Jack Your Car: A Step-By-Step Guide

1 How To Safely Jack A Car?

What could be more annoying than a flat tire or a pair of faulty brakes right in the middle of a wonderful road trip with no help nearby? But, hey! If you know how to change the flat tire or get under your vehicle safely all by yourself, you are no longer doomed. Well, jacking up and lifting your vehicle is a simple task if you know how to do it properly. 

However, a lack of proper safety and technical know-how in a situation like this could lead to deadly accidents like crushing injuries, amputation of fingers, limbs, or toes, Permanent Scarring, or disfigurement. In the worst of situations, it could also lead to wrongful deaths.

2 Facts And Figures

A recent study stated that about 40% of victims are injured while using a car jack or a jack stand to lift a vehicle while doing any sort of repair, and at least 16% are hurt while changing a tire. Keeping such incidents in sight, it is essential for us to know how to use a car jack safely to perform any sort of car repairs without having to worry about the vehicle falling. This article is a perfect guide that will teach you how to use your car jack safely step by step.

3 Precautionary Measures

Before getting started with the steps, it is very much essential to keep the following precautions in mind: 

• Use the jack only to get your vehicle off the ground and never to hold it in place.
• Always use a Jack stand while working underneath your vehicle.
• Always block the wheels before jacking up your vehicle. This could protect you from many dangerous deadly accidents.
• Never think about changing your flat tires on a freeway or highway.
• Always Park your vehicle on a flat surface before you jack it up.
• Always ensure that your gearshift is in the park and the parking brake is on before jacking up the vehicle.

4 Types Of Commonly Used Car Jacks

Scissor jacks are designed best for smaller vehicles such as cars. For instance, scissor jacks can lift small sedans but might collapse if you try lifting an SUV. On the other hand, floor or hydraulic jacks come with high-weight handling capacities. They can lift a bulldozer easily.

Now that you are completely aware of the safety precautions and types of jacks, let us jump right away into the steps that you must follow to jack up your vehicle.

5 Steps To Follow

Park Your Vehicle On A Flat Surface

Placing your vehicle on a flat surface is essential to place the jack correctly. If the vehicle is parked on an inclined surface, it could lead to many deadly accidents, as mentioned above. It would be even better if the surface that you are parking your vehicle in is a steady and hard one. It could minimize the chance of any kind of mishap happening. It is advisable to place a wooden chock block closely against the vehicle’s wheel to prevent accidental movements.

Pro Tip: It is advisable to place a brick or a wooden log at the edges of the tire to prevent any sort of movement during jacking up your vehicle.

Place Jack Stand At An Even Surface

Now that the vehicle is parked properly, the next crucial step is to place the jack stand at an even surface. Once the position is fixed, you can raise the stands until they are high enough to fit under and then you can lock them easily in place. Following this, you can finally lower the jack until the vehicle is resting on the jack stands.

Find The Right Spot To Place The Jack Stands

Once that is done, place the jack right under the part of the vehicle that should be its location of contact once it is raised. Vehicles these days have special flat spots on the underside specifically for jack placement. Incorrect placement of the jack could even cause damage to your vehicle. Hence, it is advisable to go through your vehicle’s owner’s manual to find the perfect spot to place the jack.

CAUTION: Never burden your vehicle by placing the jack on something that could either bend or break some sensitive part of your vehicle.

Pro Tip: It is advisable to wiggle the vehicle a bit to ensure that the vehicle is resting securely on the jack stands.

Lift The Vehicle Carefully

You can choose among the two most frequently used car jacks to lift your vehicle: Scissor jacks and floor (also known as hydraulic) jacks. While using a scissor jack, begin by inserting the rod or wrench over the knob, and then slowly crank towards your right. Following this, the jack would lift upwards, adding some resistance. And in case you are using a floor jack, place the handle into the location and then pump up and down.

After fixing the vehicle you can remove the jack by slowly lowering the vehicle to the ground. Before you fire up the engine, do not forget to remove the wooden chock you used to block the tires from rolling.

Now that you are completely aware of using a car jack safely, make sure to follow the above steps and precautions the next time you end up in a situation like this.