Would You Put Your Life In the Hands of the Jack Rod?

When I logged on this morning, a fellow editor asked me if I’d trust my life to something called “the Jack Rod.” I thought he was talking about a Halo power-up I’d forgotten about, but he was referring to one brand’s version of a long-existing garage accessory: A jack lock. So, are jack locks safe? In the right context, yes. You would not catch me crawling under a car supported exclusively by one unless I had to, but they have value in certain situations.

The Jack Rod is made by AGM, an established brand with a big catalog of nice-looking shop tools and off-road accessories. The idea behind this product is simple—it’s a height-adjustable high-strength rod you place between a floor jack’s saddle and its front axle, effectively converting the jack into a type of jack stand. Pro Eagle (a huge name in off-road jacks) sells something similar, and there are others, too. And I’ll tell you what, there are more than a few wrench-spinners in my neck of the woods using 2×4 scraps for the same job.

For those who don’t do much wrenching but stumbled into this post anyway, a hydraulic floor jack is great for lifting a car, but not so great at holding it in place for a prolonged period. That’s why you should always slide some jack stands, which are meant to hold huge weights indefinitely, under a vehicle’s frame or axles before climbing below. For an extra layer of safety, lay a wheel under the car too, and make sure someone can hear you scream if things get tippy.

Now, back to the original prompt. My colleague mentioned that Reddit and Instagram comments seem “split” on the Jack Rod’s safety. I think the AGM rep in the company’s promotional video covered himself pretty well when he says: “I know this tool is awesome, but it’s not so amazing that we can stop using common sense once we’ve got one” at around the 3:30 mark.

When used correctly and in the proper context, yes, I think a jack lock is sufficiently safe. On level ground with wheel chocks, in a situation where you only need one quadrant of the car elevated, your jack should not be at risk of rolling away. Changing a wheel or doing brakes? Sure. Need to lift the car up for a little inspection? Absolutely. But at the end of the day, the jack itself is still on wheels. While it’s highly unlikely that it’d roll away, it’s never totally impossible. It could get kicked or dislodged more easily than fixed-foot jack stands.

Oftentimes, when you’re DIY’ing, you’re not in a perfectly flat or optimal environment. And, or, your car ends up needing to be jacked up for a lot longer than you had originally planned. Or you need to get the whole thing higher off the ground than you initially expected to. Plus, the pad of your jack isn’t really made for stability, while jack stands are.

For trackside tire changes or home brake jobs, one of these gizmos could be a perfectly safe time and space saver. But if you’ve got a big job that will involve a lot of time, doing anything that will involve a lot of weight-shifting, or working anywhere that’s not 100 percent completely level, just get some high-quality jack stands too.

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