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Working on uneven or soft ground


98gpgt

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This is what I do. Even the small floor jack will mar concrete. Certainly jackstands will, and the situation is worse when you're forced to work on black top for whatever reason. I may actually do the balljoint on the opposite side w/o turning the car around, no concrete there, just lawn stones, but I haven't done that to date, not sure about that yet. I have 2 nearlt identical steel plates, say about 18" square, around 3/16" thick, that I keep in the car allbthe time. They're not very heavy. In fact I walked them home 2-3 milesba while back when I thought my car was undriveable. About 15$ for both. The larger plate on the right I purchases earlier for a different project.

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A few layers of folded up boxes will protect your driveway from jack and jackstand marring. My drive way is a blacktop and I do NOT look forward to redoing it summer `18. I hope youve got something to cushion your stands against that painted metal. Unless you want rust to set in where the gouges are sure to be. Cuz thats how you get rust easy.

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Surface rust I don't care about. I've seen vehicles that spent their life on the shore line and major thick frame components were exploded and actually separating into layers due to salty moist air. Ok that's the most extreme. But generally I'm not bent out of shape over rust. Sure you should avoid it if possible. And I'm not sure if you actually mean protect the stands (they're 20+ years old) or the car (bought it for 300$), and although it's been amazing thus far, I got way too much going on to obsess over it, no offence meant though.

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Ok if it doesn't move at all, and it shouln't, it won't. It's extra precaution. But a trolley jack can and did a few weeks ago, cuz it rolls. It's just scratches, but who needs it. When I lived with my p's, mom would freak over every little thing. So I eventually figured out how to avoid it. A car up on stands for a week or more could chisel a bit into concrete I bet though. You avoid all of that with the plates. And on uneven ground some thin wood or cardboard may help so the steel doesn't malform.

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Interesting, I've never had a jackstand or jack do any damage to concrete, only blacktop

Its concrete. You cant hurt it. Unless you have a big piece of equipment.

Edited by 94 olds vert
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  • 2 weeks later...

Pieces of wood will work fine for that as well. If you have no concrete or asphalt to work on, the wood is a great idea because the jack and stands will sink into the ground somewhat without it. Wood is also handy if you have an epoxied floor in a garage or shop to protect the finish from jack stands.

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