I usually buy the cheapest parts since I usually have no money. I think I replaced my front shocks about 2-3 years ago. Took them off today and there was nothing left of them. This time I purchased some ahead of time from Ebay and got some that were a little better.

While I was at it I decided to do the rotors and brakes today so as I was getting ready to check out on Advanced Auto's website, I noticed it said Promo Code at the bottom so I searched for some Promo codes. Rarely do I find any that work, or if they do, it might be worth a couple of bucks, but I found one, VISA, that takes off $50 if you total over $150. Heck of a deal. I was only at $118 so I added a few other tools I need for my Caravan and barely got it over $150 so I actually paid less than my original cost, plus got some extra stuff, and because it was over $75 I got free ship for the tools. The parts I picked up locally.

So, as I was replacing the final spindle nut, I remembered the last time I had them off, not sure what happened as I was using a torque wrench, but I nearly stripped the nut. Well, this time I did. Then I wondered why I hadn't replaced the nut last time, and then I remembered no one had it locally. I should have ordered it then. Luckily Autozone had just one. So if you guys ever need spindle nuts, better check before you need them, if you can get them. Advanced told me they only get them on special order. OReilly didn't have any either.

And just in case some of you don't know, at least with my 2000, if ya don't want anti-lock, you don't have to buy anti-lock rotors. Saves a little bit of money. I have my anti-locks disabled anyway by the fuse in the engine fuseblock so there's not much reason to pay the extra. The only difference is the sawtooth gear for the sensor to pick up.

Thank goodness for me putting a jack stand along with the jack as today, for the first time ever for me, it slipped off the jack! (probably as I always have done it in on cement, but because I moved last year, I was in the yard.) Still dropped 6 inches and scared the crap out of me. Then the jack was stuck in the tie rod so I had to get the van's jack to get the floor jack out. What a debacle.

 

With absolutely no offense working under or even around any vehicle that's supported only by ANY jack is simply courting disaster! Not only do you endanger yourself but you're risking further damage to your vehicle and jack by not working with smarter practices.

We all get in a hurry but comparing a few moments to find a flat paved hard spot, raise and support a vehicle correctly against recovery time crushed body parts typically require it ain't much!

PLEASE work smarter and be able to come back and post again!

 

sounds like a good deal on the parts

but as JWA said, safety first. remember the proper procedure for working under the vehicle:
1) prevent it from rolling (parking brake, chocked tires, etc)
2) jack it up
3) blocks or jackstands
4) stand to the side and shake the vehicle for all you're worth. if it holds, good! if not, good thing you weren't under it!

i understand its way too easy to just do step 2, and most of the time you're lucky, but i won't hang my life on it! i've had too many things fall over near me

 

Josh you're right and we can't advise this too much!

I remember since I first began DIY wrenching there has been just one time a raised car slipped off a jack while I was very much trapped under it. '56 Ford, slightly raised with a bumper jack from the rear, was installing a transmission by myself. Wrestling around to fit it into the bell housing the car rolled forward and off the jack. Luckily the tires were still in place, my position under the car and that it wasn't lifted much higher than a few inches all pretty much saved me from being mashed. Late at night in a rented garage ain't a place to be caught!

I remember much of that entire cold winter night like it was yesterday----even though it happened in 1967! Since then I've NEVER crawled under anything not fully and properly supported or sitting on all four wheels.

Be safe y'all!

 

i've had my share of bottle jacks and stuff fall over. a classic case of this is raising the left front wheel, not realizing that teh right front wheel is pulling off the ground, and game over.
more recently, i was working on soft ground using a floor jack to pick up the rearend of a minivan (lifting from the pumpkin). i got it up, placed my stands, let it down, and the stands went sideways. when in doubt, shake it again!
my biggest scare was the time i had a car up on those little ramps and it slid off. i was getting it onto the ramps using a floor jack, and had to stop and reposition the jack real quick, leaving one wheel only halfway up the ramp. done it before, no big deal i thought. the car had a good parking brake, but that didn't stop it. both rear wheels SLID down the ramps, and i was pinned between its bumper and my van's. the jack handle i was holding took most of the force, my knee taking the rest. i used the jack handle as a prybar to push my van away by half an inch, and was able to squeeze out, with no real injuries, just internal bruising of the knee, which was stiff for about a week.
i've learned a few things this way - so please, learn from our mistakes not your own!

 

It definitely scared the crap out of me to make sure I always use the jackstands. I almost always use 1, but from now on I'll use both every time.

I'm kind of stuck in that to work on my vehicles, I have to do it in the grass. I imagine I could get it on the cement enough to allow the jack to be on the cement.

What exactly happened to me is that this was a small floor jack, not those big ones like ya see at the mechanics. Since this jack was in the grass, it sunk in enough that the little wheel would not roll, so as the jack pad went up, looking vertically down on the jack, the pad moves toward the jack handle as it rises. The pad was sliding on that beam that goes from one wheel to the other, and it fell off. The van never moved at all, except down. I need a high-wheeler floor jack.

 

i have that problem all the time. one option is to allow the other end of the vehicle to roll/slide toward the jack to keep up with it. the other option is to have blocks on top of the jack so you keep the jack in the low half of its range, where side movement is minimal.

 

Since you're limited to where you work maybe think of using a few 2 x 8's your smaller jack can sit on instead of just the lawn or bare ground. This spreads the weight over a larger area making it perhaps a bit more stable and better supported. While this isn't the best solution it's a start to keep you safer.

Years ago I stumbled across a very heavy duty scissor jack factory supplied with GM/Chevrolet vans, can raise one wheel at at time of my 7800# daily driver work van. Its advantage is the lift is straight up, doesn't need to roll as it raises. If you could find something like that you'd be all set.

As I said it only takes one of these scary events to forever keep you on your toes when lifting a vehicle!

 

or they have this amazing invention called a bottle jack. they're a lot easier/faster to use than a scissor jack, and they're straight up.
for either one, it may be prone to sinking into your grass so a block of wood or a steel plate would be advised under the jack

 

Torin 2-Stage Hydraulic Bottle Jack — 12-Ton, Model# T91208 | Jacks | Northern Tool + Equipment

BAM. I have used this exact model jack to lift the front left of my 44,000lb International 4800 4x4 RV chassis. It also is capable of lifting my E450 (shocking, I know.)

Very flexible, but double check it will fit under your axle.

 

Yes I'm up-to-date on those amazing inventions! What I like most about my scissor jack, screw type is it was totally free, never used at the time, stows away in a tight space and uses the same handle as my spare tire winch. Since acquiring it some 15 years ago its been used 4 times, its strictly for roadside tire changes only. I have a traditional hydraulic jack used around the house.

 

The bottle jack is the van standard jack that comes with the van. I need to make up a rod that I can use on it with the drill. It just takes sooooo long.

Oh, and it's heck getting it back in this converted van. And I also just mounted the back-up radar box in that spot making it just that much more fun to get in and out.

 

Not speaking for Josh but he might have meant one of the hydraulic types, not the screw type that is standard supply on our E-Vans.

Those do take a long time to raise since its gear ratio allows lower effort to raise a heavy van----we trade revolutions for less effort!

If you have a bench type seat could the standard jack be kept in a small tool box under one of them? Most times that space isn't fully used, could be a more convenient jack storage space. I have seen a few crafty guys make a tool board attaching to a bench seat's bottom holding the jack, lug wrench and tire winch/jack handle in easy reach.

Work Safe!

 

i was indeed speaking of a hydraulic bottle jack. they're about the same size as that factory screw jack, but they don't take much effort at all.
as for running the factory jack off a drill, it better be one heavy duty drill, as most drills will smoke long before lifting that van with one of those

 

Derp. double posted.