jwillman

I don't have a garage or lift and so all my under car work is done on jack stands.

Currently I have the front end up about 16" (max travel for current jack) but am planning on new jack/jack stands that will allow ~21 inches.

Question is can I jack up one end of the car to that height without causing any issues for suspension and alike on the other end? Do I need to have both ends on jacks to avoid the large differential for any reason other than body clearance concerns?

Thanks

Imo000

In my oppinion, the safest is if you only lift one corner but at some point, the rear will start lifting too.

Mike Frye

Do yourself a favor and get a set of liftbars from Ken (Porken).

I wouldn't go any more than you could get with a set of ramps at one end without raising the other just for safety reasons. The car is a unibody so it's probably strong enough on it's own to handle any height. The suspension doesn't care how high it is once it's off the ground.

When you get it up on stands make sure you push and pull it every which way to make sure it doesn't even creep or groan before you get under it. If you can make it move even a little bit don't get under it.

jwillman

I have already run into this issue which is why I typically raise front or back togather unless a simple job on only one corner.

The lift bars I have seen run front to back.

I am very carefull to ensure I have the car stable before beginning work. On the front I usually jack up from the crush points and then insert the jacks under the jack points alternating side to side to avoid to large a delta between sides til at the full height.

James Bailey

Jack stands become unstable the more angle of the supported object as well as the higher it gets relative to the base.....it takes very little force to knock over a car on cheap small base stands when at full height.....very little ! And any spacers /blocks on top of one simply makes it worse. The longer the ratio of the "lever" to the base the less effort it takes to lift up the car which is what must happen for a stand to move sideways. Also worth mentioning that seldom are we working with a level surface ...garage floors often slope a bit and driveways always do for drainage. So if you extend a jack stand fully on a sloped surface then hang a plumbbob weigth on a string from the top of the stand you can see how close to the edge of the base the weight is and how truely unstable that stand would be.

jwillman

So should I assume (and we know what that means) that a jack built with a 21" extension height has been engineered with an appropriate base size to minimize tipping when used properly, i.e. level and structurally sound surface?

Are there any recommendations on stand brands?

Imo000

Get 3T or larger stands.

James Bailey

Yes everything made in China has the utmost reguard for safety, OSHA , human life, global warming, political freedom and if you car falls off a jack stand....... as noted better to buy big jack stands with the wider bases and not extend them fully.

jwillman

Thats understood. Trick is to find something not made there!

danglerb

Most people are plenty happy with the HF jack stands, 3 ton or 6 ton, depending on needed height. Don't use jack stands without a solid, firm, flat surface, or if you don't feel 100% comfortable with them. Personally I bought a lift.

Ethre

If you trust your brakes, wood blocks under the wheels can work well. Jack one end, add blocks. Jack other end, add blocks, etc . . . .

Probably not OSHA approved though. If the car rolls any when you are under, you could be SOL - so use with discretion.

FLYVMO

Not meaning to hijack this thread, but talking about raising the shark to work on it, has anyone had any experience with a "rotisserie" or body twirler on the 928? Getting ready to do complete fuel/brake line replace and undercoat, and getting tired of crawling underneath jack stands

Cheers!
Carl
1986.5 928S 5-speed (in heavy check...)

James Bailey

Under coat ?? the rubberized factory stuff seems to last longer than the cars......and is real hard to get off. I know I have tried to get one on a "rotissere" you would have to remove the bumper covers and alloy bumpers front lights etc. way too much work to get to the bumper shock mounts. One former poster had one of these drill driven tilters where it attaches to the wheel hubs and you roll the car over on it's side.....looked very odd ! but you get the bottom of the car 90 degrees to the ground.

FLYVMO

Thanks Jim!

Actually the car is all tore down so none of the bumpers/covers are on. The undercoat is just getting a good belly cleaning and color touch up But all the hard lines are being replaced and the entire car painted eventually. I was mostly worried that the twisting would hurt the frame . But I seem to remember seeing a factory picture somewhere of a 928 on a rotisserie. So no problem with hurting the frame by mounting it on one? Should doors be off or in place?

Cheers!
Carl

James Bailey

The Porsche factory assembly line they dropped the bodies down onto the driveline and suspension so the bodies were lifted. Not sure how well it would like a complete car being lifted at each end but probaby just fine Doors off would reduce the weight little.