Jack Stands

I recently completed a tune up (plugs, wires, BHR Ignition kit) and Revi air duct install on my RX8. I also happen to have a mid pipe sitting in the garage. I decided against installing the mid pipe, since I think it would be safer to do this on a lift. Back in my younger and stupider days (late teens-early 20's,) I would have been doing this alone with only a scissor jack. Now, I'm not really comfortable yanking on the exhaust bits, even with it on jack stands. Have I become a Bob Costas in my old (28) age?

No, you were just really stupid in your young age! Jack stands are some of the cheapest life insurance money can buy. If you're not comfortable working the car with jackstands, well sure, that is lame...big jack stands will hold the vehicle just as well as a lift. If you're moving the car so much that big jack stands will tip or the vehicle will slide off the stands, you're doing it wrong.

With that said, you mention a scissor jack (free) and a lift ($$$$)...the mid point is a set of jack stands at about $50. Deceiving that the mid point of $0 and $2000 is only $50, I know!

Bryce

Oh, I have the jack stands now, and a small 2 ton hydraulic jack. I have a friend with a shop that has a lift. Maybe I'm just being lazy and I'm trying to balance the having it on "now," versus the "easier" way this weekend.

EDIT: I was too slow, and now my answer makes no sense...

Yeah, do the jackstands.

Carefully, of course!

It's a lot easier to set the car on jackstands with a floor jack than a scissor jack, as you can get each end of the car up level instead of one corner at a time. Otherwise you have to pay even more attention to making sure you're not rocking a stand as you raise another part of the car.

I bet you can get stands and a floor jack for close to a C-note from HF. I wouldn't mind a nicer and/or lighter one, but my HF floor jack and stands have been just dandy for several years now.

rotard wrote: ..."now," versus the "easier" way this weekend.

It's Friday. Use the lift!

I find that ramps work well too

Work safe and smart. Use the buddies lift, and tools, and extra hands, you buy the beer, win/ win

you really want to use that lift anyway, right?

Not Bob Costas, just smart

Oh yeah, I wanna give a shout out for swivels, flexes, and extensions.

Just wanted to chime in and state that doing exhaust work under a car that's on jack stands kinda sucks. Totally safe! But sucks. I for one would wait until I can get it done on a lift.

exhaust work sucks all around..

mad_machine wrote: I find that ramps work well too

I do like my ramps a lot.

I had a trusted scissor jack fail before my eyes once.

I'm also a fan of using a lift if available. It makes things so much easier, why wouldn't you?

Occasionally I get to work on my father's 10K lbs. two-post lift, and every time the whole car starts to shake on the lift from cranking on some stuck bolt or whatever, I get more scared than when working under a car on jack stands. Maybe it's because the car isn't so far off the ground on jack stands, or because I always leave the jack in place in the "up" position. Or maybe it's because I've seen way too many of those "car falls off lift" videos on youtube.

Woody wrote: I had a trusted scissor jack fail before my eyes once.

some scissor lifts I would not trust to change a tyre on the side of the road with. The one that came with my NG900 was Half a scissor lift. Literally, it looked like only half a lift.. and was about as stable

clutchsmoke wrote: Just wanted to chime in and state that doing exhaust work under a car that's on jack stands kinda sucks. Totally safe! But sucks. I for one would wait until I can get it done on a lift.

QFT. I had to replace my FC's rotting, rusted exhaust with only two jack stands to hold up the ass end and no creeper. That was not fun. At least the Racing Beat dual-exit cat-back I replaced it with was worth it!

I remember reading a story about a guy working on his car in his dirt driveway and it fell on him.

Apparently they discovered that he didn't die right away, you could tell by the holes he dug under himself trying to get out.

I -NEVER- get under a car without jack stands anymore.

Shawn

And even though it's on jackstands, always give the car a good shake before you get under it, just to make sure everything is holding like it should. I usually also pull a couple of wheels and stack them under the car as a backup. I'm a belt AND suspenders kinda guy

Mmhmm. I've dropped cars off jackstands before. And then there are those evil round based stands. A true fools move.