mourad

Guys, is it possible/safe to lift the entire car high enough to rebuild an entire exhaust system in your own garage? Any tricks to gettin' her up safely?
Anytime I do anything under the car, even routine oil change, I only jackup 2 of the 4 wheels just so that the handbrake is engaged. The last thing I need is 3000lbs on my already pretty face.
I'm wondering whether anyone's got some tips or tricks on how to safely levitate the vehicle high enough to have full access underneath to do just about anything. How many stands does it take?
And where the HELL do you lift 'er up from the front? The only spot I can ever find is the bottom of the lower control arm which blocks half the engine bay and prevents me from doing anything comfortably.

imported_gatherer

four stands one for each corner of the car ...... you place them on the jack points... to raise the car uyou use the front and rear jack points

DJTre

2 on rear control arms
2 on rad support

PS. I wouldn't suggest being under your car while it's on jacks

mourad

alright, so buy 2 more stands.

What's the technique, lift the front then back then front then back in small increments, or just lift it all the way the first time around?

punkindrublic

i just lift all the way up on my jack then brace it then start on the other side... make sure the whole front is braced before starting on the rear though

i like to use patio stone to hold the car though, there free too

imported_BoOsTd

yah be carefull under there, my moms neighbour as a kid died from an unproperly supported car. crushed him like an ant.

I usually put stuff under the car like cinderblocks and the jack halfway up as a backup incase a stand gives out...

mourad

I'll go hunt around for some solid cinderblocks tomorrow as backup safety, but you guys still do it right? I mean it's not unheard of to do work underneath a suspended vehicle in a home garage? How do you do suspension work for example.

Keeping the car balanced and steady is one thing, but applying bodyweight pressure to release tough nuts and screws is what scares me, it tends to shake the whole thing and can potentially render it lose, that's why I'm seeking advice from the local pro's.

PS: Is the rad support mounted to the chassis somehow? is it sturdy enough to support the entire frontend?

DJTre

My rex has been held up by the rad supports for the past 2 months, it's really sturdy.

Cynikal.Mindset

I made a jacking point/stand location diagram a month or so back...I'll have to dig it up

imported_Gatsby

Look under your front bumper, a little bit towards the driver side, there is a jacking point. Its a metal, body colour matched, rectangular block looking thing. Put your jack underneath it, and once you have your e-brake engaged, jack up the front of the car.
Then put 2 jack stands (or stone blocks) underneath the 2 "SIDE" jacking points and lower the car on them.

Now go the back. Find the tow hook, jack up the car using the tow hook and put another set of jack stands or blocks underneath the rear "SIDE" jacking points and lower the rear of the car on them. All set!

Nova_Dust

Always make sure you have something sitting inbetween the stands just incase anything happens so you have something solid to protect you and give you enough time to slide out.

The other stupid way is to jack up the car and place the steel ramp under the 2 tires, and move to the back, jack up and put the ramp under the other tires. That will give you way more clearance and better support on all 4 corners. I have never tried that but I have used it on the back, seems pretty strong.

spracingsports

call david blaine.... he can levitate..... maybe he can make your car magically float while you work on it... problem solved

mourad

David Blaine might want to touch my nono spot while I'm under the car, that's more dangerous than having the car fall on me.

So jack up the car from the absolute front and back and support it with stands from 4 jack points on each SIDE? I couldn't find anything on the side last time I looked, I'll take a closer look today.

Dang, I wish I saw Cynikal's diagram

imported_gatherer

a haynes manual would point out where to look

mourad

I got one of those, I guess I mustta missed it.

Okay case closed, I got the info I needed. Much appreciated

imported_BoOsTd

check out your haynes or helms manual whatever you got, it showes the points in there..


The jack spots all look like tow hooks, and the stand resting points are the spots that you normally use to jack a wheel up off the ground ( peice of vertical metal behind the wheels under the side skirts)


I usually just throw the jack stands under the controll arm to chassis joint... but like you said, it sorta gets in the way under there... but its pretty firm... I just work around it... It allows the car to raised higher without adding bricks to the jack plate...

DJTre

Cynikals jack point diagram

Scroll down, it's located in this link.
I was asking the same question you are.

mourad

lol is there any topic that doesn't get covered in this forum? Thanks for the pointer.

I got a 5th gen though, the jackstand support points that i located today are *right* where Boosty said they would be. They are on the sides of the car, very small but nevertheless they are there.

To jackup the car, i can sorta kindda see how it would be done via the trailer hitch although it seems to be too close to the gas tank. For the front, there is a very small piece of exposed metal that is part of the radiator support. It seems solid enough to lift from there.

*name deleted*

yeah same here, but then to make room for workin on it i have it on four jacks under the 4 lift points on the pinch welds. ive had it like this since january, i regularly REEFED on the bolts to get them loose and i pulled the motor and i pulled the whole suspension... and it's still sturdy..

1c6_eh6_t-si

I use 6 jacks... four corners each jack points then 2 in the middle using front and rear jack points as well.
jack points are there for that specific reason... use them.