Tools help - need to swap wheels on my floor jack wheels to protect my floor + mod my jackstands
Posted by Knife-Fumbler@reddit | projectcar | View on Reddit | 43 comments
Hi all,
I share a garage with my dad, who recently ordered brand new epoxy flooring for the garage. So me, being an asshole brat, immediately started working on my car in there and scuffed it up something fierce.
I feel very bad about that. I think the main culprits are the aluminum wheels that the jack came with, see pics. But I've seen heavy pallet jacks with wheels that had some sort of a rubber outer layer instead not to damage flooring. Is there something like that I could swap the cast alu wheels on my jack with?
As for the jackstands, is there something I could do to make them not scuff the floor as well? Maybe epoxy on a small layer of polyurethane or something?
I'm sure someone has done something like that before, unlike me who just ruined a brand new floor with this.
DiscoCombobulator@reddit
Yeah i dont think modifying a jack that wasn't designed to be modified is a great idea. Even more so with jack stands that keep a whole vehicle off your face. Put something thin under it and go at it. Or buy a jack with rubber wheels
Knife-Fumbler@reddit (OP)
Fair enough, only jack I can find with rubber wheels has a limit of 1.5 ton, but my car is 1.625 ton. Is that safe? I mean I'm not resting the whole weight of a car on the jack.
DiscoCombobulator@reddit
I mean, I'd use it for that same reason. You're only lifting part of the car, and not holding it with the jack. Just need to get it up on stands and youre fine
moneygon_@reddit
Clean and wrap wheels with duct tape or similar, replace tape when needed.
Knife-Fumbler@reddit (OP)
Yeah, that's probably a good idea, thank you. I'd prefer to get rid of these wheels altogether honestly since dirt tends to get into them and grind the "axle" from the inside, and I worry it's going to result in a ruined jack eventually.
a_bird_with_teeth@reddit
You won't grind through the axle with home use. Casters may fail but the wheels should last the life of the jack
Knife-Fumbler@reddit (OP)
hope so. honestly it looks like the paint already ground off under the wheels..
flyingbrick99@reddit
Of course the paint is going to wear off. You are over thinking this. If necessary get a local engineer to machine you up some plastic wheels.
Knife-Fumbler@reddit (OP)
I greased everything up but it looks like the biggest issue is that the casters are just kinda shit, and don't turn well. Likely the main reason my floor got scratched. I'll try to redesign the casters around a bearing that can properly take the pressure, and a better mounting surface.
thepvbrother@reddit
I used packing tape on the edge of my dolly. Really does well in preventing scratches. Also helpful is hockey tape
puyi5@reddit
Easier solution that is less dangerous, get something like a movers dolly to toss it on. You can move it around easier from storage location to under the car easily, then just toss back onto dolly when done and stash.
Monkeysplatter@reddit
Just use a mat or some plywood
wateryoudoingm8@reddit
Wrap some electrical tape around each wheel
Knife-Fumbler@reddit (OP)
Yeah, that's probably a good idea, thank you. I'd prefer to get rid of these wheels altogether honestly since dirt tends to get into them and grind the "axle" from the inside, and I worry it's going to result in a ruined jack eventually.
myfishprofile@reddit
I can assure you it won’t, hell one of my floor jack went through a damn car fire and got used outside for the first five years of its life.
It’ll be fine
pinkbunnay@reddit
That's a shit coat if it's scuffing that easily, way too soft. Mine is damn near bulletproof. The difference between a professional company and a guy using the Lowe's stuff in a paint can.
Radius8887@reddit
Harbor freight off-road jacks are absolutely amazing and would help here too. Plastic wheels, really easy to move. I have a few that I use for everything.
der_german1432@reddit
Marine heat shrink on the wheels. I'd recommend getting a roll of ramboard to put down on the floor. It's durable enough to protect the floor and you can roll a creeper on it easily.
Knife-Fumbler@reddit (OP)
Marine heat shrink is a solid idea... ramboard is too but idk if I have space for a whole roll. Thanks!
der_german1432@reddit
The rolls are only 3-4 get long and 10-15 inches diameter depending on what width and length you use. I totally get not having a ton of room for extra stuff.
How long did you let the floor cure before this happened?
thatblack147@reddit
I work for a company that designs, tests and manufactures automotive lifting equipment, and I’m gonna be “that guy” on this post. Do not modify your equipment. Do not use them on anything other than a hard, level surface capable of sustaining the weight of the lifted load. Accept that this may result in scratches to your epoxy floor.
If the cosmetics of the floor are of such concern, then this is a case of the floor being inadequate for the task at hand, not the equipment. I apologise for probably coming across as blunt, but I’ve seen too many horror stories arising from seemingly innocuous deviations from the designed application of lifting gear.
Knife-Fumbler@reddit (OP)
Thank you for the warning, but why don't you guys make floor jacks with the wheels like pallet jacks have? Those are so nice.
thatblack147@reddit
Well funnily enough we do. If you look up “non-marring” or “non-marking” trolley jacks you’ll find models with PU wheels designed not to damage flooring. That said, there’s usually a considerable price premium which is what stops them being more prevalent. The increased cost is partially to do with the cost of the materials, the smaller market for such a product, and the increased cost in developing, testing and certifying the different design.
One piece of advice I would give is to avoid the off-road ones with the big plastic wheels that have been popping up lately. I’d give those concepts a bit of time to mature and get a bit tougher.
Efficient_Toe5818@reddit
Bike tubing round jack wheels,flat wooden bards for jackstands (axle stands here in NZ)😎👍
newoldschool@reddit
you could buy one of those tracked jacks
Knife-Fumbler@reddit (OP)
Ohh, those look pretty cool indeed. Shame they don't seem to sell in czechia though
HSLB66@reddit
Why not just use some cardboard or a mat when using the jack?
Knife-Fumbler@reddit (OP)
The issue is more when I'm moving the jack across the floor.
selfish_king@reddit
… pick it up and carry it?
Knife-Fumbler@reddit (OP)
That's what I do now but it's 35 kilos.
eNaRDe@reddit
Not sure if your in the budget for one or live near a Harbor Freight but they sell some jacks with rubber tires.
Knife-Fumbler@reddit (OP)
Not near harbor freight unfortunately, I'm in central europe. Thanks for the tip anyways
He-who-knows-some@reddit
Idk what to tell you specifically about the wheels for swapping them. Your cheapest and quickest possible option is to wrap the wheels in a “tire” of electrical tape. That will provide some cushion and it should last a little while on the epoxy floors, as long as you don’t drag it across un protected concrete
C137MrPoopyButthole@reddit
They do make conversions kits but not for your exact jack and most are big wheels like a eagle pro. Easiest would be to plastidip them but I don't know how long it would last. But most non marking wheels are 70d polyurethane so you could maybe make sleeves for your wheels. Maybe someone you know has a 3d printer and could design a sleeve and print them in 95tpu which is close to a cart wheel hardness. Then freeze your wheel or heat them up and slip them on.
Knife-Fumbler@reddit (OP)
this is a 3 ton low profile jack I bought locally but I got a feeling that the exact same jack is made in the same chinese factory then sold by a myriad of manufacturers. I'll try to look for conversion kits for something similar. The sleeve idea is interesting, thank you.
danny_ish@reddit
Yeah, need rubber matts, wood, and cardboard. Or go buy a rubber-wheeled offroad floorjack, and use jackstands with base plates (again on wood)
Knife-Fumbler@reddit (OP)
Rubber mat under the jackstands is a good idea. I'd like to buy wheels for the existing jack, it cost me a pretty penny. Isn't that possible? The casters at least look fairly universal.
danny_ish@reddit
Not really, but something else to consider- do you need to setup in the garage? At a certain point, the driveway just makes it easier to
Knife-Fumbler@reddit (OP)
Yes unfortunately. I haven't really got an American-style driveway, it's short and at an angle.
RJ45p@reddit
Use an underlayer. Cardboard works, I use rubber mat because I got some from a friend that put it under his power hammer. That said, there ARE poly wheels rated to several tons but they deteriorate quickly and may not be as easy on the floor as you think
Knife-Fumbler@reddit (OP)
Thanks! Doesn't matter if they deteoriate, I only have one car and work on it sparsely, so I can replace them. I've really gotten to hate these alu wheels, they don't even have an inner bearing so they just rub the paint off of the "axle" part.
Do you have any tips in particular?
I'll look for something that could serve as a mat underneath the jackstands, that's a good idea. ABS plastic, maybe.
The370ZezusRice@reddit
I think cardboard is a good call. Could also weld plates to the bottom of jackstands. I dont think id trust and kind of epoxy wheel on a jack.
Knife-Fumbler@reddit (OP)
Yeah, cardboard for the jacks seems like a good idea, stupid of me not to think of it immediately. Or steel plates with a rubber layer underneath, also, good call. I worked as a warehouse engineer for a while, what they used on floorjacks there was some sort of a steel core wheel with a polymer outer rim. Don't they make something like that for floorjacks? Would be ideal