Saddle adapter for bottle jack sizing

[Opus]

Purchased a 3"-4" saddle adapter for my bottle jack. The adapter is meant to fit jacks 1.65" or less in diameter. Mine is 1" in diameter at the top which means there is a fair amount of play. Do I need to find a reducer of some kind to make sure they fit more securely together, or is this normal? Otherwise, I'm assuming I just need to make sure the jack piston is centered in the adapter when it makes contact with the Jeep.

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[THAW]

That combination seems like it'd possibly be unstable.

I got a custom extension screw collar from Safe Jack to remedy a similar issue (though not as wide a gap as your parts).

 

[Opus]

I wondered about instability also, but so many of them are 1.65" or 1.5" and say "or smaller" so it seems like they allow for a smaller diameter jack piston.

 

[txj2go]

How do you plan on using the adapter? A lot of the pictures I found on the internet look like they are intended for using the adapter under the axle tube and wouldn't work under the frame or elsewhere. In my Jeep I carry 3 short pieces of 2x4 to use between the jack and whatever point under the Jeep where I want to operate. But yes I agree that no matter what point you are pushing up on you have to be very careful that it will be stable, and I wouldn't get under the vehicle using it unless it was a big emergency. I anticipate even needing to stack rocks under the jack to get enough height and would especially not want to get under the vehicle when doing that unless I could find something else nearby to function as a jack stand.

 

[THAW]

How do you plan on using the adapter? A lot of the pictures I found on the internet look like they are intended for using the adapter under the axle tube and wouldn't work under the frame or elsewhere. In my Jeep I carry 3 short pieces of 2x4 to use between the jack and whatever point under the Jeep where I want to operate. But yes I agree that no matter what point you are pushing up on you have to be very careful that it will be stable, and I wouldn't get under the vehicle using it unless it was a big emergency. I anticipate even needing to stack rocks under the jack to get enough height and would especially not want to get under the vehicle when doing that unless I could find something else nearby to function as a jack stand.

I use Safe Jack flat pads on the frame.

 

[Deleted member 107602]

I use Safe Jack flat pads on the frame.

I am really missing the safe part there, and I have been known to do some sketchy stuff.

 

[txj2go]

I am really missing the safe part there, and I have been known to do some sketchy stuff.

I've worked a good amount as a professional mechanic, whatever type of jack we used typically had a rubber pad at the point of contact so it would not damage the vehicle and so it would have friction and interlock so there wouldn't be any slip at that point. I mentioned that I carry blocks of wood which would do a similar thing. Is there something soft on top of that safe pad? It looks like it might be all metal.

 

[Deleted member 107602]

I've worked a good amount as a professional mechanic, whatever type of jack we used typically had a rubber pad at the point of contact so it would not damage the vehicle and so it would have friction and interlock so there wouldn't be any slip at that point. I mentioned that I carry blocks of wood which would do a similar thing. Is there something soft on top of that safe pad? It looks like it might be all metal.

That was my thought. dead flat, smooth surface thats a hard no for me, it’s part of a jack, maybe for a floor jack in construction. Not an automotive jack. It’s a safety issue,

 

[THAW]

I've worked a good amount as a professional mechanic, whatever type of jack we used typically had a rubber pad at the point of contact so it would not damage the vehicle and so it would have friction and interlock so there wouldn't be any slip at that point. I mentioned that I carry blocks of wood which would do a similar thing. Is there something soft on top of that safe pad? It looks like it might be all metal.

Good point. Adding friction between the surfaces is simple, though.

I use a generic, rubber, 4-inch furniture pad (up/lip-side down). It fits and works perfectly; the combination is much more secure than a 1.25-1.5 inch diameter bottle jack saddle on wood cribbing.

 

[bd100]

Hockey puck works too.

 

[Deleted member 107602]

i would also ask how you intend to use it and what tonnage is your jack? Funny this would come up because I was just looking at the getting one. On a jeep the main reason I would use it is to steady and lower the axle after I have it jacked up or have it on a jack stand. Maybe to lift one corner to check articulation.

 

[Opus]

The jack is a 6-ton Torin Big Red bottle jack and the primary use would be for changing a tire. The saddle looks like this:

 

[roaniecowpony]

I don't see a bottle jack lifting the frame high enough to get my tires off the ground. But I have 30" long shocks.

For my axle and frame jack saddles to fit my floor jacks and scissor jacks, I bought some leafspring axle pads.

 

[Terrymo]

I bought a couple of 3.5 ton HMMWV scissor jacks back when they were plentiful for around $100. Now they have almost tripled in cost. I have these adapters from Agile Offroad for the HMMWV jack that allow you to lift from the axle or the frame rail. I keep one of the jacks at the rear of my Tuffy Security box and one in the garage.

 

[THAW]

I don't see a bottle jack lifting the frame high enough to get my tires off the ground. But I have 30" long shocks.

Agreed. In an emergency (in which for some reason I couldn't lift from the axle), I'd have to strap the axle to the frame or use a strap to compress the shock. Or alternate my 2 bottle jacks on the frame, stacking them with extensions/cribbing.

I mainly use the frame pads for leveling the vehicle at camp. In the field, I can also use my second bottle jack with a pad on the frame as makeshift jack stand.

My two 4-ton jacks, extensions, and adapters all fit in the factory jack compartment (no problems storing the hydraulic jacks on their side, so far).

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