1

Is there any problem with jacking a car from its side? The following illustration shows the idea:

Assuming that the car is on park and parking brake is fully engaged.

With this approach, I can rotate my wheels. Also, this should be safer than jack stand all four wheels, since I have the stability and support of the other side wheels.

1
  • 1
    If you're taking two wheels off the car on the same side for rotation, its good practice to pop the spare on the axle you're not actively working on. Mostly to limit impact damage if something goes wrong.
    – Criggie
    Jan 21, 2017 at 8:27

1 Answer 1

2

There's no issue with doing this as long as you place the jack stands in supporting places on the side of the car and the car is on flat, firm, level ground.

Your statement about "... this should be safer than jack stand all four wheels..." is a bad premise. As long as the jack stands are at supporting places on the car and you are on flat ground, there should be absolutely no stability issues with jack stands at all four wheels. This is covered on this question/answer series.

5
  • Rotating tiers this way is easier. How come this approach is not popular? I have't seen anyone jack a car like this.
    – Allan Xu
    Nov 1, 2015 at 14:11
  • @AllanXu, That's exactly what I do when I need to rotate tires.
    – JPhi1618
    Nov 2, 2015 at 15:51
  • Thank you Paulster2 and @JPhi1618 for confirming the approach. One more question and I am good to go. Which one of a Floor Jack vs a Bottle Jack would be a safer and preferred jack option for this scenario?
    – Allan Xu
    Nov 2, 2015 at 18:02
  • @AllanXu, That sounds like another, good question, but I'd say floor jack. Bottle jack won't fit under most cars, and normally has a very small jacking surface.
    – JPhi1618
    Nov 2, 2015 at 18:32
  • I once did this on an old car, and the jack went right through a rusted spot. (Oooooops....) Nov 5, 2015 at 2:06

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .