How to use a car floor jack| Learn from our expert Reduce your stress

When the journey of automobile technology had outlined in the late 1800s, people started to feel the need to have a tool that will help them to lift their vehicle to do repair or change the flat tire. A man from Canada named Joseph Lafrance came up with a tool that saved everybody and still doing, which is a car floor jack.

A car floor jack is surely a lifesaver. However, if you don't know the proper procedure of using it, you can get your vehicle and even yourself into trouble. That's why today we will be getting in details of how to use a car floor jack.

What is A Floor Jack?

Unless you are Mr. Hulk or some world-class heavyweight champion, you won't be able to lift your vehicle by using your bare hands. And that's where a floor jack comes into play. When you need to repair your vehicle or change a flat tire, the tool that you need is called a floor jack.

Generally, a hydraulic cylinder or, at times, a screw thread is the main equipment of a car jack that helps it to lift heavy objects. What works as the secret driving force behind handling such difficult task is jack oil or hydraulic fluid. A hydraulic jack can lift heavier objects than a mechanical jack.

How do Floor Jacks Work?

To lift heavy objects, the floor jack uses hydraulics. When it comes to maneuvering a specific object, hydraulics apply the liquid power, which is clasped from the appealed force, and that helps to maneuver stuff applying the equal force.

In the case of a floor jack, when you are going to propel the handle downwards, its liquid pressure is going to add up, and that will lift your car. When you are going to raise the handle of the jack, the piston of the pump will move upward.

What's happening here is you are attracting the bottle jack's fluid power. And then, the fluid power will come to fill up the cylinder of the pump by using liquid pressure. When you are going to maneuver the handle of the jack downward, you will apply pressure to it. And this applied force will turn as the pressurized liquid.

Now, the check valve is containing the pressurized fluid, which is going to proceed to a different channel. And those pressurized fluid energies will top up the main cylinder gradually. The lifting piston will be moved upwards by this movement. Then you just pump its handle a couple of times, and you will be able to lift your vehicle at a certain height.

Different Types of Floor Jacks

There are different types of floor jacks you will find out there in the market. Here we are giving you some basic ideas about some of the most common ones.

How to use a car floor jack for Lifting Cars and Trucks

Let's jump straight into the topic of how to use a car floor jack. First of all, you need to park your vehicle properly. It would be better if you find a flat surface. All wheels must be aligned, and then to avoid the worst-case scenario, you have to make use of the emergency brake.

Now, slide the floor under your car and be sure that the saddle of the jack is placed right beneath the required lift point. Here are the suggested lift points: pinch weld, frame rail, rear axle, or suspension arm.

Once you are done placing the jack saddle at the ideal position, you have to rotate the handle of the jack clockwise in order to close the hydraulic valve. Now, to switch on the piston, you need to pump the handle, which will apply the hydraulic fluid to lift your vehicle.

You can lift the vehicle slowly now. And when you are done replacing the tire or repairing the parts, you can slowly lower the vehicle. To free the hydraulic valve, you need to move the handle in a counterclockwise direction.

Floor Jack Use Caution

There goes the saying, " Prepare and prevent, don't repair and repent". So, always your safety comes first.

When you need to work on your vehicle for a long time, it's very important to make sure your jack is supported by a jack stand. If you have a flat concrete surface, it would much safer to perform the changes there as it ensures your maximum safety.

Your floor jack could be dirty and oily, so while operating it, you may lose the grasp easily. So, to prevent that, you have to grab it tightly and release it very slowly to stop your car from dropping down rapidly.

Be sure your car is parked on a solid surface; always avoid using a car jack on grassy land or dirt. You must put your transmission in park and apply the parking brake.

Final Words

A car floor jack is an essential tool when you own a vehicle. You won't have to spend money on taking it to the garage for general maintenance or changing flat tires.

So, it's important to know how to use a car floor jack. No matter whether you are planning to go on a long drive in the country road or a lonely desert having a car floor jack could turn out to be a lifesaver.

However, you have to make sure that you're following the proper safety procedure while using it and, most importantly, ensure that you purchase a high-quality one.