Question

How can you safely lift and support a vehicle

Answer 1

Answer:

Place the jack under the part of the vehicle that it should contact when raised. If you're using jack stands, place them near the jack. If you place your jack incorrectly, you can injure your car. To find the proper place to position the jack for your particular vehicle, check your owner's manual.

Answer 2

Wheel Chocks: It's common sense to have a pair of wheel chocks to hand. These can be bought, or made from sturdy wood. These should act as a failsafe, rather than actually bear any weight and should always be placed under any wheels that aren't elevated.Obviously you can also apply the handbrake, and leave the car in gear for extra protection.

Jack: Before jacking up your car always make sure that you're doing so on solid, level ground. Never gravel, or earth/dirt, and never on a slope! While the jack that comes with your car is fine for changing a wheel at the side of the road in an emergency it's not to be trusted if you want to work under your car.
Bear in mind that a big jack is quite a hefty piece of equipment, if you're going to have to lug it from your shed to where you keep your car you may want to consider a smaller jack – albeit one still capable of lifting your car safely. Never solely rely on the jack to support the car if working under, or near the car.

Axle stands: Once you've got the car to the desired height it's time to place your axle stands. Despite the name they don't have to be placed underneath the axles – but under somewhere strong that can withstand the weight of the car, as with the jacking points.Once in position raise the stands to the correct height (ensuring that the locking pin/lever is in the correct place, then slowly lower the jack so the weight of the car is resting on the stand/s.You can keep the jack under there to be on the safe side, but make sure it's not unbalancing the car in any way, or fighting against the stands.Before you get under the car give it a good shove – if it moves – you need to mount the stands somewhere else.If while working under the car you remove the wheels, it's never a bad idea to put them under the car as an extra safety measure.

Car ramps: Quicker and easier to use than a jack, ramps enable you to get under your car quickly and safely. Always get ramps which can take the weight of your car, always leave the handbrake on/car in gear AND chock the wheels.

Some cars struggle to get up ramps if they have low ground clearance, but low entry ramps are available. If you find that the car simply pushes the ramps out of the way – you can tie a short length of thin rope around the bottom rung of the ramp and lay the rope on the ground so the car drives over it as you approach it.

As the weight of the car pushes down on the rope it will prevent the ramp from sliding backwards. We'd always advise enlisting the help of a friend when you use ramps – just to ensure that the car is going up them straight, and that everything is stable.