Hi:

I just picked up a 2005 F250 (V10, quad cab, 2wd) to upgrade from my F150 that I happily owned beforehand for over 12 years. I've taken the interior apart to clean it (previous owners didn't clean it, it was really dirty) and as I'm looking at the factory bottle jack I notice that it's wobbly which really concerns me. The center area is on the bottom lower than the surrounding frame area causing it to not be stable, and, quite frankly, makes me want to either fix this (weld metal around the perimeter of the frame) or replace it altogether. It's not bent; it appears to have been made this way.

Before I do anything, I wanted to reach out and ask you folks if you've noticed this, too, and what you've done about it. Is my jack missing a part? (perhaps a metal or hard rubber frame around it?) I can easily add metal to it or buy another jack from a junkyard or harbor freight. Last thing I want is for the truck to fall over due to an unstable jack on the roadside.

Thanks

 

I'd say just by a new jack altogether. Better to have something you know will work.

 

It's a POS, buy a hydraulic bottle jack.

 

I use mine all the time, it's slow but it's never failed me. I do have a nice bottle jack but for some reason feel safer with the factory one since it has the cradle that holds the axle in place.

 

Does yours wobble when you set it on flat ground? My jack is lower in the middle and the (rectangular) platform around it is raised up about 1/4-1/2", so it can wobble from end to end or side to side, or any combination.

I could fix it, but if it's a POS jack anyway like Texastech says, then it's not worth my time welding metal around it....

 

mine sits perfectly flat with no wobble

 

The stamped steel jack they send with the truck is for roadside emergency use. The chances of having a perfectly level, ideal spot to change a flat tire along the road is pretty slim, its good enough to get the job done. Yours probably got slightly tweaked using it on soft or unlevel ground. Unless its really bad I wouldn't worry much about it, think I've only had to change 2 tires along the road in 35 years and near a million miles of driving. I've never even had the jack out of my super duty in 16 years of owning it.

I would much rather have the oem jack, strapped into the oem cradle when I need it. The problem with carrying a different jack is that it may not be there when you need it. It will eventually get set out to make room or used for something else and forgotten about. I certainly don't want a heavy jack loose and rolling around in the cab with me in the event of an accident.

If you are using the oem jack for ANYTHING other than roadside emergencies then you need to invest in a real jack for that and leave the emergency jack stowed. Get a quality 2 or 3 ton floor jack and jack stands for service work and you will never regret it. Even better, get a pair of them.

 

OK, here are some pics, I should have included these from the beginning. The round area in the middle is lower than the rest of the jack, causing this to wobble side to side in all directions. Each gap on the bottom isn't much, maybe 1/8" per side, but as the jack is raised this distance off-center at the top will increase making this effect worse. I would think a stable, flat bottom would be best. Like I said, I could easily weld some metal around the edges and fix this, I was just wondering if this is "normal" or others have this issue or if my jack is either missing something or the wrong jack for this truck entirely.

And no, I wouldn't use this for anything else. I have proper floor jacks and stands for that. I'm only new to owning a Super Duty, not new to owning a Ford truck or even being a member on this site, despite my low postings.

 

Unless you are lifting the truck with the jack sitting on that steel welding table that tiny gap will make no difference. No place I know of is the road going to be flat like that table, and a graveled shoulder where you will most likely need the jack sure won't be flat at all. As soon as you put any weight on that jack, the protruding center will dent into the ground, probably even on blacktop, and the base will then set flat. If you feel the need to fix it that's up to you, I wouldn't. It would not bother me to lift my truck with it just like it is. In reality you MAY need to lift the axle an inch or so to take weight off the tire for a few minutes, one or two times in the lifetime of the truck. I would be a lot more worried about a drunk, sleepy or texting driver running me down while changing my tire along the road.

 

I threw a 20 ton hydraulic jack in the back of my truck. Factory jack looks like a pos like others have said.

 

Mine is identical do yours 2001 F350 Dually.

 

OK, thanks guys. Sounds like another case of me over thinking it, ha ha