Jacking the car so that 2 tyres are off the ground then let it down onto the stands?

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › Jacking the car so that 2 tyres are off the ground then let it down onto the stands?

rayonline

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#284408 20-Apr-2021 15:19

Is it safe to use a trolley jack to jack it up until 2 tyres are off the ground? I have to do so because the jack stands set at the minimum height cannot slide underneath the car.

Cheers.

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#2695320 20-Apr-2021 15:24

do you mean put the jack under centre jacking points and lift the whole front or rear?. If so then that is fine

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rayonline

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#2695327 20-Apr-2021 15:40

mdooher:

do you mean put the jack under centre jacking points and lift the whole front or rear?. If so then that is fine

The car doesn't have a jack point at the front of the car. You can only jack it next to the front or the rear tyres. My case, next to the front tyre. So both the right side or both the left side are lifted up. It's the only way I can slide in a jack stand.

At the front, there is also a plastic shield underneath the car where the oil filter is etc ... There is no metal area.

1101

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#2695330 20-Apr-2021 15:42

However, Its NOT safe be be working under the car when its only supported by a trolley jack.

frankv

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#2695334 20-Apr-2021 15:45

mdooher:

do you mean put the jack under centre jacking points and lift the whole front or rear?. If so then that is fine

... and, implicitly, DON'T jack up one side and put jackstands under it, then the other.

Perhaps get yourself 2 or 4 pieces of 12x2 (300x50mm) timber and drive the car onto them to get yourself another 50mm to get the jackstand underneath. For extra credit, cut a ramp on one side of each bit of timber.

mdooher

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#2695336 20-Apr-2021 15:46

rayonline:

mdooher:

do you mean put the jack under centre jacking points and lift the whole front or rear?. If so then that is fine

The car doesn't have a jack point at the front of the car. You can only jack it next to the front or the rear tyres. My case, next to the front tyre. So both the right side or both the left side are lifted up. It's the only way I can slide in a jack stand.

At the front, there is also a plastic shield underneath the car where the oil filter is etc ... There is no metal area.

So if you Jack it behind the front wheel then put the stand under the appropriate suspension component and lower the car again. The issue is the car will twist quite a bit and might tend to slide off the stand or kick it over. If you then went to the other side and jacked it to get a second stand in....well don't do that.

Matthew

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#2695337 20-Apr-2021 15:49

frankv:

mdooher:

do you mean put the jack under centre jacking points and lift the whole front or rear?. If so then that is fine

... and, implicitly, DON'T jack up one side and put jackstands under it, then the other.

Perhaps get yourself 2 or 4 pieces of 12x2 (300x50mm) timber and drive the car onto them to get yourself another 50mm to get the jackstand underneath. For extra credit, cut a ramp on one side of each bit of timber.

I find a piece of macrocarpa sleeper under each wheel works well. Jack the car up, slide it under, then same for the other side

Matthew

rayonline

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#2695343 20-Apr-2021 15:59

But after driving on top of the timber I still can only jack it up behind the 2 front tyres, 1 at a time ..... Jack up 1 and put stands and then go and do the other side. Use 2 jacks at the same time?

hsvhel

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#2695349 20-Apr-2021 16:09

What's the car you are trying to lift?

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thewabbit

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#2695351 20-Apr-2021 16:12

Or jack off the front or rear dif or subframe. I think you're over thinking this. As long as the whole car is up off the ground on 4 jack stands, or just the front/rear is up on 2 stands then you'll be fine. Doesn't matter if you jack one corner at a time, or each end at once

For added safety i'll pull the wheels off and slide them under the chassis rails and have the jack touching (taking minimal/no weight) near where i'm working

rayonline

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#2695352 20-Apr-2021 16:14

hsvhel:

What's the car you are trying to lift?

VW Bora 2004. No front metal frame.

Jase2985

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#2695402 20-Apr-2021 19:05

use the bottom of the dif on the gearbox and use a piece of wood on the jack as pad

frankv

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#2695817 21-Apr-2021 10:11

Google jacking vw "bora" 2004

Fred99

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#2697218 23-Apr-2021 14:40

I had to muck around jacking our MX5 when I replaced the clutch a few months ago. Have some steel ramps, but the car's too low to drive it up onto them. Have trolley jack, but jacking the diff - it won't quite lift the wheels high enough to drop on the ramps, so jack it up part way, fit jack stands, put plank under trolley jack, lift onto ramps, then repeat to lift other end. Then another problem realised too late - had to remove exhaust from a manifold flange to get the gearbox out, bolts perfectly inaccessible except through wheel arch, have to remove wheel but the wheel is on a ramp, so temporary lift onto jack stand, undo bolts, put wheel back on, ramp back in - repeat process after re-fitting gearbox and exhaust. Repeat the double-jacking process to get the car back on the ground, while praying I won't find out after a test drive that I forgot to do something essential while under the car. This is part of the reason why a 6-8 hour job for a mechanic in a proper workshop took me two days. Another excuse for my slow work is I've got a pit in the garage that I use very rarely, between uses it fills up with giant friendly spiders who've developed immunity to Novichock, takes a couple of hours work to don full spider-proof PPE, set up floodlights, and round up every single one of those 8-eyed bastards with the shop vac.

Some may think I'm a masochist, but think of the money I save.

Technofreak

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#2700796 2-May-2021 15:00

frankv:

... and, implicitly, DON'T jack up one side and put jackstands under it, then the other.

Why not? I do the front or rear this way all the time, quite safely. It may not work with all cars but it sure works for mine. Unless you're talking about putting jack stands front and rear on one side only then I'd tend to agree. If you need to jack the whole car do both sides of the front or rear first then the other end.

If you need to lift each side quite a bit, do it in stages, a bit each side until you get to where you need to be.

Most cars have jacking points for when you need to change a flat tyre. This is usually a good place to position the jack stands. Otherwise look in the owners manual for jacking positions. Usually the sub frame where the suspension attaches is a good place to place the trolley jack. If necessary use a block of wood to spread the load.

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lxsw20

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#2700813 2-May-2021 16:23

Puts a lot of stress on the chassis doing it that way. I usually just jack on the subframe. (Which the Bora does have)

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