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How to Safely Jack Up a Car

There are many reasons why you can jack up a car. It could be for car repair, maintenance or replacing tires. At the end of the day, you need to learn how to properly jack up a car at home. This is especially important if you are not a mechanic. This straightforward process can seem simple but missing one step could lead to disaster. The skill will come in handy if you are ever stranded by the roadside. Which steps should you follow then?

Take Safety Precautions

The first thing that you need to do is to establish a flat and even working area for the car. Do not work on an inclined or unstable surface. This can be very dangerous. In addition to this, you need to chock the wheels that are on the ground. If you are lifting the front side of the vehicle, you need to chock the rear wheels. If you are lifting the rear wheels then you need to chock the front wheels of the car. You can never be too cautious.  The next step is to ensure that the car is in park. This helps to lock the rear wheels so that the car does not move. Never forget to engage the parking brakes as well.

Lifting the Car

For this process, you need to find a suitable point where you can jack the car. This is known as a jack point. You can find out the best position by reading through your owner’s manual. Place the floor jack under this point and then pump the handle so as to raise the vehicle. Once the car is off the ground, pick your preferred height and then place the jack stands beneath the vehicle near to this jacking points. Lower the vehicle slowly onto the jack stands and then remove the jack.

Lowering the Vehicle

Once you are done working on the vehicle, the next step is to lower it back to its original position. For this, place the jack at the jacking point once again. Lift the vehicle by pumping the handle of the jack so that it is raised off the jack stands. Now remove the jack stands and then proceed to lower the vehicle. In order to do this, you need to turn the release valve anticlockwise, half a turn. The pressure will be released and the jack will lower slowly. Once the vehicle is back on the ground, remove the jack from underneath and then press the saddle. This will lower the jack back to its original position which is the down level. You may now store your jack and use your car.

Using a jack is not as complicated as some make it out to be. It can actually be very simple. Once you learn the skill, repeat it over and over again until you are comfortable doing it without missing a step or any hesitation. You can also teach others to do it. Different jacks use different mechanism. Learn all this but specialize on the type of jack that you have.

Written By

Hello i am Stephen Stratton , I am a probational automobile engineer.

3 Comments

3 Comments

  1. Roger

    September 1, 2017 at 3:07 pm

    Thanks Stephen for your valuable info.
    A safe jack Up needs to require some serious brainstorming to determine the best outcome. I was simply stumped last time because of poor knowledge. Even I tried several methods but I failed. I found your article more interesting and useful as a tool which could help me explore my jack Up experiences.

  2. Nisbet

    October 9, 2017 at 6:23 am

    When the tyre of the car gets punctured, the first thing done by the user is the lifting of the car with the help of the jack. Lifting the car with the help of a jack requires some steps to be followed and the jack should also be in good working condition for avoiding any accidents.
    The procedure shown above for lifting the car with the help of a jack is very good and very effective, a user can easily follow the given procedure.

  3. Victor

    September 22, 2021 at 9:42 am

    It’s a valuable post about the car jack I’m looking for because it might be something I have been buying in recent days. It helps me to know in detail how to use a car jack thanks.

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