So I have probably 4 good sized jacks from the days of the mustang....but some of them are a little too heavy duty and would actually damage the car when lifting it as it was more for use on trucks.... so my question is 3 fold.... What jacks do you use (pics would help) to get your car up.... what do you do to prevent any damage (however minor it might be) to the ca when lifting it.... and where in the front are the lift points (i know theres the two pretty easy ones on the back)... so as far as jack stands go.... never had a car up on stands before....very simple question....where do you place the jack stands when you get the car up in the air (pics would be awesome for this). :gotpics::thanks:
the lift points are as curtis said.... just behind the front tires and just in front of the rears. look for th small squareish openings in the lower rocker panel. as for jacks, i use a very inexpensive small 2 ton from craftsman. i like the very small lifting cup because it will neatly fit into the small circular opening under the car where the lift points are. it is also rather low profile for me to actually squeeze it under the car. being low does have some drawbacks!!! as for the jack stand points, i use the are where the front trailing arms meet the frame, and for the rear, where the rear end carriage bolts to the frame!
While Curtis' explaination is great, I have the same 2 ton Craftsnman jack Chris has. Also, the notches just behind the front tire on the rocker panels is the lift point. I will position the jack centered under the notches. The rockers will bend slightly, but they are rugged and will go back to original shape when off the jack. Chris may need to do what I do, and that is drive the front tires up on 2X4's to ensure the jack fits under the rockers. One other point. You can lift one side of the car from either lift points. I do this when taking the 22's off and putting the DR's on with the OEM rims upfront. Saves me about 5 minutes each side. lol
yeah ron, when i first saw the dealer put the car on their lifts, i almost paniced when i saw how much the rockers were bending from the lift pads on their set up!!! hahahahaah when the car came down, the rockers just popped right back into shape!!! lol
Like Chris said. In the rocker panel there is a square indentation. That will give you the general location. Then reach under there and feel along the bottom of the frame rail. There is a small triangle cutout in the bottom of the frame rail. It's smaller than a dime and maybe larger than a pencil eraser. That marks the spot of the front jacking point. Kragens, autozone and the likes have low profile hydraulic jacks for ~$40 or less. Usually comes with jack stands. Mine will just barely make it under the rear and will just rub the rocker panel getting it under the front. Get wheel chocks. The metal ones with the front lip are great. These cost a couple of bucks. For getting one whole end of the car off the ground get the Rhino? ramps from autozone. The ones specifically marked as being low profile. The "heavy duty" ones (grey) are wider. No worries if you don't have them lined up perfectly. If you're lowered then drive up on a piece of wood and then insert jack. Careful that the wood isn't likely to flip up and smack the bottom of the car when driving the tire up onto the leading edge (especially the rear tires). I'll try for pics later this evening.
oh btw - usually i do not have to drive onto anything to get my little craftsman jack under the front lift points..... i just pull up on the fender ever so slightly ad the jack will roll under far enough to have the small lift cup of my jack fit into the opening where the jack point on the frame is!!!
It seems like some are lifting right at the notch on the rocker panel. That is not really the lift point is it? I agree with Dave that the little triangle is the lift point and it is pretty far under the car (at least on the 300). I am lowered just a little and my low profile jack is not long enough (front to back) to get to the triangle notch without hitting the rocker panel. I have to drive up on two pieces of 2x10 to get clearance to get the jack far enough under the car.
Excellent point Curtis (forgot about that) on the jacks not being long enough. The cup can be low and then it's an incline up to the leverage point/hydraulic pump. It JUST barely makes the reach on my stock height car. Lower car would be a problem. I saw a low profile jack that was extra long once but it had a really low max jacking height. Longer lever arm, harder to lift, more expensive. I wouldn't mind investing some bucks into a better low profile jack though.
dave - the jack you are describing is what my tire place uses to get the car off the ground. very cool set up, and not thaaaat badly priced!
Jacks from Craftsman: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/s_10153_...+Tools_Lift+Equipment?sbf=Brand&sbv=Craftsman My next jack setup: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...ls&cName=Mechanics+Tools&sName=Lift+Equipment So cool....(heh heh) BTW- rubber pipe caps from HD or Lowe's are cheap, easy to find, and work great for protecting the jack cup from scratching/damaging the frame. Here's a quick DIY on the subject: http://www.srtconnection.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4806
thanks a ton kevan........ i go to check out your new jack set up at sears and end up buying some more tools and a new rolling seat/creepe!!!!! lol
This is an interesting thread. I own a vintage 1973 Porsche 914 2.0 and hang out at the 914 forums. The constant inside joke is that these cars spend more time on jack stands than on the road. I recommend reading the link below. Basically, a 2,000 lb 914 fell on one of the members. Now lots of 914 owners use pin-type jack stands. Some have even installed hydraulic lifts. See post #83, #99 and #184. Be safe. http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=70117&hl=jackstands&st=80
Yikes! I wouldn't even want to tell some of the stupid things I did when younger. It was probably ok then because I was invincible before I got older and the exposure to kryptonite.
Thanks C Love...where did you get that PDF? THEEEEEEEERE we go....this was one of the things i was looking for! haha... i know this doesnt make it totally safe (as being under a 4000 car is never really TOTALLY safe) but the jackstands I have are for trucks haha....so hopefully they can take the weight without an issue....i think they are rated for like 4000lbs each lol
That was interesting. Sounds like maybe the jack stand didn't fail but maybe he bumped the release lever. That's why they were all talking about getting the pin type. Anything under there beats have 3 guys (in various states of intoxication from various substances) holding up one end of a vw bug while you crawl under there real quick to wire up something that was dragging...:whistle:
I've used the Aluminum 4000LB jack from Sears and liked it. It's built well, and is a little lighter than a steel version. http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...&cName=Tools+&+Equipment&sName=Lift+Equipment izza:
