayha]

Does anyone use Cinder Blocks for safety back-up?

The guy across the street did, but doesn't any more.
Do it proper or don't do it at all.
Shane

[cn90]

I am a minimalist, my garage space is limited, so I have been using the 2-ton floor jack for 10 years now, zero issues.

Although the 2-ton floor jack is rated for, of course 2 tons (or about 4,000 lbs), we don't ever raise the entire car! Very often we raise "one side" (at the jack point halfway between front and rear tires) or only one corner. When doing so, the lifting force is < half of the 3,500-lb curb weight, or less than 1750 lbs, which a 2-ton jack can easily handle.

Once the car is up in the air, I immediately place jackstands, and slowly lower the car down.

For safety, I always use 2 jackstands:
- The standard 4-leg jackstand.
- And a separate screw-type bottle jack that allows infinite adjustment of the height to even out the load.

And yes, I only do this on flat (no slope) concrete surface.
For asphalt or rock driveway, use plywood, it is cheap and effective.
Still cheaper than a coffin lol...

[mecheng]

When ever possible, use ramps. I made a set with solid wood but you can buy them as well. Make sure you choke wheels just in case as back up