AndyK

I bought the Craftsman Pro 3.5 ton jackstands. When I jacked up the car to remove the wheels to paint my rotors, the jackstands wouldn't fit under the car unless I raised the car another 4 inches or so.

Are all jackstands the same height at their lowest points? Should I be cranking the jack up high enough to fit the jackstands under there--even if I don't need the height?

Also, can someone confirm where I should be putting the jackstands? I took two photos of the areas I think they should be placed...but my underside looks nothing like the photo I've seen that shows correct placment:

Front Underside

Rear Underside

M758

Those jack stands may be too big.

I typically use small ones.

In the front I put the stand under the caster block bolts or under the frame rail. If you use the fram rail you need to put some wood in between to prevent damaging the frame rail.

In the rear I use the part of the t-bar system.

take a look.

AndyK

How small are the small ones? Do they support less weight? Details, man, details!?

M758

mine are some $10 ones i got at auto zone. I have like 3 sets. Never had a problem with any of them. They also work well since they are short.

Not sure of the load rating, but these cars are not that heavy.

RMills944

Here's the placement:

Fishey

Why do you need 3.5ton jackstand? The damn car weights 3000lbs? Thats only 1.5ton. A single jackstand can hold up more then 2 944's thats just overkill. Why don't you just get some smaller 1.5ton MVP jackstands from wal-mart (good stuff) and use them?

MPD47

Overkill is a good thing. For reference go see Konstantine's brake thread in the turbo forum

AndyK

Exactly what I thought. Wouldn't wanna test the limits of cheap jack stands. But, if they come smaller (ie: shorter), I may have to go that route.

Returning mine to Sears today!

KuHL 951

I have a set of 2.5T shorties for general maintenance stuff but also have a set of 6T stands that will give me a full 23" clearance when I drop exhaust, trans, or anything requiring enough room to roll over while under the car. I could never get by with just the 2.5T stands. I don't care about the weight ratings, I'm more concerned about the height. Whatever set or combo I use I've never had any stability issues when placed correctly.

M758

me personal preferece is to keep the car low in most cases anyway. I have done the bulk of my work with the small one shown above. I also have pulled my t-bars with short ones. I can't rember on my 951 clutch job however. I do have LARGE set too, but I rarly use them since they take up so much space and require me to lift the car so much.

Just my experience.

Fishey

I am telling you the 1.5ton MVP jackstands from walmart are great and they are inexpensive and plenty safe.

KuHL 951

I agree the low ones are great for brakes and oil changes, etc. Nothing say's "Don't come in this house" to my wife more than showing up at the garage door with my face and chest streaked solid in grease from not clearing the front crossmember while on my creeper. Give me clearance anytime. I can lift my entire car to 23" in less than 5 minutes. I have plenty of space so having 2 or three sets isn't an issue for me. I even have a set of liteweight aluminum trailer jacks to support the engine or suspension components. My preference would be one of those "fancy 2-post jack stands" that lift the car to about 72"

M758

creeper... yeah that explains it. I don't use a creeper. If it did I'd have to lift my car to high.

PS... what you see in the pic above is about as high as I ever raise my car.

When doing a tranny removal I will drop the tranny then lift the car up to get it out then lower the car back down.

For my the big jack stand take up too much space UNDER the car that makes it harder for me to work.

KuHL 951

Its taken me 57 years to finally amass the ample size I've presently attained. I try not to slither on a cold floor anymore...too hard on this old body and back...now you know why I need the 'extra clearance' for underbody work. It's a shame, I used to be able to get to anyplace on a car, now I have to be more creative. At least I can still work on them at my age, for that I am thankful. I still enjoy wrenching and hopefully always will.

M758

Yeah my father (in the pic above I have the hat and green jacket, he is under the car) is 69 and does not really work on the car any more. He used to be MB dealer technican for many many years. Since working on this car I have done 90% of the labor he has done technical support here and there. Unfortantly for him in the past year or two he can't even lay down much any more. The blood rushes to his head and he gets dizzy. He can do it a little bit (ie look at something), but not long enough to do any work. This really pisses him off. I can't tell you how many times he has wanted to go under the car and do some work I have had to steal the tools away from him. He hates the fact that he can't do work the way he could 20 years ago.

He does enjoy being around thing however. Makes him feel useful.