Looking and working Underneath

[gghc87]

Whats the best, safest and cost effective way of lifting up the car to work on the underbelly etc..?

This is so one can work on the underside without having the benifit of a car pit .

Thanks

Cliff

[scoule]

I don't have the room for a 2 or 4 poster ... this works well ...

Kwiklift link

[RichardN]

Hi Cliff,

I got my friendly mechanic brother-in-law to make me one of these...

It was a lot cheaper than the commercial ones and, because of his background as an engineer, was "over-engineered" and adjustable so that it would be useful for any vehicle up to something like a transit.

If you or someone you know could do the welding I can take some more pictures and send them to you.

Richard

Edited June 26, 2006 by RichardN

[Jonathan]

Did type a long post but got the old 404 report again

Always used paper catalouges duct taped together to support the car on the body jacking points.

Seen a few cars lifted at about 18" using a4 paper in cardboard boxes, extremely safe (IF you set them up correctly) and allows you to get the wheels off too.

[RichardN]

Although you cannot see them in the photo above, the ramps have a couple of plates that you slide under the relevant wheels that allow you to jack up the car a bit higher so you can get the wheels off.

I can see how the paper blocks would work (I saw an earlier picture from Jonathon that showed them) but I must admit that I would always be rather wary of lying under a car supported on them. I feel the same way about normal axle stands. I had the car up on four of them a while ago (before I got the ramps!) and it looked very precarious. I was never comfortable and imagined hitting something or putting pressure on a nut and having the car move sideways with it. Unlikely, I know but it doesn't stop the imagination!

Richard

[Jonathan]

Hehe - yep everyone goes OMG when they see them.

I use works old RS catalouges now, looped them with duct tape but allso place them alternate spines see below:

_______

[______

______]

[______

______]

When laminated paper is free and loose it's unstable becuase of the air inbetween the sheets, once the car's weight is on them the air is forced out and the paper to paper friction is very stable.

The thing I like about them is the increased surface area (esp if you use foam on the top), they'll NEVER collapse and it's possibly hard to knock the car off them than axle stands. When I was under my car if it had fallen I would have been killed - no question - with the paper / jack combination you could grab the car and try to shake it without it really moving which is what I needed to get under and scrub the metalwork.

If in doubt go crazy on the safety - you can NEVER be too safe.

You can put blocks etc under the chassis etc incase the car falls (the tyre is a good one also)...it'll damage the car if the worst happens but it'll save your life.

[brado]

Been asking myself the same question. I am looking out for railway sleepers, if I can get a gentle slope cut on the ends should just be a matter of driving on. If I fix wheels to one end of each sleeper so it touches the ground when lifted at the other end should make them easier to move.. Anyone tried this??

[Jonathan]

Possibly a good idea, keep in mind the cross section of the sleeper.

If the part touching the floor is less than the upright (ie ground clearance) the sleeper will want to fold/rotate along its length with weight and could be unstable and highly dangerous.

If this is the case securley brace the 2 beams so they cannot roll or build in butresses to bolster the sides.

Always think safety - if you have a tiny amount of doubt don't do it is what I'd say.