24s2k7

Is it safe to just jack up one side of the car, put 2 jack stands near the tires, then do the other side? I need to jack my whole car up! Should I just do a little bit at a time on both sides? Like, raise both sides to the lowest level, then raise them again to a higher level?

Emil St-Hilaire

There is a jackpoint,in the front,under the engine(don't use the pan!!),and under the diff.!!!

xviper

It's "OK" to do it this way, BUT, BE CAREFUL! When you go to jack up the other side, your floor jack MUST have the ability to roll as the car lifts. Failure to do so, can result in the first 2 stands tilting - NOT a good thing.

A couple of better ways:
1. (prefered) - Drive the front tires up on 2X8s so you can get the floor jack under the front central jack point. Jack that up till you can get the stands under the front sides. Then jack up the rear (diff) and put jacks under rear sides. This is the safest way to do it.

2. Jack up one of the rear sides as high as you can. Put a stand under the same side's front. Lower car and jack up other rear side as high as you can. Put stand under that side's front jack point. Now, you can jack up the rear diff and do the back end together. The reason you do this is that you can't use a floorjack under the same jacking point that you plan to put a jackstand under.

wanabe

i wouldnt jack up one side of the car to put stands under for fear that the car could fall when it is lifted

i use xvipers #1 and it works great... just be sure to check all jack stands when the car is on them to make sure they are flat on the ground. and if i am pulling the wheels, i get them loose before completely off the ground.

meth

if ur daring, you can jack the car up from the middle of the side, put 2 jackstands. you may have to have driven on the 2x4's or not depending on how low ur jack goes. then jack the other side up from the middle and voila, the car is up.

i didn't think this was safe when i first saw it done, i thought it was a must to use the jackpoints, but sure enough, the whole side will go up if you jack it from the middle.

xviper

Did you inspect that rail that was used to jack the car up? I'll bet if you looked at it carefully, you would have seen that there are dents from the jack cup or that part of the rail is now warped and pushed up. Only the jacking points have that rail re-inforced to take the weight of the car.

meth

i did actually.

because the first time it happened to me, it was someone else who jacked up my car to teach me how to do a coilover install. i didn't question it at the moment, but when my car came down i took a look and there was no damage. i have since jacked the car up by this method a couple more times and still no damage.

yeah, i was wondering this too, because i am aware of the "reinforcement" at the jack points. but i looked underneath when the car was up too, and it looks like the same construction along the entire rail.

i am not saying this is the proper way to jack the car up and i don't suggest anyone do it this way unless they are daring , but this is how i get the car up now because i am lazy.

xviper

When I'm off just a little bit from the re-inforced part (it's got an extra rolled piece), I have indents in the rail. Having a thick rubber puck in the jack cup will help prevent this.

vtec9

I asked this question before, but never got an answer. Are there two jack points on the front left/right? There are two places that look reinforced, but the one closest to the wheel on my car looks bent from a jack. I always use the 2nd one, but I see in xvipers FAQs that he uses both?

xviper

There is only one, but as Meth has indicated, with the right kind of jack cup pad, you can get away with putting it anywhere. I've been known to use the area just adjacent to the "rolled" metal jack point and this has resulted in an indent in the rail. It doesn't matter unless putting an indent there really bothers you.