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#1
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What automobile jack in lieu of the supplied scissor jack?
What recommendation(s) would you give for a better jack to keep in the
trunk? I have an '04 Accord Sedan, and had to use the little scissor jack a few weeks ago to replace a flat tire. Not only is there a lot of effort required to turn that jack about 45 times to raise the side of the car to the desired height, its footprint is so small that I felt very unsafe being near the car when jacked up. I also feared the car come crashing down on the hub/brake assembly..... I was thinking either a 2-ton bottle jack or a 2.5 ton floor jack. The bottle jack is a lot cheaper, but safety is more important. The floor jack'd seem safer, but would take up a lot more space in the trunk. ? Thanks, Howard |
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#2
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What automobile jack in lieu of the supplied scissor jack?
"Howard Lester" > wrote in message ... > What recommendation(s) would you give for a better jack to keep in the > trunk? I have an '04 Accord Sedan, and had to use the little scissor jack > a few weeks ago to replace a flat tire. Not only is there a lot of effort > required to turn that jack about 45 times to raise the side of the car to > the desired height, its footprint is so small that I felt very unsafe > being near the car when jacked up. I also feared the car come crashing > down on the hub/brake assembly..... > > I was thinking either a 2-ton bottle jack or a 2.5 ton floor jack. The > bottle jack is a lot cheaper, but safety is more important. The floor > jack'd seem safer, but would take up a lot more space in the trunk. ? > > Thanks, > Howard How about a piece of wood under the jack to provide a stable base and increase the footprint? I do have a compact floor jack that I use at home, but for space and weight reasons, I don't carry it around. I think a bottle jack would have an even smaller footprint than the scissor jack. Paul |
#3
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What automobile jack in lieu of the supplied scissor jack?
"Paul" wrote
>> I was thinking either a 2-ton bottle jack or a 2.5 ton floor jack. The >> bottle jack is a lot cheaper, but safety is more important. The floor >> jack'd seem safer, but would take up a lot more space in the trunk. ? >> >> Thanks, >> Howard > How about a piece of wood under the jack to provide a stable base and > increase the footprint? > > I do have a compact floor jack that I use at home, but for space and > weight reasons, I don't carry it around. I think a bottle jack would have > an even smaller footprint than the scissor jack. Thanks, Paul. Pictures I've seen of some bottle jacks do have an apparently large footprint. However, it seems bottle jacks may not go low enough to get it under the frame when a tire goes flat to the ground. I'm starting to look for a heavier-duty scissor jack.... |
#4
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What automobile jack in lieu of the supplied scissor jack?
Howard Lester wrote:
> What recommendation(s) would you give for a better jack to keep in the > trunk? I have an '04 Accord Sedan, and had to use the little scissor jack a > few weeks ago to replace a flat tire. Not only is there a lot of effort > required to turn that jack about 45 times to raise the side of the car to > the desired height, its footprint is so small that I felt very unsafe being > near the car when jacked up. I also feared the car come crashing down on the > hub/brake assembly..... > > I was thinking either a 2-ton bottle jack or a 2.5 ton floor jack. The > bottle jack is a lot cheaper, but safety is more important. The floor jack'd > seem safer, but would take up a lot more space in the trunk. ? > > Thanks, > Howard > > i think you're on a wild goose chase - no scissor jack that i've ever seen could be described as "safe". and in terms of quality, the honda jack is certainly better than most auto store replacements. bottom line, suggested use is only for emergencies and you should observe a good deal of caution when using it. you should certainly never consider using it unless the vehicle is on flat pavement and the brakes/transmission is/are locked. if you want "safe", carry a hydraulic lift jack, axle stands and wheel wedges. |
#5
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What automobile jack in lieu of the supplied scissor jack?
Howard Lester wrote:
> What recommendation(s) would you give for a better jack to keep in the > trunk? I have an '04 Accord Sedan, and had to use the little scissor jack a > few weeks ago to replace a flat tire. Not only is there a lot of effort > required to turn that jack about 45 times to raise the side of the car to > the desired height, its footprint is so small that I felt very unsafe being > near the car when jacked up. I also feared the car come crashing down on the > hub/brake assembly..... > > I was thinking either a 2-ton bottle jack or a 2.5 ton floor jack. The > bottle jack is a lot cheaper, but safety is more important. The floor jack'd > seem safer, but would take up a lot more space in the trunk. ? > > Thanks, > Howard --------------------------------- Floor jacks are no good on the roadside, unless you're going to also carry a big steel plate for it to roll on, since they roll under the vehicle (a couple inches) as they lift. You can get 'stubby' bottle jacks and take along something to increase the footprint. 'Curly' |
#6
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What automobile jack in lieu of the supplied scissor jack?
On Jun 5, 6:22 pm, "Howard Lester" > wrote:
> What recommendation(s) would you give for a better jack to keep in the > trunk? snip > > I was thinking either a 2-ton bottle jack or a 2.5 ton floor jack. The > bottle jack is a lot cheaper, but safety is more important. The floor jack'd > seem safer, but would take up a lot more space in the trunk. ? > > Thanks, > Howard The OEM jack in my minivan is significantly more sturdy than the one in my Accord. Perhaps a junkyard is the place to find a replacement jack. Floor jacks won't work on soft road shoulders; better to carry along a big, stable base for the scissor jack, as suggested. Usually, its not the jack that gives me fits. More often it's the lug nuts and an underinflated spare. So I carry a better wrench for the nuts and a floor-standing bicycle pump for the tires. These two tools have saved me several times when my wife called to have me change one of her co-worker's tires at the elementary school where she works. Or there's always the AAA/cell phone route to roadside service. |
#7
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What automobile jack in lieu of the supplied scissor jack?
Thanks for all the responses and recommendations. I'll stick with the little
scissor jack and just be careful! When I changed out the flat tire for the mini-spare that day, it was all done on my garage floor. But it was still pretty scary using that thing - it just looks too small for the job, especially when it's nearly fully extended. Bottle jacks do have a large bottom surface area, but their minimum height might not fit under the frame when the tire is flat, as I suggested yesterday..... I'll keep a small piece of plywood in the trunk just in case I ever have to change a tire on a dirt surface. Howard |
#8
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What automobile jack in lieu of the supplied scissor jack?
A few observations to help the confidence of the OEM jack
users: -- I have never seen a report here on any of these scissors jacks failing. One has to remember that the factor of safety built into these must be quite large (for the intended use, namely the occasional flat tire), else Honda is risking a lawsuit. I never heard of such a lawsuit against Honda. -- You had to extend the jack a long way to change the flat? This surprises me. I just want to double check: You raise the car so the original tire is just barely off the ground, right? -- For years I was shamelessly using the OEM jack that came with my 91 Civic for more than flat tires. (Come to think of it, I do not think I ever actually had a flat tire with my Civic.) E.g. I used it to rotate tires. This ages the jack more quickly. It did reach a point where it was hard to turn (despite lubing the threads). I bought a hydraulic lift at my local discount auto parts store a year or so ago for around $20 for general maintenance and, as it sounds like you can imagine, love it. I bought a new-used OEM scissors jack at a junkyard a few years ago and scrapped the original one that came with my Civic. -- I always tried to work quickly when the car was on the scissors jack, and tried to have backup supports (e.g. leave the tire on as long as possible; or have jack stands ready to move into position) simply as an added precaution. "Howard Lester" > wrote > Thanks for all the responses and recommendations. I'll > stick with the little scissor jack and just be careful! > When I changed out the flat tire for the mini-spare that > day, it was all done on my garage floor. But it was still > pretty scary using that thing - it just looks too small > for the job, especially when it's nearly fully extended. > > Bottle jacks do have a large bottom surface area, but > their minimum height might not fit under the frame when > the tire is flat, as I suggested yesterday..... > > I'll keep a small piece of plywood in the trunk just in > case I ever have to change a tire on a dirt surface. |
#9
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What automobile jack in lieu of the supplied scissor jack?
"Elle" wrote
> snip < > -- You had to extend the jack a long way to change the flat? This > surprises me. I just want to double check: You raise the car so the > original tire is just barely off the ground, right? Yes, that's right. I must have had to lift the frame up about 11" off the concrete, which is 1" less than the available travel of the jack. Maybe I could have removed the tire with 10", but it wouldn't have been as easy. The lift point I used is the one just toward the front of the left rear tire on this '04 Accord. I worked as fast as I could! BTW, the use of any jack I have/would have is for emergency use only. I'm not a DIY'er anymore. I'm still going to investigate as to whether or not there is one like it, but heavier-duty. Oh, and I am a AAA member, just in case. ;-) Howard |
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