Car jacks are just one of many basic tools anyone studying at an automotive college will learn to use. These are incredibly straightforward tools that differ in many ways in terms of shape, size, and mechanisms. Yet, they all play a critical role in lifting the vehicle so you can perform repairs underneath.

Choosing a good car jack for your car depends on several factors. Firstly, understand that there are jackscrew, hydraulic, and pneumatic car jacks, each suitable for different uses. Then, choose one tall enough to reach your car’s jacking points. The jack must also be strong enough to sustain its weight and suited for your use case, whether in roadside emergencies or a workshop.

How Does A Car Jack Work?

One of the most important things before shopping for a new car jack is understanding how one works. That way, you’ll better understand the different options at your disposal and can make a better buying decision. A car jack is designed to lift at least a part of your vehicle off the ground. Doing so allows you to work on the vehicle’s underside.

More specifically, lifting the vehicle enables you to get underneath to inspect your vehicle’s underbody and perform repairs or parts replacements. For example, the most common reason people need to lift their cars is to change their tires or fix their suspension components.

To use a car jack safely and effectively, you must ensure that its bottom is placed on an even surface. Then, the top side must lift the car at one of its jacking points, which are reinforced parts of the underbody meant to work with the jack.

Using the jack precisely at one of the jacking points is crucial to ensure you don’t damage your vehicle. Placing the jack anywhere else will cause the vehicle’s weight to crush the body against that jack.

Here’s where things get really interesting: car jacks come in all shapes and sizes, but most importantly, they have different mechanisms. Car jacks and their mechanisms are not a one-size-fits-all solution, so you must understand how these things work before you choose the best one for your vehicle.

Here are the different mechanisms you can choose when shopping for car jacks:

Jackscrew: The jackscrew or ‘scissor jack’ mechanism is one of the most common forms that you’ll find, and it’s incredibly straightforward. The jack has two pieces that are moved up or down by a turning screw connecting them. Turning the screw pushes both pieces apart, one towards the ground and the other towards your car’s jacking points. Doing so lifts your vehicle.
Hydraulic Car Jack: Hydraulic car jacks use an incompressible fluid inside to raise your car off the ground. You’ll use a handle to pump that fluid and force it into a cylinder so it can push a metal ram upwards, lifting your vehicle off the ground. The jack already has the fluid inside it, making it portable.
Pneumatic Car Jack: Pneumatic car jacks, on the other hand, use air pressure instead of fluids to move their parts and raise your vehicle. There are portable jacks available on the market that rely on an air pump.

Depending on what you need the jack for and how you plan to use it, one or more of the mechanisms above will suit you better than the others. That’s why understanding your options and how the different car jacks work is crucial when buying.

How Do You Choose A Good Car Jack For Your Car?

Now that you understand what a car jack does and the different mechanisms you can choose from, it’s time to go shopping. Still, you can’t buy the best car jack for your vehicle without first understanding your needs.

Here are the things you must consider when choosing a good car jack for your car:

1. Vehicle Height

First and foremost, you must consider how high your car is when all four tires are on the ground. Besides that, you must also understand how high you’ll want the jack to lift your vehicle.

The reason for that is straightforward: all car jacks have a limited range of motion. So, for example, if you drive a pickup truck, the jacking points underneath are relatively higher than in a sedan.

Therefore, you need a jack that’s tall enough to fit underneath the truck and still be able to lift it off the ground.

2. Vehicle Weight

Aside from height limitations, car jacks also differ in how much weight they can carry.

So, you’ll need to do some homework for this part. Firstly, you must understand how much your vehicle weighs. Then, you can compare your car jack options based on their weight capacities.

3. Car Jack’s Purpose

As you read earlier, car jacks come in all shapes and sizes. So, you must also understand when and where you plan on using the jack before you buy one.

For example, suppose you want a car jack that’s only for emergency purposes. In that case, a compact jackscrew version is likely more than enough. On the other hand, an off-road vehicle will probably need something taller with a significantly higher weight capacity.

However, suppose you’re setting up a workshop and must lift many vehicles high off the ground. In that case, you’ll want an industrial car lift instead.

4. Other Car Jack Characteristics

Once you’ve figured out the first three considerations listed above, you’ll then want to choose the best car jack based on its other characteristics.

For instance, different brands and models will also have different base sizes. Plus, you might find that one option has a more comfortable jack handle than the other.

Of course, you also have other characteristics to choose from, like the car jack’s colour.

Although these things might not seem significant from a technical perspective, they’re still important. After all, you’re investing your hard-earned money into the car jack, so you might as well get one that suits your personal style and preferences.

A car jack is just one example of the many tools that automotive college students learn, whether they study superbike repairs or work on four-wheeled vehicles. To learn more about the resources available at the best automotive college in Malaysia, check out TOC Automotive College for more information!

How To Choose A Good Car Jack For Your Car