Jacking up your van?
Freshman User
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 39
Likes: 0
From: Bountiful, UT
I will usually jack under the springs too, just one wheel at a time. I haven't tried using the diff, but I don't need to save so much time that I can risk slipping off and buggering up a cover.
I have done it on my Jeep though, dozens of times. Never a problem yet from the jack, but from rocks, sure. Punched a diff cover in once, and when I inspected it later, it was a sheet of paper's distance from contacting the teeth. Whoa!
I have done it on my Jeep though, dozens of times. Never a problem yet from the jack, but from rocks, sure. Punched a diff cover in once, and when I inspected it later, it was a sheet of paper's distance from contacting the teeth. Whoa!
Cross-Country
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 51
Likes: 2
From: TN
(OLD topic, i KNOW BUT...)
Thought to consider (thinking/ musing out loud), re: center jacking prohibited, WHY? A (possible?) reason is that (WHEN using the SMALL [BOTTLE JACK], the small contact area *** w/ the cast housing can crack the housing, and/ or Punch a Hole in it because #/SQ.Inch is MUCH greater than it is with a shop grade FLOOR JACK with a much larger plate/ contact area (***1-2-inch diameter vs 4-8-inch diameter?) so if we know the WARNING is in OWNER MANUAL, is it (also) in the SHOP MANUAL??
Thought to consider (thinking/ musing out loud), re: center jacking prohibited, WHY? A (possible?) reason is that (WHEN using the SMALL [BOTTLE JACK], the small contact area *** w/ the cast housing can crack the housing, and/ or Punch a Hole in it because #/SQ.Inch is MUCH greater than it is with a shop grade FLOOR JACK with a much larger plate/ contact area (***1-2-inch diameter vs 4-8-inch diameter?) so if we know the WARNING is in OWNER MANUAL, is it (also) in the SHOP MANUAL??
Logistics Pro
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 4,865
Likes: 497
I'd like to do as much of my own service on my 1999 E-350 Super-Duty van as I can, but I will need a "super duty" jack to accomplish this.
What do you folks use and how do you do it?
That is, the E-350 is already rather high off the ground and the biggest 4 ton jacks I've looked at, at Harbor Freight, only go up to around 20" max. Do you use wood blocks between the jack plate and the frame?
According to the door plate my van weighs 9200 lbs. Is it best to try and jack only one wheel at a time or is it necessary to lift the entire side in one shot?
Where do I place the jack and how much of a jack am I talking about?
Do you place jack stands front and rear on the frame or ??
Lots of questions but I want to get this right.
Thanks!
What do you folks use and how do you do it?
That is, the E-350 is already rather high off the ground and the biggest 4 ton jacks I've looked at, at Harbor Freight, only go up to around 20" max. Do you use wood blocks between the jack plate and the frame?
According to the door plate my van weighs 9200 lbs. Is it best to try and jack only one wheel at a time or is it necessary to lift the entire side in one shot?
Where do I place the jack and how much of a jack am I talking about?
Do you place jack stands front and rear on the frame or ??
Lots of questions but I want to get this right.
Thanks!
Try using unijacks under the frame rails. Lift the entire vehicle up on UniJacks. Then you can raise the suspension components separately to raise the wheels off the ground. Bottle jacks work great under the differentials and axles.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 4,865
Likes: 497
The problem with a bottle jack will not be with the jack's ability to hold up the vehicle. It will do that just fine. A 2 ton bottle jack under the suspension component will be plenty. After all, you are only lifting one corner of the vehicle, the bulk of the weight of the vehicle will be distributed to the other 3 wheels, and 2 tons is 4,000 lbs.
Your problem will be the limit of the bottle jack's ram travel. If the ram travels anywhere from 4" to 6", then that is all the lift that you will get. I have seen small cars where a bottle jack will reach it's full lift height, putting the lift point on the unibody pinch weld 1' into the air, and the tire is still on the ground because of the vehicle's suspension travel.
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