climhazzard

Hi all,

This may seem like a ridiculous post, but I'm new to working on my own car and want to be as careful as possible . I bought a hydraulic jack and 4 stands so I can do basic maintenance to my car (fluids). The jack stands are "Torin" brand purchased from Northern Tool and are rated for 2 tons. The concern I have is about warnings printed on the box:

"Stands are not to be used to simultaneously support both ends or on side of a vehicle."
"Center load on saddle prior to lifting. Use as a matched pair to support one ends of a vehicle only."

I'm not sure if this is just ambiguous wording which means you're only supposed to use two jack stands on a vehicle period, OR if it means do not try and lift both ends up with two stands. Is there anything wrong with having a vehicle
completely off the ground on 4 stands? Did I just buy crappy stands?

spets

You're fine. Two tons is 4,000 pounds, and our cars weigh ~2,900. So you're quite safe to have the whole car off the ground on four stands.

zeroptzero

I think it is a warning not to use 2 stands to support the vehicle or one side as that can be unstable. Using 4 stands should be fine though, and make sure the car is always level to avoid the vehicle sliding off the stands. Using 2 stands on the front or rear can result in the car sliding off the stands, so use 4 stands all the time and with a level vehicle.

For further safety slide the wheels under the rockers on both sides, or some other hard object as a precautionary protecting device in case the car ever slid off the stands. You can use a jackstand for this as well, with it placed just under the vehicle but not loaded onto the stand. I actually place 2 more stands under the front and rear center lift points for added insurance, so I have 6 stands in total. I hate creeping under vehicles so I got a bit overboard for safety just in case, we've lost members on this forum due to unsafe vehicle supporting procedures. You can't be too safe.

climhazzard

Thank you for the helpful replies. Jfusion are you saying it is dangerous to only use two stands on the front or rear? I did get two wheel chocks to use on the back wheels when I am only lifting the front up for oil changes. I assume this should mostly eliminate the risk of the car sliding off the stands?

OMGJDM

agreed....you can never be too safe while being under a car. one little slip or mistake and your life is at risk. take your time and make sure it's secure.

zeroptzero

[QUOTE=climhazzard,Aug 7 2010, 07:56 PM] Thank you for the helpful replies.

fl_speed001

I never go under the car unless it is supported by 4 jack stands. My process is pretty much identical to what is posted above. You might think that is a bit overkill for a simple oil change, but is it really worth the risk? If you don't have a stock intake you can probably change the oil/filter without lifting at all...I can with my K&N intake.

ans2k

yep with the aem v2 at stock height. i didnt have to lift the car at all.

climhazzard

Thanks for all of the advice. I'm going to pick up two extra jack stands so I have a total of 6, and place the 2 extras on the front and rear jacking points as suggested.

Do you all think having stands rated for 2 tons is adequate or I should get stands rated for 4 tons? I know the car is only 3000 pounds but is it good practice to be using ~75% of the stands capacity?

RedY2KS2k

So when you put your 3,000 lb car up on a single 4,000 lb jackstand, where do you put that single stand to balance the car so the stand will be loaded to 75% of capacity?