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Jacking up the car

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bugedd

bugedd

Jedi Knight
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Just curious where you all prefer to jack the car up from. Looking under it, the jack messes up the frame rail extensions, plus I'd imagine that could be the cause of some frame rails that are bent up. Suggestions?
 
Sorry, front. Rear is easy, get the axle. But there is no good center point on the front
 
Hey man....the front frame rails are supposed to be bent up....if they are not....handling is terible I am told. This is what I do: If I am jacking up the front, put a 2x4 under the front crossmember where the metal pan connects one side to the other. Put the jack in the middle of the 2x4 and lift the entire front at once. If your jack will not fit, I have rolled the front tires onto i inch thick blocks. I put jack stands in front of the wood on the frame rails (with rags to protect the paint). Now for the back: Again using the HF alum jack, put a rag in the dish, and put the dish under the diff...lift the entire back all together. I put jack stands, again with rags to protect the paint under the rear axle. Do not let the rear axle hang on the limit straps....the cheap ones we have available now will just stretch and break (there are some made out of a nylon material which is much stronger). I do not like to lift just one side, as there are not good jacking points on the side.
Cheers, Scott in CA
 
Front cross member ... place a bit of wood between the jack and the car to spread the load.
 
I have a 2x4 that I cut the right length to extend all the way across the cross member and under the frame rails. I put my jack under the center of the 2x4 and lift until I can put my jack stands under the ends of the 2x4 at the frame rails. No bends or scratches that way, very sturdy.
 
I won't use a 2x4 when I jack up the front end- I had one slip once. I will put my floor jack so that the furthest prong on the seat catches behind the crossmember so that it can't slip. It scares the heck out of me when someone uses a 2x4. I would rather scratch the underside than have the car fall or crush the oilpan.
BillM
 
When I jack the front end up I put small blocks of wood between the shock lever and the frame so as to preserve the rubber cushioning blocks. If you have one jacked up for any lenght of time without doing this it seems to do them in.

Kurt.
 
smaceng said:
............Now for the back: Again using the HF alum jack, put a rag in the dish, and put the dish under the diff...lift the entire back all together......
Click to expand...

Be careful about this. The rear axle housing in a Spridget is pretty delicate and can bend more easy than you'd think. As a racer, I'm always looking for a straight, used rear axle housing. Most are bent slightly. Often, I believe, as a result of this practice.
A bent rear axle housing can cause oil leaks and snapping axles.

I lift under the leaf spring U-bolts or the front mounting point of the leaf spring (under the seats). This means I lift it one side at a time, of course.

I agree with Kurt. "Blocking" the lever shocks in a good idea. I do it when I can.

As for lifting the front, I use a piece of 1/2" plywood under the front crosspiece (behind the sway bar) and lift the entire front of the car on that.

For the race car, sometime I lift on the front mounts of the roll cage; not possible on street cars of course.
 
How do you tell if a rear axle is bent, Nial? I always jack the back by the diff and usually loosen or tighten knock-off's with the car off the ground.

Kurt
 
Strip it down to the bare part. Remove, diff, axles, hubs, etc

Fit the entire assembly on a dedicated fixture
(a large lathe can sometimes be used if it has a big 4-jaw chuck and appropriate steady blocks).
And then rotate and use a dial indicator.

It may also be possible to run a long, straight and true bar through it and measure at certain fixed, known points. The bar would have to be <span style="font-style: italic">dead-nuts straight</span> to be of any use. I've never done it this way.

I imagine some sort of laser deal might be the way to go these days, but I'm just guessing.

There's a guy in Ohio that can re-bend them back to within 0.005" true. I think he charges about $200

For a street car (especially for just cruising around), a little bit of bend is no big deal. Might leak a little bit plus slightly quicker wear on hub bearings and axles.
 
If its that involved I guess I'll take my chances. I don't need to worry about reliability on the track!

Kurt.
 
taskadog,

Great suggestion. The motorcycle jack works like a charm for the front end but I'm unsure where you would position it for lifting the rear. Please advise.

Thanks,
 
smaceng said:
Hey man....the front frame rails are supposed to be bent up....if they are not....handling is terible I am told. This is what I do: If I am jacking up the front, put a 2x4 under the front crossmember where the metal pan connects one side to the other. Put the jack in the middle of the 2x4 and lift the entire front at once. If your jack will not fit, I have rolled the front tires onto i inch thick blocks. I put jack stands in front of the wood on the frame rails (with rags to protect the paint). Now for the back: Again using the HF alum jack, put a rag in the dish, and put the dish under the diff...lift the entire back all together. I put jack stands, again with rags to protect the paint under the rear axle. Do not let the rear axle hang on the limit straps....the cheap ones we have available now will just stretch and break (there are some made out of a nylon material which is much stronger). I do not like to lift just one side, as there are not good jacking points on the side.
Cheers, Scott in CA
Click to expand...

X2 here
 
BillD said:
taskadog,

Great suggestion. The motorcycle jack works like a charm for the front end but I'm unsure where you would position it for lifting the rear. Please advise.

Thanks,
Click to expand...

As light weight as the rear is, and with the weight distributed so well with the two long prongs, I just put the jack under the gas tank and lift it high enough to get the stands under the rear axles. Then I slide the jack further in so i can get it under the rear end. If your not comfortable with that, you could put a piece of plywood under the tank to further distribute the weight
 
I do know that front of car needs to be supported as far forward as possible. I learned that the balance point on a Spridget is jack stands located right at the forward edge of the floor under the firewall area. I leaned against the front of the car only to discover that Bugsy balanced with < 50 lbs of downward pressure. Scary having the rear end lift off of the jack stands. Eased it back down gently. Another jack stand under the front cross member quickly resolved that issue.
 
Billm said:
I won't use a 2x4 when I jack up the front end- I had one slip once. I will put my floor jack so that the furthest prong on the seat catches behind the crossmember so that it can't slip. It scares the heck out of me when someone uses a 2x4. I would rather scratch the underside than have the car fall or crush the oilpan.
BillM
Click to expand...

After reading the above, I realized that my 2 x 4 method is dumb and dangerous, especially when I am working under my BE-yipes! Jack stands on the frame rails as far forward as possible is what I do now (thanks Jim for the balance post). And here I thought the 2 x 4 was such a good idea.

Thanks for your expertise on that Bill!
 
Maybe I did not make myself clear, but I jack up the front end of my BE with a 2 x 4 that extends from frame rail to frame rail and it positioned under the sheet metal which connects the two at the front. This allows me to position a jack under the wood, and jack up the front end. THEN I put a jack stand under each of the frame rails just behind the bumper attachment points. Note, when I position the jack stands, I do not put myself in harms way, just in case the wood or the jack gave way. I then lower the jack and take it out from under the car. <span style="font-weight: bold">I too, would not think to work under the car, with it partially supported with wood, or by a hydraulic jack.</span> After the BE is safely on the jack stands, I give the car a good shake, just to be sure it is solid.
Cheers,
Scott in CA
 
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