PorKen

I am writing a manual to go with my liftbars*, but this is a general safety question, and we've all seen what damage has been done underneath by jacking in the wrong spot.

I have been collecting little bits of wisdom, please add more.

928 NO jack points
Inner frame rails

928 jack and stand points
Front and rear crossmembers.

General
Never work with jack only, use stands.
Use the biggest jack and stands you can.
Do not put anything between jack and load. If the jack doesn't go high enough, get a bigger jack.
When removing large components, make sure car will still be balanced on jack stands.

Jack must be able to move while jacking
Jack on stable, level, concrete, without cracks, or debris that jack can get caught on.
Have a backup jack, in case the primary becomes stuck, or unstable.
Check rear jack wheel direction, should be pointing towards car.

Don't push the stands over
Go slowly, increase stand height only one or two notches (3") per side at a time.
At final height, jack up opposite side again, to recenter/unload the jackstands.

When working under the car
Put ramps or spare rims under the wheels and/or car.
Extra jackstands under crossmembers.

__________________
*Basically to cover my a$$.

borland

Only use quality jack stands built to ANSI safety standards and certified to meet NIOSH requirements:

http://www.dhs.ca.gov/ohb/ohsep/face/99CA006.htm

CWO4Mann

1. Do not get underneath the vehicle until you have made absolutely certain that the vehicle is stable; try to rock the vehicle gently in all directions. If the vehicle moves, it is not stable!

2. Do not work underneath a vehicle alone; have someone within hearing range if you need help; don't count on a cellphone in your pocket or laying next to you on the floor;

3. If using jack stands outside on the earth, place two 24"x24" pieces of 3/4" plywood under the feet of the stand; set the plywood in place so that the glue lines of the individual pieces cross each other so as to give extra penetration strength against the metal feet of the jack stand;

4. Don't rely upon cement blocks to "catch" the falling vehicle unless the blocks are placed with a piece of plywood on top to distribute the falling weight of the vehicle; blocks are not designed for impact loading;

5. Remember that the vehicle may become unstable or unbalanced when you remove certain parts. For example, removing both wheels from one side may cause the center of gravity to shift so as to cause the vehicle to tip over longitudinally, squashing you horizontally.

Cheers.

heinrich

I was thinking one could add or design a frame in stead of stands .... that should be structurally the most robust and it could be out of one's way too.

Jim_H

Is this safe?

macreel

1. Be sure jackstand Stop device (pins, levers, pawls)
fully & properly engage.

2. Be sure jackstands hae no defects (bad welds,
cracks, twists, wrinkles)

3. Keep in mind which way you're Torque-ing &
you're stable in that direction.


G'luck all.

PorKen

Lube the pivot points, and especially the bearings of the roller wheels! The rear wheels must track with the jack when lifting and, most importantly, when lowering.

My Costco jack came with NO lubrication on the pivot points and the rear wheel bearings and wheels. So they would not follow the jack as they should. Some spray lithium grease fixed 'er right up.

Side bar: the shiny aluminum Costco jack failed, and would no longer pump up. It had a tiny aluminum stop, I guess to limit how far in or out you can crank on the the release, and I squashed that pretty quick, and probably killed the seals internally. I returned it.