H2

Ok..there are four suggested jack points on a 944/968. So you jack up the right front for example...how do you get a jack stand under the right front in the same suggested spot with the jack in the way? I want to put my car on car stands at all four corners. What other jack points are safe so I can jack the car up and still scoot a stand into the preferred resting spot?

Thanks,

Harvey

PorscheDoc

There is a central jacking point under the doors about midway front to back on the car, jack up one side at the time, put a jack stand in the front and in the rear, then repeat on the other side.

Porsche-O-Phile

The problem is when you lower the floor jack from the central point the car's position shifts slightly on the jackstands. When you begin jacking up the other side, the car shifts even further. Far enough to actually cause it to slide off the jack stands. I had this happen to my car and fortunately the jack didn't damage the floorboard, but it shattered the fiberglass piece surrounding the jackstand point. Don't do it. Use ramps. I'll never use jackstands again unless I have to take the wheels off and if I do, I'll do them one at a time. If I have to get both sides up (like for an oil pan job) I'll get two floor jacks. One or two pumps on one side, run around to the other side, do the same thing, run back, etc. . . It's tedious, but a helluva lot easier than replacing that fiberglass piece - or a floor pan!

Lemming

Harvey,

I use the method described by Karl all the time with no problems. Just make sure that you have your stands positioned well before starting on the second side. I do this both at home and at the track for rotating tires.

Yabo

Were you using a rolling jack jeff?
It's always scary, but I've done it about a hundred times so far and no crashes yet. If you are doing it on an uneven surface, make sure your wheels roll well on the jack, and that if it has swivel wheels, that they are pointing straight. put it on a piece of plywood so it can roll. the biggest problem I find is you can't really go small intervals because the front does not go up high enough for even a small jackstand until the back is high enough for one of my very large jackstands. So the front always ends up being lower for me. With a rolling jack ikt should come up pretty straight.

The biggest problem I have is coming down. I absolutely dread coming down. Oh make sure your rear jackstands are on something sturdy, if you are on dirt use a piece of plywood under each jackstand.
The problem with coming down is that the jackstands like to tip. Mostly because the jack points are flat and if one side is below the other, the jackstand is only holding the corner of the jack point. Your eally have to go down in like 4 or 5 times back and forth if you want to be completely in control. My jack is a pain in the *** to lug around so I usually end up rushing and going once or twice back and forth.

You'll probably also find that once you get it up there, probably more so on an uneven surface, that you'll be on 3 jackstands at some point. You need to raise that side a little more, leave the one that was touching, but raise the jackstand that wasn't, then lower it again.

It all seems a lot of work to me for raising a car.. but ramps are not an option for me, i need the wheels off when I'm working.. I guess i'm claustrophobic.

BigRed

I did this yesterday...go slow and be careful...

Rich Sandor

I jack up my car very often. As Jeff (Porsche-o-Phile) said, it is easy to crack the black underbody rocker panels if you are not careful in how you place the jackstands. Once you get the hang of it tho, it's pretty easy. Just take it SUPER slow and make sure everything lines up as you raise/lower the car.

FWIW, I have two floor jacks and 4 jackstands. I also have two homemade ramps made from a TON of long 2x4's.. i can actually get up this ramp without having to remove my AIR spliter. It's perfect for oil changes.

PorscheDoc

Oh forgot to mention, do one side and leave the jackstands at the lowest point, go to the other side, and go to the height you want the stands at, then go back to the first side and raise the car to level and set the jackstands. I have never heard or seen the problem jeff is talking about, if the stands are positioned properly this will not happen. Ramps are nice for some jobs, but not for others. Notice the above picture, make sure you put the front ramps in on the frame, and not on the outer jack points.

AndyK

Damn. This thread makes it seem scary to try and put the car up on stands!? Tipping, car falling off, stands not lining up and breaking stuff.

If I wanna remove one wheel at a time to sand the rust of my rotors, would putting the car up on ONE stand at a time make sense as far as safest way possible goes??

KuHL 951

I've done the center lift, set two stands, repeat other side countless times with no problems at all. If I am going for maximum height using the 6-ton stands I do both sides in two stages. I'm not real fond of ramps myself unless it's a last resort.

Scootin159

No, actually using just one stand in one corner at a time would likely cause more problems. I'd go with either the whole front, the whole back or the whole car.

SamGrant951

I concur!

fossil_fuel

I have put my 924's up on all fours a hundred times and I always just jack up the front under the cross member, place my forward stands. Jack up the rear using the trans case, and place my rear stands. It's not that difficlt and I have never had a problem one doing it this way.

Maybe the 944 is different but I doubt it.

Scootin159

The cross member probably isn't a problem point, just a little hard to get to unless you have a long reach jack, but jacking the car by the transmission scares me (if for nothing else it's round on the bottom).

Yabo

Not only is it round on teh bottom, but its not a sold mount on top of the transmission, its a small rubber mount, on late cars anway. Perhaps your 924 has teh early dual mount system, maybe that's a little better in this case. On late cars jacking under the tranny is basically jacking under the torque tube and such...