What automobile jack in lieu of the supplied scissor jack?

What recommendation(s) would you give for a better jack to keep in the
trunk? I have an '04 Accord Sedan, and had to use the little scissor jack a
few weeks ago to replace a flat tire. Not only is there a lot of effort
required to turn that jack about 45 times to raise the side of the car to
the desired height, its footprint is so small that I felt very unsafe being
near the car when jacked up. I also feared the car come crashing down on the
hub/brake assembly.....

I was thinking either a 2-ton bottle jack or a 2.5 ton floor jack. The
bottle jack is a lot cheaper, but safety is more important. The floor jack'd
seem safer, but would take up a lot more space in the trunk. ?

Thanks,
Howard

 

How about a piece of wood under the jack to provide a stable base and
increase the footprint?

I do have a compact floor jack that I use at home, but for space and weight
reasons, I don't carry it around. I think a bottle jack would have an even
smaller footprint than the scissor jack.

Paul

 

"Paul" wrote

Thanks, Paul. Pictures I've seen of some bottle jacks do have an apparently
large footprint. However, it seems bottle jacks may not go low enough to get
it under the frame when a tire goes flat to the ground. I'm starting to look
for a heavier-duty scissor jack....

 

i think you're on a wild goose chase - no scissor jack that i've ever
seen could be described as "safe". and in terms of quality, the honda
jack is certainly better than most auto store replacements.

bottom line, suggested use is only for emergencies and you should
observe a good deal of caution when using it. you should certainly
never consider using it unless the vehicle is on flat pavement and the
brakes/transmission is/are locked. if you want "safe", carry a
hydraulic lift jack, axle stands and wheel wedges.

 

---------------------------------

Floor jacks are no good on the roadside, unless you're going to also
carry a big steel plate for it to roll on, since they roll under the
vehicle (a couple inches) as they lift.

You can get 'stubby' bottle jacks and take along something to increase
the footprint.

'Curly'

 

The OEM jack in my minivan is significantly more sturdy than the one
in my Accord. Perhaps a junkyard is the place to find a replacement
jack. Floor jacks won't work on soft road shoulders; better to carry
along a big, stable base for the scissor jack, as suggested.

Usually, its not the jack that gives me fits. More often it's the lug
nuts and an underinflated spare. So I carry a better wrench for the
nuts and a floor-standing bicycle pump for the tires. These two tools
have saved me several times when my wife called to have me change one
of her co-worker's tires at the elementary school where she works.

Or there's always the AAA/cell phone route to roadside service.

 

Thanks for all the responses and recommendations. I'll stick with the little
scissor jack and just be careful! When I changed out the flat tire for the
mini-spare that day, it was all done on my garage floor. But it was still
pretty scary using that thing - it just looks too small for the job,
especially when it's nearly fully extended.

Bottle jacks do have a large bottom surface area, but their minimum height
might not fit under the frame when the tire is flat, as I suggested
yesterday.....

I'll keep a small piece of plywood in the trunk just in case I ever have to
change a tire on a dirt surface.


Howard

 

A few observations to help the confidence of the OEM jack
users:

-- I have never seen a report here on any of these scissors
jacks failing. One has to remember that the factor of safety
built into these must be quite large (for the intended use,
namely the occasional flat tire), else Honda is risking a
lawsuit. I never heard of such a lawsuit against Honda.

-- You had to extend the jack a long way to change the flat?
This surprises me. I just want to double check: You raise
the car so the original tire is just barely off the ground,
right?

-- For years I was shamelessly using the OEM jack that came
with my 91 Civic for more than flat tires. (Come to think of
it, I do not think I ever actually had a flat tire with my
Civic.) E.g. I used it to rotate tires. This ages the jack
more quickly. It did reach a point where it was hard to turn
(despite lubing the threads). I bought a hydraulic lift at
my local discount auto parts store a year or so ago for
around $20 for general maintenance and, as it sounds like
you can imagine, love it. I bought a new-used OEM scissors
jack at a junkyard a few years ago and scrapped the original
one that came with my Civic.

-- I always tried to work quickly when the car was on the
scissors jack, and tried to have backup supports (e.g. leave
the tire on as long as possible; or have jack stands ready
to move into position) simply as an added precaution.

 

"Elle" wrote

Yes, that's right. I must have had to lift the frame up about 11" off the
concrete, which is 1" less than the available travel of the jack. Maybe I
could have removed the tire with 10", but it wouldn't have been as easy. The
lift point I used is the one just toward the front of the left rear tire on
this '04 Accord. I worked as fast as I could!

BTW, the use of any jack I have/would have is for emergency use only. I'm
not a DIY'er anymore. I'm still going to investigate as to whether or not
there is one like it, but heavier-duty. Oh, and I am a AAA member, just in
case. ;-)

Howard