Extra Height for Jack Stands

[James Shoffit]

I saw a picture here somewhere, and now I can't find it, of someone who had made some flat wood pieces to sit under their jack stands to give them some extra height. It looked like a bunch of 2x4s put together sandwiched between a couple of pieces of plywood. Jack stand sat on top of it, and it added an extra 4 inches or more, and looked pretty safe.

Anyone else use that ?

Last time I had my engine out, I had to use a bad combination of things to raise the car high enough and to get my jack high enough to engage the engine/tranny (I have the pelicanparts 911SC adapter plate and a bevy of floor jacks). What I used will never be admitted or discussed, and those present have been sworn to secrecy

I want to make something a bit more permanent than my rube goldberg attempt that was probably not completely safe.

Thoughts on this ? Can someone remember who had those ?

Thanks!

[munsonbw]

James,

Always think safety first. With that said I too have done things I wouldn't show my old man for fear of getting the "I taught you better than that" speech... even though I have seen him do worse. Anyway, you should have a Harbor freight near Irving and I recommend their big "6 ton" jackstands. They are like $30 and will go 24". I dropped my engine for a rebuild with them and they only extended maybe 4 notches, probably less than half way. The bases are bigger too. Then, use your old ones as a set of secondaries under the pan. To me, $30 is worth not having to hassle trying to make something and they are more stable to boot. There will be critics that say HF stuff is junk and they wouldn't trust their neck under them. Well, maybe so, but with two sets the odds are better in Vegas.

I also have one of their bigger floor jacks, I think it was $40 on sale. That, with a 4x8 block, got the motor plenty high and I was not concerned with dropping it. Two sets of hands help, but I managed alone. Again, you'd hate to ruin a motor or you by trying to cobb something together. It is not the best jack I have ever used, when unweighted in the cold it doesn't want to retract without help. For as much as I use it no big deal.

Cheers,
Ben

[James Shoffit]

Thanks for the reply - it isn't the price that is the problem. It is the garage space when I am not using them that is at a premium. I have 4 cars and a 2 car garage, and for wifely reasons only the married will understand, I am not currently at liberty to move to a larger garage. Not and keep the wife So if I make these 2x4 contraptions, they will store flat up against a wall, and not take as much space as the extra set of jack stands. I have 4 other sets already. Some are harbor freight, but the largest set is not *quite* high enough for me. I mean I got the engine out last time, but a few more inches would have been great...

[im4duke]

I used a couple of pieces of 18inch 2x12's under each one. Just bought a 10' piece and cut it up. Works great.

[euro911sc]

+1 on the 2x12's though I actually use several 1x12's and the 6 tons. I have some of those plastic car ramps for the front with a few of the 1x12's under those too. Raising the front reduces the angle of the car and adds some safety factor as your jack plate and the car are not at such disparate angles. If the planks are 16-18" long they stack well on the side of the garage or you can line them up and drive on them every time you park the car... makes it easy to get a jack under the car as well.

Best regards,

Michael

[HawgRyder]

Why not just purchase some new stands?
I picked up some 3 ton stands that extend to 24" or more to go under the torsion bars at the rear when doing the engine.
I think I paid about $60 Canadian for them at the local auto parts place.
And...it's Xmas time....hint for the stands!
Bob

[3.2 CAB]

I have the 3 ton, 6 ton, and an even larger set that is 12 tons, they are huge. I have in the past found that I needed a little better stability, due to the vehicle not being on concrete, and the jack-stand legs would sink into the surface. I made a set of pads for all of the stands that I have, in order to give them a better footprint and support. I used sections of 2X12 pine boards, and I alternated the pieces so the grain of the wood would crisscross, giving more strength. I used 3 pieces of the 2X12 boards for each pad. You can get creative with the material, if you have something already, other than the 2X12's. All of my pads stand nicely along the wall and are totally out of the way. Good luck!!

[jakeflyer]

i just removed the engine from a 1976 911S using the 6 ton stands from PepBoys. They are high enough to work without any additional wood etc. I used 6 ton on the jack point extenders and 3 ton stands as back up in front of the rear wheels

[gigem75]

This maybe a little different but it worked rather nicely for me. I used a tranny jack under the t/a and my floor jack under the engine. After I jacked up the engine a couple of inches I took some wire rope and ran it through the bolt holes on the rear mount bar and secured it with clamps. I then took my overhead hoist and lifted the engine up high enought to put the 4x4 between the jack and the engine thus giving me the extra lift to get the engine high enough. It also helped the stability of the whole situation since I was doing this by myself. I didn't have to have the jack stands scareliy high and everything actually went very smooth.

[efhughes3]

James: I also did the 2 X 12 method in the past, it worked well.

But, I've got a set of BIG jackstands you can borrow, however. I'm in SoCal, but I could make arrangements with my wife to have you come by and pick them up, if you wish. I like in Highland Village at the end of 2499, about 7 minutes from Rick Randall's. Let me know.

[James Shoffit]

Ed, no worries - I went the 12x2 route. Enjoy CA!