Hey guys, I finally got some jack stands and a floor jack. I was in SEARS and they had a Craftsman 2 1/4 ton floor jack and two 2 1/4 ton jack stands on sale for $50 so I got em. I am in the process of building/restoring the 92 RS I recently bought. It has 68K original miles but was sitting and needs some TLC. Anyway, I was replacing the coil/cap/rotor/plug wires with all MSD and wanted to put the car on jack stands to get under it in case I had trouble with the wires. I looked were the jacking points were and saw that they are only weak little flaps of metal hanging down behind the ground effects. I put the floor jack on the metal right behind the ground fx/right before the jack flange and jacked it up. It didn't work, in fact it began to push the metal up, so I let it down. I then tried to jack it up on the jack flange and all that did was start to bend. I then tried the jack that came with the car on the jack flange and all it did was creak and crack and looked like it was going to bend! Please, tell me I can use these stands and floor jack on this car! Help me out, how can I use the jack and jack stands????

 

In the front, put the jack under the A arms or under the K member. In the rear, put the jack under the differential housing, or the axle tubes.

 

I usually put the jack on the cross member right in the center. Then I put the jack stands behind the front wheel right at the back of the a-arms. There is a circular area at the back of the a-arm (I'm at a loss for words here). The jack stand can go there.

I have not had any problem putting it there.

 

In the front, I go under the a-arms. In the rear, I try to go around the shock mounts. Sometimes at the front of the trailing arms as well.

 

 

Thanks Vader. I think I am gonna save this picture.

 

So stands go on the sway bar bushings?
Wouldn't putting the stands in those 4 positions make the car to heavy in the back?

 

Unless you're going to jack it up until it's vertical it's not going to do much to the weight on the back. He's only showing the front locations for the stands, in the rear they go on the axle tubes, or on the subframe in front of the forward LCA mount point.

 

The previous owner of my car bent the shxt out of my underbody jacking it up on the panels.

 

Isn't that going to destroy the greese things on the sway bar bushings

 

I think those are just possible locations for the 2 front jack stands. I don't think he is saying all four of them go there.

 

Thanks, cleared it up for me

 

I wouldn't feel comfortable putting the jacks on the sway bar bushing shells either. They'd probably bend into an oval shape and crush the bushing, possibly preventing the sway bar from moving freely. There isn't even much joining the two sides of the car in front of the engine crossmember if you don't have a wonderbar installed.

The rest of the jacking points look great. And get yourself some subframe connectors.

 

there is no greese fittings there unless someone installed them.

 

Which someone did

 

i jack mine up using the control arm i think it is....the cicrcular part in the front where the shock is held...seems to fit perfctly with my craftsman jack. and i use the metal flaps for the stands...prev owner bent the ones in front in the perfect shape for the jack stands. under the rocker arm panel oh well no one can see under the car anyway...and works perfectly fine.

 

Curious, does it matter how long the car is left on jackstands?

Another thing... for putting the car on four jackstands, is it better to jack the car up from the rearend first, place jackstands, then the front, and place jackstands? Or what?


Also, does anyone have a pic of where to place jackstands on the rear also? Yea I like diagrams.

 

The reason it didn’t bend with the stocker is because the pressure is spread along that lateral cut in the pad rather than concentrated on two points that you would get with a floor jack.
The circle things in the bottom of the A-arm, I have heard referred toas being called spring seat pins. How the hell they are a ‘pin’ I don’t know. That’s where I jack up as well as my jack cup fits over it perfectly.
Aperion, I don’t jack on the tubes b/c a long time ago a friend of mine dented his by doing that. Didn’t do anything bad as far as we could tell, but it does make one nervous in future endeavors.
Thecoolone, I’m not sure. I had my ‘Vette up for about 7 months and didn’t see or feel any problems but I could see the posibility of some problem with the suspension happening. As mine was up for just that reason I may have fixed anything that went wrong. As far as putting it up, I always do the front first so I can take advantage of the parking brake.

 

Ive heard that it can make your car look like an SUV for a couple weeks if you leave it up with the suspention loaded, thats the only bad thing ive heard.

 

The stock jack points suck. I know several people with squished up points including myself. Diff and crossmember are the easiest points to jack from, and they both lift left and right at the same time. Bonus.

 

Let me give you boys a little tip. Never, EVER put the jack stands under the front control arms. Actually, that is where I usally put them to do any work on the car. I like to have the car sittin on the suspensin at all times, unless there is a good reason for it not to be (like replacing suspension parts). I just finished converting my car to a 6-speed so obviously I had to jack it up and place it on stands. I jacked the front (always the front first, if you do the rear first you will have one helluva time getting your jack under the k-member) up and set the stands under the front control arms near the ball joint. I lowered the car and gave it a good shaking to make sure all was secure, and it was fine. I slide the jack home under the rear diff at the torque arm mount and proceed to raise the rear. At about 24 inches off the ground it gives a little wiggle, which is normal, and then the loudest pop/bang/poiiiing I have ever heard and starts to dive for the side wall of the garage. I immediatly lower the jack to catch up with the fall, and I do, but it is teetering precariously on one stand up front. Expecting to see mutilated and mangled parts, I lower the back all the way and go have a look up front. The jack stand on the drivers side had caught the car (and saved all kinds of damage), but it caught it on the tie rod, which now kind of resembles a meat hook. It tacoed it so bad, the front tires are both turned in (like this: // \\) almost to the stops on the spindle. The poiiiing was the other stand (6-Ton Craftsman jobbies, weighing in at about 25-30 lbs each), which was lodged in my roll around cart about 15 feet from where it started it's little journey. That roll around cart saved the side of my new truck too, by the way. I guess what this long assed reply is saying is, be very careful when setting your car on stands, all it takes is one little mistake and can cause serious injury, damage or death.

 

Thanks for the reminder. I think most of us spend so much time under them that we dont even think of what if. Pays to take a little extra time and make sure you arent going to die.

 

About a year ago I told my son to get away from the car while I was jacking it up. He got all upset and went inside crying because " I told him to get lost". I felt like a total jack ***, but was sure it was the right thing to do. I've never, and that includes 8 years working with a lift, dropped a car, or had one jump like that, but I knew it was possible. When my car tried to commit suicide, I felt vindicated for my caution a year earlier. I showed him what happened, and just how bad it could have been, so he learned a very graphic lesson. I spend, and have spent, more time under cars than I care to think about, and it is important to keep saftey in mid. Gravity has a pretty profound effect on 4000 lbs, and they fall fast.

 

i just jack the car up on the control arms....but use the normal spots ont he car for holding it up....right by the rocker panels...

 

and ill tell you one thing about car ramps there not the safest things either ...lol..i had a set collapse under a damn cavalier of all cars..LMAO...they were fairly new and the car was centered on them perfectly im guessing just faulty craftsmanship or they just didnt feel like holding up a p.o.s. lol..but always remember to be carefull and think out all the possiblilties of a car falling when your under it we allways shake the car once its up in the air on the stands now and or ramps because like said earlier id rather replace parts on my car because something fails instead of having to go to the doctor to have myself fixed...or even worse ...

 

Did you steal my gears?

 

ive never had one fall (Knock on wood) but it might happen. always a possibility.

vader is right thats the best way to jack up the car and hold it there. nothing will happen to the bushing mounts unles you have greese fittings installed.

but you guys are lucky. it takes me at least 15 min to get m car off the ground. i first have to take one of my smaller jacks and get it right under the driver control arm (the passenger sits just a lil bit too low) its an extremly tight fit. then after i get just enough clearence i have to get my bigger jack and put it under the k member to complete the raising of the car and so its even. then the jack stands. as far as the back, right under the differential, the the stands on the subframe.

 

Picture a 1979 Corvette. No wheels, rear suspended on stands, frame (full frame) on stands. Total 6 stands. 102º and sunny.
Some stands sink, others don't. What happens to the vette?


This is just to remind, again, to be aware of everything around you when you are suspending a few tons here or there.

 

My car has a set of BellTech's in the fron, so I too feel your pain man. I have done the small little scissor jack approach, but I have a better solution if the car runs when it needs jacked up. I have created some "lifting blocks" out of wood and they work great. I'll get a pic of them when I get home, but you just place them in front of the wheel and drive up onto them. Then you can get the floor jack under the k-member and jack it up from there. I don't get uder the car when it's on my little woodies, but it sure is easier than the small jack thing.

 

I too have a lowered car and I use a pair of 2x10's about 3ft long each that I set in front of the tires. Under the 2x10's I put a 4x4 the same width of the boards and drive the car up on them to get the needed room for my jack to go under the k-member. It's worked great for me all these years and the wood can be stored under my work bench.

 

i ended up replacing a oil pan and oil pump while jacking it up on the cross member. when i was letting it down there was a little tiny rock under the wheel of the jack that was just enough to not let the jack wheels move in while it was coming down so instead the jack slipped off the frame crossmember and crushed my new engine and chrome pan.. just thought i would precaution you all who like to jack there... hence i will never jack there again

 

pics!!!

 

Will do. I have to take a bunch of pics of my engine too so while I have the digital cam out I'll snap a couple of the little woodies too.

 

As promised, the pics of my woodies. These are the first ones I did. I have since made a chisel cut and made them out of wider studs.

 

I know this is old but...

I got a couple of 2x12"s, cut a 45 degree bevel cut, nailed 2 together so I get a 3" lift. It's really the only way to get the jack under the front cross member.

I put jackstands under the front frame rails, front crossmember, rear frame rails (You should see how much fun I had fixing the front jack points on the side of the car, or what people thought were jack points, before I put my SFCs in)

Anywhere that resting it doesn't do any real damage to the car is usually sufficient. If you put the jackstands under the front frame rails right behind the front tires, and release the jack that's on the front cross member, watch how far up the back goes before it releases

 

i ended up gettin rhino ramps and they work great but i ned prelimenary wooden boards to life the front ewnd up just that last inch or so because i cant get on the ramps.....too low!!! and this winter its getting droipped another inch

 

I had success jacking the car up from the notch points
I was using the jack from the car but it doesnt lift
the car very high . If u dont hit the notch you will
bend the metal.

I am goin to try to spread the load when jacking up the
car with some 2x4 along that point maybe a better
solution would be to place a 2x4 horizantally just like
sfc would be and jack each side alternately, but
I will try a short piece of wood at the notch point.


As a safety precaution to working under the car to do
anything.
I will remove the tires or place a large piece of wood
under the car. like i have some 4x4 that I could stack
crisscross style.
At the crossmember I can use a bottle jack.
The cars unibody flexes so much that its scary
so stay away from that. floor boards etc..

I have to get at the transmission tail shaft to check and
probably change out the speedo gears.