safely lower the front end all the way to floor without tires (1 Viewer)

[brainhax]

Hi there,
I want to work on the engine bay and change the Rocker Cover Gasket.
What would be the safest way to lower the front end all the way down to the floor?
My back hurts when bending and working on the engine bay, so i was thinking if I can remove the tires and bring the body all the way down.
Perhaps put a jack under the diff and bring it all the way down?

Thanks

 

[NeverFinis]

I would use small 3 ton jack stands on each side of the front axle, remove the tires, and then lower the truck. Make sure the jack stands are set so that both brake shields do not hit the ground.

 

[CharlieS]

I like @NeverFinis recommendation. I'd probably chock the rear wheels too, so it doesn't slide forward. You could potentially put some 4x4" cribbing or wood blocks under the axle instead if you need to get lower than your jack stands allow.

I like the way you are thinking. I usually do mine the less intelligent way - with a step/platform and leaning over the engine bay.

 

[brainhax]

my mechanic friend is a tiny guy, he also don't like to help me out (even though I pay him) because of the height of the truck and big tires. He says he needs to sit squat on the bull bar to fix things in the engine bay. So making his life a bit easier aswell

 

[jonheld]

Stack a couple of pieces of 2x4 under each leading arm and chock the rear tires.

 

[bicycleagent003]

2x4 stacked three high under the front control arms is a perfect solution for this.

 

[lumbee1]

I just lowered mine down on the rotors. I cut my dust shields on the very bottom to allow rocks to fall out. Tire is just sitting beside the wheel well in the pic. BTW, this made doing the headgasket even for a 6'2" person so much easier.

 

[Kernal]

IME you need to be careful when stacking individual pieces of wood. If the stacked wood pieces aren't attached to each other the separate pieces can slip or roll over. Nailing, screwing, gluing, or bolting the pieces together first, or just using a thicker piece of solid wood (6x6, 8/8 etc) might be better. And then again, any wood could split if not oriented correctly depending on the type of wood (soft, hard) and the tightness and orientation of the grain.

Overthinking a bit?? Yeah, but better to be safe or you end up with this freak accident caused by stacked wood tipping over:

 

[Comet]

@Kernel I am really hoping no souls were harmed in making that PSA. I use two to three chock blocks with the jack stands and leave the tire underneath the side I am working on. Crowded yes!

 

[iwashmycar]

If you only need a few inches, you could just let the air out of the front tires too.

 

[NeverFinis]

If you only need a few inches, you could just let the air out of the front tires too.

I might be using this method to get my LX450 into/out of my garage after I put the roof rack on.

One of these days I will get a top side creeper....

 

[Brindleboxer]

When I first read this I guess my brain went the other direction as I also thought of a top side creeper. Although the wood stacks are an ingenuous and less expensive solution. As for letting air out, for an occasional solution this is fine but a couple of Landcruiser ago after doing all the usual mods mine became to tall for my garage door and I lasted about 3 months before letting the air out and airing up to get in and out of the garage was annoying to say the least.

 

[Mark W]

I cut my dust shields on the very bottom to allow rocks to fall out.

I often say that I learn something every day. It never occurred to me to cut the bottom of the dust shields. This is today's enlightenment.

I have had to pull tires and pry dust shields out more than once to remove rocks. Once on the trail even as the squeaking was so loud it was unbearable! On my older rigs that see more time on the trails than on the roads, I just remove them. But for the '80... I like this approach.

Mark...

 

[lumbee1]

I often say that I learn something every day. It never occurred to me to cut the bottom of the dust shields. This is today's enlightenment.

I have had to pull tires and pry dust shields out more than once to remove rocks. Once on the trail even as the squeaking was so loud it was unbearable! On my older rigs that see more time on the trails than on the roads, I just remove them. But for the '80... I like this approach.

Mark...

I got the idea after we picked up some rocks behind the dust shields while in Arizona. We were 2200 miles from home and the front end on the Cruiser was making a god awful noise. I thought for sure I was going to have to abandon the trip and have the Cruiser towed all the way back home.

I don't have a picture but I only removed about an inch from the bottom. Enough to remove the lip that holds the rocks in and make the rotor the lowest point.

 

[Kernal]

"I am really hoping no souls were harmed in making that PSA"

Stacked wood toppled when the floor jack failed, all before the jack stands could be put in place. It's complicated.

IME chocks and blocks don't help much on a smooth concrete floor; when one of these trucks start moving (falling) it takes a lot to stop them,
usually measured in inches of bent steel (or crushed bones).

So whenever the wheels are off an axle and I'm crawling under the vehicle I use four (4) 12 ton locking pin-type jack stands under the frame, front and rear.
And by "under" I mean the weight of the vehicle is sitting on the saddles ie: using a floor jack raise the vehicle enough to slide the jack stands under the frame (center the saddles), then let the vehicle (weight) down onto the saddle of the jack stand. You never want the jack stand (saddle) to just be dangling in mid-air under the frame to ie: "catch" the vehicle if it falls. The weight of the vehicle must be fully on the saddle/jack stand. FWIW

Overkill is better than being killed.