Jacking vehicles up properly!

S

Striker

Active member
Even with the jacks that have the rubber pad on the end of the arm, I am still hesitant to solely rely on them to ensure that they don't scratch/damage the bottom of my vehicle- (yes, I jack the vehicle on the recommended areas)



I was told that a hockey puck is a good idea and will not cause any damage, scratches, or indentations of the sheet metal underneath.



What do you guys use to ensure no stories?
 
I have used the hockey puck trick with Corvettes before, but never an F-Body.... they already have (or should have) black rubber pads on the underside of the frame behind the pinch welds which protect the bottom of the vehicle. If you are still concerned, an old foam buffing pad between the jack pad and the vehicle would do the trick nicely.



Harbor Freight used to sell a rubber pad to go over their floor jacks, but I don't see it on their site anymore. I do see they still sell these for the jack stands though:



2 Piece Rubber Pads for Jack Stand
 
Striker said:
Thank you for the link! Would a piece of old rubber floor mat work?
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I don't see why not :think:



I have some pads that were made for this, have 'em for both my jacks and my stands. I can't seem to find my link to the place I bought them, but you oughta be able to google it up under "jack pads" or something like that.



But anything like this is still kinda firm and unyielding. Gets to be a matter of "how much do you really care?"



When I *really* care, I use something nice and soft between the jack's pad and the frame (at least on my "good" vehicles), stuff like a thin sponge or an old towel. Of course you have to watch that whatever you use doesn't make it more likely for the jack to slip.



I do the same thing with jack *stands*. Note that the vehicle should only be supported soley by the jack for as long as it takes to get a jack stand under there.
 
I am very particular with the 25K mile Trans Am. I recently discovered a lightly damaged/scratched area underneath where someone jacked the car up with nothing but the jack making contact with the car.



Just wanna be as safe as possible in preventing further damage to this car. Hockey pucks scare me a bit because they are still hard. Accumulator- if you have the link, it will be great. I am searching for something on the net as we speak if you cannot find it.
 
One thing I wish would happen is manufacturers actually stamp jacking points on cars. I guess it would kill them to put an X in acceptable lift points. With so many cars you can never be sure, and the owners manuals list jacking points for the widowmaker jack, you usually need the service manual for the real jacking points.
 
Dan said:
One thing I wish would happen is manufacturers actually stamp jacking points on cars. I guess it would kill them to put an X in acceptable lift points...
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One of the cool little things about my '93 Audi V8Q is that the rocker panels have little arrowheads stamped in them showing where the jacking points are, and nice plastic blocks for the jack to contact. The A8S8 don't have the arrows, but they have nice big rubber pads for jacking.
 
Striker said:
Pardon my ignorance, but is Prothane a soft plastic or more of a hard plastic?
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It's a polyurethane rubber; kinda medium hardness I'd say. The material is most known for use in suspension bushings (sway bars, control arms, motor mounts, etc.)
 
Striker said:
Makes sense. If the manufacturers suggest it wont cause any scratches/marks, I think it's a safe bet
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I wouldn't go that far ;) If it's touching a finish you really care about, ask yourself if you'd be OK using that approach on, say....the hood of the car :think:
 
Striker said:
I would imagine that an old MF towel would be sufficient over top the poly jack pad?
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Yeah, that oughta work fine. Watch that things are still nice and stable though, wouldn't want the MF to make the contact "slippery" or something like that...
 
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