"Interesting" moment when jacking up the front - so what happened?

I jacked up the front of my KJ for the first time ever today. I just needed to get the front wheels off the ground so that I could turn the steering wheel back and forth easily with the engine off.

I did *not* chock the back wheels because I thought that with the ****** in Park and the parking brake set, they were locked.

I put the jack on the front skid plate, but near the back of it - there was a flat section that seemed a better place for the jack head than nearer the front of the plate - and started pumping, keeping well out of any crush zones. Just after the front tyres left the ground, the Jeep slid backwards slightly, only a few centimetres.

Now... was this because I didn't chock the rear wheels? Or could it have been an issue with the jacking point I'd picked? Could the head of the jack have slipped on any oil/grease on the skid plate?

Skid plates are not meant to be used as jacking points.

your vehicle can still rock back and forth while in park, not far but far enough to fall off a jack. as said try and find a better place for the jack next time also.

Before I jacked it, I Googled for jacking points, and found various posts on various forums (including this very one!) saying that you could use the skid plate, or the engine crossmember if you didn't have a plate.

So I guess I should chock the rear wheels next time. And if I want to raise both front wheels off the ground, where should I put the jack head? There has to be a specific place you can tell me to use, it's not as if there are going to be numerous options.

I jack up on the rear part of the skid all the time, really 1000s of times now with no problems at all. Just look at it good before hand and jack towards the rear. Also you have some"slack" in the trans etc that will let it roll some, next time block it though

I've learned too to block all the wheels on the ground before jacking up a vehicle, in the driveway or on the trail. I have a couple of stories to tell you about jacking up a Liberty.

The first lesson I learned was not to jack up a Liberty with a low capacity floor jack on a no level surface. The floor jack tipped over but the jackstands I placed underneath the axles caught it :icon_lol:

The second lesson was about removing the floor jack before moving trying to move the vehicle. I was rotating my tires in the driveway, jumped in and turned on the Jeep to move it and it wouldn't move??? Looked behind me to see the rear tires spinning in the air, I forgot to lower the floor jack :jester:

tommudd said:

I jack up on the rear part of the skid all the time, really 1000s of times now with no problems at all

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Yeah, where else *can* you use if you want to get both front wheels off the ground? It has to be somewhere on the centreline of the Jeep to try and keep it balanced, so I can't see any other options apart from the skid.

Also you have some"slack" in the trans etc that will let it roll some

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I guess that was what my little rollback was.

next time block it though

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You better believe it

I use chocks at the rear tires to start, a floor jack under each lower control near the front tire and jack stands under the standard body jack point behind the front wheel once it is in the air.

There is a 'waffle' pattern in the casting of the lower control arm that allows for a better grip and the floor jacks have wheels that will allow them to roll a bit should the Jeep decide to move. While jacking, the jacks roll a little anyway to allow for the geometry change and keeps the load centered over the body of the jack.

Safety first.

AVR2 said:

Yeah, where else *can* you use if you want to get both front wheels off the ground? It has to be somewhere on the centreline of the Jeep to try and keep it balanced, so I can't see any other options apart from the skid.

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Generally, I jack it up at the factory recommended points, one side at a time, placing a jackstand, then walking to the other side, jack it, place a second jackstand.

I'm not arguing against the other suggested points, but you can get both wheels off the ground using the points recommended in the service manual.

Chock the front and chock/e-brake the rear when jacking-up the opposite side.

I only needed the front end up for literally two minutes while I turned the steering wheel lock-to-lock about 20 times, and nobody was going anywhere near the crush zones. And to be honest, I've seen any number of professional mechanics do exactly the same thing!

Out of interest, I've been Googling this subject a bit more and I've read an article that says that the factory-recommended jacking points detailed in the owners' manual are only for use with the supplied jack, and should never be used for a hydraulic floor jack.

ive always used the skid plate and it has worked great with no damage for years