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After 1-year of ownership I'm finally able to get a glimpse of the bottom of my car. The front is so low I had to improvise to get it up on rhino ramps. I built the rear supports based on pics I've seen here on Rennlist.
I do have a serious question. Is the arrow pointing to a fuel line? There are so many wires and hoses under the hood things can get confusing. As you can see, whatever the hose is it has serious cracks in it. I removed the air filter housing to examine the only hose I know for sure is a fuel hose and while it was tucked up hiding underneath some things at the back of the engine it appeared to be in perfect condition.
Any help you may provide would be greatly appreciated.
A word of caution............. it is best if you have a helper to hold the foot brake while jacking the rear wheels off the ground while the front wheels are on the ramps.
NOTE for both raising and lowering the rear of the car.
the little bit of rear jack movement and the front wheels could easily roll off the ramps,
This could then over take the jack and cause damage to the mechanic or machine.
The safest way to raise the car is to have it supported by 4 jack stands placed under the jacking pads.
The arrow is pointing to the main fuel line.
WARNING dont run the engine till this line is replaced as well as the lines under the rear of the air cleaner inspected and or replaced.
A leaking fuel line will be ignited by an errant spark from a leaking ignition wire
I use 6 - ton jack stands I picked up at Harbor Freight. I would like to buy some lift bars, not so much for the convenience, but because they mate with the lift points on the car properly. Jack stands do not and tend to deform the mounting points around the edges.
MMerlin, Thanks for the tip about raising and lowering the car. I figured as long as at least one wheel was on the ground and the car is in park (automatic) I was being safe but I understand your point. Even in this configuration I worry about being under the car. I may be best suited to projects above the car and not underneath. I don't feel comfortable getting under a car with jackstands although I know that is the most favored practice.
Captain_Slow, Thanks for the confirmation. I will be ordering all new fuel lines today. Where in No. Va. are you located? Do you every go to Katie's Cars and Coffee? I just found out about it a few months ago and have been about 5 times. I love it.
I've been the Katie's once with my 928. It was packed when I arrived and had to park on the fringe. I'd like to go again. There's sister Car's and Coffee gathering over at the Fair Lakes shopping center. Not as packed and don't need to arrive at 6 am to get a good spot. One thing I liked about Katie's is that burnt orange Lamborghini's outnumber 928s. Yawn....another Lambo.
I agree about the 928 being a rare specimen at Katie's. I've only seen two others in my 5 visits. The 928 very much has a super car stance when parked among the exotics at Katie's. It's low, wide and has a great overall length. I'm not sure how much attention it gets. Like most I usually park it and then walk away to look at other peoples cars. One thing is for sure, when I get in it to drive away I still get a big smile on my face no matter how many lambos and R8s there are.
What were you doing to your car in the picture with the red bar on top of the engine?
I was swapping the oil pan gasket and replacing the motor mounts. I just finished the job. In fact, the car is in the driveway up on ramps waiting for me to put the final torque on the sway bar to body bolts and the lower control arm rear cap bolts. Drove it around the neighborhood over a few speed bumps to settle the suspension first.
The 928 does get attention at Katie's. The one thing I get tired of is hearing someone walk buy (or while I was driving by) and saying something like "Oh look...a 928. Awesome GT car but they are a maintenance nightmare". The thing is that EVERYONE who said this is passing along what they've heard others say or read somewhere....particularly online....and none of them are speaking from experience. True...if I'd paid someone the hours it takes to do the job I just finished - well I couldn't own the car if I did that. But, these cars are actually pretty easy to work on if you just take your time and ask questions here. This forum makes it possible for just about anyone with basic mechanical skills to do 90% of what the car will need - allowing money saved to be used on the 10% I can't do (automatic transmission rebuild, rebuild the engine, etc.). Taking big chunks of the car off and putting them back on...I can do that
On what part of the car do you use the jack so that the jacking points are available to place the jack stands under? I might visit harbor freight tomorrow.
Rear it's the center cross beam. Front some people have used the skids with blocks (never done it myself) - I use the jack point to jack, then if I'm not getting under it the sway bar mount (probably taboo, but works for me knock wood.) If getting under it then I'll use ramps to get the jack under it, then jack on the sway bar mount.
I use the front lower control arm mounts (just behind the tow hook) for the front, then the rear crossmember in back - the bar under the trans, not the trans itself.
Somebody has a pic of this somewhere.
If you only have the car in park, without the parking brake applied, the "one wheel on the ground" technique is pretty dangerous. Without limited slip, the wheel can move freely. With LSD, the wheel can move when force stronger than the LSD clutches will hold is applied.
I'm a fan of parking brake and wheel chocks.
+1 to what Joe said. I have a 2-ton low-profile high lift floor jack (got it at Harbor Freight...it's a great jack). I start at cross member under the trans in back and put both jack stands at lowest height (still pretty high as the 6-ton jack stands are tall) under the rear jack points. Then move to the front and lift the front from one of the lower control arm skids - the car doesn't flex much and I'm able to put both stands at 3-notches high under the front jack points. Then I go to the rear and raise it until I can put the stands at 5-6 notches high, then back to the front and repeat. I don't like getting the car at severe angles on the stands, so I take my time and lift it in steps. Porken Lift Bars are probably the best jack stand solution, but I'm thinking of getting a scissor lift to use with all my cars.
Am I the only one that follows this procedure? Start by lifting one side at the rear jack point. Place a stand under the front jack point, and repeat on the other side. Now the front is raised. Next I raise the rear using the cross member, then placing stands under the rear jack points. I did this using a long jack from harbor freight (no longer available) and 6 ton stands. Is this a good procedure or does it stress the chassis?
Ron - I think you are actually doing it the "correct" way. I've been doing it the way I described because it "works". But some have posted elsewhere that jacking under the skid protector on the lower control arms puts too much stress on the chassis (It does make a rather large lever arm on the chassis). So...I'm going to try your way next time.