Don"t Use Your Jacks to Stand On, But Do Use Them!
Hello and welcome back to our short series on auto mechanic tools for the newly interested weekend warrior auto mechanic.
In previous articles we covered some basic tools a new upstart auto mechanic will want to have in their tool collection.
In today's article I'm going to cover jack stands.
They are the most under used tool that I know of.
I spend a lot of time talking about safety with new mechanics because I have seen a lot of people get hurt over the years because they failed to follow some basic guidelines meant to protect them.
One of those guidelines is safety equipment, specifically jack stands and tire blocks.
Most hobbyist auto mechanics that I talk to or see don't use jack stands.
This is a real mistake.
Most of the people I see simply use their hydraulic jack to lift the vehicle, and then leave it there to support it.
Unfortunately, not only can a car fall off a jack if bumped hard enough, but I've seen hydraulic jacks fail and suddenly collapse.
I cannot express just how much you do not want to be under a vehicle if that was to happen.
In addition, jack stands allow you to safely lift both sides of the vehicle without having to "Balance" it on a single pivot point in the middle of the car.
This is another thing I've seen some people doing that really makes me wonder.
Do not use a jack in the middle of your car to lift it, and further more don't then let the car balance on the jack while you are underneath it.
Use jack stands on either side of the vehicle to support it and give it a good nudge to make sure they are supporting it fully.
Jack stands are a must have item if you plan on working on your car.
They typically cost around $20 to $30 and you should save that the first time you need to repair your car from underneath it.
Just make sure that the jack stands have a safety pin or another type of safety catch that will prevent the stands from slipping down while you're using it.
In previous articles we covered some basic tools a new upstart auto mechanic will want to have in their tool collection.
In today's article I'm going to cover jack stands.
They are the most under used tool that I know of.
I spend a lot of time talking about safety with new mechanics because I have seen a lot of people get hurt over the years because they failed to follow some basic guidelines meant to protect them.
One of those guidelines is safety equipment, specifically jack stands and tire blocks.
Most hobbyist auto mechanics that I talk to or see don't use jack stands.
This is a real mistake.
Most of the people I see simply use their hydraulic jack to lift the vehicle, and then leave it there to support it.
Unfortunately, not only can a car fall off a jack if bumped hard enough, but I've seen hydraulic jacks fail and suddenly collapse.
I cannot express just how much you do not want to be under a vehicle if that was to happen.
In addition, jack stands allow you to safely lift both sides of the vehicle without having to "Balance" it on a single pivot point in the middle of the car.
This is another thing I've seen some people doing that really makes me wonder.
Do not use a jack in the middle of your car to lift it, and further more don't then let the car balance on the jack while you are underneath it.
Use jack stands on either side of the vehicle to support it and give it a good nudge to make sure they are supporting it fully.
Jack stands are a must have item if you plan on working on your car.
They typically cost around $20 to $30 and you should save that the first time you need to repair your car from underneath it.
Just make sure that the jack stands have a safety pin or another type of safety catch that will prevent the stands from slipping down while you're using it.
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