Where to place jack stands safely?

Sorry for such a dumb question, but I was putting them where the control arms attach to the frame and there's no enough room for me to get around.
So where is another safe place near the front end on a 64 fairlane with IFS??
Thanks I am switching out the tranny and just want to be safe. Or as my sig. other safe says, your such a nervous nelly....

 

I am not a big fan of jack stands-but have to use them. I usually locate them under the control arm close to the wheel-or right on the ends of the frame . Try not to have them extended too far.

 

I put mine under the wheel end of the lower A arm, near the lower shock mount, then I shake the shit outta the car before I crawl under it. When I have the whole car in the air, I use four jack stands, AND something under each tire...nervous nelly's survive...

Do you have so much life insurance that your sig. other would prefer that you be careless ???

 

I have been wallered by a car twice, once without jack stands and once with. I have determined that the absolute safest place to out them is in someone else's garage.

Where I place my stands is notmally determined by where I am going to work on the car, usually the ends of the frame horns will get them out of the way and I can leave the tires on the car unless that is what I am working on. If I am pulling a transmission I like to jack up both ends of the car and place on on each corner.

 

Well if I am under there and I see a foot kick out a jack stand I guess that means I had too much life insurance??

 

Well now that depends, it may just mean that you should have married a homely woman.

 

I leave the jack under the car, with the weight barely let down on a jack stand close to where I jacked it up, then I lay extra wheels down on the ground with another one standing up under the car for a third level of hopeful.
Lots of junkyards weld a wheel into a wheel to keep them from rolling or tipping about and use them for jack stands.
Stands to reason that if they held up the car with a tire on them they should hold it up without one too.
I have several "made in China" jack stands but I only use them to change wheels, when I'm not actually getting under the car.
There was an Episode of "Lassie" back in the days of "Lassie" on TV where a jack slipped and dropped a truck on someone's legs who was changing a tire.

 

I put the little rascals where it makes it safe & back them up with jack ......no not Daniels either.

 

On a car like your Fairlane, I keep the stands off anything that moves, like the a-arms. My OT Mustang was similar (should have had velcro on that transmission..) and I'd use the unibody behind the front a-arms on the front. The back, you'll be okay with the rear axle housing close to the backing plates or in front of the rear spring perches.

Just make sure the stands seat as well as possible and give it a real good shake before going under. I grab a bumper on diagonal ends and give them a hard pull and shove. Always let someone know that you're under the car if possible, have them look out the window once in a while.

Bob

 

I think you need bigger stronger jack stands. If you have the jack stands under the frame and you don't have enough room then you need bigger jack stands.

I see no disadvantage to having big hulking jack stands that will get the car above the ground with plenty of room. It sounds like your floor jack has enough lift so it must be just small stands. I have the first pair I ever bought and they are too short for me. They work for other purposes but I don't use them for supporting a car to be worked on underneath.

 

Mostly all good answers. Just test the car by wiggling before crawling under.
I wouldn't want my jack stands stored in someone else's garage. But under my work bench is the safest place when working on my stuff! But my belly is too big so I hafta jack it up.

 

Yeah I about crapped myself once under a car from kicking one out. The stand would just scoot around under the frame about a RCH from touching it. Turns out it's damn near impossible to get a car to sit on 4 jackstands under the frame. Kind of like how a kitchen chair usually has one leg that won't touch the floor, but a 3 legged stool always sits flat on the floor.

If I have to use 4, I put two under under the frame up front and two under the rear axle that way the weight's on all 4 stands. And like other said, I leave the jack under there and stick tires/wheels under the car too. You can't be too safe.

 

Sure am glad that I'm not the only one who gets nervous under a car with jackstands.

Growing up, there was an elementary grade, maybe early middle school grade kid who got off the bus, walked down his driveway, and found his grandfather underneith a car that slipped off the jackstands (or the jack failed). Can only imagine that he's still a little bit messed up from seeing that.

 

..nobody's mentioned the size yet so I will. I never use anything less than 6 ton jack stands for a regular hot rod, '50's custom, OT daily and with that, I never use them at full extension. I value my ass and want to drive my project rather than be crushed by it. I am hyper-cautious so I always use frame or rear axles as contact points in a 'four poster' situation and spare tires as backup.....

 

If you are doing the tranny, jack the car up and use GOOD car ramps (Or big wood blocks) under the wheels. No need for jackstands.

 

I like big wooden blocks...under the tires or even placed under the frame for added insurance. I have heavy jack stands, but I really don't feel that safe when using them. I know...not what the original question was, but thought I'd throw it out there anyway.

 

^^^ no such thing as "good" ramps.

 

I got a cam shaft in the basement that has real good ramps.

 

It is very smart of you to ask about this. So many people take safety for granted and any of us who have been standing beside a car when it crashed to the ground can tell you we were very thankful we weren't under there at that moment.

Jackstands are better than cinder blocks, but they still scare me. I had a Harbor Freight jackstand (Yeah, I know ) break the roll pin that holds the lock and it came crashing down. Luckily, only my finger got pinched a little.

I like ramps under the front and back tires better, and I turn the ramps away from each other on the front and back tires so the car can't roll one direction and come off. When we have to use jackstands I keep a hydrualic jack or two under the car also for extra insurance.

Last night I was watching a car building video and the guy was laying under the car installing a new rear end and springs, and he had the front of the car laying flat on the ground and only two jackstands under the back part of the frame. The car was laying on such a steep angle I could just see those stands kicking out of there as he was really hammering and pushing away on the frame. Scared me just watching it.

Don

 

this is why no one will ever catch up to to your massive post count. you can come up with goofy replies for any subject. you should try to be more serious like me

 

Just a sidenote. If you're using a typical floorjack to raise your car onto the stands. be careful when lowering onto the stands because floorjacks move in an arc and not 90 degrees vertically. Sometimes the wheels on the floorjack will roll, and other times the car itself will roll with the arc as it goes up or down. The problem is when the arc causes the jack stands to tilt as the weight is put on them.

More than once I've seen guys under cars with the jackstands tilted.

 

For sure no stands under the front A frames, They like to move when you remove or add weight to the car or jack up the trans.

One of my buddies gave me a matching pair of these years ago


The are ugly, somewhat crude and sometimes get in the way but I've never had one kick out or fall over on me.
Another thing that works is a pair of old rims welded lip to lip to set the tire of a car on rather than a ramp.

Years ago when I was teaching auto shop we had a lot of stands of different heights that were made of 3 inch black structural pipe with a heavy sheet steel base and plenty of gussets to hold them straight. They had a U on top to hold the frame or axle of the vehicle. Each one weighed from 20 to 40 lbs an they were a pain to drag around the shop but they worked well. Some of them were there when I was in the class in the early 60's along with stands make of Ford axle bells that all disappeared between the time I graduated and the time I started teaching.

Make sure of what you are setting stands on, don't set them on dirt or gravel, and don't set them on grates or metal drain covers. And the ones with feet will sink into asphalt on a hot day.

Be safe and shake the car before going under it to know that it isn't going to move.

 

Had a buddy working on his Caddillac in the asphalt drive,,had stands under the car ..
But they sunk into the warm ashalt and pinned him under the car..

Moral of the story,you think your doing right and it goes wrong..
he was fine ,as help was only a few YELLS away..

Rick
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so recommend a good jack stand. Where would you buy them from?

 

Skimp anywhere but jack stands.
Never place them on any moving part of the frame.
Try to locate them as close to the weigh carrying part of the frame as possible.
The 4 outermost corners may allow the center to sag and pinch the doors.

If you need to high get the bigger stands.
3 tons have a place but not many
6 ton are pretty versatile
12 ton are my favorite. I just like the safety factor and the rock solid stability they provided.

Stand on soft ground is probably more dangerous than no stands. It fools you into thinking you are OK.

Don't use a jack that won't roll. Something is wrong and you will get fucked up eventually. You aren't lifting you are pulling or pushing when the wheels don't roll.

Always go up in stages.


.

 

There's a shitload of good advice right there. Well said.

 

I have a set made in the 60's that would hold a bus

 

make sure if the ground is soft put something under them wide enough to not sink, I was thinking of getting four tractor trailer rims and throwing them under the car for safety if the car falls at least you have enough room under there to breathe, we had a young firefighter die a couple of years ago, had the car on ramps without the wheels chocked and it rolled off the ramps and crushed him, and he knew better

 

I've been trying to post attachments of my ramps for an hour or so, they were built to service tandem dump trucks. Don't know why they won't upload.

 

Happened to a buddy of mine on a hot day.. luckily I walked up for the crash. He wound up severing an artery in his arm. I have dedicated pieces of 3/4" plywood just to put under my jackstands.

Bob