Jacking up a car from the front isn’t a very safe task to do yourself without proper guidelines and instructions. But due to some problems arrived in the middle of a journey, you might have no other option than to treat its error yourself. And that’s why learning an effective way on how to jack up a car from the front side might be the most essential thing to do as an owner.
Let’s talk more about this today…
How to Jack Up a Car from the Front Side: Preparation, Lifting & Safety Tips…
To get a better idea of how to use jack stands, you should also have a check at safety precautions that must be taken before going under your vehicle.
Maybe you need to change the oil or do some quick repairs. But no matter how much hurrying it needs, never risks your safety. Here’s a guide on fixing jack and lifting car up in the easiest way. Make sure you read the manual of jack before using it.
Find A Ground That Is Stable Enough…
Raising the car on jack needs a stable ground that is completely levelled. Cars have this habit of rolling and so, you need to do something to hold it in a stationary manner. Concrete grounds are usually better at parking the car before using any jack or lifting tool. There will be no chance of decline or incline this way.
Use your steering wheel to move the car at your desired stable location. Don’t forget to go with neutral gear when the manual transmission is being used. Pushing the brake as hard as you can is also compulsory here. So that when you are operating below it, there’s no movement at all.
Discovering the Jack Points…
There’s this meeting point for jack plate and vehicle that every car should come with. You need to locate that specific spot for your car. This is to make any potential damage to stay away from your vehicle.
In most of the case, jack’s points stay pretty close to each other. The instruction manual should come with this information. Also, you may want to check online for your car’s jack point information.
Where to Put Jack Stands Under Car?
After finding jack points, you need to look for the right spot to place it on the floor. Some use wood pieces to place over the jack plate at this point. So that there’s a wedge between the jack point of tool and car. This will help to prevent any loss to your vehicle at the end of the day.
Uplifting the Jack…
The typically styled floor jacks come with release valves that need to be closed here. Just rotate in the main lever in a clockwise manner to do so. Now to release your vehicle, simply crank the main lever using counter-clockwise motion this time.
You should keep your right-hand side pretty tight here. The light hand side can be released. If you are asking about how to use jack stands with the scissor jack, then just go with clockwise direction on cranking.
Use a lug wrench in case of loosening the wheels for removal. This is should be done before bringing them up off ground. Suspension components should never be utilized as jack points. Load bearing is not possible with these and can further damage your vehicle. Yes, you may find exceptions but for safety, don’t try this as a first-timer.
Now to understand how to safely lift a car, you should be aware of the right height of jacking. You should observe a car’s shifting while pumping the jack. Make sure there is enough space to work while lifting the car.
As soon as the car reaches your preferred height you need to make sure it’s stable enough. Some people use an extra jack stand to keep the position well in balance. It should stay closer to the area where you would be working.
After You Are Done …
Once you are done with whatever repair or maintenance task with the car, it’s time to bring it down. Start by fixing the wheel back if you have removed them.
Just gradually bring the car back to its original position. You want to open the releasing vales in a counterclockwise manner. Scissors jacks will also need the same movement but be extra careful and cautious with these. Once your car is back on the ground, remove the floor jack conveniently.
Safety Tips:
Don’t use a jack stand for holding a vehicle in place. It meant to uplift a car, not in any other way.
You should do something about wheel movement before going under the vehicle. People use wooden wedges, bricks or even metal wheel chocks here.
Changing a tire on the highway is absolutely not okay.
Never jack up before engaging the parking brake.
Bottom Line
And that was my short and simple guide on how to jack up a car from the front side. It could sound overwhelming and scary to a few. If it does, you don’t need to try this yourself. Just go for professional help.
However, if you are brave enough to do it yourself, make sure you’re following all safety guidelines very strictly. You should be doing fine with a good precaution and using some common sense. Good Luck!