Bluejoker

Quick question. For the at home (do it your self person) is it safer to have floor jacks or drive up ramps for getting up underneath the car? This is for oil changes, exaust work, etc.

-Thanks in advance-

Galaxie

as long as you are safe, and use good quality ramps or stands, you are good either way.

I personally like Jackstands because I find ramps get in my way. I always make sure the ramps are locked securely, on the same notch for each side, and placed under a reinforced area (frame rail, rear axle, etc.)

freyke

Concur w/Galaxy..

Ramps are generally easier to use.... Just drive up.... Some of the older steel ramps are too high (8.5 inch lift) for the 05+ Mustang as the front facia hits the ramps... But then you run into the problem of the newer plastic ramps (Rhino brand being one) being a little too low if you need to work in the middle of the car (say for changing out the shifter, etc), esp. if you're shall we say, not too thin around the middle (like myself)... The obvious problem w/the lifts is the fact you need a jack to go with them...

biznazion

One of the biggest drawbacks to using ramps is that you can't do anything that requires removal of the wheels.

MaverickMLFD371

Both very good tools.

I have the rhino ramps that I bought at AutoZone for $30 and I'm very pleased with them.

But if you want the jack with stands, go to Walmart or Target, you can get a Jack Lift with 2 jack stands, 2 chauks and a lug nut wrench all for like $45. They sell them as a combo in a box.

gt6974a

If you're just doing oil changes, Rhino ramps will be perfect.

My mustang has to be the easiest car I've ever changed oil in. No sticking my hands up and around crap. I can pull my car up on ramps, pop the oil plug and remove the oil filter in under 5 minutes. IT'S GREAT.

I actually changed out my shifter, midpipe, flowmasters, and oil all with just rhino ramps.

Yes, it's a little tight. I have stands and a lift, just too lazy to get them out, you might as well buy both, get the ramps now but definately get a quality jack and stands down the road.

Badsnke98

[attachmentid=46503]
Needs vary, ramps are fine to use do anything that does not require the wheels to come off. Jacks are good for removing wheels if the vehicle is going to set for a while. Hydraulic jacks are fine for wheel removal, just do not place any part of your body under any possible pinch point, just in case the jack was to fail. Big blocks of lumber are plenty strong to place under vehicle for support or under a jack stand to raise it higher.

I have various sizes and use all of the above as needed. Just remember safety comes first, extra support is your friend.

acadian

The ramps are great for changing the oil or maybe switching out your mufflers... but I really think everyone who works on their cars a good bit needs 4 jack stands and a jack. It's good to be able to get the car higher up if you need to, or take off more than one wheel.

Bluejoker

Big thanks to everyone who replied (especially with Pictures!) This site is so great!
I think im gonna go with floor jack and jack stands. Heck, I'll probablly still end up getting both eventually.

Thanks again!

schmads

This is a related question, so I'm going to ask it here. I know I have seen similar posts about jack points, but I don't think I've seen any on jack stands (though maybe it's the same difference). How do you know where to put jack stands that will support the car and are safe for yourself and the car? I guess I might as well ask where the safest spot is to use to jack up the car, for placing the jack stands as well. Thanks!

ford4v429

to each his own I guess as to picking safe stand points...But on mine, I tried rear of k member where it bolts to chassis(like in pic above) and it looked to me like it flexed a bit as the jack was lowered...probably not enough to hurt anything, but...I tried sitting stands under the step just inboard of front lower control arm bushing, and didnt see anything flex at all- only bad thing is stands might be in the way depending what youre doing underneath. Most cars flex a bit when lifting(unless under axle/front crossmember), my Mark VII I took to get tires balanced, they picked it up by the factory jack points, I opened the door to get something out and it dropped like 1/4 inch...talk about flex...

One word of caution on budget jacks- I had one blow once, while getting out from under pulling stands...luckily I'm still here, and the stand cleared the car, but I felt the bumper of that 69 camaro brush my hair as it dropped like a rock. that was over 25 years ago, and I still use the 200 dollar replacement jack(sears maybe?) that I got after tossing the week old 40 dollar 'wharehouse club' jack out...and I push/pull stands out using something else- without reaching under even for a second- thats all it takes.

Id rather do witout than have a worry. even the best can fail, but I think the likelyhood is stacked against the cheaper stuff. I did get a bunch of jackstands from 'harbor freight, but got the biggest they had(8 of them) as wider bases are more stable, and the two piece 'square base' types have a LOT more weld holding them together than the tripod types- on those the little bottom gussets are all that keeps the legs from flexing outwards...
from what ive seen the prices are pretty close on small/big stands, not a huge investment. I had to pull the body off my 65 galaxie, and frame was so far gone I was really afraid of breaking it/having it fall while trying to unbolt everything...had to lift from suspension points a little at a time, with stands/blocks to support body and chassis both, as body appeared to be holding up the frame...much as I hated to, once I got it way up, got in and jumped around a bit to make sure it wasnt going anywhere(on total of 10 stands) before crawling underneath, wanted to fix it, but didnt want to die under it- I mean it was rotted worse than...well theres pics here if youre into rot: http://www.hometown.aol.com/ford4v429/gal1.html

gotta say one thing about the mustang- its really a pain to jack up as it sits so low...guys with lowered cars I cannot imagine...low ramps to get jack to roll under maybe? I dunno, but if I had to choose between rams OR jacks/stands, Id say ramps safer bet- long as they dont slide(I throw a cheap throwrug down as my garage floor is kinda slick- had one 'squirt out' from under my truck when halfway up once...) and you dont 'drive off'(which can happen- would severely damage the car) you really cant hurt much. However, jacking/blocking in the wrong place could very easily screw up a bunch of stuff...if we only couldnt all have a lift...now that would be cool [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]
heres the only pic I could find of where mine were sitting when I was 'undercoating the hard way' with roll-on bedliner...the stands are on outer ends of crossmember, theres a short 'step' the stands sit right around, just inboard of the LCA...if anything would shift, worst case it would slide against the lower control arm, and could go no farther...looked most secure place to me, and closest to suspension centerline to help prevent drooping...

Dan

I highly recommend Rhino Ramps!

ford4v429

I need to get a set of those- was thinking about making up a set with long removeable low angle ramps, but those look high enough to do just about anything...they looked kinda 'low' at the stores, but seeing the car up on them, thats high enough [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

Dan

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ford4v429 @ March 9, 2006, 10:46 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
I need to get a set of those- was thinking about making up a set with long removeable low angle ramps, but those look high enough to do just about anything...they looked kinda 'low' at the stores, but seeing the car up on them, thats high enough [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]
[/b][/quote]

Yah, you have enough room to do most repairs under the front half of the car. If you're working on the rear, just put the ramps behind the rear wheels and you have tons of space.

Plus, these things only weigh like 10lbs each. I hang them on a single nail each in my garage.

Enfynet

I'm considering buying a real lift. With the amount of money people put into these cars and their mods... And the fact you can do virtually anything yourself... It almost justifies the $2300 price. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img] The only thing you need is a 4" concrete slab and a 10' ceiling. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumb.gif[/img]

RaGsHoCkEy88

i use the ramps as back up i keep them under the wheels while the car is on jack stands....but i trust the jack stands plus they keep the car nice and high

schmads

Thanks, especially to Ford4v429. That's a lot of great info. I've got Rhino Ramps, and they're great, I just found that I needed a bit more when installing my shifter. My dad and I ended up jacking up the car and then putting blocks of wood under the tires, which worked well enough. I was just wondering about a "better" way.

I kinda wish there was clearance under the car to put it up on 4 rhino ramps at once, as those feel secure to me, and are easy. So, it looks like Dan, above, said he uses the ramps in the back (not both at once, obviously). So, it's as easy/safe to back up rhino ramps as it is to drive up them forwards? I'm sure that's a dumb question, but I don't want to make any mistakes and hurt my baby.

mauleta

I haven't gotten them yet, but I've been looking at getting a KwikLift (http://www.kwiklift.com/). Basically it's a set of ramps that run the full length of your car and are connected to each other. Once you'de completely on the ramps you can jack up the low end from a tube that runs between them and a set of legs drop down to raise the entire car up about two feet in the air. There are some good accessories that go with them, and they are "portable". Saw them on Shade-Tree Mechanic a few years ago. Currently I'm using stacked 2x10's that i put together because the front end of my Avenger is even lower than my GT and I couldn't use store bought ramps.

BLT2RUN

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Dan @ March 9, 2006, 10:41 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
I highly recommend Rhino Ramps!
[/b][/quote]


[img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumb.gif[/img] I agree. I have Rhino Ramps and they work great.

Gearhead

If you have lowered your Mustang such as I have, you probably have noticed that it is tough getting the floor jack under the car. Just 1½” further up off the ground will allow you to get under your car just like it was some garden-variety piece of Detroit Iron. A quick way to make a set of four Mini-ramps is to get an eight foot 2”x12”, cut it in half, then bevel-cut the halves into two-foot sections, each with a single 45-degree cut. Nail 2”x6”s as a stopper on the end of each Mini-ramp, and you’re done.