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I have limited experience wrenching on cars, so please be kind haha. I have a 2.5 ton low profile floor jack and the heavy duty black rhino ramps which are at too steep an angle to drive my c4 up on. I want to use the floor jack to pick up the front corners, one at a time, and place ramps under the front tires one side then the other. Can someone please tell me if this will work, or if I'll end up having to pick up the front corner so far it will lift the back as well? Will lifting one corner far enough to get a ramp under the tire put too much torque on the car, or be unsafe in any way?
I've read every thread I could find on jacking a c4... but couldn't find anything about placing it on ramps like I'm thinking about doing.
At this point I'm just wanting to do an oil change at the end of the season, and maybe look at how hard it is to get at the O2 sensors. Jack stands are in my future.... but id like to be able to use my ramps for now if I can get the car onto them.
Additionally, yes I know that I can just drive up onto the ramps, and the front air dam will flex and it'll allegedly be fine. I still don't want to do this. I'd rather avoid having to build pre-ramps as well. At that point I'd probably just buy jack stands.
have you tried a couple pieces of 2x8 in front of the ramps
I definitely thought about this.... but decided to purchase a floor jack to avoid trouble like ihatebarkingdogs was describing. It probably would be just fine, but I'd rather pick it up and place it than drive up onto something if possible.
However I get it on the ramps there will 100% be wheel chocks firmly behind the rear tires, parking brake on, etc... I really don't want to put myself in any more danger than I have to over an oil change and a couple of sensors.
From: Clifton Park, NY ............Clearwater, FL ... 85 Original Owner
Originally Posted by Scott96lt4
I have limited experience wrenching on cars, so please be kind haha. I have a 2.5 ton low profile floor jack and the heavy duty black rhino ramps which are at too steep an angle to drive my c4 up on. I want to use the floor jack to pick up the front corners, one at a time, and place ramps under the front tires one side then the other. Can someone please tell me if this will work, or if I'll end up having to pick up the front corner so far it will lift the back as well? Will lifting one corner far enough to get a ramp under the tire put too much torque on the car, or be unsafe in any way?
I've read every thread I could find on jacking a c4... but couldn't find anything about placing it on ramps like I'm thinking about doing.
At this point I'm just wanting to do an oil change at the end of the season, and maybe look at how hard it is to get at the O2 sensors. Jack stands are in my future.... but id like to be able to use my ramps for now if I can get the car onto them.
Additionally, yes I know that I can just drive up onto the ramps, and the front air dam will flex and it'll allegedly be fine. I still don't want to do this. I'd rather avoid having to build pre-ramps as well. At that point I'd probably just buy jack stands.
Thanks for any help!
There isn't likely any way a jack will lift your car far enough to do that. Either do as others have said and put blocks in front or get jack stands
I have 2 x 6's with 3/4" x 6's very firmly attached to the bottom of the 2 x 6, The 3/4" being longer than the 2 x 6, so the tires anchor them down, so they can't scoot! Then I can slide my floor jack under the air dam to the center of the front X-member to lift the front of the car. Then I place my two supports under the car and lower the jack. Be sure to place the supports under the steel frame, not the fiberglass floor!
Two 2X8 nailed to each other, but staggered by 18" (the front tires are completely on the first level before they encounter the second level) will lift the front of the car almost 4 inches. Should be enough to get to the oil plug and filter. Safely.
O2 sensors can be fussy to access and remove (particularly the connector) even for veteran mechanics working on a lift. They can be rusted in, require special sockets or wrenches, and the connector can be almost inaccessible. You mention "limited mechanical experience". I predict you may become very frustrated trying to change O2 sensors lying on your back with limited tools and experience. Do your own diagnostics, but leave the O2 change out to a guy that is familiar with how to do it. And has a lift.
Point taken. Maybe I'm back to thinking about pre ramps, and maybe I'll forget about the O2 sensors for now. I feel like I am mechanically inclined.... but I do have minimal experience working on cars. I want to do as much as I can to take care of this car without having to pay someone to do everything. However it's starting to seem like everything I intend to do.... I do a little research and find out either why i can't.... or why im going to screw it up half way through and end up spending more than if I had just taken it to someone and paid labor. Honestly I'm feeling jealous of everyone on here who grew up wrenching and has this sort of knowledge. No one in my family was into this sort of stuff, and auto shop was a thing of the past by the time I was in high school. I know im just venting/ranting.... and I'll stop now lol.
That's how I put my car on rhino ramps; I have jack stands but there are certain tasks I prefer ramps for.
Originally Posted by Cruisinfanatic
There isn't likely any way a jack will lift your car far enough to do that. Either do as others have said and put blocks in front or get jack stands
Soooo this is somewhat confusing to me... someone says that's how they do it, and someone else says it won't work. It leaves me feeling like I just need to go try for myself, experiment and see.... but that's what I was trying to avoid by posting here.
So right now I think I'm back to square one. Either build myself pre-ramps, or buy jack stands. Im fine with either. I'll probably just man up and buy jack stands. I just wish I knew if it was possible or not to use the jack and ramps I have in conjunction. Honestly at this point I just wish I could rent 15 minutes in the pit at jiffy lube lol.
From: Everyone needs something to believe in, I believe I'll have another beer. Wisconsin
Have you thought about a 4post lift ?, that would be a bit more expense, but you could do a lot more with it such as park your corvette on it and another car underneath.
Have you thought about a 4post lift ?, that would be a bit more expense, but you could do a lot more with it such as park your corvette on it and another car underneath.
I would LOVE a 4 post lift. Unfortunately the limiting factor isn't even the cost..... but space. I have a narrow 1 car garage, barely wide enough to get into and out of the vette in lol.
Hi
I have seen some "long very long" ramps for low cars, mind you they are almost as long as the car but do the job.
Not sure if any are professionally made or just home made ones, would have to be solid to trust your life under the car.
I have a large trolley jack, i can raise one side of the car in one go from the front side lift point and put stands under the car each side at a time.
Is quick and easy, go invest in a large trolley jack that will lift the car a good couple of feet.
I have an old set of steel ramps and these pre-ramps for them. Not sure if they make anything like this for the new plastic ramps. only issue is my rear tires are a bit wide for the ramps.
From: Clifton Park, NY ............Clearwater, FL ... 85 Original Owner
Originally Posted by Scott96lt4
Soooo this is somewhat confusing to me... someone says that's how they do it, and someone else says it won't work. It leaves me feeling like I just need to go try for myself, experiment and see.... but that's what I was trying to avoid by posting here.
So right now I think I'm back to square one. Either build myself pre-ramps, or buy jack stands. Im fine with either. I'll probably just man up and buy jack stands. I just wish I knew if it was possible or not to use the jack and ramps I have in conjunction. Honestly at this point I just wish I could rent 15 minutes in the pit at jiffy lube lol.
I either use boards, as the other folks above have said, or I get out the big Leggo blocks we have for leveling our travel trailer. They work absolutely great for building a "pre-ramp".
Our driveway slants down from the road. Up at the end I can put the front wheels on the ramps and the car will be level to do oil changes.
I also have a 1 car garage. If I have to put the car on ramps, I do it outside where there is more room. I do put it on jackstands in the garage though.
Run your jack to the top of its travel. Measure the max lift to the ground.
Measure from the ground to the forward jack point under the car. Subtract this dimension from the max lift of the jack. Subtract another 4" from the above result to account for front suspension drop when the car is lifted..
Now measure the height of the ramps' platform. If this height is less than the result above, you should be able to put the ramps under the front of the jacked up car.
I have some metal ramps I've had for 40 years. They are about 10" high. I'm almost positive I used to do what you want to do (jack up the car and put the ramps under it) before I acquired my 4-post 15 yeas ago. Prior to the hoist, I almost never went under the 85. Too hard to get it lifted. For years I'd drive the LF wheel up onto the curb from a driveway apron to get under it enough for an oil change, which is about all I did to the 85 the first 20 years I owned it.
Thank you, I think this is the part of the math I was missing. I'm pretty sure the ramps are only 8.5 in high, so I'm guessing what I want to do will work.
I know I can always build something to get up on the ramps, or build ramps themselves, if I decide to go that way. This will just get me started.
Also, yes I have a flat spot outside on the driveway to do work on, just the garage itself is pretty tight. I hadn't thought about trying to lift the car in the garage.
I cut and nailed together 2 ramps out of 2x4s. I drive the front tires up those ramps which raises the front end enough for me to get my floor jack under to the front cross member which allows me to jack the front up and place jackstands. I have to, respectfully, disagree with Ihatebarkingdogs about the safety of jackstands. A properly sized, quality jackstand properly placed under a car is as safe an any other method of holding a car off the floor.
I'm going to make a rig to use in the rear to allow me to raise both rear wheels at once as well. In my early experience living with a corvette the worst part is getting the car off the floor and high enough to allow me to work underneath, the higher the better and I question if any ramp is going to be high enough.
Jacking onto ramps
