Jacking-up the front

[Speedtrip]

Hi all,

Daft newbie question here....

I intend taking my car off the road for the worst of the winter months and want to store it on axle stands. Lifting the rear is fine but once backs up there's no way I can get my jack to the cruciform. I don't really want to remove the nose cone as it would be difficult to replace once lifted. When collecting my S3 car from CC I was told they lift the front from the jacking eye, and it shows the marks.

Does this sound okay? I've noted the club guides suggest this is acceptable for the CSR only.

[elie boone]

I always use a piece of hardwood for the whole chassis with under the cruciform, you can place the axle stand under the hardwood no problem. but you need to start at the front and then lift the rear.

[aerobod - near CYYC]

It is easier to lift the front first. I use an alloy jack that isn't too wide with a rubber ice-hockey puck between the jack and cruciform to protect the powder coating. The axle stands just fit either side of the jack on my S3, I use slit 1" heater hose on the tops of the axle stands to protect the powder coating when supporting the correct support points on the lateral chassis tube. Once the front is up, I lift the back under the De-Dion a-frame mount and place another pair of axle stands under the rear support points, again using heater hose to protect the powder coating.

[Jonathan Kay]

With your setup and jack would rolling the front wheels onto planks first give enough clearance to do it the way you'd prefer? (I've also heard of people removing the castor wheels on the jack to gain clearance, but I'd worry about it kicking out if you weren't very careful with the forces .)

Jonathan (Piece of carpet taped on the lifting plate but I do like the idea of an honest puck)

[Grandmaster Flatcap]

Front first and carpet offcuts 

[SM25T]

... an honest puck !! :-)

[revilla]

And don't worry about fitting and removing the nose cone with it on axle stands, the nose is very light and if anything it saves your back when the car is higher! My car will be up on stands over the winter and I'm sure the nose cone will be coming off and going back on several times.

[Golf Juliet Tango]

"honest puck" Midsummer Night's Dream

[Golf Juliet Tango]

As for the nose cone, I'd take it off and leave it on the passenger seat.

[Jonathan Kay]

And who shall have Jill?

:-)

Jonathan

[ScottR400D]

I had similar issues until I bought a low profile jack. Didn't make much difference whether I started front or  back; once one end was up I couldn't get under the other. For a while I used to roll the car up onto 4 8 x 3" chunks of wood, with tapered ramp ends, and then jack it up. 

The alloy 1.25T jack is the key. Makes it so much easier

I put a piece of 3" x 1/2" wood on top of the jack, under the cruciform at the front. Axle stands go on outer edges and under chassis at rear then the nose and bonnet can go back on if I choose. 

Btw what's the 'jacking eye'?

[Wrightpayne]

Towing eye - metal loop on drivers side lower edge of chassis

[ScottR400D]

Aah. I wouldn't have thought that was a good place to jack from. 

[Bricol]

Just to point out, in 30 years of driving, I've left cars of all sorts for weeks, months, even years in one case, due to work trips, on blown up tyres, and never noticed any problems afterwards.  No bumpy tyres, no tyre failures, no cracked tyres, nothing.

As long as they tyres don't go flat, they'll be fine, especially in a garage, cool, dark, away from UV light.

I'd rather have the weight on the cars components as it was designed, with all suspension bushes in neutral position, than all suspension components at full droop, bushes twisted out of static position etc.

[DJ.]

Agreed, particularly as the tyres are generally capable of supporting 1500Kg and we only expect them to carry 550Kg.

[Tony Whitley]

There are four permanent dents in my tarmac drive where my daughter's Midget was parked for several years but the car itself was fine.

[Geoff Brown]

As recommended use a piece of wood to brace the cross member from side rail to side rail if you can as otherwise the cross member is under a lot of stress. If jacked upon directly It barely moves on the latest chassis but on pre Westbury chassis you can actually see the bars bending upward slightly.

On certain models this option is impossible due to positioning of dry sump pipes, horns etc.

In my case I have to use the towing eye due to all of the above then it is best to jack the rear first & position axle stands at the lowest hole.

Then jack front using towing eye positioning axle stands on lowest hole. Then raise car as far as you wish.

This method - rear first - prevents possible chassis twist by 'lop sided' jacking.

[revilla]

Mine will still be spending a lot of the winter on stands but it has nothing to do with saving the tyres; more to do with a full service including greasing prop, gearbox oil level, differential oil level, changing drive shafts oil seals, replacing all springs and shocks. Plus fitting a ported cylinder head and performance cam with offset dowels and probably pulling the cylinder liners to change piston rings. Much of the latter not strictly requiring it to be up in the air but it makes a lot easier on my back if it's a bit higher!

[Speedtrip]

Thanks Guys.

Yes I meant CC recommended the "towing" eye for lifting the front....DOH!

As usual many carried responses.

My car is ZZS tyres and I can recall a recent comment on Pistonheads were someone had experienced flat spotting on these tyres after only a few weeks.This got me thinking....