Soft jack pads

[jaybee]

Does anyone have a source for rubberized pads that go on top of jacks and jack stands?

[blksheep]

I got mine from www.harborfreight.com

blksheep...lifting softly...in Charlotte

[donsrods]

Worn out buffing pads are great for floor jacks.


Don

[papastoyss]

a piece of old radiator hose split lengthwise works great on jackstands.

[rumrumm]

I got mine from California  Car Cover. They weren't cheap so I asked my wife to get them for me for Christmas (and she did!). Maybe that tactic can work for you, too!!

[enjenjo]

I got mine from California  Car Cover. They weren't cheap so I asked my wife to get them for me for Christmas (and she did!). Maybe that tactic can work for you, too!!

Ok, tell your wife I need 4 of them. I'll pick them up at your house.

[Uncle Bob]

Or if you'd like the high zoot urethane ones;  http://www.ajusa.com/cgi-bin/stores/products?vendor_code=PTP&category_id=36ccb3d908b714a242bc643bb50c0abc&session_id=280370c316595c2d8cf77ff5688f0b59

[C9]

A workable 'emergency' soft jack pad can be made from a piece of 3/4" plywood cut to size and a folded red rag place on top of it.


My big floor stands - 6 tonners - are used under the rear axle.
I have a couple pieces of wide leather belt covering the cast top piece and they're taped on with black electricians tape.
A folded red rag is tape on top of that.
This particular setup has been in use for a long while and surprisingly the red rags have not worn or been cut in two.

[phat46]

Ok, tell your wife I need 4 of them. I'll pick them up at your house.[/quote]

I was gonna suggest rags/cardboard and masking tape, but i thought you guys would think i was a cheapskate...then i read this and i don't feel so bad...  

[hotrodbob]

Go to: http://www.protechproducts.net/images/JACKPADS.asp

This is the guy that makes that pads Cal. Car Cover sells. He's out of Burbank, Ca.

[jaybee]

Thanks, guys I appreciate the info.

[Bob Paulin]

I use "high-performance" rubber pads which I acquire in bulk - often four-or-more-per-weekend - from sources such as Hoosier, American Racer, and Goodyear.

I simply cut out the proper shape for the application from toroid shapes in which they are originally cast.

Without fear of rebuttal, I probably have the fastest jack pads in the neighborhood.............


B.P.

[C9]

I use "high-performance" rubber pads which I acquire in bulk - often four-or-more-per-weekend - from sources such as Hoosier, American Racer, and Goodyear.

I simply cut out the proper shape for the application from toroid shapes in which they are originally cast.

Without fear of rebuttal, I probably have the fastest jack pads in the neighborhood.............


B.P.

I won't argue the fast part . . . and maybe a dumb question, what do you use to do the cutting?

One reason I ask - besides the little fact that tire tread ought to make a very nice jackpad - is I have a couple of 10" wide mags with tires on, but the beads have been broken away from the seats.
The gas station guy could'nt get the tire over the wheel flange and I had him quit before he damaged something.

I've been thinking that using a muffler cutter - sorta like a big Dremel - to cut the wire reinforced beads and maybe a sharp knife to cut the rest of it so the tires could be removed.

Storage would be a lot easier since the mags would go onto a shelf instead of balancing on the garage floor....

[Bob Paulin]

I won't argue the fast part . . . and maybe a dumb question, what do you use to do the cutting?

One reason I ask - besides the little fact that tire tread ought to make a very nice jackpad - is I have a couple of 10" wide mags with tires on, but the beads have been broken away from the seats.
The gas station guy could'nt get the tire over the wheel flange and I had him quit before he damaged something.

I've been thinking that using a muffler cutter - sorta like a big Dremel - to cut the wire reinforced beads and maybe a sharp knife to cut the rest of it so the tires could be removed.

Storage would be a lot easier since the mags would go onto a shelf instead of balancing on the garage floor....

First of all, please reassure me that the tires you are about to destroy are, in fact, absolute junk......something that won't even help out some neighborhood kid with a Camaro......or a guy running a street-tire-only class at the local race track.

Taking that for granted, let me ask which side the guy was trying to dismount the tire from......

A number of years ago - in the '60s - the 14-inch GM wheels were offset with the wide flange to the outside. We actually had to mount and dismount tires from the back side on these wheels.

I watched guys struggle to the point where they were ready to start cutting, themselves before I simply stopped them, turned the wheel upside down on the tire machine, then allowed them to continue on - with much success.

Mounting and dismounting tires takes just a bit of common sense.

Make sure the bead drops into the drop-center of the wheel as you are trying to remove it from the opposite side.

Make sure you are trying to remove the tire off the narrowest side of the wheel's width - measured from the wheel's bead to the drop-center....the narrowest "flange" if you will.

Steel beads ABSOLUTELY DO NOT STRETCH.

You have to drop the bead into the drop-center, which allows you to slide the whole tire and bead slightly sideways - which allows the tire bead to slip over the wheel bead flange. If you are trying to remove a tire over the wide flange, the bead is less likely to drop into the drop-center.

If the tire bead is only an inch or so below the wheel bead edge, you are, essentially, attempting to stretch the tire bead - the STEEL tire bead - an inch-or-so over the wheel bead edge.

Did I mention the stretching capabilities of steel?


Now, to answer the first question......

I can generally cut the shapes I want out of an old racing tire with a common utility knife......and a LOT of Ru-glyde tire lubricant.

The used racing tires I have do NOT have a steel belt, so I can pretty much cut everywhere except, of course, the bead.

If you are dealing with steel-belted radials, you will probably only be able to cut sections from the sidewalls.

I suspect you will be successful with the muffled cutter and a sharp utility knife......if you absolutely MUST cut the tire...

[terrarodder]

I've used the plastic lids from a coffee can in a pinch, it worked for the floor jack.