Floor jack lift cup...

[mikerider]

I have been using a floor jack to work on my own car/truck for a long time and never question this until now:

What's the purpose of these 4 raised tangs on the top of the floor jack's (or any jack) lift cup? I'm going to grind them off finally.

Is this something that when they manufacture the jack, they said "oh, everybody made them that way, let's make it that way too"?

I don't want to let 1000+ lbs to rest on those tangs.

 

[puppychow]

Dunno. To hold a jack pad perhaps? *shrug*

 

[SLK50]

They're to prevent axels or frame members from

sliding off. I wouldn't use a jack without them.

Rather than remove them, cut a piece of 2X

to fit in the cup and act as a pad when lifting

body members or under your bike's headers.

 

[Mr_Canoehead]

No idea - I assume it is to prevent an axle sliding off the jack. I always put a 2x6 between those tangs and the work since they put a lot of pressure on whatever you are lifting....If you search floor jack saddle pad, there are lots of commercially available pads to spread the load.

 

[BkerChuck]

SLK50 is spot on with his answer. They're to help orient the jack in such a way that the load is secured and can't slip off.

 

[mikerider]

Thank you all. Yes, everybody put something (wood, pad, old jeans... ) on top of those tangs so they served no purpose

If to prevent an axle from sliding off, you only need 2 tangs (at 180 degree apart.) Otherwise, the other 2 will always contact something and they will dig in to whatever they contact.

If to lift on the frame, the protruding tangs serve no purpose: a steel frame slides off on small tangs much easier than sliding on a larger flat surface (if those tangs are not there and if having a flat cup instead of concave cup.)

I think I'm going to try to lift my car without the cup to see how it is, before I grind them off to have a greater surface...

 

[Niehart]

mikerider, this is what I use on top of the jack.

https://www.fjr1300.info/howto/bikestand.html

Dick McWay's simple design works great.

 

[BkerChuck]

Keep in mind many of these floor jack designs go back a long, long time to the days when cars had full box tubing steel frames. I'd venture a guess that at one time it was the right size to straddle that square tubing and hold it pretty solid. On newer uni-body cars I admit the tangs are often more nuisance than help.

 

[Fred W]

Those tabs are there to sink into the 2"x4" block that you put on top of them, so the jack and block are interlocked and won't slip, when jacking something you don't want the metal tabs to sink into, like say... your FJR's header pipes.

I have a number of softwood blocks of different sizes and shapes with that indentation pattern in them.

 

[2degreesout]

Keep in mind many of these floor jack designs go back a long, long time to the days when cars had full box tubing steel frames. I'd venture a guess that at one time it was the right size to straddle that square tubing and hold it pretty solid. On newer uni-body cars I admit the tangs are often more nuisance than help.

What he said.↑ I filled my "cup" with a cut to fit piece of 3/4 plywood

 

[DennisJ]

A regulation hockey puck fits nicely in that recess.

 

[Old Guy]

Those tabs are there to sink into the 2"x4" block that you put on top of them, so the jack and block are interlocked and won't slip, when jacking something you don't want the metal tabs to sink into, like say... your FJR's header pipes.
I have a number of softwood blocks of different sizes and shapes with that indentation pattern in them.

As do I. I use a block of wood between the pad and anything it could damage. And I use it without the wood on things that I fear it might slip off of and I'm not worried about damaging.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Ummmm, how much do you guys think an FJR weighs? Those tangs won't hurt anything. Just use a small block of wood.

 

[wheeliea]

I do not reccomend grinding off those tabs!

as was mentioned they keep things from sliding off.

if removed the slightest wiggle could spit that out,the rest of that sentence is censored.