Floor Jack Advice Needed
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Joined: Mar 2018
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I have the 2-ton, low-profile, extended reach jack mentioned several times earlier (#68050) that I've found to be excellent for any task I've thrown at it. Unfortunately I don't see it on the HFT site anymore. If no longer available I can say that I'm glad I have one in hand.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2015
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From: SE WI
I just bought this one. Coupon code is still good. 75313092
https://www.harborfreight.com/3-ton-...ump-61253.html
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https://www.harborfreight.com/3-ton-...ump-61253.html
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Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 4,754
Likes: 1,650
I just bought this one. Coupon code is still good. 75313092
https://www.harborfreight.com/3-ton-...ump-61253.html
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https://www.harborfreight.com/3-ton-...ump-61253.html
.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 12,257
Likes: 4,745
From: SE WI
Thanks Joe. That's the one I plan on purchasing soon. Have you had good experience with this? Can it lift the back half of the car or do you need to purchase 2 jacks to do this? Do you use a wood block on the cross member to support when doing this? I am uncertain if I understand the process to lift the car in the back to put the back half on jacks.
Also I forgot that I have two floor jacks now. I also have two pucks. I could use two floor jacks and the pucks to jack the rear up. That would work as well.
I'm curious why you need to jack the entire rear up? I did on my C5 Z06 to install a skip shift eliminator. But not sure I'll ever have to jack the entire front or rear on my new Grand Sport. I just did an oil change and had to remove one wheel so far to replace a tire.
Last edited by Zjoe6; Oct 2, 2018 at 10:07 PM.
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I have not jacked the entire rear up at once on my C7 Grand Sport yet but I have on my C5 Z06. On my C7 Grand Sport I would most certainly use a wood block between the jack and flat area of the cross member to spread out the load (center it). Then I would raise it a little at a time while stacking small masonry blocks on both sides of the floor jack. I have plenty left over from a landscaping project. I use wood boards between the block and the car to not scratch the cross member. When it's high enough slip the jacks underneath. On the C5 I jacked right under the center of the cross member in back and slipped the jacks under when it was high enough.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 12,257
Likes: 4,745
From: SE WI
My C5 Z06 didn't. Not at all. When you think about it, the front tires are still holding it level while you're jacking in the rear center. And there's a lot of weight on the front tires, so it stays level. Also that's why I said you can block both sides as you raise it if you're worried about that happening. I'm curious if my new jack reaches from under the tail pipes. I'm going to try it tomorrow to see if it reaches. I'll let you know. Using two jacks with pucks might be the better way to go (if you have them). Then just block under the cross member or use jack stands.
Last edited by Zjoe6; Oct 2, 2018 at 10:26 PM.
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My C5 Z06 didn't. Not at all. When you think about it, the front tires are still holding it level while you're jacking in the rear center. And there's a lot of weight on the front tires, so it stays level. Also that's why I said you can block both sides as you raise it if you're worried about that happening. I'm curious if my new jack reaches from under the tail pipes. I'm going to try it tomorrow to see if it reaches. I'll let you know. Using two jacks with pucks might be the better way to go. Then just block under the cross member or use jack stands.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 12,257
Likes: 4,745
From: SE WI
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Safety Car
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Thanks for this info. If the car was elevated first using wood boards by say 4 inches do you think you could then have jacked up the back of the car?
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 12,257
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From: SE WI
Possibly. The problem isn't that the jack doesn't fit under. It does. You just can't pump the lever. Too far under. It hits the exhaust. Did you see my post #24 that shows a pic of the bottom of a C7? The jacking point is the cross member that's more forward so makes the jack go pretty far under. I didn't have much time when I got home tonight because the weather was really nice and I wanted to go for a drive before it got dark. If you want I can take some pics for you tomorrow.
Last edited by Zjoe6; Oct 3, 2018 at 10:59 PM.
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2018
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Likes: 1,650
Possibly. The problem isn't that the jack doesn't fit under. It does. You just can't pump the lever. Too far under. It hits the exhaust. Did you see my post #24 that shows a pic of the bottom of a C7? The jacking point is the cross member that's more forward so makes the jack go pretty far under. I didn't have much time when I got home tonight because the weather was really nice and I wanted to go for a drive before it got dark. If you want I can take some pics for you tomorrow.
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2018
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From: Margate, FL
If you neeed more clearance look into wheel dollys. They slide under your tires (in pairs) and use a foot pump to raise the car a few inches. As a bonus they make remove the wheels for brake work a piece of cake. I needed them on my Nissan 350Z to reach the front jacking point. Similar to the C7 it used a front crossmember that could be reached (barely) but the jack handle was useless due to low front air damn.
Another tool that looks promising is the Rennstand. It fits on top of your jack pad, lifts the car then becomes a jack stand itself.
Using two jacks to inch each the driver and passenger side up as evenly as possible seems like the safest approach. Having a smooth level surface to start with is also very important. You want the jacks to easily slide under as they lift to maintain their center of balance for strength. Chauk the wheels on the opposite end (front or rear) while lifting to ensure the car doesn’t budge. Kind of surprised the rear diff can’t be used as lifting point, but maybe there is not place flat enough.
Another tool that looks promising is the Rennstand. It fits on top of your jack pad, lifts the car then becomes a jack stand itself.
Using two jacks to inch each the driver and passenger side up as evenly as possible seems like the safest approach. Having a smooth level surface to start with is also very important. You want the jacks to easily slide under as they lift to maintain their center of balance for strength. Chauk the wheels on the opposite end (front or rear) while lifting to ensure the car doesn’t budge. Kind of surprised the rear diff can’t be used as lifting point, but maybe there is not place flat enough.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 12,257
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From: SE WI
Thanks for taking the time to post up your thoughts and pics. Interesting as there is good info here. Just wondering one last thing about jacking in the back. In the back of the car there is another cross member that is further back and is adjacent to the exhaust mufflers. JerryU on the forum posted a pic circulating on the forum that shows you can lift from that cross member also. Did you try lifting from that cross member? It would seem it would give your jack much more clearance to be able to operate the jack handle lifting at that pont. Still trying to wrap my head around finding the best procedure and tool combination to lift the vehicle up on all fours to do an oil change safely. What combination of jack(s), jack stands, pucks, other would make for the least amount of effort to get the car lifted? I was looking at race ramps and they sell 10 inch support blocks that cost $100 for a set of 2 and would not require any jackstands and seems very safe as the vehicle would be supported by the tires sitting on these blocks. Just unsure how I would lift the vehicle incrementally to get all 4 wheels up 10 inches off the ground. Can I lift one side of the vehicle up a full 10 inch in one try?...or do I need to do it in steps? Decisions, decisions.
The rear cross member looks like it could be jacked there but the manual doesn't not point to that location so I'm reluctant to use it.
Last edited by Zjoe6; Oct 5, 2018 at 08:12 AM.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 12,257
Likes: 4,745
From: SE WI
Here ya go. See my post 52.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...o-pucks-3.html
Manual. See page 220.:
https://my.chevrolet.com/content/dam...ers-manual.pdf
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Last edited by Zjoe6; Oct 5, 2018 at 03:12 PM.