Jack Points

[jay07]

Okay, noob question here. Currently, whenever I jack up a car, I always use the 4 main jack points, and always have a hard time figuring out where to put a stand when I need one to make sure the car doesn't fall on me. I'm always afraid of putting a stand somewhere where it will either damage the car and/or not prevent the car from crushing me .

So...
Are there any other safe jacking points?
Where can I safely put my jack stands? (Pictures would be nice, I'm not all that familiar with the names of all the suspension parts, so make it easy please)

Thanks!

 

[wotfr]

The ends of the subframes are sturdy enough to jack or stand the car on and is usually where unibody cars are lifted on a hoist other than the rocker panel jack points. They are located inboard and more towards the end of the car but only slightly, and should be far enough away to jack from one and stand on the other. If your using a floor jack and have the handle pointed away from the center of the car and jack from the rocker there should be plenty of room to reach around with the jackstand under the subframe.

 

[jay07]

The ends of the subframes are sturdy enough to jack or stand the car on and is usually where unibody cars are lifted on a hoist other than the rocker panel jack points. They are located inboard and more towards the end of the car but only slightly, and should be far enough away to jack from one and stand on the other. If your using a floor jack and have the handle pointed away from the center of the car and jack from the rocker there should be plenty of room to reach around with the jackstand under the subframe.

Yeah, I figured that might be a good spot. Any particular place on that subframe? Or just pick something meaty looking?

 

[tr7driver]

Great timing. Thanks guys

Wow! I was just about to rotate my tires for the first time since I bought the car. I checked the manual for lug torque (100 ft lbs) and jacking points. All it really only tells me not to lift the car by the rear diff. So, I thought I’d check here to see if there were any posts on jacking points. What great timing. You folks are really good!

 

[91mini]

All it really only tells me not to lift the car by the rear diff. !

Whats the reasoning behind that?

 

[TTU4.6]

It puts too much bending stress on the axle. It was never ment to be used this way.

 

[soontobefastfox]

It puts too much bending stress on the axle. It was never ment to be used this way.

no that is incorrect. The rear seal (and cover is alot slimer) is exposed more than previous models. Ford is afraid you will break the seal and leak diff fluid everywhere.

also why do you say that is was never meant to be used that way? the rear diff has been a way to jack up the rear of cars for years.

 

[metroplex]

no that is incorrect. The rear seal (and cover is alot slimer) is exposed more than previous models. Ford is afraid you will break the seal and leak diff fluid everywhere.

also why do you say that is was never meant to be used that way? the rear diff has been a way to jack up the rear of cars for years.

If you go as far back as the 70s, every RWD Ford owner's manual will say not to jack up the rear by the differential. We've jacked up the rear of my T-bird using the diff for the past 25+ years. Is there anything special on the S-197 GT that would not allow this? One thing that I would like to mention as a cautionary statement is to NOT jack it up by the cover/gasket area. I normally place the jack pad on the rear part of the differential (right behind the "lip" or the debris channel).

Can I safely place my jack under the subframe K-brace towards the front of the oil pan? That's how I normally jack up the front end of the cars.

 

[MBDiagMan]

That's what I get for not reading that part of the owners manual. Before I started using a two post lift, I must have raised the rear of a few thousand cars by putting a floor jack under the pumpkin. I have never known of any damage by this practice EXCEPT I DO KNOW not to do this on many independent rear suspension cars because it will damage the differential rubber mounts. On solid axle cars it is VERY common to raise the rear by the pumpkin and then place jack stands under the ends of the axle tubes.

Since my car only goes up on a two post lift now, I use the front subframe horns below the firewall and the rear link mounts just in front of and inboard of the rear wheels.

 

[metroplex]

I'd love to use a lift, except I can't find any that would work in my garage without modifying the concrete slab.