Mechanical Jack problems of the 1997 Ford Ranger

Had a right front tire go flat. With the tire flat, the vehicle jack would not fit under the shock absorber as the owners manual describes proper jacking of the vehicle. I contacted the local Ford dealer who said to just move the jack to a nearby location. I did this but was very uneasy doing so as it didn't seem especially secure and I was worried the car could slip off the jack. Odd that with a flat tire, the jack is too tall to place it where the manufacturer recommends.

The tire-jack (bottle-jack) provided with this vehicle, when purchased new, will not fit under the approved front-end jacking point of my Ford Ranger pick-up truck under full flat conditions! there appears to be no safe alternative jacking position to be used with the supplied bottle-jack! this recently caused me to be in danger far longer than would have been otherwise necessary had my vehicle been provided with an adequate jack! I discovered this fact on the narrow paved shoulder of a busy interstate highway during continuous heavy rain and lowered visibility conditions. I was unsuccessful at changing my tire (embarassing to a commercial semi-trailer truck driver) and had to call and wait for assistance, this after already getting soaked on a cold day in a futile attempt to change my tire with inadequate new-vehicle equipment! from talking to others, I have been told that inadequate jacks are quite often provided with other pick-up trucks, and that this type jack problem is not unique to the Ford range pick-up!.