Bryans951

I am having a problem finding a place to use jack stands on my car. I know where the factory lift points are but the front one are not flat. The last time that I tried to jack one side and put it on a stand then jack the other side and put it on a stand, the side that i did first slipped off. Are there better(safer) places to hold the car up with jack stands? Are there attachments for my jack stands that will fit on to the lift points or should I just go buy another jack and use the jack stand just to keep the car from crushing me?
I know this sounds like a stupid question but, I rather sound stupid than have my car fall on me.

Thanks for the help

Bryan
86 951

IceShark

It is certainly not a stupid question considering the consequeces.

Our cars are sort of poor with respect to support points. For the front I don't like to use the suggested spot - the frame rails - because the jacks are too close together from a base standpoint. So I usually go for the cones right behind the wheels. Look the same as the jack points in the middle. And they have a hole in the center so if you find slipping to be a fear you could always weld a little stud to your jack stands to fit in the cone's hole. Are these the jack points you had a problem with? I never have.

For the rear, there are the same cones behind the tires you could again use; or the trailing arm hinge point - depending on where you are working. If you use the trailing arm hinge point don't scuff/bite into that aluminum or you will have a fracture point.

Make sure your ground surface is level - I almost lost a car onto its rotors once. I also have a few 1 foot 8x8 timbers I like to stack up and shove under the car so it can never crush me completely.

Bryans951

Thanks for the help.

THe little cones behind the front wheels is what I usually use. That is where the stand slipped from. I know that there are 3 of the little cones on each side. The front one is the only one that I have a problem with. It seems to be sloped or something. Where is the point on the frame rail that you use?

Bryan
86 951

IceShark

Maybe your cone base got bent, they are pretty flimsy for lift points when you cut to the bottom line. Why I like to shove timbers under the car.

The front frame spots are in your owner's manual. If you don't have that, they are next to the bell housing a couple feet inboard. Believe me, once you take a look at the situation you will abandon that idea if you value your life.

Another idea is the good 'ole hockey puck. Carve some appropriate indents in it to catch and hold the contact points. That should solve your cone slip problem and spread the weight contact point out a bit. Downside is that it adds a pivot point, but if you carve good I think it may be OK.

I wonder if at some point in the past your car fell off its jacks which bent the front cones? That or corrosion.

Bryans951

They might have gotten bent when it fell last time. What is the best way to jack up the front end? The last time that I did it I jacked up one side put it on the jack stand, then went around and jacked the other side. Is this the best way to do it?

Bryan

Greg Hammond

When jacking up the front of the car, I put the jack cup under one of the control arm mounts (rear-most mount). Stands should be safe under the lift-cones behind the wheels.

If you're jacking your car "way up in the air" with a floor jack, you'll want to get TWO jacks and jack both sides of the car up a little at a time, rather than jacking one side way up while the other side is on the ground. The "tilting" of the car from left to right (or vice versa) could be causing the jack stand instability you mentioned.

Greg

keith

you can jack under the crossmember, as well - just take care not to catch the oil pan.

IceShark

Oh, man! You already had the car fall over?!!

Well that is likely your current problem. Hard to tell you what to do without seeing the situation.

Always be on a flat level surface when taking the car off its wheels. Have a good base under the jack and stands. Asphalt is **** and will get you into trouble all the time. If you are on asphalt or dirt go to a local shop and get some 1/2" steel plate scrap to put under things. Damn heavy but works charms. If you are really taking it high up in the air do it in stages because the weight shift at high angles will do you in.

In my experience the best way to jack up the 944 is to raise the whole car up. Not just the front. Or back. I jack up one side, put 2 stands under it one at the front cone the other at the trailing arm hinge, then jack up the other side and another 2 stands.

I will short cut it for an oil change and just jack up one side, slide under and flip the lever for my quick oil drain, but that is it.

But to your problem now: I'm not sure that if you followed the suggestions that the cone would be a bad spot even bent unless it is flexing a lot. If it is flexing I would look at cleaning it up and welding in some support. A pain for sure but that is the best spot for jack stands.

Bryans951

Thanks for the advice.

At least nothing got hurt when it fell. The jack stand put a hole in the plastic that surrounds the little cone.

Bryan
86 951

TomH

I am preparing to lift my car and put it on 4 jack stands, so I can remove all four feet for my wheel restoration. Are the tips suggested here adequate?

Since I am not going to be crawling under the car, will the true lift points suffice? I can identify the front points on the frame rails, but am unsure about the rears. I am reluctant to lift/support the car on the suspension arms for an extended period of time (I plan to have the car on stands for about a week).

Is the true rear lift point the verticle frame/body support that is hollow (in front of the suspension arms)? It seems to me that this metal could bend under the weight of the car (especially with the jack stands described below). The picture in the owners manual looks like a flat surface for the lift point (more like the control arm surface, but I don't think that is what is actually pictured).

Also, who makes jack stands that do not have the small u-shaped contact points. Those type stands seem to me would apply excess pressure due to the small surface area they support.

IceShark

Tom, I would not use the frame rails as supports. If someone trips and bumps into the car it can easily fall over with only 4 stands as the base is too narrow. Then you have a real expensive problem if the wheels are off.