Hi-Lift

I just went out last night and bought a 48" jack. i was changing out my back shocks and my 2.5 ton floor jack wasnt cutting it. anyway, i have a TJM t17 on the front of my X. i wanna change the front shocks out tomorrow afternoon(maybe even tonight). is there anyway to use said jack to lift the front end using the bumper? or would it be better to use the floor jack? if so, where is the best place under the front to jack at to lift both tires enough to put the new shocks on?

You should use a floor jack and then provide additional support to the truck by adding jack stands. The safest, most appropriate to jack a vehicle that you are going to be working under.

I don't know the bumper, but Hi-Lift does make a bumper lift accessory for the high lift.

Either way, like the laster said, never get under a vehicle unless it's supported by jack stands.

You can lift the truck with the hi-lift and then put jack stands under it and you'll be fine, just make sure it's a fairly level surface.

I quit using my floor jack for the X as I need to block it to get the wheels off the ground. I now use the hi-lift on the sliders and jack stands.

NEVER get under a truck supported only by a jack (any jack). Use jack stands or risk death.

well last night i started out with the floor jack on the front spring hanger on drver side and a jack stand on the frame just fwd of it. i couldnt get enough lift outa the floor jack so i went to TSC and for a hi-lift. i used my hitch as a lifting point. i got it up and the truck shifted(parking break on) and i let it back down and then back up and it went fwd a little and i went up one more crank and put the jack stands under the spring hangers and left it sit. will i be able to get the truck high enough off the ground to let the front shocks sag? maybe i'll just take it to my buddys gas station and use their lift.

If the floor jack doesn't get high enough, put a block of wood on the jack plate. I have a chunk of 4x4 for this purpose.

well im not using that stupid POS factory jack. i bent that thing last time i used it, plus the T-handle bar broke(the tabs). i have a 2.5 ton floor jack.

My point is. Find a chunk of wood (a 4"x4" works well) and place it on the floor jack plate to give you an extra 4" of lift out of the floor jack.

I find I can use the sliders as a convenient jack point, and then slide some jack stands under the sliders, and remove the hi-lift.

That way, I'm not under the truck unless its on stands...but I can lift it high enough to work on.

Lately, I find I don't have to lift it to work on except for tire rotations or suspension work, etc...as I can wheel under the truck as is on a creeper, to change the fluids, etc...w/o lifting it further.

Talking about Hi-Lifts, I need a handle for mine, do you guys know where I can get one or get one made?

I'd order straight from Hi-Lift.

well i got my front shocks on friday night. i trired the floor jack on the floor on the front x-member and couldnt get the tires off the floor, so i looked around and i found some 2x4s that were left over from the frame work when we built the garage. anyway, i used 4 of them and it was just enough with the jack all the way up to lift the front tires about an inch off the floor.so i put jack stands under the frame and left it on the jack to take the tires off and set it down on the stands to do the shocks.it only took about 4.5 hrs to do the front shocks(see susp. section)

I am looking at doing some 4 wheeling. Thinking about the usefullness of a Hi-Lift. I have read some links I found here in the 4x4 forum and found an article about the necessity of the Hi-Lift. The guy who wrote the article owned a jeep which may have outside jack points than an Xterra.

I wanted to know where the Hi-Lift could be used on a stock Xterra 2005. Can we lift the Xterra by the bumper or would it crumple/bend the bumper? I see people mention to use it on the rock sliders, but I thought I read something that indicated that one should only jack up one wheel at a time. Using the rock sliders would jack up both wheels on one side. Are there any other lift points on a stock Xterra?

Does anyone use a rubber or plastic liner on the Hi-Lift? I looked at one of these and I would think they scratch the rock sliders, or surface that is supporting the weight of the Xterra. I checked the Hi-Lift web site and I see the bumper adapter, but that appears to be for the chrome bumpers. Are there any liners that will not tear the paint/liner off the rock sliders?

Thanks,

not really anywhere to use the hi-lift on a stock X.. It is still a good idea to get one with a good chain that way if you do get stuck and there isn't anyone around you will be able to use your hi-lift as a winch.. But otherwise not really much you do with it. Im pretty sure that you could just place a piece of cardboard or anything to sit on the hi-lift if you are worried about scratching you bars..

Rock sliders are just that, rock sliders. If the hi-lift is going to scratch the paint (or powdercoating) just imagine what the rock you just dove over did to it.

There really isn't any place to lift a stock X from. Sliders are your best option. If you try to use the stock bumper you will just bend the plastic.

Yeah - if you are going off road, get sliders.

www.shrockworks.com

Oh, I missed this part. If you use the sliders you use the front part of the sider to left the front tire and the rear part to lift the rear. It wouldn't lift the entire side of the X unless you tried it from the center of the slider.

Again I am new to the 4x4 scene. I bought the Shrockworks rock sliders for my 05 Xterra. They were sent to me bare metal and I painted them with POR-15 .
I am not trying to be a wuss. I know the saying "if you want to play you have to pay". I performed a 4 step process to apply the POR-15 and a POR-15 topcoat on my sliders this summer. I don't want to repaint them I don't have to. If there is a sleeve for the jack to protect the paint I just wanted to know about it. If I get stuck the paint will be around the last of my worries.
I found this image at Shrockworks:


I had assumed you used a Hi-Lift in the center. Applying the lift in the front or rear as you describe will make the truck and rock sliders angled and I could see how it could be dangerous if the jack slipped due to the angle.

I was also curious if there were any other stock locations that I was missing for the Xterra. Even though I have the rock sliders I was wondering if the jack could be used in other locations.

That just about answers my questions. Thanks guys.

Try the below link. He offers an adaptor for the hilift jack that fits real well on sliders. This might protect your finish on the sliders better. It also is a little more stable.

http://www.wabfab.org/products/sa/sa2.htm

I have lifted just one tire with the hi-lift on the sliders quite a few times. No odd angles of the jack and no slipage. Now, would I crawl under the truck, hell no, but I wouldn't do that no matter what jack I was using and where I was lifting from.

If you used Por-15, lifting with the hi-lift is not going to be an issue, but again, the chances of your running your slider along a rock is greater than the chances you will need to use the Hi-Lift.

They will get scratchs, that is what they are there for. If you are that worried about it, you better not leave the pavement...and I don't say that to be rude, but it's the truth. If you wheel, you will get scratches, dings and dents. It's part of the game. It's the reason you buy things such as sliders and skid plates.

That adaptor costs as much as the jack.

I think the bottom line is you need sliders to offroad even a little, because, once you have them, you have a jack point.

The reasons to jack off road are typically involving getting stuck, like high centered or a tire too deep to get out...a flat needing to be changed or a blown bead needing repair, etc...

...with an occaisional need to crawl under and pull a rock or branch out of the undercarriage or repair a spun t-bar or whatever...and when crawling under the X, on uneven/soft terrain, you DO NOT want just a jack between you and being pancaked.

So - You need a hi-lift to offroad, you need sliders to use the hi-lift, and you also need stands in case you need to go under the truck as well.



And - Even if all you did was get larger tires...your factory jack is now too short to even allow a side of the road spare tire change...so you need a taller jack JUST to change an ON ROAD flat, etc.

Great looking Hi-Lift adapter. Too bad it costs more than I paid for the jack.

I just thought of something that might work for the needs of protecting the sliders when jacking. Coat the jack point on the jack with the rubber tool grip stuff.

Just ordered that hilift adapter. Now I have a warm fuzzy feeling. I too was worried about slippage along the shrockbars. This will go in the bag with my "Jackmate" 5 trucks for the link provider "srpage".

Got a link, there's some other things I want to coat

You can get the stuff at just about any hardware / auto parts store.

http://www.jcwhitney.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product?storeId=10101&Pr=p_Product.CATENTRY_ID%3A2000733&TID=8014524&productId=2000733&catalogId=10101

thanks Muzikman!

The sliders will do perfectly fine as jack points.

As to the question of other Hi Lift jack points (other than the sliders)... the only one I can think of is the trailer hitch. This doesn't work very well, though, because of the angle of the jack.

I jack the Shrock Sliders all the time, I rotate my tires, etc...I have YET to see a scratch in the powder coat from the jack..its just not that much of an issue.

Its a little like getting clevis shackles for the bumper. and fussing about how to keep them from rattling or banging as the truck lurches along...etc, and making cut off hose sections to slide over the pins, etc....when the shackles don't rattle or bang the way they are w/o the fuss.

Its a solution w/o a problem.

I lifted the entire back end of my truck using the Hi-Lift with the lift tongue through the loop on my hitch shackle. Makes a nice lifting point (assuming you chock the front wheels, of course).

How does lifting a 4,500 pound vehicle from the hitch not exceed the 750 pound vertical tongue load restriction on a class 3 hitch?

Well, the weight split on the Xterra is probably about 60% in the front, 40% in the rear. Given the weight is probably about 4,100lb. at best, I was probably only lifting maybe 1600lb. Still over the tongue weight limit of the hitch, for sure.

OTOH, I also quickly put jackstands under the axle and those were doing some of the work, too.

If you think about the design of the tubular hitch, how it curves down to the middle, lifting the truck with it probably stands less chance of bending something anyway.

Now, crawling under the truck while it is lifted like that - no way.

Noticed another clarification that's needed...

...the 750 tongue weight and 5 K lb tow weight limits for a Class III hitch are ALSO related to the wheelbase of the truck, and control issues...such as being able to maintain control while driving through a cross wind, high crowns, over bumps, etc...and not the structural strength alone.



IE: The hitch itself is not always the weak link in the chain, and the Class weight limits can be imposed to account for other factors.

Remember, that weight distribution is at the WHEELS. The hitch is atleast another 2' from the rear tire contact, giving a geater leverage effect pivoting from the front tires. I would guess the weight is only 1000 - 1200 at the hitch.

This should be perfectly safe. The safety factor of the tongue weight is atleast 5 (2500 lbs shouldn't break it off).

Aha! This makes perfect sense. So 2,500 pounds (vertically) is what you estimate it would break at? That's a relief.

Downward force is the least strong orientation...there's just 2 bolts per side in that direction thru thin sheet metal that is not boxed on the last foot or so...even with the frame reinforcement inserts you can get...it still just braces it against pulling out to the rear, and not really against down forces.

Pushing the tow hitch upwards drives the hitch against its mounts, and up against the bottom of the rear bumper, bracing it more.

Hi-lifting from the hitch should be fine in a pinch...the left to right balance of the truck would be the bogey.

Good points, all. As mentioned, I've only jacked the back of the truck with the hi-lift once, and that was only for about 30 minutes to swap out my rear shackles.

I definitely did not dare crawl under the truck to work (you can do the shackles from behind the bumper). Also, I'm always leary of a jacked vehicle moving in any direction, so I was sure that the front wheels were chocked front and rear.

This was on my level driveway, too. I agree with TJ - if I were out on the trial on an uneven (and worse yet - loose) surface, this probably wouldn't be an option unless it meant the difference between something positive and something very negative.

Very good to know, thanks TJ. I have another somewhat related question, which is starting to get off topic...
I've read several times that you can use the hi-lift to get out of a stuck situation by jacking the vehicle up and driving it off the jack. How does this work without damaging anything? thanks!

It works w/o damaging anything if you make sure that the standard (The long metal bar with the slots in it) and the handle (The long hollow pipe) are not going to swing into the side of the truck or a person, etc...when the truck moves.

Essentially...lets say your undercarriage is hung up on a hump...and you can jack the X up enough to get the underbelly off the hump...but, once up, you don't have a way to drive off unless you leave the jack in place...so you do.



The best solution is to place stuff under the tires once the X is up to make it clear the hump, lower back down, take out the jack, and THEN go...but sometimes, there's nothing available.

So...you jack it up...picking a point that you know will be pivoted from.

Once clear of the hump, wrap a blanket/towel, etc on the standard, remove the handle, get everyone clear, and drive off the jack...

You will swing forward on the jack, pivoting from the jack point...kind of like a slow weak short pole vaulter would do....clearing the hump, and setting you free.

You then go back and get the jack, make sure its OK, and continue on your merry way.

Ah, thanks TJ that makes perfect sense. I'll keep this in mind when I finally get my sliders. As far as wrapping the standard in something, is that for the same reason as putting a jacket or blanket on a winch cable when winching? So if it breaks it doesn't kill someone? Thanks again!

No, it's so as you drive off the jack, the standard doesn't hit against the side if your door and put a nice scratch / dent in it. It has nothing to do with people safety.