Jacking up a vehicle for an oil change

[Dr_Zinj]

Wooden blocks are fine as jack stands. The Portsmouth "Kittery" Naval Shipyard uses wood block cribbing to hold their subs up in the drydock to work on, so wood IS reliable. However, they do need to be large enough, positioned properly (not so the weight is going down the grain like you were going to split it), and be the proper kind of wood. Small, soft, pine blocks don't cut it very well; whereas a heavy, dense elm is nearly indestructible.

 

[Happy Gilmore]

"Solid wood blocks".....??? All wood can split. I have never used wood for that purpose nor cement blocks....and I don't know if anyone has ever used my method for when a jack stand will not work: I have a number of older 14 inch rims and tires, stacking two of those atop each other will work great as an emergency support. I recently had to put new rear brakes on my GMC and there wasn't enough room on the axle for both a floor jack and jack stand, so I used a pair of those rims and tires under the frame toward the front of the vehicle. I never got underneath it but wanted the backup support just in case the floor jack might fail as I was working on the truck.

YES solid wood blocks.

 

[bcp]

YES solid wood blocks.

Jackstand release bumped, car drops.
Death of Bimmer Lover

No release lever to be bumped with good wooden blocks.
Wood cribbing block DIY for raising the car in addition to jack stands | VW TDI forum, Audi, Porsche, and Chevy Cruze diesel forum

Bruce

 

[KennyG]

Whenever I have 4x4 or 6x6 left over from a project, I cut them into short sections to use as blocks. I don't worry about them splitting anymore than I worry about my deck falling down. If you do stack them however, be sure to "pyramid" them so they don't tip if you are going very high.

Years ago, I built my own ramps with 1/2 inch plywood with strategically placed 4x4s inside. They were quite heavy but they worked well. As I noted earlier, I don't use ramps now because I rotate tires every time I change oil and need to jack on the frame anyway.

 

[JDgreen227]

Jackstand release bumped, car drops.
Death of Bimmer Lover

No release lever to be bumped with good wooden blocks.
Wood cribbing block DIY for raising the car in addition to jack stands | VW TDI forum, Audi, Porsche, and Chevy Cruze diesel forum

Bruce

Story about the BMW accident said his body must have tripped the jackstand lever....every jackstand I have seen and used cannot possibly be released and/or lowered if it has weight on it. There must be a type I am unfamiliar with. Very sad that it happened to such a fine young man.

 

[crazyal]

I use wood blocks on occasion. I have several large ones leftover from when the timberframers put up my post and beam. Wood is what they use when jacking a house. You do have to be sensible though as 2x4 can easily split.

 

[aczlan]

Story about the BMW accident said his body must have tripped the jackstand lever....every jackstand I have seen and used cannot possibly be released and/or lowered if it has weight on it. There must be a type I am unfamiliar with. Very sad that it happened to such a fine young man.

If you have 750# (1/4 of a 3000# car that has 50/50 weight distribution) on a jackstand that has 1" from the tip of the "tooth" to the pivot and 5" from the pivot to the end of the handle (an effective lever length of 4"), you only need 188# of force (per my math) to lift that corner of the car.
I could possibly see that if you were reefing on a breaker bar and pushed against the lever with your foot you might push hard enough to do that?

I don't know, sad for the family though.

Aaron Z

 

[sld]

I've used wood under tires quite a bit but not so much under the chassis.

 

[Diamondpilot]

If you have 750# (1/4 of a 3000# car that has 50/50 weight distribution) on a jackstand that has 1" from the tip of the "tooth" to the pivot and 5" from the pivot to the end of the handle (an effective lever length of 4"), you only need 188# of force (per my math) to lift that corner of the car. I could possibly see that if you were reefing on a breaker bar and pushed against the lever with your foot you might push hard enough to do that? I don't know, sad for the family though. Aaron Z

This is the very reason I won't own the type that use "Gear Teeth". All my jack stands utilize a U bolt to adjust the height. That leaves two points to hold the load.



Chris

 

[My Hoe]

This is the very reason I won't own the type that use "Gear Teeth". All my jack stands utilize a U bolt to adjust the height. That leaves two points to hold the load.

Chris

I'm not familiar with that type...could you post a link to an online image, perhaps?

Thanks.

My Hoe

 

[MikePA]

I'm not familiar with that type...could you post a link to an online image, perhaps?

I've never heard them referred to as "Gear Teeth". I've referred to them as 'Ratchet Jack Stands" and if you Google that you'll see some more examples.



EDIT: Missed the bolded words in your post asking about the U bolt jack stands.

 

[bcp]

Interesting combinations here. I've wondered why there weren't floor jacks with a mechanical lock to prevent accidental lowering.

Jack 'n Stand

All-In-One-3-Ton-Bottle Jack Stand


Bruce

 

[Diamondpilot]

I'm not familiar with that type...could you post a link to an online image, perhaps? Thanks. My Hoe

Here are the ones I have.

Chris

 

[Copperhead]

Wood blocks are very reliable. I use them when I jack up the front end of my semi truck. I don't have a neat air assisted floor jack that can raise up the front, so I use a 20T bottle jack to raise the front and set the solid steer axle on the blocks. I use 6x6 blocks, one on each end. They are holding up 12,500 lb of semi truck front end. Been doing it for years without even a hint of a problem. I use similar 6x6 blocks for setting under landing gear on loaded semi trailer to keep it from sinking. They are roughly 3 ft long each, I use one on each side. They are holding up roughly 34,000 lb and doing a fine job of it. On my pickup, I like using the stands similar to what MikePA posted a couple of posts ago.

 

[My Hoe]

Here are the ones I have.


Chris

Chris,

Thank you--I've never seen those "U-bolt" style jack stands before, but I can see how an accidental release (which is, theoretically, at least, possible, with the "Ratchet-type" or "Gear Tooth" type).

Thanks for the info!

My Hoe

 

[some zilch]

i use wood blocks as well. i have (4) 12"x 12" x 18" oak blocks that i use. i trust them more than any jackstand. i used to use them on my beam-type lowboy trailer (a trailer that lifts the load in the center and has no deck, just beams down the center, about 4 feet wide. helps keep very tall loads like off road haul trucks and huge front end loaders lower to the ground). four of these blocks would hold up a 100 ton load on the trailer going down the road

 

[k0ua]

Here are the ones I have.

Chris

Those do look pretty safe I have never seen them before.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Those do look pretty safe I have never seen them before.

I got them at Menards back in the 90's. I bought 4 pair on sale. Wish I had a dozen more.

Chris

 

[crazyal]

The ratcheting jack stands are designed so once weight is put on them they can't be released. What I like about the style Cris has is the metal that connects the legs. More surface area to help spread out the load. All too often I see people put a 2x under a jack stand so they can use it on pavement or dirt. The ratchet style just has a small piece of sheet metal that contacts the ground. A thin piece of wood like a 2x will split. I would suggest if you own the ratchet style jack stands weld a piece of steel on the bottom of them.

 

[chopped]

The ratcheting jack stands are designed so once weight is put on them they can't be released. What I like about the style Cris has is the metal that connects the legs. More surface area to help spread out the load. All too often I see people put a 2x under a jack stand so they can use it on pavement or dirt. The ratchet style just has a small piece of sheet metal that contacts the ground. A thin piece of wood like a 2x will split. I would suggest if you own the ratchet style jack stands weld a piece of steel on the bottom of them.

I agree. I had a set of stands years ago and my dad had welded some angle iron aroun the bottoms of them