Technical bumper jacks who uses them?

I have 64 impala . i know changing rear tires i have to lift the body up not the rearend. its been along time since i have used one. most cars you can lift the rearend. i think i can use a floor jack in front of tire but havent tried yet. just curious how many people still use. several cars from the 50s and 60s have this problem.

 

Bumper jacks even in their heyday were a crummy method. Too often you'd get damage to the bumper, plus the danger of the car falling over. The problem you have with your x-frame is there's no perimeter, you have to pay attention to find an adequate jacking point.

I carry a small screw-type scissors jack as found in late Mustangs. It's a PITA to use, but doesn't take much space and gets the job done.

 

forgot about the x frame. i haven't owned a 60's impala for about 27 years. this will be fun. lol trying to put 255 70 15 tires with 8.5 inch wheel on the rear. will know by the end of the week. car is not home yet.

 

If the car's already beat up I grab my Hy-Lift first. A favorite tool which can be a major ass-saver, think you'd call it a bumper jack. Other times I've had to lift a little that way, then get another jack under the axle or suspension. We go to a lot of trouble to have a good time.

 

I have the original bumper jack with all the extra stuff in the trunk of my 57 Ford and that's where it will stay. If I have to jack the car up on the side of the road, I have blocks of wood and a scissors jack. Bumper jacks can do a lot of damage and someone could get hurt.

 

Don't think I've used one since about 1980.

 

Can I purchase a life insurance policy on anyone that uses one . It’s damn way better odds than winning the lottery on cashing in on a winner .

 

Without one you could never change a rear tire on my '56 for sure.

 

Last time I used a bumper Jack was in 1978 to jack an old disc plow out of the ground so I could get one of the discs off of it to make the lid to my cast iron washpot bbq grill project for welding class. It was in the trunk of my 70 LeMans Sport i was driving at the time. It worked well with a piece of plywood under the foot to keep it from sinking. Still have the bbq but it's a planter now.

 

I used a floor jack on 66 with 275/60/15 .
I do have afew bumper jack's ,
I pined the foot on & use the style that raps under bumper ,but Hook under tow hitch to break down bead on tires

 

Try a pancake air bag off big truck with dead man vale & on of those little slime air pump/ Compressor , all compacted

 

Hell no. Still have a small scar on my head from one.

 

Primed34 , Scar's are reminder of not thinking thing out , I have a lot of scar's

 

That scar is from bumper jacks being dangerous.

 

i have used hi lift jacks. they are dangerous if not carefull. forgot about the jack ratching down on its own. i use to do it when i was done changing tire. most of them i remember either hooked in a slot in bumper or had the hook that went under the bumper. the problem was how high you had to go to get tire off. real fun when i had air shocks pumped up all the way.

 

Old bumper jack work great for pulling metal fence posts

 

Place the floor jack under the frame at the rear lower control arm mounting brackets . We had 255 70's [My tire of choice !] on my brothers 62 Impala on 8 inch rims. Fit find but with 3.23 gears he had to ride the clutch to take off lol' It likes 255 60s better but dose not look as cool. lol Larry

 

Built some test gear back in the 80's for an OEM supplier to GM & Ford. The supplied bumper jacks were only required to operate 6-8 cycles, lifting the weight of the car. Many didn't last that long . Not safe in my opinion.

 

YES they Are ,, I had a few kick out in 70's
& I have not bumper jacked a car since maybe 1980 .
& i am not quite 50 ,
I still use bumper jack to brake down tire , I use my rollback stinger close to ground or my Suburban tow hitch , only using maybe 10 inches of travel from foot & I pined foot on .& i have half moon the foot to fit radius of the wheel / rim

 

... I use one for straightening bent forks on vintage bicycles ...

 

Many cars like my wife's '57 Chevy Wagon have to have the body lifted pretty high to get the tire out of the wheel well. I wised up and subscribed to AAA. It's already paid for itself.

 

Yes....use them as I need them......remembering safety first ! Used one the other day to brake down a tire to replace a bad valve stem........like they show in the manual......

 

I had to check if this thread was started by the guy who's been trying to sell the bumper jack base in the classifieds for as long as I can remember. It's not...

 

I don't plan on using it however I searched long and hard for the correct OEM bumper jack and lug wrench for my 46 Olds, only for display purposes. The knob engages with a recess on lower side of F&R bars.

 

A bumper jack is one of the greatest 'home' inventions of the 20th century!
Fence posts, wooden or metal, is child's play for a bumper jack.
Straighten most vehicle structural body components. Handy dandy enexpensive porta-power. 6 bumper jacks will lift a 24' I beam up to ceiling height to place on pilasters. Sagging floor joist. Hang a ceiling furnace, come-a-long and a couple of bumper jacks. Use bumper jacks to move one of those pre-fab buildings.
The only thing a bumper jack can't be used for is to jack up a vehicle by it's bumper! Too many variables can go wrong.

 

Haven't used one since the last time I had a car fall over sideways. Luckily the wheel was still on it at the time. Bumper jacks in a car are for show.

 

Use them for a bunch of stuff except picking up a car

 

Ever since I saw a 2&1/2 ton Caddy ratchet down and I shat my daks, I knew they were crap. If you have to jack up a car which has partially hidden back wheels (64 Impala, 60 Caddy, etc), the 2 jack method works well- 1 jack to bring the body up, and 1 jack under the opposite side axle housing to pivot the other end ( the side with the wheel you want to remove) down, so the top of the wheel clears the top of the opening in the fender.
Bumper jacks are useful, except what they were designed for.

 

I have a couple tripod style bumper jacks that I use if I need to jack up by the bumper but use a floor jack all the rest of the times.

 

I carry a scissors jack on the road.