xviper

You haven't done this, have you? So tell us what will happen. You have no idea how stiff this car is. One jackstand will hold one side of this car up and safely. Where's it going to go? Do you realize how difficult it is to put this car on 4 jackstands? Have you done it? This process alone can be dangerous as it puts the car in a very precarious position during parts of the jacking process. At the fore/aft angles you need, a jackstand has been known to slide out before you're done.
Obviously, DO NOT DO THIS with some other car that does not have a really stiff chassis.
Go ahead, jack the car up as high as you can and stuff a jackstand under the other jacking spot on the same side, then drop the jack. See what happens. Been doing this for 12 years.
Of course, there are caveats to this. 1. Don't do it on an incline. 2. Wheels on ground are chocked. 3. Jackstand is a good quality one. 4. You DO NOT remove the jack. It's still holding up the car.
Well, you know what? I've given you a valid alternative. Do what you feel is best. I'm not here to preach anymore.

dwight

I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with your method but what's so hard about using four jack stands?

To me, it seems rather easy to jack the front from the center, put in two jack stands, and then jack the rear and put in two in rear.

This lets be easily do oil and trans, diff, and brake fluids in one shot. While I'm at it, I can check the boots, bushings, brake pads, etc. I find having and using four jack stands to be great.

Danwolski

Yea im just gonna end up buying 2 more. I was just wondering because at the time I had the car on 2 jacks and I had everything ready for the trans fluid change. Thanks for the advice guys.

davidc1

Jack the front from the center? You must have one low profile jack. 99% of jacks can't do this.

ZDan

That someone has done something for 12 years without incident does not mean that the risk is negligible.

Never go under a car on a single jack, jackstand, 2 jackstands, four jackstands, whatever, without something to catch the car if it should happen to fall (wheels/tires under the rocker panels is a good method).

You don't do this because of the likelihood of the car falling, which if you do it right should be very low. You do it because of the level of severity if it should happen to fall. Low probability * highest possible severity (death) => take mitigating measures.

Or just take it to your local garage with a pit or lift and let them do it for a few bucks.

davidc1

Yeah, this is why when I fly, I do it only with planes that have 4 engines, not just two or three. The risk of one failing is negligible, but, the consequences of a plane crash are very high.

odb812

Dude, there's a big difference in how low a car supported by 1 jack stand will go when you lower it with a hydraulic jack and when it falls off of a jack. Putting the car on 4 jack stands is not that hard, I do it about every other week. There are many corners you can cut when working on cars, but don't cut any that can lead to serious injury or death. It's not worth it.

dwight

Without help my jack can't do it either.