Understand Safe Positions – Where to Place a Floor Jack

Car jack Positions

It evident if you own a car there is a time you will need to use a floor jack to lift it. This often is done during tire changes or when checking the brake system.

Do You Know When Using a Floor Jack?

There are some safety precautions you must observe to successfully and safely jack up your vehicle. For example, the car should be parked on even hard surfaces, and the tires should be choked up. When placing the floor jack, it is imperative to be precise and sure of what you are doing. The floor jack saddle should firmly come into contact with the jack point of your vehicle before lifting.

What if You Could Poorly Place Floor Jack?

Poor placement leads to damage to the vehicle’s body or sometimes the car might slip, causing accidents and injury. It is therefore vital to understand the dangers of careless placement of your floor jack.

This article gives you an overview of the general guideline when placing your floor jack under your car. It also provides some hints on where to place your jack on different types of vehicles. So I suggest you stay here and read till the end.

So you want to know? where to place floor jack on the car

There are at least six positions in a car you can place your jack. Most cars have these areas designed within the body for easy identification. Always the user manual has these points clearly illustrated.

In a typical car there is usually a jack point behind every front wheel and just in front of the rear wheels. The scores are strategically positioned next to the rocker panels, which are the metals just beneath the doors.

safe position to place jack

Look you have to be very careful about the positioning

In some cars, there are two additional central jack points that are located just behind the front and rear bumpers. The rear jack point usually lifts the whole back part of the car while the front one lifts the front part of the vehicle. When using these points, there is the need for jack stands on the sides for more stability.

Let me tell you a few more points where you can place Jack Sounds Good?

To know to all jack point in any car in the vehicle frame. This is the most robust metal in the vehicle and runs from the front to the rear and as well across near the axles in some cars. In cars, there may be some cutouts that expose the metal. These are the jack points.

In most cars, a floor jack is usually comfortable and stable on the control arm. This is the cross arm connecting the wheels. Though it is not suitable when working on some parts of the car such as bushes.

But Remeber! You should never place your floor jack on the car body, bumpers or the car floor. These parts are usually not strong enough to handle the entire car weight. You will most likely end up taking your car for body repairs at a cost.

But wait – there’s more

Do you want to learn where to place floor jack on a truck?

When jacking up a car from the form the front, there are two options. When lifting a single wheel, you place the jack on the axle next to the wheel. If you need to lift both front wheels, the floor jack should be placed right at the center on the cross member. This position raises the front part of your truck. You can also use the woodblock as the best practice of lifting up trucks easily.

Where to place jack in truck

Checking on lifting the rear side, the jack should be placed on the solid body frame when lifting a single wheel. To raise the whole backside of the truck, the stud should be placed under the axle tube between the U-bolts center. This should be done carefully to prevent damage to the casing.

You should not place your jack on the suspension or the axle near the wheel. The jack may slip or cause damage.

Now let’s look at some specific models of cars and trucks and help you in identifying the jack points.

Here is the Million Dollar Useful Information

List of some most used cars and trucks

On the roads today you see a lot of great car models and trucks or your one. Can you identify the jack points in these vehicles? Here are some popular models with their jack points revealed for you. All those questions you have been having are taken care of.

What is the right place for jack stands in Honda Civic? Well, it advisable to look for the jack point right in front behind the bumper. While there are other points, this is the strongest that you need to put the jack on Rear Side or Rear Axle. You can also put the jack on Front Side Control arm. These are some best positions to place jack stand.

Which place should not be used for floor jack in Silverado? If you need to jack up your Silverado the jack should be placed on the rear axle, and jack stands underneath the frame. You should never put your floor jack beneath the bumpers or the spoilers for jacking up.

Does the Honda Accord and Honda Odyssey have the same place for floor jack? At some point, you may say no. Honda accord has some designed jack points on back and front just behind the bumper while for Honda odyssey the cross members serve as the front and rear jack points. The usual four jack points next to the wheel are common in both.

Is it safe to lift the Ram 1500 by using Rear Axle? Yes, absolutely. The rear differential is designed to carry the weight of the whole vehicle as well as the load. So the rear axle right underneath the differential is the ideal place to place your floor jack.

Conclusion

This article has given you the general perspective of placing floor jack underneath your vehicle. You can now quickly identify the jack points of any car. If you have any difficulties, you can always consult on the owner’s manual for the manufacturer’s jack point. I hope this article has been helpful enough.