What is the best jack for a lifted CUCV?

[gt1009]

I have a 4 inch pro comp lift coming in a few days for my m1009. I am wondering what kind of jack I should use. Will the stock cucv jack be able to give me enough clearence to change the springs and such. I'm thinking about getting a Hi-lift and hooking a chain around the jack and then through the tow rings. What are you guys using?
Thanks,

 

[steelsoldiers]

IMO, I wouldn't rely on the stock jack for anything other than filling the jack bracket. Get yourself a good high-reach floor jack. Even better are the ones that go all the way to the axle housing in one pump. To change the leaf springs, I used a floor jack to get the front or rear axle housing as high as the jack would go. Then, put jack-stands under the frame-rails on either side. Finally, remove the wheels and lower the axle-housing with the floor jack. That should give you enough droop to get the old springs out and the new ones in. It's not a bad project if you soak everything with penetrating oil for a couple of days before. Even with that, be prepared to cut some bolts. I like high-lift jacks for the trail, but not for repair projects.

 

[doghead]

Since you asked the jack question, it seems obvious that you don't have a good(suitable) jack now. That would lead me to the thought that you also lack experience in this dept (gotta learn somehow). When you do this project, have a buddy there to help/watch you. An extra hand and eyes is always helpful. Be especially careful as you wrestle those springs out while your rig is precariously suspended by jack-stands (or whatever you use) Do Not use bricks! Investing in a good floor jack and a set of 4 jack stands is essential to owning a truck.

 

[steelsoldiers]

Good tips DH. To add to that even further, don't be tempted to do both ends at the same time. Keep one end of the truck safely on the ground. Don't skimp on the jack and jack-stands either. I use the Craftsman Professional series 4-ton floor jack and 12-ton jack stands. You can't have too much jack-stand when it comes to supporting 6-25k lbs of vehicle while you are working on it. Never rely on the jack alone when you are working under a truck. Use your jack stands for everything, but a tire change.

 

[sermis]

XXX ON THE HI-LIFT. I use them all the time but know what they are going to do, fall. In the shop I use floor jack, jack stands, oak blocks. You are not only going to need to lift the vehicle but also raise and lower the axel and will be pulling and pushing while getting the springs on and off. Make sure the truck is suported well, very well.

 

[gt1009]

Thanks for the replies guys. And yes DH, this is my first time lifting a truck, and I will have at least one buddy there to help me out. I think I will also employ the help of an impact wrench to make things easier. I have a set of 6 ton jack stands to put the truck on while I am doing work also.

 

[CCATLETT1984]

up here in MI, we do lots of truck lifts at a buddies barn. IMHO the best thing to use on the rear are some large timbers under the jack stands if you need more height. another trick if you have an extra pair of stands that arent quite high enough, is to weld them ontop of a truck rim, you need to more than tack weld them, but when its done, they work great.

in the rear, you may as well cut the u-bolts, i have yet to see a set come off in one piece.

 

[steelsoldiers]

Good point, Chris. I have a whole stack of 6x6 and 4x6 crib blocks for my projects. You just can't have too much crib around.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Watch your local Sears for their sales on jacks and jackstands. On the holidays and such they like to sell their 3-ton jacks with a set of the same size stands for a decent price. I got mine that way about 5 years ago for the same as the jack normally goes for alone.
A 3 ton jack and 3-ton stands are more than enough for a CUCV. If you get into the big boy toys like some of the guys here they're a bit small but a 6000lb M1008 or 5000lb M1009 will be fine with a 3-ton jack and stands.

I do like mentioned above and lift the truck up by the axles and then position stands under the frame rails if I need to do suspension work. However my problem for a while now has been that my trucks are taller than my jackstands. What I ended up doing was cutting up a whole bunch of 2x4's and making them into these big stands that the jackstands sit on. They're solid and about 10"x10"x14" and give my stands enough height to be useful for my Ranger that had lots of wheel travel and my just damn big CUCV. I also made a similiar, but larger, stand for my jack if I ever need to get the body or tires really high. I put a lip made of 1"x1" around it to keep the jack from falling off.

 

[Michael]

You might as well get a bottle jack at the start of this project. You are going to need to keep one in the truck when you are done because the OEM jack ain't going to do the job if you need it after a lift and a second jack comes in handy sometimes when you are in the middle of one of these projects.

I found this link just now on bottle jacks. Anybody have any comments on what they are saying about quality. I didn't realize all of the US made jacks had gone overseas, but I am not surprised either. I have had fair luck with the china made ones but I don't use them very often either and I use twice as big as needed. I bought a pair of 20 ton jacks to try and get my M35 unstuck.

http://www.hyjacks.com/H1.HTM

 

[smalltruck]

Please do not reuse the old ubolts. I know some people do but I would reccomend against it. And this is very important make sure to check and retighten them after a few, less than a hundred, miles.
George

 

[Bogi]

New Type Jack Available for the HMMWV

There is a new jack for the HMMWV and other vehicles. It's pretty cool, very different. The web site is www.hmmwvjack.com. The Army budgeted money to buy almost 19,000 of these.
I know the USMC are buying them.

 

[CCATLETT1984]

RE: New Type Jack Available for the HMMWV

that is not an effecient jack for a lifted cucv, a blazer maybe. but that thing wont even touch my axle at its max lift, let alone get the tire off the ground.