How to Use Car Jack Stands
Using jack stands to elevate your car isn't difficult. What is a challenge is making sure you do it correctly so you can safely work on your car. The last thing you want to happen is to see the stand buckle, give way and have the thousands of pounds your car weighs come crashing down--all while you are beneath it. But if placed beneath the car correctly, jack stands will support the full weight of your car and allow you to safely work beneath it.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Park your car on a level, solid surface and set the emergency/parking brake.
-
2
Chock the wheels. Use a 1- or 2-foot long 4-by-4 inch block of wood cut diagonally--so you have two triangles--to wedge between the tires and the pavement. This will keep the vehicle from sliding if you're lifting the front or back ends.
-
-
3
Slide the floor jack under the frame of the vehicle. Use your car's manual to find the correct spots in your undercarriage that can support a jack and jack stands so that you don't damage what's under your car and don't risk having the full weight of your car fall on you.
-
4
Raise the car high enough with the floor jack to place the jack stands under the car.
-
5
Slide the jack stands beneath the designated spots in car's frame. Double-check the placement of the stands so that when the jack lowers the car, the frame is supported on the stands and won't slide or shift.
-
6
Using the jack, slowly lower the car onto the jack stands. If done correctly, the jack stands should support the full weight of the car at this point. Remove the floor jack from beneath the car.
-
7
Push down on the car's bumper or try and push the car forward or backward. If the vehicle holds steady, you're safe and ready to work. If the vehicle falls off the jack stands, you didn't support it correctly.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
If you don't have a floor jack, use the tire-changing jack that can be found in the trunks of most cars.
Do not work under a car unless it is supported by jack stands. Make sure the weight of the car is fully supported to avoid being crushed by a falling car while working beneath it.
