Safe floor jack points

[Panduh]

Hoping there are sturdy points front and rear for a floor jack to raise the car. Cross member right behind radiator? Trailer hitch? Or do I need to use only side points like the factory welds, frame or suspension mounts? Thanks.

 

[peterk9]

Your Owner's Manual will show the jack points. Page 338 of the 2nd print. It shows the side points behind the front wheels and in front of the rear wheels.

Peter

 

[Panduh]

Your Owner's Manual will show the jack points. Page 338 of the 2nd print.

Peter

Yes, the reinforced points by each wheel. That's all? Surely there are other points sturdy enough for safe jacking.

 

[peterk9]

This where using the Forum's 'Search' feature comes in handy.
Central jack points on a 2016
Jack points
Tire rotation, jack points, lug nut torque spec and TPMS reset

Peter

 

[Adrian Gitch]

Yes, the reinforced points by each wheel. That's all? Surely there are other points sturdy enough for safe jacking.

Yeah, those locations stated in the manual are very awkward for jack stands. They don't sit quite right. Plus in order to put it on jackstands you have to still choose a location to jack it with the floor jack.

 

[xlt03]

I usually place floor jack under the lower control arms and place jack stands on the pinch weld points one corner at a time. There are arrows pointing to the spots, behind the front tires and in front of the rear tires. I have also picked up the front end with the floor jack on the subframe behind the radiator. For the rear I place floor jack under the lower control arm one side at a time.

 

[Panduh]

This where using the Forum's 'Search' feature comes in handy.
Central jack points on a 2016
Jack points
Tire rotation, jack points, lug nut torque spec and TPMS reset

Peter

Thanks for the links. I did search for this and came up with those same threads. They did not answer my questions. A couple of posts mentioned using the front cross member but the context and commentary were not reassuring. So I started a new thread to see if there was any new perspective on this subject. Apparently not.

 

[leon16]

Peter, under what section.
I've been searching for this for 2 days,
I only have the first edition in PDF file.

 

[peterk9]

You can download the latest edition (4th) here; https://owner.ford.com/tools/account/how-tos/owner-manuals.html?year=2013&make=Ford&model=Explorer Page 400 shows the jack points.

Peter

 

[leon16]

Thanks, have a good one

 

[Steve18Sport]

I jack from the pinch welds, as marked by arrows and recommended in the manual. But this only works because I use pinch weld adapters similar to this. Without the adapters I wouldn't want to use a flat jack on the metal edge...these really make it much safer and less chance of bending/damaging the pinch welds. Search on Google or Amazon for "pinch weld jack adapter" and you'll find them. Lesson learned: get the type that have a polymer pad inside an aluminum housing. The ones made from black rubber get cut up and destroyed after a single use.

Also, another key: I use a combined hydraulic jack and mechanical jack stand (usually four, one on each corner), so no need to find another support point other than the pinch weld on each corner.

 

[Bobs2018ExplorerSport]

On my 2011 Escape; then on my 2015 Edge, and now, on my 2018 Explorer, I've always put my floorjacks in the designated under-rail slots behind and ahead of the wheels as needed (as noted above), without any problem with a "bending" of the rails. They seem to be pretty solid and strong at their designated lift points. However, I also just recently found a hard-rubber "hockey puck" style of adapter on eBay, similar to the unit shown in the previous post, and I'll be trying those out on my next oil change, just to see how it works out.

When I change my oil, I put floor jacks under the railings just behind the front wheels, then jack it up, leaving the floor jacks in place... but also placing a sturdy jack stand underneath the vehicle for backup safety reasons, just underneath the rear edge of the A-frames. This still leaves me enough room to fit my large oil-catching pan underneath, to do what I need to do.

 

[Steve18Sport]

On my 2011 Escape; then on my 2015 Edge, and now, on my 2018 Explorer, I've always put my floorjacks in the designated under-rail slots behind and ahead of the wheels as needed (as noted above), without any problem with a "bending" of the rails. They seem to be pretty solid and strong at their designated lift points. However, I also just recently found a hard-rubber "hockey puck" style of adapter on eBay, similar to the unit shown in the previous post, and I'll be trying those out on my next oil change, just to see how it works out.

When I change my oil, I put floor jacks under the railings just behind the front wheels, then jack it up, leaving the floor jacks in place... but also placing a sturdy jack stand underneath the vehicle for backup safety reasons, just underneath the rear edge of the A-frames. This still leaves me enough room to fit my large oil-catching pan underneath, to do what I need to do.

Do yourself a favor and return the hockey pucks before you use them. YMMV, but I tried very similar ones and the pinch welds cut in and split them almost completely through on first use. They ended up being a one time use.

 

[Bobs2018ExplorerSport]

Thanks for the heads-up! These appear to be very hard rubber, but I can see your point, as there must be a ton of PSI weight put on these things by the siderail. I can definitely see them splitting into two.

I bought these months ago, and they were cheap, so I'm not really worried about returning them. Instead, when I do my next oil change, we'll see how they perform, and I'll keep the trashcan nearby!

 

[KayGee]

Thanks for the heads-up! These appear to be very hard rubber, but I can see your point, as there must be a ton of PSI weight put on these things by the siderail. I can definitely see them splitting into two.

I bought these months ago, and they were cheap, so I'm not really worried about returning them. Instead, when I do my next oil change, we'll see how they perform, and I'll keep the trashcan nearby!

Why not just get a set of ramps for oil changes? It is way easier than jacking.

As for those looking for jack points for other work, just choose a suitable subframe area depending on what you are working on. You can also jack on the lower control arms if needed. Jack stands can be placed under subframe areas as needed to secure the vehicle. Just be cautious about using a jack or jack stand way up front, say under the radiator, and instead try to use spot more suitable. There's a lot of potential spots like any other vehicle.

On a side note, decent floor jack's are cheap enough (~$100), so it pays to have 2. You can set them up on one side so a single person can operate both at the same time for tire rotations. It really makes tire rotations quick and easy.

 

[Bobs2018ExplorerSport]

Yep, I always use two separate floor jacks, when raising my front end up for an oil change.

As far as using car ramps, I stopped using those years ago; I was using thick metal ramps, but whenever I would try to drive up on them, they would try to slip on the smooth concrete garage floor, and occasionally shot out forward, as I would began to pull onto them. I decided to stop using them after this happened too many times. Perhaps the ones of today now have anti-slip surfaces built into them, but simply raising the car up using two floor jacks (and jackstands underneath, for safety) is simply ingrained into my oil change routine now.

 

[KayGee]

For those that have very smooth or painted garage floors that allow ramps to slide, there are many ways to mitigate that.

Cheap rubber floor mats are one. Companies often throw out worn floor mats or you can buy them cheap at flea markets. Try to find the softer commercial ones that don't slide, rather than the harder plastic ones.

A 2x6 on the ground between the ramp and garage wall will also keep the ramps from moving when driving up on them.

Also, some ramps have a longer built in pad to drive on before the ramp starts to keep them from moving. The better ones also have rubber feet/plugs in the bottom to also help keep them from sliding.

You can also secure a small strip of plastic or metal to the ground to act as a locator on where to stop when parking that can also act as a stop for the ramps to keep them from sliding forward.

Lots of options that are way faster and easier than using jacks and stands for an oil change.

I think the last time I used a stamped metal ramp was 20 years ago. They were junk back then and didn't work well. Get a good set of polymer ones. They are way better.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Ramps are much improved these days.

 

[peterk9]

Car Ramps in Automotive Stands and Supports - Walmart.com

Shop for Car Ramps in Automotive Stands and Supports. Buy products such as Guardian 8" Rubber Curb Ramp with Round End Caps at Walmart and save.

www.walmart.com

Peter

 

[Mbrooks420]

I’ve always wanted a set of ramps like they use to show off the cars undercarriage at dealers...