What are the keys for correctly operating an aluminum floor jack?
Note: These are only general guidelines. You should completely follow the directions that are provided in your owner’s manual for the jack you have.
First, you need to park the vehicle on a completely flat area. A driveway for instance with no slope. Put it in park and put on the emergency brake. You can also use a triangle block to place under the wheel for extra safety and to keep the vehicle moving even an inch.
Next you have to decide where to place the jack stand and what support points you’ll use on the vehicle. If you don’t know for sure, don’t do it. Check the owners manual for direction. Do the wrong thing here and you could hurt yourself seriously or at least damage the car.
When you are finished working and ready to lower the jack, make sure everything is clear. Then lower the jack slowly and gently. If you do it suddenly and something is’nt right, again you could do some major damage to yourself, someone else nearby or what you are working on.
If you have never used the jack before, you can try raising and lowering it a few times before actually using it just to get a feel for how it operates.
The video below gives some basic operating instructions for using an hydraulic aluminum floor jack, or any floor jack for that matter. Nothing like seeing, and this video of about 1 minute in length will give you an overview of using a floor jack.
