For the Guys/Ladies that work on their car.
 

Where do you work on your car? Do you work inside your own garage?

I'm setting things up for myself and want to know what you guys have setup inside your garage as far as tools and lifting devices.

I'm really concerned on what tools I will use to raise the car so I can work on the underbody (for exhaust install etc). I was believing 2 car jacks on each side? Haven't done any research on the proper way. So what do you use?

i work in my single car garage in the winter on on the driveway in the summer. i just have a 2.5 ton jack and stands so i can jack it up to get underneath for oil changes and exhaust (i did mine this past winter) along with suspension. as for tools i have an extensive amount of wrenches, sockets, ratchets, and various other hand tools in standard and metric for all my working needs.

I know it seems like I need for it to be dumbed down, but I always evaluate situations a dozen times when its regarding my safety. Where do you place the stands? Situation wise when you work on the front do you place them close to the jack? Or at the midpoint of the car?

Also, could you fully suspend the entire car on stands and use a rolly to slide up and down underneath the car?

Also noticed I'll be moving to your neck of the woods coming this July 30th :smile:. I may lure you for your supervision with offerings of women/booze/drugs :pound:.

get a drive-on ramp, preferably one that raises it enough that you can get under it
yeahh.. ur gunna need a sockets/ratchets (mainly metric because ur driving a honda), a can of pb blaster if ur doin exhaust, a garage creeper would help... or a big peice of cardboard... i prefer the cardboard slip-n-slide :)
if ur doin maintenance (e.g. oil change) u should get a oil catcher (dunno what its really called.. usually for containing the oil/antifreeze or w.e and it has a spout.... ill bring one next time i come to a meet)
lots of rags. and i mean a friggen bunch.
a really good shop light.
a 24 of ur choice of beer+mini-fridge
a good jack, don't cheap out and dumpster dive lol u don't want one giving out on u.
2 jack stand capable of supporting 2 tons... just 2 be safe



IF UR REALLY GETTIN INTO IT..

a torch, mig welder


...hope that helps.. thats as much as i can think of atm..

OH. and a garage heater... cuz in winter the lil mini room heater doesn't cut it trust me..

As for your question about placement of the jack stands... Below I've attached a basic diagram that I found while surfing the net. Every car is different but this is pretty generic on I'd say every car.

http://www.focushacks.com/images/jacking.gif

haha it'll be cool to have someone from tcc around here, we can have our own mini meets lol. and i got a gf so no women, but booze always works :D

yeah you should check out that link, but once you are around my area, i can gladly come help you out and show you. pretty much you want it on the seams near the wheels, or the sub-frame near the wheels, never in the middle.

man i WISH i had some sort of heater in my garage, i work frozen-fingered all winter long :smow: :pound:

ahhh bud so im guessing u've already had the @%@%@!@$%&$& rampage after jamming ur finger after it gets numb ehh... oh man i love my dogs face expression at times like those... priceless..:rant:..:confused::eek:

I've been lucky. My parents have a tree farm where my dad built a 1300sqft shop to house his tools, tractors etc... The floor is concrete and super smooth and flat. It also has a wood burning furnace for the winter.

Buy a good, high-quality aluminum low-profile floor jack and at least 2 high-quality jack stands. I find even with the car on four jack-stands, there is still not enough room underneath the civic for a crawler. That means lying on your back on the ground. I often use old pieces of carpet to soften the ground.

Make sure you've got a good ratchet set with 1/4, 3/8's, and 1/2" drivers and assorted wide range of sockets. A variety of screwdrivers, pliers, and channel locks are also good to have around. A breaker bar and torque wrench are handy too.

The more jobs you do the more tools you'll need. You'll find there are certain jobs that require a certain odd-ball tool or socket.

It's also good to have a buddy there when you're doing a more complex procedure for safety and to give you a hand when you need it.

Depending on the job, you'll want to jack that end of the car up and support it from both sides. You can google search or check the owners manual for the proper jacking and safe supporting locations for your car.

DIY FTW!!!!!! :wink:

I do all of my workin the driveway, although i have never done any exhaust work. I have 4 jack stands, a set of 2 drive up ramps (the ramps where 50 from CTC) and a good 2 1/2 ton jack. I find if i need to raise the whole car up, i will either dirve the front or rear up on the ramps then jack up the other end. The only disagvatage to the drive up ramps is height clearance, I installed extensions on mine as to no scrap the front, also if you drive up on the ramps you can't remove the tires.

Nice info guys. Thanks!

yep ive got the whole bruised nuckles, chipped bones etc lol ;)

^All part of the fun! :)

haha you know it!

As mentioned, 4 stands, a good jack and lots of sockets including deep/standard in 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 drives. Many screw drivers, pry bar, pliers, channel locks, breaker bar are the minimun need.
I work in 2 car garage that only houses one car so I got lots of room for everything. At the moment I have a tool box full of wrenches, extensions and way too many sockets. Many wrenches and screw drivers, pliers etc. Then the odd tools like compression tester, feeler gauge, ring compressor and many more. All those come in handy when you got yourself a bigger project. Also have a flux core welder, engine stand, engine hoist and ofcourse jack and stands.
Going under the car with stands all the way up is still quite uncomfortable. Your arms are bent and everything is happening few inches away from your face. So the key is to not drop anything or it'll hurt lol.

Btw 2ton stands are overkill. Your car weighs a ton if that. Only advantage is that they go higher up than 1ton stands.

ramps, jack, stands, basic ratchet set n screwdriver set... roomate has compressor, air tools, impact gun, all kinds of ****... he's a tool n die maker so if i need anything it's all right there. no garage tho... just a closed off space by the front door, keeps the rain off but that's it. also i pick up w/e i read from the diy's

I'm lucky enough to work in a high end dealership with access to 12 bays and unlimited tools and knowledge... whatever I need is right there, always. :)

Last night did both front lower ball joints. Had everything I needed and everything went smoothly.

Can't stress enough how having the right tools available can make all the difference. :nod:

Air tools are a HUGE life & time saver in certain situations. Being able to rip a stuborn bolt off in 2 seconds comes in real handy...lol.

Investing in a decent air compressor is not a bad idea. Air ratchets, impact guns, die-grinders, and air chizzle/hammers are all excellent tools to have available.