Cheaper than the usual sale price of $49.99
Bought 2 pairs last promo, used a few times and feels very stable with a 1.4 tonne car
Cheaper than the usual sale price of $49.99
Bought 2 pairs last promo, used a few times and feels very stable with a 1.4 tonne car
Whats the benefit of this type over ratchet?
Have only ever used these ones
simpler = more reliable
I have both, 99% of time i use the ratchet ones. Once in a year I use all four when I have to rotate tyres. Changing height on these is slightly slower compared to ratchets. I guess for occasional use time benefit might not be too much. You need to remember until your car is on stands it's not very safe, getting the right
height quickly can give you much needed piece of mind.
I went outside to study my ratchet type and I don't think there is any benefit to this type. In fact I think the opposite is true. After watching people struggle with the type in this deal, I specifically bought 2x sets of this type: https://www.supercheapauto.com.au/p/sca-sca-car-stands-ratch… (neither were from SCA though).
With the ratchet type you only need one hand to position the stand on the ground, then use the same hand to lift the ratchet bar (the black piece), and let it fall back down a few mm to lock it in place. Not high enough? Raise the jack a little more, do the same again.
But with the type in this deal (unless you already know the height you want the stand at before sliding it under) you have to use both hands at the same time… one hand to pull the black bar up until its holes line up with the red part AND hold it there, then the other hand to push the pin in AND make sure it's all the way through.
Most of the time I would find that impossible without lying down flat on the floor because you have no free hand to lean on. (But my car chassis lift points might be further under than others.)
I just think if something went wrong I'd rather have only one hand pinned than two. At least you could still grab something, slam it against a wall, yell until a neighbour hears - or use your free hand to operate your phone.
The ratchet ones do have a shear pin that can fail. But people don't seem to understand how this works. There's a side release handle that tilts up and down a few cm. It's other end bends and pokes through the centre of a large curved "tooth" (it looks kind of like half of the "yin and yang" symbol). That tooth locks into angled slots in the black ratchet bar which holds the car up. I think what most people don't realise is, that tooth is shaped/balanced in such a way that once it is set in place with the car weight on it, it is LOCKED and CANNOT release without both the weight of the vehicle lifted off again AND the sheer pin operative.
i.e. The tiny lightweight sheer pin - hence designed to SHEER OFF… is NOT holding the tooth in place which in turn holds up the car. That would be crazy. The sheer pin only operates when you lift the light side release handle, and you can only do that when there's no weight on the stand. That's why the sheer pin is there… so if some twit tries to pull up on the side release handle while a car is on it, the sheer pin sheers off - meaning the car stays securely in place. (If the sheer pin wasn't there, if these two bits were welded together, it would still take something like a small bottle jack to raise that side release handle enough to disengage the large tooth with the weight of a car on it. It can't happen by mistake.
So… even if the shear pin did fail, the stand is not going to collapse with the car on it. When you finish your work, you raise the car on the jack again ready to pull the stand out, you go to lift the side release handle and it will just flop up and down freely because the sheer pin has broken. Which means the large tooth will stay locked into the black ratchet bar slot.
To get the stand out with a broken sheer pin, you'd have raise the jack a couple more cm than usual so you can tip the stand over and drag it out. (It might collapse at this point with the weight off it, but who cares… you were dragging it out ready to lower the car anyway.) Then you'd have to replace the sheer pin before next use, or you'll be able to raise the black ratchet stand, but won't be able to lower it a notch without pulling the stand back out and doing it manually using both hands to operate the large tooth and lower the ratchet bar.
I was going take a video to show what I mean but the large tooth is encased by the bottom half of the stand - too difficult to see. Hope this helps someone decide.
Also, just because because the "pin" on this type looks thick, doesn't mean it has no metallurgical faults. With all types of stand we should still center a spare wheel under the vehicle chassis rail, close to us, in case something goes wrong. (Keep sliding the wheel as you move so your brain and lungs can't become pancakes.)
I don't always slide a spare wheel under, but I'm always on high alert, and do raise the hydraulic jack to match the stand. And if I need to change sides, I move the jack to that side too. That way at least 2 things (3 if using wheel/s too) have to fail at the same time to trap me. And I keep my phone in my pocket.
Personally I wouldn't buy the cheapest type of car stand from SCA, nor from other stores like Repco/Aldi. I'd go up at least one step in quality. These will be made in China, cast from who knows what metal they've tossed into a fire at who knows what temperature, probably with zero non-destructive testing done (NDT is similar to an x-ray to check for internal faults in the metal), lower half could have poor quality welds, etc. Who cares about everything else, but with the thing that keeps a gap between your car and the ground for your head? Yeah, nah.
TL;DR
@jackspratt: Then why make a smartarse comment.
you can measure how much you want this one lift up by
just by putting it next to your car and trying different heights.
there's only a few pin holes on this so not too many height options.
don't think that it is as difficult as you make out it to be.
Most people use the scissor jack ones that comes with their cars to lift up and hold the car temporary with it..
while the car is held there by the scissor jack, you can push these under your car to test if the height is suitable or need use the Scissor jack some more.
@pinkybrain: Well I didn't give a difficulty rating. :-) I just said I bought the ratchet type after using both types at other people's places over the years. The ratchet type means I can stay upright and lean on one hand instead of lying down in the dirt, which risks getting grease and dirt on the car interior. I lie on a fridge cardboard box when I'm under the car. But if I bought this type of car stand, I'd have to move that box 5x times to keep my clothes clean. (Left side up, right side up, work underneath, right side down, left side down.)
My car also has only 4x positions (one each corner) where the scissor jack can be used. But they are the same positions the car stands need to go (with the front anyway - the rear also has the diff and axles). So if I used a scissor jack at the front, it's now blocking the only place I can put a car stand.
There are two more positions I can raise the car from at the front. But a scissor jack and stands could easily slip if used there. So I need a hydraulic jack to lift at the second position, so I can then set stands where the scissor jack would have been. My car would not be the only one.
So neither of us really knows whether most people use scissor jacks or not. I would guess though, most people who use car stands would also buy a hydraulic shop jack at some point. Just like the discussion below about which jack to buy indicates.
So neither of us really knows whether most people use scissor jacks or not. I would guess though, most people who use car stands would also buy a hydraulic shop jack at some point.
yes, I do know..
for the people who do change their tyres, majority will use scissor jacks because that is what comes with all cars as standard..
most people are not going to spend more money on hydraulic jack just to change their tyres..
and those people will just use the scissor jack as a car stand to change their tyre.
why?
cos a lot of people do not know that scissors jack should not be used as car stand
and can be dangerous
or they do know but they just don't think it would ever collapse ie. they assume it is safe since they have never experience it collapsing.
then amongst this group that change their own tyres.. they might buy these car stands (ie the safety conscious group).. and continue using it with their scissors jacks.
why?
because it works for them, is good enough and not need to spend anymore money than needed.
then there is smaller group of people who will buy both the car stand and the hydraulic jack.
why?
cos they can't or don't like using the scissor jack for whatever their reason is.
Also something to note
These hydraulic jack are quite large and take up a lot of space in a car (either in the trunk or wherever you put it in your car)..
so a lot of people don't want to put it in their car (because they need the space for their shopping items)..
But where does a lot of tyre changes occur?
probably on the road when the type goes flat etc..
so people may just end up using the standard scissor jack anyway.
Now if someone did purposely carry a hydraulic jack with them in their car..
another issue is using these jacks is not that easy compared to a scissor jack especially when your car is park next to a road kerb.
And alot of the time your car will need to be parked next to a kerb (for safety reason) while you are changing the tyre.
@pinkybrain: Argue with yourself - goodness knows you already are anyway, rambling on some esoteric point about changing flat tyres on the side of the road, then using that to state the obvious as if it somehow contracts what I've said, that no-one would carry a hydraulic floor jack around in their car. Well, duh - no-one said they would. And likewise, no-one would carry CAR STANDS around permanently in their car EITHER. People use car stands and floor jacks AT HOME, and not just to change wheels. Just like everyone here was discussing - rotating tyres, doing oil changes, etc.
And "most" doesn't mean "all", which is the second false straw man you set up.
I'm here to help people, because others who posted their experiences on other products, has helped me. Don't like it, don't read me - block me - because due to your childish nonsense, I've certainly blocked you.
these are safer as the height is locked and won't collapse. the ratched version there's been a few recalls where the locking mechanism can disengage and the stand drops.
what? I have the ratchet version. do you have any link to the recall?
Surely the ratchet version has a pin to lock it into place even if the ratchet mechanism itself fails?
The ratchet versions I've seen at Supercheap don't have a locking mechanism.
I have a set of Supercheap pin style stands (the ones with additional screw adjustment), and when I needed a second set recently I bought a set ToolPro ratchet-style stands. The ratchet style might be fine, but I just don't feel comfortable with them.
See my long post above. I wish I could have shown people the mechanism. Anyway, while I wouldn't trust the cheapest type from anywhere for stuff my life depends on, with a DECENT BRAND it would take catastrophic failure of the large curved metal tooth or black upright notched ratchet stand. With cheaper brands it becomes more likely, because some low-skilled person in a third world factory could be tracing the parts using each new part, until they no longer operate the way they should. Who knows. That said, if the ratchet type aren't trustworthy, then that doesn't mean this type is. Both will be made by similar people, a similar factory, by people in hurrying to churn out hundreds, who might get distracted and forget a weld that could make this the more dangerous one. You'd like to think they put some quality control in, but it's luck of the draw and why they're called "accidents."
Details on recalls on this page: https://www.productsafety.gov.au/product-safety-laws/safety-…
I think a lot of it comes down to not buying the cheapest shit. Here's a recall for a similar product to this deal.
Exactly. Cheaping out on something that holds up a car while we crawl under it is asking for entry in the Darwin Awards.
Two or three of the recalls list the only reason as: "No instructions included."
anyone recommend a good car jack?
I'd like to know too - anyone know of any good quality low profile ones? The cheapy I got from eBay has been leaking oil
I can recommend the ToolPRO Low Profile Trolley Jack - 1600kg
You may be able to get away with the standard height Trolley Jack.
I bought this and these jack stands and the jack could not raise the car above the min height of the stands, returned them to get the ratchet ones as I'm only doing basic tasks
No issues with these Jack stands and the low profile Jack.
Bought 2 pairs of these stands for $40 10 years ago.
1 pair still BNIB
The Stanley from Bunnings is a good buy as well.
Ensure you bleed air out before first use
3 tones Jack from Supercheap. Solid and will last a long time
Totally agree. Anything smaller feels like a toy. This one's the real deal.
https://www.supercheapauto.com.au/p/toolpro-toolpro-low-prof…
Wait until it's on sale.
Yep, that's the one I have too!
Got it on sale, around half that price. Very good quality jack.
I have the 3 tonne jack and the rubber has come of the end that goes under the car. Does anyone know where I can get a replacement
Check the different cups on Ali baba/ ebay
Wait for an ebay sale. Always loads of jacks.
With a price jack here, and a price jack there…
https://sydneytools.com.au/product/daytona-dlp1700-1700kg-lo…
I like this one, I think I got mine for 70 ages ago. Beware it's heavy as (profanity).
The one I've got from Costco many years ago still going strong.
I mostly use the Arcan aluminium one from Costco. I also have a couple of low profile steel ones, but they are heavy, and not low profile enough. I wouldn't recommend them if your car is low. The issue is, I have to slide the jack in far enough to reach the jacking points, but the large body of the jack fouls on bumpers or side-skirts.
As is, I have to drive the car onto ramps, use the low profile jack to lift the car enough so i can slide my Arcan underneath, transfer to it, and then i can lift it properly. Ideally, I need a low profile jack with long reach, but they are expensive enough that it puts me into QuickJack territory, which itself is near enough to a used 4 post hoist.
I have this hybrid aluminium/steel jack. 1650kg capacity is great for most cars as you are only lifting from one side of the car.
https://www.costco.com.au/Automotive/Car-Accessories/Trolley…
I'm sure these are $220-$250 in store. Great jack
Are these suitable for oil change? Or need 2 pairs to maintain level?
yes and why would you use only 1
ramps are easier though
https://www.supercheapauto.com.au/p/superbuys-caravan-levell…
Would work for a SUV/4WD with decent ground clearance.
May work for normal car.
Won't work with sports car as bumper may push the stand forward or get damaged.
Good point, did not consider ground clearance, will have to double check.
Was thinking to get passenger side wheels onto the curb, driver side wheels onto the ramps.
Agree ramps make it so much easier, (only if you got another person to tell ya when to stop car moving forward, and if ramps aligned properly with wheels on ramps)
Easier but also more prohibitive. Useless if you want to rotate tyres or check suspension components.
@doobey1231: If I had a low profile jack, I would have had probably been using my Jack stands more often But I really dont find using my (IDK may be like 6 years old) SCA 1600 Kg silver color trolley jack. It doesn't lift to a great height either can barely get my jobs done with that height.
Those proper jacks (low profile ones) are always heavy AF and cost like $100+. I wont be willing to spend >$60 on them though.
lol always fun when you go too far and whole car drops
@Poor Ass: Happened to me once and I'm now pretty hesitant using them. Garage floor concrete must be smooth enough and/or acceleration not as smooth, the wheel spun and flicked the ramp backwards and the car came crashing down with a slight impression in the chassis rail.
I find it honestly just as easy to use the 3T jack in front centre jacking point, raises the car up pretty high, slide under two stands and lower. All done in a few minutes and means I can rotate tyres easier too, brake stuff, etc.
@placard: Exactly Why I get someone else at home to tell me when to stop car, If I was all alone would def avoid use of ramps
@placard: Ramps and jack stands both good
I think either one being used there is a slight phobia of it collapsing
Ramps are only good for a quick oil, tranny, radiator change for non low profile cars. Easy to pack up too. The ones I use can also act as caravan , trailer wheel chocks
Jack stands yes you can do more tyres, brakes
but need a jack to pair as you said
1 pair is enough for oil change
Yes a pair would be fine for oil change. Put them at the jack points, take 90% of the weight off the jack but keep it as back up and put your spare wheel under the side rail as the final life saver.
I personally use two pair close together and a jack when do any work under my car.
And don't forget to apply the handbrake and put the car in gear to stop rear wheels from moving.
How do you 'take 90% off the Jack's? Do you mean keep the jack where it is and lower until almost all the weight is on the stands, but the jack isn't loose…?
Yep. Lower the jack so most of the weight is on the stands. Keeping the jack engaged with just a small bit of weight on it is enough to be a reliable back up, without the car "dropping" onto the jack, shocking it.
A definite bargain however be aware these might not be quite high enough for a larger 4WD.
At the highest setting under the trailing arms where they attach to the chassis, these lift my Pajero just enough to clear the rear wheels off the ground. This is an IRS vehicle. A vehicle with a live solid axle won't be a problem with these stands if used under the axle.
Good luck lifting these 3000kg items by hand
I bought these originally and used them once. Then I got some ramps on special and never used the jacks again. Still good if you have the patience to jack up your car before putting these in. But the ramps don't cost much more and end up saving you time.
Only problem with ramps is you can't do brakes/wheel rotations on them.
What is a reasonable charge to rotate and balance 4 wheels?
Going through some previous invoices, Toyota only charges $18, but that's probably because the car is already there for service.
I can rotate the tyres but can't balance, also, for front wheel drive need to rotate 3 times: FL <> RL, FR <> RR, FL <> FR, basically "forward crossing".
I rotate mine clockways around the car every three months including the spare - osf to osr to spare to nsr to nsf to osf etc
Don't think you need it balanced unless you had an accident or hit some bad potholes
Well if there is wheel vibration at certain speeds, balance is the usual suspect but definitely not the only one.
Tyres are already balanced???
Maybe their weights flung out lol
This pair is so good. It holds my 4wd 2.2 tonnes very well.
Make sure you invest in a car stop once your car is on the jack
I can't think what you mean. Wheel chocks maybe!?
Yeah I meant wheel chocks of course for the rears. Long day
$10 delivery for something bulky like this isn't too bad either. It'd cost me more in petrol to go pick it up!
further $5 off when purchased on ebay with code CARSNS (Not sure if it is ebayplus only or not) and then just pickup from local sca
Link to ebay https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/224134967576
Seems like they have removed click and collect for free? I have tried 2 different local stores that show as in stock but once selected it gives an error message at the top of the screen and automatically switches to postage
from all the above comments, seems like alot of people do their own oil change, tyres rotation. Don't the mechanics normally do oil change/tyre rotation in a car service? My car is still long way from first service at Mazda so no clue
Yes they do.
But for a Mazda 3 they also charge over $300 for the privilege of changing your oil and rotating your tyres every 10 000km's.
To each their own, but I would rather change my own oil and rotate tyres and spend less than $80 each time.
You can still book a scheduled service when there are additional elements over and above oil change & tyre rotation required or if you're having any issues you want them to look at.
wow a mazda 3 would cost me less than about $45 in parts for a regular service. That tells you what the labour/markup is…
$300? That's cheap! My local stealership charges between 350-450 for a minor service.
My local mech (I supply my own oil) charges me about $280 for the same.
I've finally learnt how to change tyres, so now rotate them myself. Oil change I do on the motorbike, now I need to learn for the car.
With some mechanics an oil change IS the service, lol.
A half-decent mechanic who isn't one step from being a thief will charge a set block of time for each thing done to your car. (The industry has a reference book showing how many minutes each type of job should take. e.g. Oil change might be 12 minutes, radiator swap might be 45 minutes, etc.) So they should subtract time (and therefore reduce the total cost) for things customers say they've already done themselves.
Oil changes and rotating tyres are so regular and simple to do, that I'd hate to have paid each time over the years. More people should learn how to do some simple things themselves to save money (for cars that don't require an authorized service center stamp in some log book to meet manufacturer warranty requirements anyway).
Yep, I buy 2nd hand anyway, and my man does a log book service, so really happy with him.
Definitely find a competent workshop. I had done my own oil changes and more for 10 years and can afford to pay for it now. I don’t argue about price because I wouldn’t work for free.
Sticking with a good workshop now, I find that these guys will get invested in doing the skilled stuff to the car and can see I am ordering it to keep the car long term.
So for my 2022 car with all these sensors, speed detector, HUD, I should stick with the manufacturor for the first 5 years? It's mazda cx-8 btw.
The shopping centre close to home has a mycar branch, so Im tempted to go there. You know, going gym, groceries and come back with your car ready to go. Mazda regular service is around 350 and 500 for a major one, mycar is 250 and such.
I went to a few different mechanics when my previous car AC compressor broke down. A first few didn't manage to find the problem and winter came so i stopped trying to get it fixed. Summer arrived, came to a different mechanic, first time they said it was some minor thing and did small fixes, then issue was still going, second time they found out the compressor was failing, replaced it and fixed the problem.
All these mechanics are all rated at least 4.5 stars on Google map, I went as far as to read about 10 comments for each of them before coming. Now I'm not sure how to determine a mechanic is good and plan to just go manufacturor for my new car, may be at least they are more familiar with it than small shop mechanics.
Fault funding is not an exact science. They're troubleshooting.
Fix one, test.
Fail? Y?
Fix another, test.
They usually start with the small stuff before going onto the big ones. Doesn't say anything bad about the mechanic themselves. The exact same thing could happen at the showroom as well.
With newer cars, the onboard electronics can help identify more accurately, but even then, it's a bit of a hit and miss.
Not necessarily. You can get a new car serviced by approved mechanics other than the original dealer/brand, but they must stamp your service book to show they are approved servicers. (Sorry I've never owned a new car, but it's something close to that.) In other words, if you did your own oil changes, they wouldn't be counted as "approved". So if for example something then happened to the engine, even if unrelated, your dealer could choose to void the warranty claiming you didn't know what you were doing, that a "real" mechanic would have noticed this-or-that, could have saved the engine, etc.
After that initial warranty period where you must use an approved mechanic, you can go where you like, or do things yourself (within reason. e.g. I was told by a heavy truck driver he's no longer legally able to work on his own brakes.)
As for finding an good/honest mechanic… ask around friends and workmates and see where that leads first. Keep in mind everyone will have both positive and negative experiences at the same places though. e.g. I know a mechanic personally who helped some Lebanese guys by mediating with a Holden wrecker over a second hand Commodore engine. He got them a good price, reminded them several times no mucking around with the timing or any modifications until after the wrecker's 30 day swap warranty period was up (if engine blows up in 30 days they swap for another for $0 if no mods were done)… They ignored him, mucked around with the the engine, gave the engine a caning doing burnouts, and blew it up. They came back threatening to punch out his staff (because he wasn't there at the time and they wanted a refund NOW) and then threatened to sue him. Even though he still helped them with the wrecker after all their abuse, I bet clowns like them would give awful Google reviews out of immature spite.
Mechanics who really are awful soon become widely known by everyone in an area though.
I just purchased these on eBay and chose Click and Collect, then was charged postage as well. What to do about this?
Cancelled order. Will see what happens now.
I should have gotten these instead of the ratchet version at the same price