FleetMag.com |

Where do you get your lifting point information? When you need to safely go under a vehicle to diagnose or perform required vehicle service, where do you obtain information for the placement of the lift adapter pads underneath the vehicle to be lifted? Are you confident your sources are reliable?

If you believe that you haven’t seen a vehicle that you don’t know how to lift or that everything is just common sense, you are destined for an accident. Don’t assume that lifting is the same from vehicle to vehicle. Unfortunately, this is often the statement heard from experienced service technicians, “It doesn’t matter if it’s a roadster, an SUV, a 4 X 4 with duals, a two-door or four-door family sedan or even a truck. All you have to do is find a hard spot like the frame or the jack points on a uni-body car. Sure, it’s important if the hard spot is flat and level but, in a pinch, it’s OK to use the spring hangers. They are connected to the frame aren’t they? Some vehicle manufacturers even tell you to lift on the spring hangers.” This is a risky assumption and one likely to lead to an accident.

There is quite a bit of good information out there, so how do you know what to follow? Bottom line, if one source doesn’t seem quite right, seek out another source of information and always use good old common sense! If something doesn’t jibe with what you are reading, always question it. You are your best safety source; don’t ignore your own sensibilities.

The first step in making a proper lift is to find and read the vehicle manufacturer recommended lifting points for that vehicle. Here are a few common sources of reliable lift point information:

• If you work in an automobile dealership, you can go to the internal vehicle manufacturer Web site to find lifting and jacking information. You can also go to the vehicle service manuals found in dealerships where the same make of vehicles are serviced every day.

• If you work in an independent automotive service garage, an automotive service franchise store, or an automotive fleet maintenance operation, maybe you have the service manuals for the vehicle at issue and maybe you don’t. Check to see if your employer subscribes to one of the several, independent, on-line vehicle information services now available. Some of these services cover proper vehicle lifting.

• You have probably seen the Vehicle Lifting Point Guide published by Motor Information Systems for the Automotive Lift Institute (ALI) and furnished since 1997 by ALI member companies with all, new, frame-engaging lifts. The Lifting Point Guide is developed from information obtained directly from the automotive vehicle manufacturers.