A Little Tip When Using Jackstands - United Bimmer Community

**3050rpm** · 09-08-2006, 04:39 PM

We're probably all familiar with the admonishment not to put metal to metal when jacking up or supporting the car on stands. The general advice is to use a piece of wood between the hydraulic floor jack disk and the frame or whatever part of the car one is interested in.

If a suitable piece of wood isn't available, I instead use old paperback books, about 1/2-3/4" thick, thereabouts. They work just fine, and there's a ready supply at the used paperback bookstore not far from home, for something like a quarter. I even use them in place of the rubber jacking pads. Somewhere, I can't recall just where, said that those really shouldn't be used to place jacking equipment (for whatever reason, again I can't recall), and instead the pads should be removed but the lifting of the car should be done at those same points. That's what I do, take out the pad, and put a paperback in between.

So if you still have de Tocqueville's "Democracy in America" hanging around somewhere and somehow you figure you won't be finding the time to reread it...

**94bmw325i** · 09-09-2006, 07:13 PM

cool tip, I use a piece of wood myself, but i'm sure there are some books I could use haha

**jms** · 09-11-2006, 05:51 AM

my wife has a whole bookcase of romance novels. I guess I can stop calling them useless.

**3050rpm** · 09-11-2006, 06:31 AM

Most definitely, just make sure you have a ready line to the question, "Gee, honey, it's so nice to see you sharing what I like to read

, how come the sudden interest?"

**jms** · 09-11-2006, 06:42 AM

I didn't want to damage a perfectly good piece of wood.

**3050rpm** · 09-11-2006, 08:21 AM

True, the vast quantities of wood pulp used to make the paper to make the paperbacks to let the women indulge in their fantasies is ecological insult enough, we need not be guilty of that (as the spilled coolant flows down the driveway into the street)...

**Cartony** · 09-11-2006, 09:12 AM

Actually another good packing is hockey pucks, they are the same diameter as the jacking pads under the car. My 2 cents

**jms** · 09-11-2006, 11:37 AM

finally a use for hockey, besides keeping canada at bay.

**3050rpm** · 09-11-2006, 01:07 PM

**Cartony** · 09-11-2006, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jms

finally a use for hockey, besides keeping canada at bay.

Oh hahahaa you guys are funny.

Oh you not a Penguins fan?

**jms** · 09-11-2006, 02:29 PM

they are so bad, it's hard to be a fan. Everyone was a fan when they were winning but it's hard to be a fan when they suck and they keep threating that if they don't get a new arena they are gonna leave. Besides at the end of the day it's still not football.