Car jacks are handy tools, both in the professional mechanic’s garage and in the garage at home. Lifting your car lets you change the tyres/wheels, inspect brakes and perform other maintenance activities underneath your vehicle. But, as with any tool or equipment, you need to handle the car jack with care to ensure that the risks to your safety are minimised. Here is our guide to how to jack your car up safely.
Use the right jack
Every jack has a weight limit and it is not safe to use one beyond the capacity its manufacturer specifies – this should be marked clearly on the jack or listed in the product specification. If you exceed this weight limit the jack might lift the car but it could fail and drop the car – possibly with someone beneath it.
Bottle or floor?
There are two main types of jacks to choose from: the bottle-jack and the hydraulic floor jack. The bottle jack looks like a wide bottle (hence the name) and is essentially a large piston that can be used to lift extremely heavy weights – these jacks typically have significantly higher weight capacities than floor jacks.
The hydraulic floor jack, on the other hand, is more like a skateboard – it usually has wheels and it slides into position underneath the vehicle and is cranked using a long handle. The long handle allows the operator to lift the platform with minimum effort, making this a fairly easy to use option.
While a bottle jack can usually lift heavier weights, the design makes it more unstable than a floor jack – it is rare, but the bottle can topple over, particularly if it is not on a level surface or the ground has imperfections, dirt or liquids present. The hydraulic floor jack is a more versatile and safer option in that regard, but it does take up a lot more space both in use and in storage.
Profile
Make sure that your jack has the right type of profile for your vehicle. If you drive a sportier model of car, or it has been lowered for any reason, then you will need a jack that is designed for this – ideally a low-profile hydraulic floor jack. In contrast, if you drive a van, SUV or other taller vehicle, you might need a jack that has higher lifting to account for the distance between the floor and the bottom of the vehicle.
Stands
For added safety, use a jack stand. It isn’t ideal for use when changing a tyre out on a busy road, perhaps, but in most other situations it is a sound investment. It is designed to support the weight of the vehicle for sustained periods, whereas the jack is really only supposed to be used to lift the car briefly, not hold it in position.
To use a jack stand, lift the car as normal with your jack of choice, then place the stand underneath the vehicle (on a stable, reliable surface). Lower the car again until the stand has taken the weight, and then remove the jack and start work. When you are finished, reposition the jack, lift the vehicle slightly and take the stand away, before lowering the vehicle back to ground level.
