How do you all get your cars far enough off the ground to work underneath? I have ramps, jack stands, bottle jacks and the jack that came with the car ... ramps seem hard to use with a car this low, bottle jack wont fit under it, and jack stands are no good till the car is lifted (also not sure where to safely put them other than the stock jack points). A large garage style lift is probably not practical for my situation either, even if I was ready to spend that kind of cash on it.

So, whats your favorite method?

 

I use a 3 ton low profile floor jack and jack stands. To put the whole car on stands, I put the floor jack under the front suspension crossmember with a block of wood and lift the front. I then place jack stands under the front jacking points.

Then I reposition the floor jack under the rear suspension cage and lift the rear in order to place stands under the rear jacking points. I can then easily get around under the car on a creeper and handle most jobs. Of course this would not provide enough clearance for tasks like dropping the transmission or the rear suspension.



Make sure you have a low profile jack as there is not much room to clear the spoiler. Also it's a heavy car so I'd recommend at least a 3 ton jack and minimum 3 tons stands, 6 ton stands if you want to raise the car higher.

Cheers,

Allan

 

You can use wood infront of the ramps to lessen the angle so the spoiler does not hit the ramps. Other than that a slimline trolley jack is a must.

I have 4 3 Tonne jack stands and a few solid concrete slabs I use under the stands to increase the height for easy access.

 

I use a rolling floor jack under the front or rear suspension and then at the jack points I use a jack stand with a 2X4. The 2X4 is cut to 4" long and drill a 1" hole in the center of the 4X4 square face. Make the hole as deep as the jack point stud that is pointing down. That will give you more load bearing surface at the body of your car. When I have my tires rotated and balanced I bring along my 4 blocks of wood and show them where and how to use them.

 

If not working on the brakes (ie wheels off) I lift each corner of the car at it's jack point and then place a ramp under each tire...yup, place them under, no one actually tries to drives up on those things do they? If you place a ramp under all four tires you'll be amazed how much open space (no jack stands down the narrow of the chassis) and how high it really is, not to mention how safe you feel with the car up on it's wheel/tires instead of those small contact point stands. I have two nice, wide, tall sets of composite ramps that do the trick in a matter of minuets. No starting or driving just a trolley jack and 4 ramps.

 

Allan,

Thanks for your reply - your method is pretty much what I've been thinking would be good for me too - the catch is that I don't have a floor jack yet. I can get one if needed though. My only other question would be, how stable is it with four stands under the jacking points? When I've worked on other vehicles on stands I always have a little ... hesitation ... if I need to pull really hard to get something loose - not that it's that wobbly, but enough that it's on my mind.

Thanks, Eric

 

Thanks Warren,

I've used that plank in front of the ramp in the past too with other cars - in one case with a rear drive car I remember the front wheels pushed the ramp away from the wood causing the front end to drop onto the ramp - luckily no damage in that case though. I do like using the ramps for things like oil change etc, I guess it would be easy enough for me to attach a metal strap/hook type thing to keep the ramp and wood from separating when the wheels are going up.

Other than that, low profile floor jack sounds like a good choice.

Thanks, Eric

 

Thanks Ron,

This sounds good, my only question would be: in your experience, do those blocks of wood between the body and stand make it less stable? I do understand the reason for the blocks, I guess I also >don't< know if there are any other safe spots to put the stands.

Thanks, Eric

 

Do you guy's read the actual posts???? Don't drive up on ramps!!!!! Jack the car up and the place it under the tire, you don't need a floor jack for that, the one that came with the car will do. Don't put your car up on stands under the jack point then "pull" "pound" hard on something...YES it will come down in some cases. If I need to work on suspension I'll "jack stand" the car then place the jack also under the side I'm "pulling" "pounding" so if the stand gives the jacks there...once again the one that came with the car will do.

 

Thanks JTsmks,

I like this idea, just would need to get another pair of ramps.

Thanks, Eric

 

I've never felt that comfortable working under a vehicle with just stands supporting it either - never had problems but it was always on my mind. I usually put the wheel I had removed under the axle as a backup. I haven't had this car very long so none of this has come up yet with the xjs.

Eric

 

Eric, believe it or not (I sound like Ripley's!) I got my two sets at BigLots for a song, nice, big and well constructed for something like $19 a set. I don't like the metal ones and most of those aren't very high.

 

Lot's of ways to skin that cat and all can work well.

I have never had an issue with jackstands and I know people who have had large trucks on jackstands for 2 years!!.

It is important to get high quality stands with ample weight capacity and ensure that they are correctly located. Anything can fail, including ramps.

Cheers,

Allan