If you ever plan to change a tire or do your own oil changes, learning how to jack up your Ford Ranger is essential. Not everybody has access to a garage with its two or four post hydraulic lifts. Jacking a Ford Ranger can be done in two ways, and the way that you lift the car depends on what you have planed. Removing a wheel requires only jacking up one wheel. Lifting all four wheels off the ground requires jack stands. Crawling beneath a car not securely on stands is very dangerous.
Park on a level, flat surface. Pull the emergency brake, and shift the gears into either reverse or park. Which one depends on whether the Ranger uses a standard or an automatic transmission. Turn the Ranger off and remove the key from the ignition.
Block off the wheel diagonally across from the wheel you intend to lift. The blocks need to go in front and behind this tire. This is a safety measure, because any time a part of the ranger leaves the ground, the distribution of weight is slightly altered.
Place your car jack at the right lifting points. The front and back have two lifting locations, and placing the jack anywhere else could cause damage to the vehicle. In the front, place the car jack under the lower control arm's projection or the rear axle housing. It needs to be the one closest to the tire you plan to raise. If you are lifting the ranger with a floor jack, the jack needs to go under the outer end of the control arm, or under the outer end of the axle housing, which ever is closest to the tire you plan to lift.
Turn the jack's crank and lift the Ranger. If you are going to use jack stands, lift the Ranger a little higher than the stand, place the stand, and then lower the Ranger onto the stand. Repeat these steps on the remaining wheels until the Ranger is safely elevated on the jack stands.
