Will be working on a rear underside project or two or three and must leave the car on stands for a while and be under it at times. Keeping the trolley jack in place will be an issue, so I am losing that extra security.

There has never been an issue using the pinch welds, however i would like some suggestions for additional rear support points for when the rear suspension has not yet been lowered.

This is both a safety and peace of mind thing. I appreciate any suggestions, thank you.

 

There is a jacking video in the sticky section of this forum. Not sure if it shows where to place jackstands, as I gave up on it loading after 5 minutes... But if not it will lead you to other XK8 jacking videos.
I always use the areas where the suspension bolts to the car, or the inner frame rals just inside of the pinchwelds, but it's been a while so I don't know how to describe them...

 

Sounds like you got the wheels off so put them under the car so it cannot come down on you..

 

G'day Cor,

As mentioned put the removed wheels under the door sills but also place some heavy timbers on top of the wheels so if the car drops it won't drop far.

Cheers,
Jeff.

 

There are very strong points at the bottom of the rear subframe but not the bottom of the differential itself, if you can even use that. One of these is a very heavy duty cross-beam which can be used the jack up both wheels from the one central point. There is also a central large subframe plate with bolts in it and a block of wood to spread the load would be helpful if you use that.

Richard

 

^^^^^^ this ! ^^^^^^^^

that is what I use also whenever I need to raise the rear end. Very handy when the differentialq fluid needs changing (my next task).

aside from the steel wheels w/ 4x4’s safety tip, it’s very important to let someone you are going to be working under the car, and ask them to a check on you every 10-15 minutes, or,even better, just hang out and chat you up while you work

A true sad tale : a friend of mine was under his Mustang removing the 4-speed Toploader transmission. It does weigh about 100 lbs. and is awkward to handle in the best of circumstances. But slippery with oil and grease, it’s a challenge to get under it and balance it as the 4 attaching bolts are removed and it slides to the rear.

We deduced that the transmission slipped out of his grasp.

A corner of it cut a pretty deep gash in his head and knocked him out. You probably can guess the rest: He bled out and died while unconscious. Having a buddy close by would’ve saved his life easily.

We are fragile.

It doesn’t take much to take everything away. Just take care when under the car and have an exit strategy.

Z

 

Thanks everyone, I will look into these other support points and already have some squared sections of telephone pole for safety.

And yes, I always tell someone what I am doing and when to check on me.