jackstand location question

[G]

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always plenty strong for me, if they are rusted out then forget about it. it also depends on what type of jackstands your using. those red chinese ones in that link are scary. i have these 6600 lb capacity type & they work great.

I'll probably be selling a set of these soon if anyone wants them.

 

[G]

These are nice to : click

 

[belize1334]

Lots of cars can be jacked from the side without damage. The new Corvettes even have a plate built into the frame rail at the 50/50 weight point precisely so that you can jack from the side without damaging the panels. At an autox or similar event you'll see people doing this all the time because most of those cars are too low to get the jack body far enough under the car to find a front/rear jack-point. I don't like doing it on mine because it bends the lip and I can get a jack under the front/back easily enough.

I lift the front first because the front bumper is always lower to the ground and clearance is an issue. I jack from the front the left/right cross member where there is clearly a "pad" that looks like it was designed to be used as a jack-point. I like to use a piece of 2x4 so that the load is given over a wider area and the member won't be mangled. I place jack stands under the rear connecting point of the front control arms (using stands with a shallow dip so as not to put pressure on the bolts on either side of the bushing). I then lift the rear from the rear-diff and put stands under the factory jack points (back outermost seem). I don't like doing this in the front because the front is so much heavier and I've observed a lot of chassis flexion when only the seem supports the front. The rear is much lighter though and it's never bothered me. Then, before I get under the car and because I'm paranoid I put ANOTHER set of stands under the front jack points and lift them as high as they'll go. When I can't do that I'll leave the jack itself in place but bearing no load so that the car is not more likely to move off the stands but there is a bit of insurance in case one falls.

 

[89coltgt]

I have always jacked up the cars with the factory specified location(icked-out portion to fit into the pad of the jack) and on the front, I locate the jackstands under the u-shaped control are saddles. Anyone else use this location?

 

[belize1334]

Unless I mistake your meaning, I believe that I just described using that same location.

 

[H05TYL]

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Can I use the crossmember (left to right) beneath the radiator as a jacking point, or will it bend/buckle as well? Basically I don't want to mess up anymore metal underneath the car.




That's what I have always used (not the core support though...) to jack the front of mine up for the past 10 years or so. If you don't want the little tabs on the jack cup to leave littles ding marks in the cross member though,you should use one of the rubber pads that are commercially available or something similar.

To lift the back,I use the diff housing.



That's the spot the workshop manual says to use with a trolley jack (floor jack/shop jack, whatever you wanna call it).

I've left mine on jackstands (front 2 under each end of the left-right crossmember, rear 2 under the front subframe mounts) for several months on a gentle sloped driveway and had no problems at all.

 

[Dialcaliper]

I usually lift by the forward rear subframe mount in the back, and the rear front control arm joint in the front (two of the most solid places on the car). I put the stands under the jack-points on the side rails. You need a jack that will fit/reach all the way underneath to do it that way though. Don't lift by any of the hollow beam areas under the car, or the portion of the side rails that isn't reinforced near the jack points or you will eventually cause damage

 

My car came with a dent in the rear of the PS "rail," the hollow part, which is I presume from someone trying to jack there. At first I thought it was something else that did it and tried to jack there, but stopped when I saw it starting to give. Now I always use the lip running between the wheels for the jackstands, placing them just within the wheelbase. I jack up the front using the crossmember and the rear using the diff, using a 2x4 block for each. Always use a piece of wood when jacking unless you absolutely can't fit the jack under the car otherwise. You should also always use a failsafe measure, usually the jack itself, but big pieces of wood under the side work as well. I like to lower the car onto the stands until the jack clears the car, then jack it up until I feel a tiny amount of tension; I don't like the idea of the car falling onto the jack. In the manual it actually says to put the spare tire under the car when jacking, and then put the popped one under while you're changing it until you're ready to lower it.

 

[swe_gvr4_1991]

i really hate all kinds of jackstands. the feeling it would come down on me if i rock the car when working under it. ;-) a 2 pillar lift would be nice though...

this is what i've been doing for years:

saw som 4"x4" wooden beams, say 10" long, and put those metal plates with holes in em, on the ends of the wood. making a big block with 2 in height and 2 in width. this way you make sure the car doesn't move coz it'll sink into the wood when lowering it, securing it tight.

you can make several of these and adjust your prefered height. makes it alot easier to work under the car.

on and for those really fast front and rear underside jobs i have made wooden ramps that looks like a piece of birthday cake. they fit like a ramp on freight pallets. just put a freight pallet in front of each wheel and a pice of wooden triangle, roll upp. this way you can get the car really high up for changing your downpipe and such.

oh, and use fresh wood. wood kan withstand several tons of force if done right. and it's free!

good luck!