Hi

I need a new car jack. I need to replace my fuel pump and as everybody know I need to drop the rear. Now I've seen a very nice jack that's 70cm long and under 70mm high. So I can reach points far under the car and I can easily get under the frame (which is not that easy on the passenger side because of the exhaust pipe / cat).

The jack is quite expensive but very good quality. But it can only lift 50cm high. There are other jacks which are about the same price or cheaper, they can lift up to 80cm but they are not that long and not that low.

Are 50cm enough to lift the car high enough to drop the rear and comfortably get the tank out or would you prefer the 80cm jack?

Thanks,
Thomas

 

Honestly the jack height shouldn't play too much of a part. Ideally you want to rest the car on jack stands and then drop the rear (doing all this work w/out using jack stands is asking for trouble).

I see no reason why the 50cm (20inch) one wouldn't work. However, look at the weight rating. The heavier duty jack you can get, the easier it will be to lift the car. Just fyi.

 

Thanks for your opinion.

Yeah, I know I also need the jack stands under the frame. But I wondered whether the 50cm jack is enough height to lift the car (at the frame) and put jack stands under to be able to drop the rear enough to comfortably get the tank off or whether 80cm would be better.

About weight rating I don't see any problem. At the moment I've used a very cheap jack and it worked out not too well but it worked. What I'm looking for more is a jack I can lower smoothly which isn't the case with my current jack.

 

Anytime.

Your ideal lift point is going to be under the rear end, that is why I think the 50 will work. You don't want to jack at any other points on the rear due to the potential to mess up or twist the weak unibody. It's fine to sit the jack stands under the rails but the lifting should be done under the rear.

I'm sure someone else will chime in here too.

At the end of the day it's all about the amount of room you feel comfortable working in, for me the ~20" of lift would be fine, but you may feel differently.

 

I've never pulled a tank so I didn't want to buy a very expensive jack and find out that 50cm is not enough ;-) And I guess there are quite a few who have already replaced a fuel pump and can tell me about the "optimal" or minimum height to not get into trouble.

 

Did mine just a few weeks ago. As said your jack is fine. Get good adjustable stands and if you can't get high enough in one shot you can put the stands in place and put a block under the jack and go higher. Or jack each side enough to click the stand on that side higher. Remember to chock your front wheels so the car can't move even if it's on stands. I did mine without completely removing the axle. Just lowered it far enough. I'd say now remove it completely it's easier than working around it. Remember the proper procedure for all of that. You have a manual?

 

Hey

I already have jack stands but I guess I also have to get higher ones. I can use my old ones to support the axle additionally.

Removing the axle completely means take off the brake lines and this again means to bleed the system, doesn't it? And if a bleeder breaks I could have to buy a "new" caliper. So I'd rather stick with just dropping the rear than removing it completely.

I have the GM manual and I found a very detailled thread here on Thirdgen.org. So, I guess I just have to remove the exhaust, the shocks, springs, panhard bar and swaybar.

 

You can use the banjo bolt as a bleeder as well (the bolt where the line physically connects to the caliper). It takes a few more times to bleed it well, but it works. If you're worried about breaking a bleeder screw.

 

Well, I just want to drive my car in the near future ;-) I know myself... I'm veeeeeery slow working on the car. I like doing it but I'm not that good and skilled at it and at some points I will need help from a friend of mine who isn't there any time I want him to. He has a family and lives about 60 kilometres away. So if the braking system can wait, I'll let it wait :-D

 

when I replaced my tank I had the rear bumper 4 feet off the ground. it gave me all the room I needed. IMHO its far better to have more than enough room than not quite enough. I supported the car on blocks of oak for safetys sake.

 

So 4 feet more than the car being on the road or altogether 4 feet? The bumper is always about 30-40cm off the ground, so this would mean, you lifted the car about 80cm? Hm, well, hard to decide whether to buy the 50cm one with only 63mm minimum height and 700mm length or a 80cm one with a minimum height of over 100mm and less length. I mean, the question is also how far down can you drop the rear without "stretching" the brake line too much.

So, you have an 80cm jack?

 

If you're worried about bleeding the brakes/stretching the lines why don't you just take the calipers off (keeping the brake lines connected) and use some twine or wire to hang them under the car? Since you're already going through the trouble of dropping the rear this seems like a small amount of extra work that would make your life less stressful.

Also, 4 feet sounds awful high, I mean, that's enough room to sit down under the car

It's all about what you're comfortable with I suppose.

If you have some 2x6 scrap wood you can drive the front wheels on top of two of them AND use the jack on the rear to give you even more space. That's how i dropped the tank on my Malibu.

 

Well I have rear drum brakes with cylinders... don't know whether I can take these off... I have to say that I don't have experience in all these things. Each little step (that seems a little step for you) means a lot of insecurity... being afraid of doing something wrong... for me. So I appreciate your suggestions a lot but I'd like to keep things in a small scope.

Yeah, I thought 4 feet (= 1,2 meters) would be quite high ;-) So if I have to lie under the car anyhow, don't know whether 1,2m is really necessary.

Well, "driving" the car onto a piece of wood without fuel... But anyway, I don't get the advantage of that. My jack still needs to be able to lift the car higher even the car is generally more off the ground.

 

AH! I see, haha. Yes, you are correct. That suggestion is just something that I do from time to time so that the nose of the car doesn't hit the ground or anything (if the rear is up really high). Not required in all cases, of course.

 

that's 4 ft off the ground. measured from the bottom of the back bumper. and I always just disconnect the brake hose.

 

If you choose to do it with the axle in place just lowered then you still need to disconnect the center line and re-bleed the brakes. There was no way to get the axle low enough to get the tank out without disconnecting it. And since you need to disconnect it anyway I'd say just get the axle out of the way completely. What I'd if I ever have to do it again. I'd say the bottom of my rear bumper was between 3 and 4 feet off the ground. The nose was close to but not quite touching the ground.

 

Third gen owners seem to turn their noses up to this method (quite hysterically i might add given what people are comfortable doing to thirdgens) but it really makes no sense to do it the "right" way.



Look at how HIDEOUS that turned out! Almost looks like.... uh.... it should have come from the factory that way....

 

What's under the cover? Cut lines? It's certainly viable but there is effort and more skill required to cut the hole in just the right place, not cut any lines and make a cover. Also, by taking the tank out, you can inspect the inside and remove any debris.

 

Uh oh, this thread is about to get highjacked in 3...2...1

 

Close to the edge but still fp replacement related. Eyes open air marshal!

 

you nasty ,nasty man .you.

 

And there it goes.

 

Don't worry about the jack so much as the stands. You can always jack something higher by doing it in stages. Lift, plant the stands, make the jack higher either by putting boards under it or boards on the jack head, lift again, lengthen the stands.
What you DONT want is to have shorter jacks on an unstable base in order to make them taller.
I use the 12 ton stands that extend to about thirty inches. Big wide base. Put one of those under each frame rail right in front of the control arm and the back end will be nice and high. You are going to want it high to get everything out of there.

 

Again. Remember to chock the front wheels and don't rely on the stands to stop the car rolling and collapsing.