Scissor Jack Failure

I went today to change a rear tire on my 2003 Jeep liberty Sport and had a scissor jack failure. Fortunately this happened at home while I was raising the Jeep and the Jeep was not raised that high when the failure occurred and the tire was still on the wheel. The Jack was the original jack that came with the Jeep (and I am the original owner) and has only been used a couple of times over its lifetime. Is this a normal situation for a scissor jack to fail? I have never had a jack fail before.

ive used mine several times with no issues and i have no clue how many times it was used before me not many from what i could tell it was pretty new looking unless dealership replaced it before i bought it lol but so far ive had no issues im glad it didnt fail with your tire off or you under your jeep

YA the thin OEM Scissor can bend / twist it is pretty weak. Don't use if it is not a total level surface.
A better solution at home is having a bottle jack or a hydraulic floor jack.
Jack stands & wheel blocks are a must as well.
When it come to scissor jacks the old bearing type GM ones are super tall & strong.
I found one of these..awesome.
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Works well for lifted KJ's too. Thick solid steel base, and frame is thicker than anything you can buy today.
They don't make stuff like they use to !
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I've only ever used mine to give me a hand installing lifts LOL

( knock on wood ! )

The standard scissor jack is not really a very strong unit. Its only really intended for emergency use in the event of a puncture on a standard vehicle, not for regular use. So in part, it depends how often you've used it, and if your vehicle has any mods.

If its any help for the future, I carry a 6 ton -rated bottle jack and a folding jackstand in an MTM plastic ammo box. The 6 ton jack lifts my KJ like a breeze, and the stand is rated for 3 tons, and gives me considerable peace of mind!

Glad you only got a fright, and no damage either to you or your KJ!

Lancer said:

Its only really intended for emergency use in the event of a puncture on a standard vehicle, not for regular use.

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^ That about sums it up.

A bottle jack and a 24" flex bar (w/socket) also live in the Jeep now.

For the shop, buy a fullsize floor jack and some 6ton jack stands. I have 3 pieces of 2x6 about 2 feet long screwed together that I put on the jack pad to lift the KJ under the front crossmember. Jack stands fit neatly at the factory jacking points (notches).

Still going strong and use it a decent amount.

tommudd said:

I've only ever used mine to give me a hand installing lifts LOL

( knock on wood ! )

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I’ve used them with my cordless drill to lift fence posts out of the ground. But never actually used them for anything automotive related lol

Aceofspades said:

I’ve used them with my cordless drill to lift fence posts out of the ground. But never actually used them for anything automotive related lol

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^ Ya I hear that !
You would think that with a 2 ton vehicle, they should have provided a much more sturdy scissor jack, that is rated correctly in the first place.
Are there any markings on the OEM jack with a weight specification?

I remember the Zenith TV & radio commercials where the slogan was..
The Quality goes in..before the Name goes on...

Today it seems.. "The Name goes on..Before the Quality goes in..." :gr_grin:
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiyaMZXO9Hc

There was a mainstream computer manufacturer who used to put a "Quality Assurance" sticker on the case.*

In my first shop we used to joke that it was your assurance that no quality had accidentally entered at any point.

*The real purpose of the sticker was so they could tell if you had opened the case so they could void your warranty. It was taken to court and the manufacturer lost.