ProfMoriarty

Thanks to some outstanding CF membership write ups, I've realized the advantages of utilizing a Nothern Supply beam adapter to lift a C6 at the preferred lift points.

For those of us who own the popular Craftsman aluminum 2 ton floor jack, a little effort is required to use it with the adapter (beyond ramps to elevate the front of the car enough to use the jack in the first place).

The problem is, in order to use the beam adapter as it's designed you need to remove the jack cup. This entails removing a 14mm steel support pin. Unfortunately, without the steel support pin there is no means of operating the jack and with the support pin in place the beam adapter pin is obstructed.

Choice one: Cut or grind down the adapter pin until 3/8" or less remains so the adapter can rest flat on the jack pad. This may be acceptable, but I wanted to utilize the entire length of the adapter pin rather than rely on a short remnant.

I went with Choice two: Substitute two bolts for the support pin.

Materials:

(2) 14 mm hardened bolts (shown below)

(2) 14 mm hardened nuts

(1) 14 mm nut

14 mm wrench (7/8" is close enough)

eye protection!!!

fine file(s)

grinder

die grinder with cutting wheel

Sharpie or similar marker

pliers

blue thread locker

Note: You can substitute 1.5 " 14 mm hardened bolts, eliminate 99% of the work, and be done in 5 minutes. If I had any sense this is what I should have done, but...the downside to this is that 14 mm bolts of this length do not have a smooth surface near the bolt head. Rather, they are threaded their entire length. It probably has no practical negative effect, but I didn't want sharp, hardened threads repeatedly bearing on aluminum.

OK, here's how to make that Craftsman 2 ton floor jack that you shelled out $199 for (or $169 on sale!) into the versatile tool it was meant to be:

1. First, remove the split ring from one grooved end of the steel support pin that traverses the jack cup, jack pad, and lifting arms and remove the support pin. Next, remove the jack cup assembly.

This will expose a hole in the lifting pad that will accommodate the beam adapter pin.

2. Push a bolt through the lifting arms and lifting pad into the hole where the lifting cup was and make a mark on the bolt threads with the Sharpie.

3. Thread the sacrificial non-hardened nut a few "threads" past the Sharpie line. This will ensure that the bolt does not protrude into the jack hole (Unintentional plug for "The Man Show" production company).

4. Clamp the bolt/nut assembly in a vise and cut off the exposed threads with a carbide or diamond cutting wheel.

5. Remove the nut, clean up the cut end with a fine file.

6. Repeat the process for the second 14 mm hardened bolt.

7. There is a curved area under the lifting pad that will prevent the 14 mm hardened nuts from bottoming out and aligning properly. Grasp the nut firmly in the pliers and grind one flat end slightly. Next grind a curve into one side of the nut at the area where you ground down the flat end and grind a very slight curve into the opposide side. Sounds like a lot. In reality it takes a few minutes. Repeat for the second nut.

8. Apply a liberal amount of blue thread locker to the nuts.

9. Thread both bolts into the nuts under the lifting pad and tighten with the 14mm or 7/8" wrench.

Now the lifting cup or beam adapter can be simply dropped into the lifting pad, depending on your intended use.

AP

Cool ...