For some reason, I can get onto every board except the tech/general, engine board (this is the first time this has happened). This seems to be the next best place to ask.

This is a little long, but maybe I can pinpoint my problem.
How do you guys raise up your cars? I have a floor jack, jack stands, and ramps. I hate lifting the car--it really scares me having it at weird angles up in the air, knowing that if anything slips or brakes, I have a (maybe 2 if it falls to the side) broken cars. I don't mind jacking up the back and putting some nice big stacks of wood (today I took 40 ft worth of 8x2, cut it into 18 sections, and glued and nailed them together to make four blocks about 10" tall) under the rear lowere shock mounts. I was then going to put jack stands under the frame on the front, but when I jacked up the driver's side front and the driver's side rear lifted up off the wood, I got scared and put the car back down.

I guess I'll be okay now that I have four blocks of wood.

What about jack stands: I'm afraid that they'll slip and the rear will fall while I'm jacking the front. Then the front would fall and I'd have a broken car?

How do y'all use jack stands? Any certain things not to do?

JFYI, I actually do have experience--I am just finishing a shelby cobra that I built from the frame up, but I started that with the frame on jackstands. Jacking up fully assembled cars scares me? Also, I building a replica is just like building any other car--it takes a long time, most of the parts (all quality aftermarket) require modification to make them fit, and it's a lot of work, but it's fun.
"Kit cars" just get a bad name because retards put ferrari, lamborghini bodies on fieros and oh, also GT40 bodies on VW chassis.

 

I was going to ask the same thing. I want to find those solid rubber ramps you drive up on but I dunno who sells them.

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-Tas
'89 Formula WS-6

305, TBI, 700R4, P.A.W. 14x3 open element with K&N, Milodon 160* thermo, functional Formula hood, cross-flow Flowmaster, '99z28 rear pipes and tips, Hooker 1-5/8" 50 state legal headers, Dynomax 3" I pipe (PN 44063 and 43248)
Super GRK_Taz World
F-Body Dual Exaust
EFI & Intake Options

 

In the front I lift it under the K-rail (the cradle under the engine). Since my car is lowerd I have to drive one front wheel up on a 2x4 first to get the jack underneath. Then I place the jack stands uner the A-arms. There is a hump in the center where it appears a shock would go on another car. For the rear I carefully get the lip of the jack under the pumpkin of the differential. You don't want to bend the differential cover though. Then the jack stands go in front of the front mounting point of the rear LCA's (lower control arms). There are also jacking points on the side of the car at just in front of the rear tire and behind the front tire. Using jack stands in all four corners would be better than the homemade wood ones. Just make sure it is on solid level ground when lifting and supporting it. Also give it a shake to make sure it is secure before going under it. Weld-in SFC's on my car give me a couple of more jacking points as well. But I am assuning your question was intended for "stock" locations. Good luck, Lon.

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90 RS Convertible
Owner: Top-Down Solutions
(626)369-0040

http://www.sc3gfb.org/members/lonsal.html
http://www.taskerinc.com/gs3/profiles/Lon_profile.htm

 

USE 3-TON JACK STANDS, NOT WOOD! DO NOT USE WOOD! I REPEAT, DO NOT USE WOOD!

Unless you are trying to commit suicide... then wood is a good choice.

And, yes, jacking up the front/back after setting the back/front on stands will cause the opposite corner to come off the stands a little. This is perfectly normal. Just make sure that when you jack up the last corner, the car sits back in the stand properly.

I suggest putting the jack/stands under the frame only. I wouldn't suggest using the pumpkin as a jack point... for obvious tipping reasons, you are supposed to jack up the corners individually.

 

I second that... wood is a BAD idea. Invest in some quality stands. Just go slow and take your time, if the car makes you nervous on stands, give it a push/bump, you will be surprised on how steady it feels. Also don't forget to use chalks (sp?) on the corners that you aren't jacking up. Never leave the car on a jack, always use stands. My buddy and I swapped the rear out of his '87 Iroc. The car sat on a jack for about 3 or 4 days, when we went to take it out we couldn't lower it because it had bent about 20 degrees off center. That was the last time I got under a car that was supported by a jack.

 

I guess, it just seems like the frame is not very thick metal and putting jack stands under it seem like I'm putting a lot of pressure on 4 points of the frame. This is probably another thing where I'd be surprised how strong it is. I know that it is a frame after all, but most of the time, the entire weight of the car is not supported by a couple square inches of the frame.

 

When I have trouble sliding my 2.5 ton hydraulic under the front of the car, I lift the car myself. I grab the center top of a front fender, and lift up. Then I do this for the other side, and then repeat it once more. This "preloads" the struts... since you're not driving, the front's not bouncing up and down, and therefore, won't return to "ride height". This usually gives me the extra inch or so to get the jack under.

I raise (and support) my car similar to Lonsal...

My jackstands (on the front) go under the control arms, on the downward bulge of the spring perch, on the inside-most area of the spring perch. This is basically the same as the car sitting on it's front tires.

For the rear, I lift the car by the center of the rear axle. I place the jackstands immediately "in front of" the rear control arms- there's a flat pad there.

If you want added safety, leave the hydraulic jack "slightly lowered" under it's lifting point. For instance; if I'm doing my front brakes, I'll lift the fronts as normal, but leave the hydraulic jack under the center crossmember as a "backup". I suppose you already know that you should never get under a car with "only" a hydraulic jack supporting the car. Hydraulics can fail without warning.



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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l)

 

I heard someone say I could jack the car up on the sway bar mounts, but is that really ok?

 

Good topic.
I have my car up on 4 jacks under the frame. It will be this way for a couple of years as I completely strip and rebuild it. I also heard some creeking noises as I was raising it for the jacks.
Should I be concerned about having the front and rear axels hanging for a long time? I have removed the tires/rims.
Will the shocks be OK extended like that for some time?
thanks in advance.

 

I don't like jacking it up by the front cross member because the shape of that thing looks like it just wants to slide off the jack even with good sized saddle on the jack. So I use a bottle jack under each a-arm and a 3.5 ton floor jack under the punkin. That way I can raise the car pretty much level at all times and then put the stands under it.

 

One thing I find effective is to simply use two identical floor jacks simutaneously with a friend, start with front end (don't forget to put e-brake and some wedges behind the rear tires) just behind the front wheels on the frame. Slide jack stands underneath (make sure they're centered VERY well) then do the rearend basically the same.. If you don't have a friend, well I don't know. I don't know about you guys but do you ever get paranoid under your cars? I mean I get under there and I'll work on whatever I'm doing then I'll stop and rest for a second and think "Man that's really close to my face, if this car fell my head would explode like a pumpkin" Of course if I had a built in lift in my garage I'd raise that sucker high enough to just stand underneath the car and work on it Lol.

 

Heck man, I get paranoid even before I get under my car! Too bad those lifts are so expensive!

 

Don't ever use wood under a car to support it
Don't ever use any kind of blocks under the tires either ( especially cinder blocks). There are only 2 ways to support a car to work underneith, jackstands, and ramps. You should be using a decent size hydraulic floor jack to lift it. Not those emergency kit jacks , a large frame jack with a four foot handle will do fine.

you can lift the car from the engine cradle just fine but be sure to chock the rear wheels. It wont flop to one side or trhe other with the rear wheels on the ground. support it on jackstands under the frame ( my preference ) or the control arms ( i don't think this is as safe. You should have the ratcheting style of jackstand with a wide base not those piece of **** pin adjusting small base ones. When doinmg the rear lift from the center of the differential making sure the lip of the jack saddle is hooked under the rear. your jack should have a good sized saddle with four lips sticking strait up. then support either the axel or the frame with the stands.

Never ever ever ever work under a car supported with only a jack!!!!!!

 

I bought a set of solid ramps from Autozone, and several of the other stores have them. I think mine are made by Rhino. They are only about six inches or so high.

 

Ok, dumb question time. I usually support the car by the control arms in the front. Now, when you all say support it by the frame, I'm not quite sure what you're talking about. I don't know much about a unibody car's construction. I can see something that looks kind of like a frame, but the metal seems too thin to support the weight of the car?

Thanks!
Craig

 

The boxy part that is kind of diagonal to the centerline of the car. Your jack stands should have a somewhat U shaped saddle that will be just wide enough to straddle the fram rail. It is plenty stiff to support your car. Do not use the sheet metal lip that sticks strait down and is parrellel and just inbored of the griound effect skirts

 

Jacking up my cars is something I used to be afraid of. As far as those "stock" jacking locations indicated from GM, they are a joke. Do not use them. Using a 2.5 ton jack I usually support the rear from the frame rails just in front of the LCAs as many mention before. The problem that I've been having is that that part of the frame is too weak to support the entire rear of the car on jackstands in just those two points. When I tried putting the stands there the metal dimpled slightly. And this car is solid, with no rust anywhere at all. ¯U¯ That is kinda what the posts on my jackstands look like. I think the design is most of the problem and not the car itself. So I will try making metal inserts to make the top of the post look like this ¯¯¯ . I might be able to use a piece of wood between the jackstand and the frame rail as a flat insulator for now though. I'll have to do something because my project car will be losing its rear soon along with all of the front suspension including the crossmember so I'll have to choice but to support the car by anything but the frame rails. Has anyone ever made extensions for the stands to increase the surface area across the frame rails? Sorry for being long winded. Excellent topic cort.

 

Just get some subframe connectors and you will never have to worry about jacking the car up again Just use the SFC's to jack the car up.

 

No, no, you guys all have it wrong! Once the car is in the air you gotta use the custom 2-wheels-welded-together stands like the pick-a-part yards use.

I was at the junkyard this morning laying under a car praying those things would hold (and noone would bump the car)...

Seriously though, don't use wood or concrete blocks to support your car (or 2 wheels welded together). Jackstands are cheap and rated to do the job.