I would like to do the triple auto-trans fluid flush this weekend and have a question about the use of 4 jack stands to get the car off the ground. I will probably also perform a tire rotation while the car is in the air. I know you can jack the front and rear ends up with a garage type floor jack (which I have) by using the specified jack points (metal loop in rear and aluminum cross support in front). Does it matter if you jack up the front or rear of car first? Also do you place the 4 jack stands on the points in the owners manual where the factory jack goes? Will the jack stands do any damage to the car body? Anything else I need to know to avoid any problems? It would be helpful if anyone had photos of their car on jack stands - a picture's worth a 1000 words! Thanks.

 

hopes this helps (rear jacked using 2 hydro's)

 

wow he's in risk of dying. From what I remember it's front first, and the jackstands go at the factory indicated points on each side as shown in the owners manual from repairing a flat tire. Should be folds of metal not too far back from the wheel under the doors. Jack front, place 2 stands then hit the rear loop and place the last two.

The guy in that pic is asking to get crushed. Seals and jacks fail its a matter of fact. sold steal stand don't that's why we use them. I wouldn't let that guy service my car simply for his disregard of his own safety.

 

I have done this for tire replacement with my '04 TL. Jack the front up first, then after placing the jack stands, jack up the rear and do the same. Yes, you do use the same jack points as referenced in your owner's manual for the tire jack. This jack points work fine with good quality jack stands.

NOTE: I had to use a 2x10x (3 or 4) foot board under the rear center jack point for my floor jack because it would not raise high enough to place the jack stands under the car's outter jack points.

 

You really believe I didn't have 2 jack stands on each side in addition to the 2 hydraulics... that was the first thing I did before I went underneath with the creeper... as a precaution I put the chocks in to prevent it from rolling, even if one of the hydro's failed, the car wouldn't have even moved a millimeter... How do I know this because one the 2 hydraulic jacks was bad and the car didn't budge

PS. I was installing a progress rear sway bar jacked it up to unscrew 4 bolts with an air gun... I was under the car for 3 mins... thank you...

 

How fast does a car drop if something fails?

 

Thanks for all the helpful replies guys. I'll be tackling the maintenance this weekend.

 

I think StillHere is also asking where to put the jack-stands after you jack up the car. You can not physically put the jack-stand at the same point as the jack. I realize the "Duh" factor here but I also need to refer to the manual to see where to safely place the stands.

 

I'm sure he didn't mean any disrespect - more concern for the safety of the person under the car.

It's just that the Jack Stand(s) is not obvious in the pic.

 

For lifting the car there is a Front (Center Front kind of under the Engine/axle) and a Rear (Cewnter Rear kind of under the trunk/axle) jack point. These are in the owners manual.

With the one end in the air the Jack Stands go on the sides in the "frame notches" that you would jack to replace a flat tire. Then repeat for the other end of the car.

All the jack points are in the Owners Manual.

 

32 feet per second per second.

 

That's what I do. There is a square shaped piece welded in the front section and the rear is done by jacking on the tow loop.

I found that if you do the front first, then the rear, it'll lift a few inches higher than if it's done the other way around.

Using the normal jack points for stands is rock solid.

 

Much too fast to get your ass out of there if it does happen.......

 

Only at terminal velocity... or if the car was skydiving.

 

You better go back and read that physics book again.

Neglecting drag, an object dropped (such as a car from a jack) will Accelerate Constantly at 32 feet per second per second UNTIL IT REACHES terminal velocity.

 

stillhere: No disrespect, the stand just aren't visible in the pics.
And it will fall at -9.8M/S/S= TOO fast to get your ass out, especially if not on a creeper.

 

hope this clarify a bit....

 

calculating how fast the car would fall... even if it took 10 seconds to fall, one would still be hurt, aka fucked up

on a side note the instructions above are straight from the manual...

 

One final question on this topic - do "standard" sized jack stands fit under a TL or do I need to get "compact" size stands? The jack stands I have are about 15 years old and are pretty well made. Again thanks for all the helpful comments.

 

True, I was only an average student in Physics. I should have pointed out that the pull of gravity was exaggerating the speed here.

Someone asked how fast it would fall if something failed. Since it is less than a foot off the ground, it IS accelerating at 32 ft/s/s, but it's velocity is nowhere near as fast as that sounds.

speed = distance / time

We know distance, we can guestimate time... Let's choose an educated 1/2 second that it takes for the car to fall, as we all have experienced a car falling off a jack at one point in our lives.

speed = 1 ft / 0.5 s = 2 ft/s

Now I'm not saying 2 ft/s isn't enough to crush someone working underneath a car. I'm only roughly answering someone's question above.

 

cristphoto, how tall are your old standard jack stands?

They sound pretty tall. I would find any and every way to utilize them. Use blocks of wood for your jack if it helps. Any extra elbow room working underneath the car helps.

 

Amen to that.

I should add that my answer assumes the object is falling in a vacuum. Obviously, the atmosphere plus debris contained within will reduce the accerlation of the falling object and will act upon it in such a manner as to limit its rate once resistance is sufficient to stop the increase in velocity from the fall.

WOW! How did we ever get to this, anyway?

 

Close to two years ago, I got rid of my old stamped metal jack stands and bought 4 new ones from Sears (Craftsman). The are much heavier and more solid, with better locking. Plus they have a "tapered" (like a wide 'V' shape) metal pad into which I can position the jack points on my TL's body. These are definitely the way to go.

A word of caution. While the center front jack point is Ok, the center rear "hook" style jack point can be tricky. It can shift or slip in your floor jack cup, so watch it and be careful.

Also, if your car is a manual, you will need to correct the tire pressure for front and rear. Best to do the entire job in the morning in a garage (if you have one), or in the shade. And don't use the floor jack or jack stands on asphalt - they'll dig in.

 

"cristphoto, how tall are your old standard jack stands?"

11 3/4 inches tall when fully lowered. Thanks.

 

noob-like question:

Just getting ready to start doing some of my own maint. Got the Crafstman Jack Stands similar to those mentioned above. 2 1/4 Ton (4,500 Pounds) capacity per pair.

The instructions clearly and emphatically say:

"- Use as a matched pair to support on end of a vehicle only. Use only 1 pair per vehicle."

and

- Use a mathced pair of jack stands per vehicle to support 1 end only. Use 1 pair per vehicle only. "



What's the deal here? Is it just corporate ass covering or is there really a safety issue? Do I have the wrong item?

If anybody want to look them up, they are Craftsman Part# 50182, 2 1/4 Ton, 10 5/8" - 17 1/8".

 

9.8 m/sec

 

Gee, thanks for answering that 6 month old question for the 4th time in this thread.


How about somebody taking a crack at the reason the thread was revived??? Please??

 

I tried jacking up the front of the car from that central jacking point to be able to slide 2 jack stands on the side but honestly I couldn't jack it up high enough to slide the stands under the side jacking points. The stands were still too high at their lowest setting. The jack and stands were bought together from the same set. I just gave up on that idea. What did I do wrong?

Honestly my small hydro jack is scary. It makes cracking noises when I'm jacking my car is up and dosen't seem stable. Damn thing is on wheels! Honestly my OEM crap screwdrive jack seems safer and I end up using that.

 

Avoid whenever possible, jacking up one corner at a time (safety inspection stations are famous for this when checking your brakes). This will put an undue twist on your chassis and can break the plastic attachments for the rocker panels (happened to me last July when getting my TL inspected), and in the worse case, can pop chassis welds. If you must jack up the side of the car, us two floor jacks and do each corner a little at a time so that the whole side of the car raises close to the same rate.

 

Try putting a 2x10 board (3 or 4 feet long) under your floor jack before you start jacking up at the center point. I have to do this when jacking up at my TL's rear center point before putting the jack stands in place.

 

I never get under my car unless my jackstands are securely under it. I dont care how badass your jacks are or how fast a car falls

 

Unless you have a death wish, eh?

 

AH! Good idea, simple, why didn't I think of that?? DUH! You lose all common sense when you get irritated!

I also never get under the car without jack-stands, you need something there as a backup system to break a fall in case it happens. I can't imagine how many people may have died in that sad way.

 

Is that then a half second? [lol!]

My brain's hurtin'

Stiillhere153...glad you're OK!

 

Why didn't AcuraZine "spring forward"?

Where's my aspirin?

 

Also very important be very careful of what kind of jack stands you use them on asphalt. The kind with a flat foot base distribute the weight over a large area. The simple kind with just the angle iron side will sink into the asphalt and potentially cause the vehicle to fall off the stands. It's not a good idea to put a 2"x10" piece of lumber under them to better distribute the weight.

 

Shouldn't you use the center jackpoint ONLY when using a hydraulic floor jack?

 

Yes. I believe this is outlined in the Service Manual.

 

Yes, you should only use a hydraulic floor jack at the center point fronr or rear. I would not use a sissor or hydraulic bottle jack there front or rear.

Also when using jackstands using the side lift points (shown in the diagram above in the previous post), I put a old shop rag on top of the jack stand to cushion the paint on the metal tabs on the body where it makes contact. Most shops don't bother so rust will start on there since the amount of pressure will chip/defrom the painted surface on the lift tabs.

 

Ain't that the truth.


Ignorance is its own reward. Hard to feel sorry for people who do dumb things and wind up paying a price. Too bad that price is sometimes a one-time cost.