Supports for a rolling jack: characteristics and selection

The jack is a useful and necessary tool in the arsenal of an amateur driver or professional auto mechanic. With its help, you can raise the car, replace the wheel or perform other manipulations. However, if you use a rolling jack without special rubber pads, you can damage the bottom or body of the car. You can buy these pads in specialized stores or make them yourself.

The design of any rolling jack includes a metal cup - this is a part of the tool that rests against the body of the machine when it is lifted. Most types of such bowls have several protrusions that are brought under a specially designed place on the car (not available on all brands). When the car is lifted, the metal cup contacts the body, which is why heavy loads are imposed on it. This often leads to scratches or deep dents in the place of the stop.

Due to such defects, the protective layer is damaged, as a result of which, when metal comes into contact with moisture, the ribs of the car will begin to rust. To prevent this, it is imperative to use the rubber support for the rolling jack. The gasket between the metal bowl and the car body significantly reduces the risk of dents, scratches and other defects formed after using the lifting tool.

Jack pads are small rounded products designed for installation on the upper support of a rolling tool. Regardless of the types of attachments, they all perform the same function. It consists in reliable protection of the car from mechanical damage. To choose the optimal type of support, you need to heed a number of recommendations.

1. The accessory should be selected in accordance with the type of jack, otherwise the product will simply be useless. Even if the washer is universal, you need to pay attention to the size of the metal bowl.
2. The material from which the spacer is made must be strong but elastic. A product that is too rigid will quickly become unusable - at the very first loads it can crack or completely collapse.
3. The washer should not be thin. The minimum height of the product is 3.5 cm. At lower values, there are great risks of "cutting" the rubber to metal under the influence of loads.

Domestic and foreign linings are presented on the market. Here are a few companies that have managed to earn the trust of the consumer by producing high-quality and reliable, but at the same time inexpensive accessories. These include the following manufacturers: Ombra, Matrix, Ermak, Kraft, Zubr. The linings of these brands are resistant to high and low temperatures, temperature extremes, and various negative atmospheric influences. They quickly regain their former shape after removing the load and change their geometry minimally after prolonged compression. Such accessories will last a long time and will not let you down at a crucial moment.

It is not difficult to make a rubber support for a jack with your own hands.To do this, you need to perform a number of actions. Step-by-step instruction:

• the outer and inner diameters of the metal bowl of the tool are measured (it is convenient to use a caliper);
• the depth of the bowl is revealed along the upper tooth;
• a conveyor belt with a thickness of at least 14 mm is taken - a penny will be made from it (a drill, a knife and a pair of gypsum crowns of different diameters will also be required for work);
• a crown with a smaller diameter is installed on a drill, a depression is made about 8 mm;
• the crown changes, a full cut is made, a cut out circle is obtained;
• using a marker on the heel, the highest point of the jack bowl is marked and marks are placed;
• according to the marks made, cuts are made with a construction knife 8 mm to the end of the inner circle, teeth are cut (for a more convenient trimming, it is recommended to use a vice);
• if there is a protrusion on the jack bowl, cut a circle of this diameter on the rubber pad obtained.

If you do not have the equipment and materials for the manufacture of rubber pads at hand, you can order them in the online store. Thanks to the large assortment of different supports, everyone will be able to find the right solution for their jack model.

How to make a support for the jack, see below.