In this picture are they saying it's okay to jack the truck up via the anchor plates? (the part with 2 u-bolts connecting the axle to the leaf spring.) I've never even thought I should jack it up there, I figured that would be rough on those bolts, but then again I haven't jacked this truck up yet. I know not to jack it up on the pumpkin or the axle tubes since that's a little too much for the rear end. Where do you normally jack it up?

 

If you think about the ubolts attach to the tubes so what's the difference? I've always heard not jack up by the pumpkin, never heard about the tubes though.

 

Although I've never tried it, but this may be a thought as well. They might be referring to the jack that comes with the truck. The top is square and may fit between those bolts and rest on the plate.

 

ive always used to shock mounts in the rear and the lower control arm mounts in the front. if both tires need to be off the ground in the rear i will jack it up on the pumpkin. havent done anydamage yet and alot of tire shops around here do it, along with most automotive shops.i wont hurt anything.

 

Axle tube usually

 

I've used all those points plus the axle tubes and punkin for 60 years and ain't caused damage yet.

 

i put the jack under any solid point without concern, including the pumpkin, axle tube, shock mount, suspension arm mount, knuckle, frame, hitch, etc.

my most common points are pumpkin or u-bolts in the rear, and suspension arm mounts in the front. due to the offset pumpkin, the front doesn't have a single good balance point.

if you're getting under it in any way - always use heavy duty jack stands, perferable under the axle tubes. - which forces you to place the jack in a different spot than where you put the stand.
ALWAYS BE SAFE.

another little tip - when you remove the tire, and have to put it somewhere... slide it under the truck underneath some structure. if something fell, it might save you.

 

You can jack it up on the hitch? Are we talking about the receiver, or the hitch supports that connect to the frame? I'm afraid to jack this one up on the pumpkin, I've done that on another truck and it smashed the cover and housing. This truck is about the same age, so I am not sure I'll be doing that again. Granted, that was a ford ...

Also, if you look at that image it's got a key at the bottom for what you can use for each mounting point. It looks like they are saying it's okay to jack it up on the u-bolts with a floor jack. Odd.

 

^ the receiver cavity, not the extended ball mount as that would bend.

u-bolts are wrapped solid around the axle tube, so nothing to bend or flex. unless your jack has a knife-like edge that tries to cut the u-bolt, it won't hurt it.

on your ford experience, the pointy lip of the jack must have caught just the wrong spot and pierced it. as long as the flat of the jack is on the bottom of the pumpkin with no sharp edged lips pushing pushing on cast iron or aluminum, i can't imagine it breaking anything.

 

Yeah, I went out there and looked at the way my jack would fit on the bolts and it looks like it won't damage it since all four of the bolts would be touching the center of the lift plate on the jack. (It's flat in there, nothing sharp, etc.)

Yeah, the Ford was a pretty old pile. 1985 Ford Ranger, it was probably just old, or like you said it caught just the right part of the pumpkin.