That's a pretty good idea to jack up the car. I recently purchased a Backyard Buddy 4 post lift. Love it! They also have an air bag jack that you can put on the runway or ground to jack up the car. It was only $300. Can't wait to try it.
@@richgallagher8117 thank you very much! I hope you enjoy it, I have found that the lift unlocks the potential to do so many more jobs on the car and makes them way more fun. Keep me posted
Another reason for buying a 4 Post lift is the thickness of your concrete pad and if has rebar and is structurally sound. A 2 post lift could tip on a weak pad
Make sure you measure the distance between the load points, jack stands to tire if lifting just front or back, and jack stand to jack stand if all 4 tires are up. It reduces effective wheelbase length. Most 4 post lifts the max weight capacity is based on a wheelbase of 115 inches or longer. At a wheelbase of 80 inches the lifts safe weight capacity is only 25 percent of it's max rating. 9000 pound lift at 80 inches has a weight rating of only 2250 pounds and a collapse rating 1.5 times that at 3375 pounds.
@@Reloadeez thank you for pointing this out! Yeah, I guess if you had all the way right in the middle it would be pinching it in the middle, forcing it into a v shape. Fortunately none of my cars are heavy enough for this to overload my lift, but others should check for sure!
You should always check your specific make and model for the jacking points because they may differ from car to car. Sometimes it is in the user manual, it should definitely be in a repair manual. It will likely be on forums But in general, thinking about jacking up from a point that is among the sturdiest parts of the car. In the front, it could be a front subframe, it might be A cross member or stabilizer across the entire body of the car. Just be very careful. You do not jack up the wrong spot because you could damage the body of the car. Does that help?
@@ianscarhole6992 I was in the same boat when I got my lift last year. The tray is meant for bottle jacks so it's completely fine to throw one in there and use it to jack up the car. The harder part is finding a bottle jack with low enough clearance if you have a low car (I use a Big Red 4 ton bottle jack). If you do try out the bottle jack method definitely throw a piece of wood or something on the jack to spread the load, the contact point on them is so small that it can easily leave an impression where it's lifting (ask how I know). Ultimately I want to buy two of the bridge jacks but can't bring myself to spend that kind of money on it.
Not really. The four post lift has been fantastic. It's not too hard to put some jack stands under it like I've shown in the video. I think a four post lift is much much better for me
If you want a lift so you don't need to crawl up and down off the floor get a 4-post lift, if you don't mind crouching down and getting your head near the floor get a 2-post lift.
can you not use the jack you have when the car is down all the way? even if you put a 4x4 block on the jack under the rear diff and pump it up about as high as you got it there?
That's a good idea. You might be able to do that! I think that the Jack I have will not go high enough and it's hard to pump it up from far away, but if you could get that going then it would work just as well, and probably more convenient than what I showed in the video
You should check the cables on then jacked end, if they are really loose doing this either you have to watch closely that they don’t hop a pulley or over time go out of lock alignment. Interesting idea, I just bought an air bag Jack for lifting while on my 4 post lift because I don’t want rolling Jack or Jack tray in the way all the time and they aren’t cheap like you say.
Awesome, I am glad you figured out the solution for yourself too. Also I thought that the cable should be loose when it is in the locked position. That shows that the car and lift is fully supported by the locking mechanism and not at all by the cable. Maybe I am misunderstanding your comment?
100% 4 posts really work best when the load is equally spaced. Definitely putting extra stress on the cables while using this technique but if it works how cares. I’d just be checking the tension on the those cables every time.
@@ianscarhole6992 yes of course. That's how i have done it at all my shops. And now i have a bendpak 4 post 12k in my yard and that's how i would still do it without bridge jacks. Bottle Jack and then Jack stand and then do it on the other side
I would say the key though is positioning as you drive on the ramp to make sure you have clearance for a jack and then a stand. Also account for pull side to dude for due to lifting and if you need to do it in 2 stages of height. That why the vehicle doesn't pull in different directions too hard Also what's nice about a bottle Jack is it lifts straight not at an angle. So you should be to do anything but lift and place a jack under. I have been a mechanic for 21 years I'm sure there are lots of others that are also techs that have seen this. So how much ever help or advice if i know it I'll give it
@@cobra202156thank you very much for sharing! I'm going to take a look at that. Might need to get a low profile one though I love your attitude. Thanks a lot for sharing
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That's a pretty good idea to jack up the car. I recently purchased a Backyard Buddy 4 post lift. Love it! They also have an air bag jack that you can put on the runway or ground to jack up the car. It was only $300. Can't wait to try it.
@@richgallagher8117 thank you very much! I hope you enjoy it, I have found that the lift unlocks the potential to do so many more jobs on the car and makes them way more fun. Keep me posted
Another reason for buying a 4 Post lift is the thickness of your concrete pad and if has rebar and is structurally sound. A 2 post lift could tip on a weak pad
Great point! I have not thought of that. Thanks for mentioning it. I am definitely happy with my four post lift
Make sure you measure the distance between the load points, jack stands to tire if lifting just front or back, and jack stand to jack stand if all 4 tires are up. It reduces effective wheelbase length. Most 4 post lifts the max weight capacity is based on a wheelbase of 115 inches or longer. At a wheelbase of 80 inches the lifts safe weight capacity is only 25 percent of it's max rating. 9000 pound lift at 80 inches has a weight rating of only 2250 pounds and a collapse rating 1.5 times that at 3375 pounds.
@@Reloadeez thank you for pointing this out! Yeah, I guess if you had all the way right in the middle it would be pinching it in the middle, forcing it into a v shape. Fortunately none of my cars are heavy enough for this to overload my lift, but others should check for sure!
Thanks for the info. Needed this!
You're welcome!
My only question is what where do you place the middle jack underneath the front if you have to jack up the front suspension 🚟 of the 🚗
You should always check your specific make and model for the jacking points because they may differ from car to car. Sometimes it is in the user manual, it should definitely be in a repair manual. It will likely be on forums
But in general, thinking about jacking up from a point that is among the sturdiest parts of the car. In the front, it could be a front subframe, it might be A cross member or stabilizer across the entire body of the car.
Just be very careful. You do not jack up the wrong spot because you could damage the body of the car.
Does that help?
This is a neat method. I personally use a bottle jack in the jack tray and then jack stands on the sides.
Thanks! That sounds like a nice method too. I wasn't sure about a jack on a jack thing especially when I was new to using this thing
@@ianscarhole6992 I was in the same boat when I got my lift last year. The tray is meant for bottle jacks so it's completely fine to throw one in there and use it to jack up the car. The harder part is finding a bottle jack with low enough clearance if you have a low car (I use a Big Red 4 ton bottle jack). If you do try out the bottle jack method definitely throw a piece of wood or something on the jack to spread the load, the contact point on them is so small that it can easily leave an impression where it's lifting (ask how I know). Ultimately I want to buy two of the bridge jacks but can't bring myself to spend that kind of money on it.
Awesome! Thank you for sharing! I feel like so much of car stuff is like, don't do x.. ask me how I know that's a bad idea haha.
I appreciate your video man. Thank you.
You're very welcome! It's kind of niche but I was hoping that it would be very useful for at least a few people 🙂
Brilliant! You just saved me $1K on a bridge jack. Thank you
Awesome!! You're welcome 👍👍
Tape a string to the jack point with a weight on it and use it as a plumbob that way you know exactly where the jack stand should be placed
Yes! Great idea! I ended up making something with a magnet and a thin chain that works well. I will post a video at some point. Saves a ton of effort
So, as a guy trying to decide between a 2 and 4 post lift - do you ever find yourself wishing you had a 2 post instead of your 4 post?
Not really. The four post lift has been fantastic. It's not too hard to put some jack stands under it like I've shown in the video. I think a four post lift is much much better for me
If you want a lift so you don't need to crawl up and down off the floor get a 4-post lift, if you don't mind crouching down and getting your head near the floor get a 2-post lift.
Yeah I guess you mean placing the supports under the car? I haven't worked with a 2 post before
can you not use the jack you have when the car is down all the way? even if you put a 4x4 block on the jack under the rear diff and pump it up about as high as you got it there?
That's a good idea. You might be able to do that! I think that the Jack I have will not go high enough and it's hard to pump it up from far away, but if you could get that going then it would work just as well, and probably more convenient than what I showed in the video
You should check the cables on then jacked end, if they are really loose doing this either you have to watch closely that they don’t hop a pulley or over time go out of lock alignment. Interesting idea, I just bought an air bag Jack for lifting while on my 4 post lift because I don’t want rolling Jack or Jack tray in the way all the time and they aren’t cheap like you say.
Awesome, I am glad you figured out the solution for yourself too.
Also I thought that the cable should be loose when it is in the locked position. That shows that the car and lift is fully supported by the locking mechanism and not at all by the cable.
Maybe I am misunderstanding your comment?
100% 4 posts really work best when the load is equally spaced. Definitely putting extra stress on the cables while using this technique but if it works how cares. I’d just be checking the tension on the those cables every time.
This is way extra. Put a bottle back pneumatic one. Under your pinch weld and jack up the car. This is so much more work
Good idea, I'm just not a fan of relying on a jack to hold the car. Can you get a jack stand under it after the bottle jack takes it up?
@@ianscarhole6992 yes of course. That's how i have done it at all my shops. And now i have a bendpak 4 post 12k in my yard and that's how i would still do it without bridge jacks. Bottle Jack and then Jack stand and then do it on the other side
I would say the key though is positioning as you drive on the ramp to make sure you have clearance for a jack and then a stand. Also account for pull side to dude for due to lifting and if you need to do it in 2 stages of height. That why the vehicle doesn't pull in different directions too hard
Also what's nice about a bottle Jack is it lifts straight not at an angle. So you should be to do anything but lift and place a jack under. I have been a mechanic for 21 years I'm sure there are lots of others that are also techs that have seen this. So how much ever help or advice if i know it I'll give it
@@cobra202156thank you very much for sharing! I'm going to take a look at that. Might need to get a low profile one though
I love your attitude. Thanks a lot for sharing