hey you guys who does their own repair and services at home, how do you raise your car in your garage? do you just use a jack and 4 stands? i always have some problem when i tried to raise that third corner up (the car seems like its going to loose balance and drop). does anybody have any other way to raise the car? how about those ones they used in a shop that you push a bottom to operate (what ever they are called)? what is the cheapest one a weekend DIYer can put in their home?

I have 2 drive up ramps. I got them from pep boys for $30. They raise the car about 10 inches, but it seems like a lot more once you're under it. That's the best and cheapest way to do it, IMO.

You don't have to have 4 jacks but it is nice for doing a tire rotation (loosen the lugs before jacking up the car).

The imbalance you are getting can be completely avoided. After you have either the front half or the rear half up in the air and the jack stands in place, place the jack at a central location on the other end and lift from there. Otherwise you can possibly cause yourself (and the car) some serious harm from the car sliding off the jacks.

Usually you can find a solid frame area under the engine or the rear differential in the rear. Also, if you are only jacking up one end, its not a bad idea to use tire chalk-blocks in front of the tires on the other end preventing the car from moving when you lift the car.

One more tip, find or cut a 2/4 to fit inside or on top of the jack lifting point, my jack has a round bowl that rotates. I just cut some scrap wood to fit inside the bowl, that way the wood deforms rather than any metal on the car.

Last point, only lift on level surfaces.

i have those too. but for servicing the breaks and changing transmission fluid, i want/need the whole car up.

getting the Benz up
 

Apprentice I think what David ment was 2 sets of ramps put i set in front and one in back.Bob se.ks.

how do you fit the second set of ramp under the car and in front of the rear wheels??!!??
and roas, i guess i should at least buy a heavy duty,high quality jack (not the 2 1/2 ton jack from pepboys), but where underneath the car that can support the jack always troubles me. now i still use the MB jack to jack the car up so i can fit the stand underneath the rubber sport (where otherwise i will put the pepboy jack).

I use a 3 ton floor jack and 3 ton jack stands.

I jack the car up under the factory jacking points. I then place the jack stands under the frame of the car, and voila.

I also always keep the floor jack raised so that if by chance the thing falls, the floor jack will keep it from crushing me.

And when the car is raised, i make sure to shake it and rock it to see if it is stable. If I have the slightest hint of movement, I dont get under it until it is solid.

Alon

I agree with Ashman's idea. I think that is used somewhat commonly.

And Bobco was correct, I do have 4, but I wasn't thinking. I am only able to do this because my drive way is at an angle, and I pull the car halfway into the garage, thus more clearance under the center of the car to put the 2nd set of ramps.

I guess that wouldn't work for everyone though. :)

But Alon's idea is a good one (the 4 jack stands).

Make sure you do it
 

on LEVEL ground too!!!
Jim

Always, always, always keep SAFETY your priority. Use a highly rated 3 ton hydraulic floor jack to do the lifting. The same goes for the jack stands which will carry the load, 3 ton.

If you follow Ashman's advice, you won't go wrong. Just remember that you can't be too careful. Safety is and should be your first priority!!

Primo

I always like to
 

give the cars a good "shake" prior to getting underneath them to make sure everything is secure.

It might have been on another list, but the best advice I ever heard was to "stow" the tires under the car whenever you're jacking and working under the car. I use the jackstands if I'm going under the car but not for simple tire rotations. Putting the tires under the car keeps them out of the way, and just might save somebody's life someday. I'll sacrifice a rim for the extra protection on my body.

Great idea, Mike!!!

That too is also a good idea. The tires, I always forget something hehe.

Yes Level ground. I have a nice flat driveway, and Tires under always.

And as I said I also always keep the floor jack raised as well taking a slight load, as extra protection.

Alon

THE best way to do it...
 

Raise the front end of the car first. Place the saddle of the floor jack under the front crossmember and raise it. Place your jackstands either under the rockers or on the frame rails. Make sure your parking brake is set. THEN move to the back of the car. Place the saddle under the differential and raise the rear end. Place the stands in the appropriate places and you're all set to go to work! By the way, the tires are a great idea. I would think stacking them, two at the front and two at the rear would work perfectly in the event that the car loses balance and falls.

This is the method I use on all my vehicles (even the lowriding vette)..back the car up rhino ramps at the rear, put floor jack under the frame crossmember under the engine, with car raised, put jack stands under chassis beams at firewall. works like a charm, ....quick, too.

Southern_Son,

Can you, or do you, do the opposite of the procedure you've described? I.E., driving forward onto the Rhino Ramps and then jacking the rear of the car and supporting it with jack stands. Would there be an advantage to doing it either way? Just curious. The ramp/jack stand combo seems like a great idea. Very simple too.

Primo

A problem I've had with ramps is if they are not on a rough surface like a nice smooth concrete garage floor the car just pushes them. I usually have some lumber to put against a wall to hold them.

I used to work with this guy who EVERY time he put a car up on ramps he went over. Every one of his cars had the body crunched.

My rhino ramps (wal-mart) are too tall to fit under the rocker panels, therefore I use the method of backing up them. The rhino's have a lip on the edge to help prevent over-shooting the ramp. I have, at times, used a cheap mirror (also, wal-mart) to prop up at the side to see the vehicle progress up the ramp. Also, the ramps have a large rubber foot to help prevent sliding across the floor. Hope this helps.

What worked for me for the past 5 years is first place the jack under the center front of the car (under a solid portion of the frame) and jack up the front end. Place two jack stands on both sides of the car. Lower the jack onto the jack stands. Then place the jack under the rear differential and jack up the rear of the car. Place two more jack stands on both sides of the car. Lower the jack onto the jacks stands.
You now have all four tires off the floor which makes it easy to rotate the tires.
Some safety pointers: make sure that the jack is rated to lift the entire weight of the car. Make sure that the jack is centered on the car. Never place your limbs under the car until it is lowered on the jack stands. Always work on a solid flat surface. I made the mistake once by lowering a car on jack stands which were placed on a blacktop driveway in the summer. The jack stands sunk into the blacktop a good inch.

thanks aaron, do you have picture of the undercarriage that you can point out the places you are talking about? what kind of jack do you have?

Is that ok to jack up a mercedes with the independent rear suspension by the differential? On a rigid axel the differential is below the suspension and supports the weight of the car, MB doesn't.

I too would wonder if this would put too much stress on the differential mounts. Obviously they're designed to take a lot of stress. However, could this possibly lead to premature wear of these mounts? Anyone?

Primo

I usually do mine by a left right instead of the differential, but thats just the way I do it. I am not sure if it is better to do it form the center or the sides.

If it was my jeep or my other cars I had that had tube differentials, I would do it form the center.

Alon