Jacking up the car-options...

PAW said:
UH! With uni-body construction, those notches are re-enforcements. If you try to jack along the "frame" at other points on the side, you bend the uni-body. How do I know? I tried. :eek: I thought this might be the case. So, I went very slow and only got a tiny dent in the "frame" of my Acura TL. On this car, there are jack point at the front and rear. A floor jack can be used there.
Click to expand...



The plot thickens.....



PAW-Do you think a piece of wood between the jack and frame would have helped in your case?
 
Perhaps. I just put the saddle, about 2" - 3" diameter, up against the "frame". I would not risk trying the piece of wood but it would spread out the load. I had wanted to jack up one wheel, put a jackstand under it, move to the other side, jack it up and put a jack stand there also. I'll use the front and rear jack points next time and put the jack stands under the reenforced side jack points. Which reminds me it time to put the winter wheels on.
 
wifehatescar said:
PAW-Do you think a piece of wood between the jack and frame would have helped in your case?
Click to expand...

To jump in here - I always use a pad between jack and jacking point to avoid scratches
 
I'm sure that the Integra has a owner's group with a message board somewhere on the internet. I'm sure that any search engine will find it within milliseconds, so why not try asking them what they do.



On my Probe GT, I have jack points under the front of the car using a crossmember and the A-arm attachment points on the rear. Then there are jack stand points on the unibody.



On the BMW, I have no idea - probably won't be doing much work on it myself since I have 4 year free (pre-paid) maintenance.



So just take a look at the owner's group or do a search online. Or better yet, I have done it for you...

http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Flats/3877/oilchange.html or at least this is part of it. The web is a wealth of information, you just have to know how to use it.
 
wifehatescar said:
The plot thickens.....



PAW-Do you think a piece of wood between the jack and frame would have helped in your case?
Click to expand...
Sorry, I'm not PAW, but I'd never risk putting jacks or stands anywhere on the car's body or crossmembers unless I'm sure it was safe or was an approved reinforced lift point.



A piece of wood might help distribute the force out a bit more, but you'd still cause damage to the vehicle just because nowhere else on that lower body seam is it designed to support the car's weight. It will bend, buckle, or even cave in. :eek:
 
I picked up one of these:





side-lift-jack-pad.jpg




...and it works well.



link
 
4DSC said:
Sorry, I'm not PAW, but I'd never risk putting jacks or stands anywhere on the car's body or crossmembers unless I'm sure it was safe or was an approved reinforced lift point.



A piece of wood might help distribute the force out a bit more, but you'd still cause damage to the vehicle just because nowhere else on that lower body seam is it designed to support the car's weight. It will bend, buckle, or even cave in. :eek:
Click to expand...



Yep! I'm a believer now. Fortunately I was a scheptic (sp?) when I tried this so there is mininal damage. I wouldn't try it with a piece of wood.



We need to remember that the unibody is the frame. If it gets bent up, you can affect handling and safety. The frame/unibody is part of what keeps you safe in a crash.
 
I would not use wood between my jack and my car. I have had a 2x4 split and the car come crashing down. Fortunately, I was not under the car at the time.



After that one time, I have been very cautious about getting under the car and also got a top-sider to change the oil.



So, either do it right, or don't do it at all. It's not woth it if you get hurt while doing it.
 
albtsang said:
I would not use wood between my jack and my car. I have had a 2x4 split and the car come crashing down. Fortunately, I was not under the car at the time.

Click to expand...

Whoa! Never, ever, ever get under a car that is just held up by a jack. Always supprt with rigid supports or stands.



I know you guys would never forget this, but there was a guy on the news a couple of days ago here, died when his hydraulic jack failed. Apparently he died of suffocation as the weight of the car stopped him breathing.:down
 
butchdave said:
Whoa! Never, ever, ever get under a car that is just held up by a jack. Always supprt with rigid supports or stands.



I know you guys would never forget this, but there was a guy on the news a couple of days ago here, died when his hydraulic jack failed. Apparently he died of suffocation as the weight of the car stopped him breathing.:down
Click to expand...
That's too bad. :( Yes, NEVER get under a car held up with only a jack. I don't even like working near it (changing tires, etc.) even though my father has done it on occasion while I look on nervously....



Sometimes what I do is jack up the car, put it down on the safety stands, but leave the jack pad in contact with the front/rear jacking point. This just saves me the trouble of lining it up again later to let it down when I'm done. Ironically, this is something I got from my father. :p
 
This is not for everybody but I have been doing this for years. I slide the jack under the steel cross member that the subframe bolts to. Make sure your are in the middle then jack . Place the stands under the normal jacking points and very slowly lower the vehicle. If the vehicle has very low ground clearance then I drive up on rhimo ramps so that I can get the jack under the middle of the steel cross member. A check to be sure you are in the middle is when raising/jacking the vehicle make sure both wheels are raising the same. You must be careful not to get under the car while jacking and make sure no one leans on the side to shift the balance. You are putting some pressure on your CV joints so go slowly.



good luck and be careful
 
Along the lines of what 4DSC said, there should be a "garage jack point" front and rear to lift an entire end with a floor jack. Check under the front bumper in the center for a support that runs underneath the engine to probably even with the front wheels. On the rear, it would be the rear beam (if so equipped). Both of these will lift the entire end at once with a floor jack. If not comfortable with these (even though this is what a garage uses), try under the control arms (they'll easily support the weight of the car, but can be hard to get a jack under if the car is lowered). With either of these, you can then use the factory scissor jack points for jackstands.

If you still can't find any place you think would work, take it to a garage and ask them how they'd do it (without a lift). Any good garage would share that info with you.



Dave
 
Thanks guys, I looked in the factory manual for my car and yes indeed there are a front and rear lift point! Guess I should have checked there first... :)
 
Provided the floor jack was not up as high as it would go already you would just raise the car a bit highter, take out the jack stand and lower the car.
 
Mid-Life Cruiser said:
Looking at the KenSilver picture, I have but one question.

attachment.php


How ya gonna remove the jack?:nixweiss
Click to expand...



Mid-Life,



I figured I would lift the car on the jack to slightly higher than needed, place the stand under the arm and lower the jack arm (and car) down on it.



To remove, lift the jack arm a bit, remove the stand, and pull the jack out.
 
Hey- I've been a mechanic for the past ten years and the best way to lift any car is by the sub frame with an hydraulic jack and small section of 2x4 depending on the vehicle. If you have a specific vehicle in mind shoot me a Q
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top