scissor jack dimensions/replacement

[edPower]

Thanks for the suggestion. Actually I think that happens with that piece rotated. I think it bends more because the jack is in contact just on those two indentations, is a really small area to so much weight.

[mohammad]

you are correct. the OEM jack lifts the vehicle by contacting the frame rail thing as shown in red in the photo and the very cheap aftermarket jack i bought is universal so it just holds up the weight of the car on the very small flat piece it has contact with as shown in green in the photo.


I have only used the jack once to test it. But I am not concerned with the small contact area. Even though the car is heavy and the contact area is so small if you take your car to an automotive shop with a 2 post hoist the lift arms have a flat contact area that they lift the car up with which is effectively the same as my aftermarket jack(they are like this because they are universal and have to work on all cars). I am much more concerned with the jack sliding out especially on unpaved surfaces as the OEM jack cannot slides as it grips on both sides of that flat piece shown in green.

Note that the OEM jack design is also idiot proof, it and prevent you from using the jack in inappropriate locations such as to lift one side of the car.


Mark's response is also correct, if possible you should definitely rotate the top of the jack to the "deep slot" configuration to maximize the contact area.

[edPower]

Thanks for your reply mohammad. Ok, make sense. I guess that lift the car only where you put the green arrow should be fine then, specially if we rotate that piece to maximize the contact as as you both suggested. I guess that jack points were made to cover the both use cases (otherwise on auto shops that will not be done).