Axle stands

[8R6]

i tried using the jack stand "covers" that are made from that poly-something rubber material... my pinch weld still ate it up

i used a "slotted" hockey puck (for the jack) that was pre-made and after using it 3 times, my pinch weld cut right thru the slot and broke the hockey puck in half. lol. this one though i dont think the slot was deep enough so ill try again. but damn. i hate these damn pinch weld jacking points!

[8R6]

Originally Posted by Vracer111

What I do:

(rubber blocks on factory lift point front, wherever it falls in rear...)

Will never go back to jack and jack stands!

my friend got that his for his race car and its badass but damn... its a pretty penny to buy!

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

lol! As I was taking the picture I thought of you. Didn't you say once that you were a bad Canadian for not really being into it? Maybe that was someone else.

It was me! But I still have to defend it or they will kick me out and I will have to live in Detroit!

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by BRGT86

i tried using the jack stand "covers" that are made from that poly-something rubber material... my pinch weld still ate it up

i used a "slotted" hockey puck (for the jack) that was pre-made and after using it 3 times, my pinch weld cut right thru the slot and broke the hockey puck in half. lol. this one though i dont think the slot was deep enough so ill try again. but damn. i hate these damn pinch weld jacking points!

Yup. The trick is to cut that center notch deep enough.

I'm sure there are better solutions but I'm a cheap bastard.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

It was me! But I still have to defend it or they will kick me out and I will have to live in Detroit!

Nooooo! Delete! Delete!...

[ChrisD]

lol this thread got more comedy value than I was expecting.

Back to being serious though - a few people saying wood or cement is ok, but I'm a n00b so can you just confirm the way we're doing it is acceptable?



The load bearing jacking point is where the axle stand is in that picture (underneath the wood obviously) but of course putting the axle stand there means I can't put the jack there. So we were just using the wood mainly to distribute the load a bit when we jack up on a point that is as close to the load bearing jacking point as possible but not actually on it (as mentioned above, can't put it on it because then it would be in the way of the axle stand). Then once it is jacked up high enough we slide the axle stand in to position and then remove the jack. Personally I think it is a bit sketchy, but my friends say it is ok.

If other people who only have a normal jack don't do it like this, how do you do it?

[ChrisD]

Just found this thread which answers my question: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10111
Although I can't really see where exactly on the rear they are putting the jack... I know it is on the diff and I understand what a diff is, but when I get underneath my car its pretty hard to spot exactly what I'm supposed to be putting the jack on

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by ChrisD

lol this thread got more comedy value than I was expecting.

Back to being serious though - a few people saying wood or cement is ok, but I'm a n00b so can you just confirm the way we're doing it is acceptable?

Attachment 102269

The load bearing jacking point is where the axle stand is in that picture (underneath the wood obviously) but of course putting the axle stand there means I can't put the jack there. So we were just using the wood mainly to distribute the load a bit when we jack up on a point that is as close to the load bearing jacking point as possible but not actually on it (as mentioned above, can't put it on it because then it would be in the way of the axle stand). Then once it is jacked up high enough we slide the axle stand in to position and then remove the jack. Personally I think it is a bit sketchy, but my friends say it is ok.

If other people who only have a normal jack don't do it like this, how do you do it?

Jacking with anything between the jack and the vehicle scares the crap out me! Every time you add a surface and increase the distance from the jack pad to the body you are increasing the chances of something failing. In the case of your pic that "pad" could kick or roll right out of there and down comes the works!

[ChrisD]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Jacking with anything between the jack and the vehicle scares the crap out me! Every time you add a surface and increase the distance from the jack pad to the body you are increasing the chances of something failing. In the case of your pic that "pad" could kick or roll right out of there and down comes the works!

The wood has a groove cut down the middle of it that sits on the pinch weld lip thing that you're meant to jack from - so I don't see how the wood could roll out (especially when the weight of the car is pressing it in to the jack or axle stand). To me it seems like there is more likely to be an issue without using something like that to spread the load a little. Just putting the axle stand directly on that incredibly thin lip and having all the weight going through that one small point seems like asking for trouble

[8R6]

Originally Posted by ChrisD

Just found this thread which answers my question: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10111
Although I can't really see where exactly on the rear they are putting the jack... I know it is on the diff and I understand what a diff is, but when I get underneath my car its pretty hard to spot exactly what I'm supposed to be putting the jack on

if you look right up on the bottom of the diff, you'll actually see two small "tabs/bumps" things...this will help avoid jacking up on the diff cover which is bad. you can place a flat 2x4 wood block under this and use the jack... or jack straight on it with a thin rubber pad sheet.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by ChrisD

Just putting the axle stand directly on that incredibly thin lip and having all the weight going through that one small point seems like asking for trouble

It is. That's why it shouldn't be done. If you look at the OEM jack, you can see the way that lip fits down into the business end of the jack.

Cinderblocks can and do fail without warning. Extremely dangerous.

Wood can also fail if not used properly. One must consider the load as it is distributed along the grain. I don't recommend it.

Like @Tcoat said, putting anything between the jack/jackstand and the car is risky business.

The differential case (not the cover, as @BRGT86 pointed out) is the correct place to jack the rear of the car. The jacking point is approximately in between the output shafts, IIRC.

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by ChrisD

The wood has a groove cut down the middle of it that sits on the pinch weld lip thing that you're meant to jack from - so I don't see how the wood could roll out (especially when the weight of the car is pressing it in to the jack or axle stand).

If you have weakened the wood block by cutting a groove down the center, what's to keep it from splitting and sending half in each direction?

[ChrisD]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

If you have weakened the wood block by cutting a groove down the center, what's to keep it from splitting and sending half in each direction?

I don't know if it could actually go anywhere even if it split, because the full width of it is pressed in to the cup of the axle stand. But yeah I agree it is not ideal and that's why I started this thread because I thought it was a bit sketchy. I haven't really seen any better alternatives that I can actually do though... people keep mentioning hockey pucks cut in half, but I don't really trust that any more than I'd trust a piece of wood. What would you suggest instead of wood?

[ChrisD]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

It is. That's why it shouldn't be done. If you look at the OEM jack, you can see the way that lip fits down into the business end of the jack.

Cinderblocks can and do fail without warning. Extremely dangerous.

Wood can also fail if not used properly. One must consider the load as it is distributed along the grain. I don't recommend it.

Like @Tcoat said, putting anything between the jack/jackstand and the car is risky business.

The differential case (not the cover, as @BRGT86 pointed out) is the correct place to jack the rear of the car. The jacking point is approximately in between the output shafts, IIRC.

So what would you recommend? You've said that putting something in between the axle stand and the car is bad, but you also said using the axle stand directly on the pinch weld is bad, so what am I meant to do?