>Hey All,
> I have a question about how you people get your TR's up on jack stands.
>I have a set of tripods, but have yet to get the TR6 up on all four. I
>there a method for doing this?
> Here is what I have done. I start at the right rear, no problem I can
>get the car up high enough to get the tripod under it. Now I do the
>left rear, again no problem, the nose almost touches the ground, but I
>can get the tripod under it. Now if I try to get one of the front end up
>things start to get scary! The back end of the side I am jacking up
>starts to come up off the tripod! The whole car looks very unstable.
>How should I ba doing this?
> Also, do you use tripods that have a top that spans the frame member.
>Mine don't, and the frame just rests on them.
> If you have a good set of tripods, how stable are they when working on
>the car? Can you hammer free a stuck nut while the car is suspended?
>Thanks,
>JHD IV
John,
First of all I am not a fan of the pressed metal tripod jackstands. I know of
two instances where they have failed dropping the car to the ground, thankfully
with know one under them. I have seen new ones out of the box with bad welds for
on the bracing straps between the legs. I now use the cast square base jack
stands. I get them for about $15 a pair at the club stores. Cheap insurance.
If you are jacking up one corner at a time, I assume you are using something
like a scissor jack or bumper jack. I don't recall the type of jack supplied
with the TR6. If so, invest in a good floor jack rated at at least 1 ton. My
Sears 2 ton lack is too tall to fit under the front frame of my TR7 so I use
another jack to raise the front enough to bet the big jack under.
I always jack the front end up first. There is usually a little more ground
clearance at the back. Place the jackstands under the main frame rails as close
as possible to the centerline of the wheels, front and rear. The wider the
spacing the more stable the base. After you have the stands in place, inspect
each carefully to be sure the bases are flat on the ground and the frame in
squarely on th pads. If you want the car up really high you may want to take it
up in two steps. I routinely put my cars up approx 16" to 18" with no problems.
My work area is concrete, with a very slight slope. I've done all types of work
including hammering, levering and yanking with no problem. If you don't already
have them, get some safety glasses to keep the grunge out of the eyeballs.
I will close with a true story. A fellow club member was on the freeway on the
way to a meet when the diff on his TR3B broke. He pulled over to the side of the
freeway and jacked the car up to try and fathom out the problem. While
underneath the back end of the car, the jack slipped and the car came down on
his head. In one of those instances of adrenaline induced surges of strength
he was able to bench press the back of the car up enough to extricate himself.
He got off with a mild concussion and some stiches.
Be safe!
Cheers
Kurt Oblinger
Redondo Beach, Ca.
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