Right way to get all 4 corners on stands?

[ExtinctBird]

I guess this is sort of a newbie question, but what is the safest/correct way to get all 4 corners the car high in the air on stands? I have 2 sets of ramps, 2 decent jacks, and plenty of jack stands. I am starting my header & cat-back install, and I'm not sure how to go about securing the raised front while jacking the rear.

I got a bit of a scare tonight, so I figured I should seek the voices of experience.

[Trash man]

jack the diff up, throw the stands under the pinch weld or sub frame in the back, heck even the axel tubes would be fine, jack the font kframe up off the ground and throw the stands underneath

[ExtinctBird]

It just seems to me that trying to jack one end of the car up with the other end supported on stands would result in tilting of the stands. The jack doesn't always want to roll enough to keep the weight centered over the stands.

[MN6WS6]

I hope you're doing this on cement. If not, you're gonna have some issues. Regardless of that, the way I do it is to jack the front first by the k-member, as previously stated. Set your jack stands at their lowest level, and slide them underneath. Then jack up the pumpkin, and put the jack stands at their lowest level under the axle tubes. Go back to the front, jack up the rest of the way, I use the next to the highest level on my jack stands because I just don't trust them all the way out. Then back to the back again and you're done. It's lengthy, but safer than trying to go all the way up (not to mention how hard it is to get the jack under the back of the car with the front 12 inches off the ground).

[TraceZ]

I hope you're doing this on cement. If not, you're gonna have some issues. Regardless of that, the way I do it is to jack the front first by the k-member, as previously stated. Set your jack stands at their lowest level, and slide them underneath. Then jack up the pumpkin, and put the jack stands at their lowest level under the axle tubes. Go back to the front, jack up the rest of the way, I use the next to the highest level on my jack stands because I just don't trust them all the way out. Then back to the back again and you're done. It's lengthy, but safer than trying to go all the way up (not to mention how hard it is to get the jack under the back of the car with the front 12 inches off the ground).

^^^^^ That is exactly how I do it. I've never had a problem.

[Joe 1320]

I tend to do it a little differently. I drive the front up on ramps, jack up the rear to the same height and put stands under the rear. Then I jack the front up and off the ramps, remove them and place the stands under the front. Make absoluteley sure the ground is level. To me it just seems the most comfortable..... not sure if there is any benefit or not.

[MN6WS6]

I've done that too, Joe, but some people can't get their cars on ramps, even Rhino ramps, due to lowering. That's why I only mentioned the jack/jack stands method.

[Injuneer]

I'm with Joe.... use the ramps. If you can't get the nose up on your ramps, make a "starter" ramp out of a 2x10. Alternatively, back it up on the ramps.

[ExtinctBird]

Here's what happened last night. I am working in the garage on a level cement floor. I had the front up on ramps and centered. I could not fit my jack under the pumpkin, so I used one jack on each side and evenly lifted the rear to get stands under the SFCs. Once there, I moved to one jack under the pumpkin to start lifting the rear higher. It appears that the car rolled back on the front ramps, rather than the jack rolling forward as the pumpkin lifted, so the car rolled back off the the front ramps.

Certainly scared the heck out of me. If the front were on stands instead of the ramps, I could see the stands tipping if the jack did not roll. Maybe it's just a matter of making sure the jack wheels are straight and oiled, or get a new jack.

[Injuneer]

The advantage of the Sears HD ramps that I have in the picture is that they slope DOWN toward the front, and have the big stop in front. So the car isn't going to roll backwards and off the ramps when you lift the back.

You also need to look at what work you are going to be doing under the car. If I was installing headers, I think I would prefer the ramps in the front, with the "inclined" part removed (another feature of the Sears ramps). That leaves you the clearest area from the wheels inward, for manipulating the headers and yourself. If I was doing something that required removing the wheels, obviously you need stands in the front. But it can be a real pain to access some things with the jackstand in the way.

I need to add some tranny pan support straps to my car, and I currently have the rear axle on jackstands to keep the slicks about 2" off the floor/flatspotting. Not sure how I'm going to handle that one, since I don't want to move the car. And the nose of the car is practically on the ground.

[Joe 1320]

I wish I could find the blueprints to a home built ramp system that I ran across years ago. It's constructed of 2x4s and is modular. Once you build the sub assemblies, they all fit together to form two ramps that you drive the car onto. Once the car is in place, you remove everything that isn't directly under the wheels. What you get is very sturdy lift blocks under each wheel. The car isn't going to topple or move. It was a real slick system that could be built to many different heights. If I can't find them I think I might be able to re-create them.

[95z28]

I'm with Joe.... use the ramps. If you can't get the nose up on your ramps, make a "starter" ramp out of a 2x10. Alternatively, back it up on the ramps.

I usualy do that, ill back it up on the ramps, then jack the front slowly just to make sure im good.