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The great and the small
The hydraulic lift, found in pro-fessional garages, is the ideal way to raise your car safely and fast. There may be a garage near you where such lifts are available when you rent their space and facilities to work on your car. However, if you cannot avail yourself of this luxury, you can still get your car off the ground fairly easily by using the jacks and stands described in this chapter. Be sure to heed the safety tips for each type; they may save you from the awkward experience of having your car roll over you.
Use the bumper jack supplied with your car to raise only one wheel just long enough to change a tire. You will find in-structions on a decal attached to the inside of the trunk lid. At no time should the bumper jack be used to raise both front or both rear wheels. Above all, never get under a car which is supported only by a bumper jack.
How to chock the wheels. Even if you have set the parking brake before you start jacking up the car, you must also place chocks against the tires at the other end of the car. The parking brake may not hold when one end is raised. If the car rolls off the jack, you or the car or both can be seriously harmed. A car can roll off metal support jack stands even if only one end is raised, especially if the auto is not on level ground. When jacking the rear wheels, place chocks in front of the front wheels.
When jacking up the front wheels, chock the back of the rear wheels. Use anything handy for a chock: a block of wood, a brick, a large stone, or even your spare tire.
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