Went to jack the truck up today and had difficulty locating a jack stand under the front driver's side axle (2002 2500 4X4 with new-style permanantly locked front hubs) - what gives? the differential is shifted towards the driver's side of the axle, which makes it REALLY hard to find a safe place to jack from and insert a stand - it looks as though jacking under the diff. case or to the passenger side of it might be the answer - How is everyone tackling this? I'm gonna hold off for now.. Tire rotation NEXT weekend! ???<br><br>Thanks in advance for any tips!

 

I either place the stands under the axle itself or on the torsion arms. Torsion arm may be the incorrect term. It is the arm that runs length wise with the frame and is attached to the bottom of the front axle on each side.<br><br>In either case, it works and is safe.

 

I put my jack stands under the frame, but the tracking arms would work too. I jack under the diff or shock mount on the left and then under the shock mount on the right.<br><br>Chris

 

Thanks guys! I'll give it another shot next weekend....

 

Beans I'm from the old school and do not trust jack stands, I use a six ton bottle jack under the lower section of the lower ball joint arm on the front.(I have four jacks) There is an indentation in the arm that the jack head fits into perfectly. I jack the front up using this method and use wooden blocks under the spring mount locations. I turn one stack long ways with the truck and the other stack at a right angle to the truck or in line with the axle. I let the weight down onto the blocks and then just barely tighten up the jacks.

In the rear, I jack it up under the spring mounts and block the axles. Once I get it jacked up the way I want it and on the blocks, I rock the truck to make sure it is not going anywhere. Take the time and do it right whether you use blocks or stands. Don't go cheap on the stands when working under these trucks either. You can ask a fellow here at work what a 3/4 ton van feels like while it is lying across your chest pinning you to the floor. I'm sure it is not a good feeling. He laid there for five hours till his wife found him and got the van up enough to get him out.

I saw guy working on one of these trucks with only a floor jack holding up the entire front end. I had to leave, made me nervous. I had the front of my 89 fall off the jack stands two times, fortunately I was not under the truck. If you use stands, make sure they are on solid footing, not sand, or dirt, or gravel.

I'm not sure I would block under the torsion arms either. They are just flimsy rolled metal and there is not much surface area there. They are designed to counteract the twisting motion of the axle, not support weight in this manner. Remember, the object here is not to see how quickly you can get done, but how safely. Take your time and do it right as if your life depended on it. IT DOES!!!!!!

 

I have two floor jacks and four jack stands. After jacking up the truck and getting all four jack stands under the axles, I leave one jack under the front axle and one jack under the rear axle in the centers as a back up in case a jack stand would fail. I raise the jack just enough to put a little pressure on it with most the pressure on the four jack stands. <br><br>Make sure you use jack stands and jacks that are rated heavy enough to handle your truck.<br><br>Only raise the truck up a couple of inches if just rotating the tires.<br><br>Good luck!!<br><br> <br><br>smokinjoe<br>ohio

 

Thanks for the additional info guys! I usually do leave the jacks under the truck as a backup to the stands, and I work in our concrete driveway, so things are usually pretty safe - it's hard to be too careful though, isn't it?! Thanks again for the good advice! I'll give it a shot again this weekend...