Where to put a floor jack under the front?

[shine]

On a related note, where can I find stands that are made from frame rails? I have stands with a U-shaped top which I use with a piece of plywood to spread the load on the rail.

Mine do as well - doesn't seem to be an issue.

DAYTONA 6 Ton Heavy Duty Ratcheting Jack Stands

And yes, I know Harbor Freight has sold bad jack stands in the past. The above ones seem solid though.

 

[shine]

I only need to place my small jack under a side of the frame, just a few inchs is all that is needed to have room to the drain plug and oil pan.

Do you crawl under the truck with it resting only on the jack? It that's the case you're a braver man than I am.

 

[Cezar]

Do you crawl under the truck with it resting only on the jack? It that's the case you're a braver man than I am.

It's pretty common to not use stands when working on cars.

Catastrophically bad idea, but very widespread practice.

 

[SocalSam]

Mine do as well - doesn't seem to be an issue.

DAYTONA 6 Ton Heavy Duty Ratcheting Jack Stands

And yes, I know Harbor Freight has sold bad jack stands in the past. The above ones seem solid though.

It's the U-shaped heads that concern me. I've seen older jack stands with L-shaped pads that appear to grip the frame better.

 

[SocalSam]

Weird. I get most of a gallon out. You have to kinda rejigger the tube a little bit at the end.

Weird is right. Not sure how to rejigger tube end, it's already straight cut. I draw the oil out when warm so viscosity is not the problem...or is it?

 

[ArthurKotb]

Which brings up another question, is the stock jack, which looks like it came off a 40's Chevy truck, really do any good for a flat tire? I had one similar on a 80's Dodge pickup, County truck, my employer at the time, that had so little lift I couldn't even get the flat tire off, let alone get an inflated one back on. Yes I know, similar doesn't mean the same. Or do people substitute hydraulic bottle jacks? Or just hope not to get flats?

Good tires, but my plans include dirt roads and rocky dirt roads, flats happen!

The OEM screw jack works fine for my '04 V8 or wife's '99 Sienna as well as my bass boat. The worst jacks were the bumper jacks GM and Chrysler put in their cars; bumper hook or slot in the bumper type. Cars were always falling off of them; terrible design. I don't know what Ford used, probably the same thing.

I had an '89 Toyota pickup for 15 years, 195K miles; never had a flat. Bought a new '04 4Runner in 2003 and the first day I took it to work it had a flat tire when I came out of the office to go home. :wink2:

 

[igwig]

what jack did you get?