what kind of car jacks should i look into getting for my s70 volvo?

i am a new volvo owner and plan to do a lot of maintenance myself and will soon need to get under the hood.

hydraulic, manual, ramps? i have no idea which route to go or even where to buy them! can i get used ones somewhere?

any advice is much appreciated.

 

If you are planning to do a lot of work, you need a hydraulic jack and a pair of jack stands. A 3 ton jack would be a good choice, one that has less than 4 inches min height to get under the car at the front. A GOOD quality 2 or 2.5 ton would work , too. And a pair of 3 ton jack stands. Always use the stands, never get under the car if it's just on the jack.


You can find jacks for sale at auto parts stores and Walmart for under $100. Sears, too, but read the online reviews on their site first, you may not want one. For more information than you need about jacks, read http://hyjacks.com/wichjac.htm. Lower priced jacks cannot be rebuilt, so if it leaks, you throw it away. More expensive jacks can be rebuilt. You may be able to find a good rebuilt jack locally, call around. They are heavy and expensive to ship.

 

alright thanks a lot. now pardon my ignorance, but just so i know what to buy and how exactly it works.

i will need one 2.5 to 3 ton jack. does it have to be hydraulic? i dont mind having to crank it up/down. then just two jack stands.

do i put one jack stand on each axle so the entire car is off the ground or is it two jack stands on each axle with only one end of the car up off the ground?

 

2.5 jack stands is all you really need. Only supporting the corner weight of the car to the whole thing. figure and average of 900 lbs per corner. probably ~700 lbs rear and ~900lbs front.

Find the jacking point on the car.

jacking point to lift the front should be the lower subframe..... Some will have to confirm.

Edit://
Lift on front only. two jack stands.
rear only, two jack stands.
The whole car. four stands.

 

If you bought a scissors jack big enough to lift the car it probably could not get under the front end.

Yes, one hydraulic jack and a pair of jack stands.

To lift the front end, apply the handbrake and block the rear wheels, then place the jack under the center of the front cross member of the subframe. I like to place a short length of 2x4 between the jack and the steel to spread the load, not sure if that is necessary. So I use a jack that can get low enough to do that. Lift the car then place a jack stand under the side subframe members on each side of the car and lower the car to place the weight on the stands.

To lift the side of the car put it in park (or gear) and block the rear wheel that stays on the ground, then place the jack under the lift point that you would use for the spare tire jack, then place one jack stand under the large bolt in front of the rear wheel, and the other jack stand under the side subframe member by the front wheel, or where the subframe mount is (3 large bolts).
I have not tried to lift the back end of the car, but the Haynes manual I have says it can be done. If you need to lift all 4 wheels off the ground you would need 2 pairs of jack stands.

 

Safe to jack the rear of teh car by the differential hosuing, then put stands under the differential tubes or control arms.
I am going to say buy a jack, two stands and a ramp. I use ramps more than I do the jack, especially for regular servicing.
When I want teh whole car in the air, I reverse onto the ramps , jack teh front end up and put stands under the subframe at the radius rod mounts.
This way the handbrake and gearbox hold teh car on the ramps, nice and secure.
As for jacks, I have had teh same cheapo hydraulic jack for 15 years and bought a larger one around five years ago. Cheap jacks are fine if the load rating is there, they're used so infrequently the seals live forever. Topping them up with ATF is easy if you need to.
However, a more expensive jack wil be nicer to use, less slop in the jack mechanism means more efficiency. get a jack with a LOOONG handle (easier to position/reach under the car) and as low at teh jacking pad as you can find.

Regards, Andrew.

 

+1000
on the ramps!

ramps rock. make sure your car can get up them though. almost all of our cars are way too low to get up.

 

True on the clearance thing, I don't have any problems because my 740 looks like an XC with teh stock ride height!
One of the reasons I ditched my Supra was ground clearance, I couldn't even slide a floor jack under the bloody thing! Had to jack the car up a little at a tie down hook with one jack, then get the big jack in there and move the lever 1" at a time.
That gets old really fast.

Regards, Andrew.

 

That is how we have to do it now. I dont mind the extra steps