Jacking up-Four wheels Off.

[1999 Land Cruiser]

Could someone give me the idiots step by guide to jacking up ( where to place jack), placing four jack stands, and lowering again.
About to buy the Sears 3 Ton floor lift and 3 Ton Jack stands. Any thoughts on those greatly appreciated?

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Look dead between the front a-arms, there's a jack point - lift there, place jack stands on frame behind front wheels. Take wheels off while it's in the air. Then lift rear jacking under the diff, place jack stands just in front of rear control arm mounts, remove tires and lower.

3 ton stands are probably not enough, if you're dead seat on Sears get the 4 ton professionals (only $5 more) or get the Harbor Freight 6 ton stands. There's a lovely thread in Chat you should read about someone using under-rated stands and nearly getting crushed and killed.

 

[e9999]

Yup, up on 4 is a dangerous proposition. You want to go overboard on precautions taken.

 

[EdsCruisin]

Bigger stands are better. Be careful jacking from the centers. I do one side at a time, jacking the front right at the cross brace mount behind the front wheels, and the rear at the shock mounts. Puts less weight at once on the jack to do a corner at a time.

If possible I never remove 4 wheels at once, even on jacks. Safety first.

 

[2000UZJ]

Go to a shop and ask if you can use there lifts. I use a dealerships near my home and in favor I put a sticker on the back and a dealer plate upfront. Hence the "Lamborghini of Atlanta" plate on the front. I would never rely on any Jack stands under the 100. It's to heavy and most stands aren't made in America anymore. If you MUST, Jack the front 2 wheels. Pull one wheel off and do what you need to do. Then pu it back on and repeat for the other 3.

 

[Skidoo]

Remember jackstands are rated what the pair supports so each are 1 1/2 tons. On my 100 the frame behind front wheel is almost the balance point, so a jackstand there can have almost half of the truck's weight. With mods to my truck it is tipping the scales at 6500 lbs. Without paying attention to balence points you can end up with almost half the truck on a jackstand.
If you have install a lift kit you may need some tall jackstands, I have a couple of 12 ton from Harbor Freight I use for front end on frame where factory tow hooks attach. Then 6 ton jack stands just in front of rear control arm. Had it up there for 3 weeks while I sent a AT valve body out for mods. Feels much more stable, was a little tippy with front stands on frame behind front wheel.
Overkill on jackstands is a really good idea, the 12 ton stands are a pain to move, but better than trying to bench press a Land Cruiser.

Good safety precaution was mentioned above, don't get under it with wheels off. Some folks will lay a tire and rim under the frame rails to provide some insurance when going under a rig with wheels off, but that seems dicey, maybe an "emergency" trail repair.
Oh and leave the floor jack jacked up to touch frame and locked off to give extra insurance on the side you are under.

 

[1loudLX]

I've "borrowed" my mechanics lift twice this week. I used it to get underneath and do some mods and install my tires. Four off the ground not using a vehicle lift is just asking for troublez. I know someone that put their WRX on 4 jackstands because he was in a pinch, I could have coughed on that thing and it would have fallen over. NOT cool.

 

[1999 Land Cruiser]

Sage Advice

Thank you all for your input.

 

[uHu]

Trunk's method is what I'm doing.
Perfectly safe with a proper jack and proper biggish stands on a level floor. The best stands I could find are 6 t. It's not the approved max load that counts, but the size and stability. If you put the rear stands behind the rear wheels, at the end of the frame rails, you gain some stability.
Same method when taking it down again. Rear end first.

The most dangerous is when jacking - watch out for lateral forces.
And that's why Trunks procedure is good:
- front first, when the wheels are still on the floor,
- then with good stable stands behind the front wheels, you have more than half of the trucks weight on those stands, which makes it stable. Then the rear end is easy.
If you want any further protection, I suggest not using a jack. Jacks are not stable. With front stands behind F wheels and rear stands at the very rear, it's the front which is critical, so any "extras" must come under the front. Problem is that any problem with a jackstand involves lateral forces/movement, which is not easy to stop without a support which is wider than the height of the stands. Could be a stack of pallets under the front end. I think it's better to go with just four high quality, approved stands. You need space to work as well.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

I've been under trucks on 4 stands plenty of times - axle swaps, tire rotations, trucks I've parted out, etc. I always give the truck a good shake on the stands before I get under them and have used the tires under the frame rails as a back up plenty of times. Done right it's perfectly safe. Done wrong it will kill you.

 

[Michael Hanson]

With the price of hydr. lifts coming down,if you are going to work on your cruiser yourself and have a shop or tall garage look into a good lift. MIke

 

[uHu]

Hydraulic lifts are nice. If I just had a higher ceiling...

Same problem as with jack stands tho' - dangerous if you do it incorrectly or don't pay attention.

 

[Bull Cruiser]

For anyone curious to see my Bull Cruiser sitting on 4 (3ton) Jack-Stands. Someone was nice enough to give them to me for free (or I guess for an exchange of my 50th anniversary rims and tires)... if curious you can read more about it in the "Remote Starter" thread.

I'll attach the pics

 

[Bull Cruiser]

UZJ100 Suggested I add this to the thread...

Very sad thanksgiving for me..... police refused to dust for finger prints on the jacks telling me they wear gloves because these guys are pros.... jerk-offs

If interested to read more about what happened it's all in the "Remote Starter" thread.

 

[2000UZJ]

UZJ100 Suggested I add this to the thread...

Very sad thanksgiving for me..... police refused to dust for finger prints on the jacks telling me they wear gloves because these guys are pros.... jerk-offs

If interested to read more about what happened it's all in the "Remote Starter" thread.

Think of it this way, its great they stole your rims. You got 4 jack stands. Now every time you go out of town or go to the movies pull your rims off and use your complementary jack stands! Just don't drive and try to drive off

 

[Bull Cruiser]

Too much work.... I'm kind of lazy!

 

[NMuzj100]

I think the horns deserve their own thread!

For tires bigger than stock getting a jack with sufficient lift is an issue. My Harbor Freight 3-ton barely gets it high enough.

- 4x 6ton stands and sometimes a few of my 3tons as back ups
- 3ton jack backed just off and locked
- all tires left on when possible
- RV chocks on uninvolved tires (no rocks, firewood ect... spend $8 and get some big plastic chocks)(have your kids get them for you for Christmas)
- parking brake on / trans in park
- A good shake/shove to check stability
- loosen lugnuts or other high torque nut prior to lifting
- keep head, neck and torso from underneath the crush zone if not necessary
- pad swept clean prior to work
- no drinking until the job is done
- Slow is smooth, smooth is fast

It takes some discipline to develop a safety mindset but once you have it you'll have it for a nice long life-time.

 

[Bull Cruiser]

I think the horns deserve their own thread!

Ahhh you like the horns, I got this truck brand new in 2000 from my good friends grandfather dealership in FL... Jim Moran, sweet old man, I got an unbelievable deal, fully-loaded. I put the bull horns on 3 months after driving the car of the lot. I truly made it a REAL DEAL Land Cruiser.... I figure what better then making it into a true land cruiser, really got all the other local south florida mom&pop cruisers feelin' jealous!