Putting the car up on jack-stands?

Blake---the jacking block dimensions for the front William spoke of is on page B67. The jacking and support of the front end is on page J.11. The jacking and support of the rear of the car is found on page K.5 along with the dimentions of a wood support if you are removing the rear end. If you are simply servicing the car jack per the book and support under the shock mounts in the rear. I think thee is a description of jacking blocks for the rear to be raised at one shot but will let you look for that.

Good, the one just behind it is suitable but, it MUST HAVE a good fitting block of wood inserted in the under chanel. Once installed secure it with plastic ties. It can then stay there.

No, not the radiator support but the one just behind that. I must admit that I once did position the jack incorrectly but realized my error before I did any damage.

Billy, which crossmenmber? If you mean the front lower section of the frame then make sure the channel is fitted with a block of wood. Hopefully, you are not refering to the radiator support bracket. And EDWARD your engine must be sitting far to high!

Peter,

Thank you for you input. I really appreciate it. I have had a number of cars up in the air where I have rebuild brakes, upgraded brakes, rebuilt 4x4 hubs, changed inner and outer wheels bearings or even just pulled off all 4 wheels to have them powder coated. I have had a 2500lb car and a full sized pick-up with a 9" lift on blocks so I am well aware of the dangers of this process.

My concern was the ability of this car to support its own weight on small pressure points. And this being my first unibody configuration and classic car I was unsure of these spots. That is why I came to you guys. Looking under this car compared to a newer car there are a lot less spots that look safe to support weight, especially since it does not have a full frame.

Thank you again for your time.

Blake - not being funny here but I am slightly worried for you. Seriously.

Gravity takes no prisoners and will kill you in an instant. If you are not able to visualise several very obvious places that would clearly hold the entire car if it were feasible, then perhaps you shouldn't work underneath it?

Even telling you where those places are is not the answer if you are unsure of technique. I could blithely tell you the front and rear trunnion blocks that hold the front lower wishbone to the frames. I could tell you the lower edge of the picture frame or the four jacking points on your 2+2. I couldl ist the radius arm mounts or central diff tie plate with a block of wood between the resonators, except all of these are dangerous in one way or another if they are oily or you don't perch the jack or stand correctly and something slips. And that doesn't even account for the fact that I can't see the condition of the metalwork and whether it is strong eenough to support the vehicle safely. Plus once it's up on stands, are you going to pull heavily on some suspension part or engine fastener and dislodge the car and have it come crashing down?

Unlike electricity or paint or mechanical parts, where you can screw things up and live to learn the lesson, working under an inexpertly-supported car can be a death sentelnce. I don't want that on my conscience.

Take it easy, use good stands on a solid floor, use solid spacking pieces if you need them, Don't have metal-to-metal point loading on oily curved surfaces that can skid off each other. Always have two back-ups - one to support the weight and another emergency fail-safe like blocks or a spare wheel to let you live even if it does fall off the primary support. And once the car is up and supported, give it a hard shove in each direction to see what happens before you get under it.

Think twice and then think again. Don't rush. Good luck.

WHEN JACKING THE ENGINE, I CAUTION ALL TO RELEASE THE HOOD AND OPEN TO THE LOCK TO PREVENT THE ACORN NUT ON THE HEAD TO PUT A SMALL
INDENT ON THE HOOD.

I SPEAK FROM EXPERIENCE
I RAISE MY " E" USING TWO FLOOR JACKS PLACED UNDER THE ROUND SUSPENSION STRUTS.

EDWAQRD MESSIKIAN
JCSNE

Where I am confused is there is only a small section for the jack to fit, where the metal peg/jack point is. I can jack the car up from that point but there is not enough room to slide a jack-stand next to the jack. Is there another location where I could slide the jack-stand under the car to hold the car up in the air safely. Looking under there it does not look like to many placed that would support the weight of the car on a jack-stand?

Hey Blake , If you can lift the car there with a jack, you can set it on jack stands there. You know, one thing, lifts it up, the next things, two or four, keep it up. Cheers, HB

Im not sure if my service manual is missing a page but I don't see anything in there about putting the car on jack-stands. I do see where they talk about jacking the car up at the 4 jack points but nothing about putting it on stands.

The first time I attempted to raise our '63 E-Coupe using the square jacking points under the side, the flexing of the body metal concerned me. I then hollowed out a square in a piece of 2 X 4 and placed it on top of the jack to distribute the weight. That helped some. I also place a piece of 2 X 4 on the floor jack when I lift it from the front crossmember although that crossmember was a bit battered prior to our ownership.

Thanks for the input. I have been traveling all week on business and didn't have my manuals with me.

Be careful George, If everyone has a service manual and parts catalogue, what will we talk about on the site? LOL.

Blake it is well covered in the service manual.

Blake it is well covered in the service manual.