Dummies guide to Axle Stands

Mouse_GTI · Post by **Mouse_GTI** » Thu May 17, 2007 8:39 pm

Right my next oil change is due in 500 miles, meaning 2 weeks away, so I've decided to invest in axle stands rather than pay Â£20 for a garage to do it. A few questions:

1) Any good ones online that are quite cheap? The Halfords ones online are out of stock and my local Halfords never have them in
2) How do you set them up. Do you need some special jack that fits under the car and lifts it up evenly at the front then back? If so, again, anyone recommend a good but cheap one?

Thanks in advance!

dragon_green · Post by **dragon_green** » Thu May 17, 2007 11:01 pm

try http://www.justoffbase.co.uk/Tool-Shop/Axle-Stands if you want to get some online.

as for setting them up, i've always used the standard wheel jack and raised one side at a time. Sometimes it struggles to get the car high enough in the air. I've placed the stand under one of the protruding 'rails' that run under the car towards the front lower arm mounting.

omicron · Post by **omicron** » Thu May 17, 2007 11:22 pm

Use a pair of inspection ramps. Easier and far safer.

Mouse_GTI · Post by **Mouse_GTI** » Fri May 18, 2007 9:42 am

omicron wrote:Use a pair of inspection ramps. Easier and far safer.

Bit of a problem when your car is lowered

mk4 glx 1.6 · Post by **mk4 glx 1.6** » Fri May 18, 2007 9:55 am

Mouse_GTI wrote:
omicron wrote:Use a pair of inspection ramps. Easier and far safer.
Bit of a problem when your car is lowered

Even a standard gti would not get up them (without removing the splitter). I have a pair of inspection ramps and tried.

If you don't already have a trolley jack, make sure you buy one of those as well if possible. The standard VW or pretty much any scissor jack is dangerous and really should only be used in real emergencies.

As for axle stands, as long as they are rated 2 tonnes+, it doesn't really matter what brand/type you purchase. You'll need to jack up each corner individually in order to place the jack stands at each (or 2) corner(s).

omicron · Post by **omicron** » Fri May 18, 2007 2:04 pm

Mouse_GTI wrote:
omicron wrote:Use a pair of inspection ramps. Easier and far safer.
Bit of a problem when your car is lowered

Drive on to a lump of wood first then. The front splitter on my Camry's fairly low, and it's got a lot more length in front of the wheels than most and I don't have any trouble ramping it if I drive onto a thickish plank first.

Personally, I've always been taught never to work under a vehicle supportted jsut by axle stands purely for safety reasons. I know people who do (as well as bricks/tyres and god knows what else) but it's not a safe option.

david burton · Post by **david burton** » Fri May 18, 2007 2:11 pm

there's absolutely no way to get my Polo on axle stands, and using a piece of wood is crazy as it'd have to be huge to actually help!

why are axle stands to unsafe in your opinion?

car ramps are welded metal, so are axle stands. axle stands are very stable because they are op a tripod design so they can't topple over unless someone somehow manages to push your car sideways so the stands start to topple onto one of the legs.

here's a tip for changing the oil - take the front wheel off. makes getting to the job so much easier. unless you have a tray to take off, that is!

if there's no tray you should only need one axle stand. place it under something very solid and part of the structure of the car - not the underbody and not the engine, probably a suspension part will be easiest.

RUM4MO · Post by **RUM4MO** » Mon May 28, 2007 10:09 pm

Some time ago I made up solid wooden ramps - 4-off with a long lowish initial state then a second long higher stage, and of course stops at the ends. The correct position for placing axle stands is at the four indicated VW jacking points - the welded/folded seam is stronger at these four points. The trolley jack should be placed below where you can see the smallish circular grommets or plugs as that is where you can fit the Audi TT jacking point protectors - very handy for protecting the chassis when using a diy trolley jack - also very easy for quickly identifying the jacking position.