i found out the hard way too. lolmajor shaftage when i saw the soft part crinkle as i jack it up
#1
Raising and lowering the front / rear of your MKIVI've had a couple requests for this, so here it is. I know people have many different ways of raising the front / rear of the car, and I will try to comment on them so you can have the full perspective.
You must remember, that your car is a heavy piece of machinery. Improper lifting / holding techniques will cause the car to fall on top of you, resulting in instant death.
Needed tools
-Wheel Chocks
-Floor jack and jackstandsPlease be careful when performing this procedure. Read through the whole thing before trying it. I can't be held responsible if I have made a mistake in the following steps.
Chock the wheels
1. Place your wheel chocks on the opposite end of the car that you wish to raise. IE: If you want to raise the front, place the chocks on the rear wheels.
Raising the front of the vehicle
2. Locate the large, hexagonal, subframe bolt shown here. This is the most convienent lift point for the front. Some people like using the side rail, but if you have sideskirts then you can't really get the jack in properly.
Note on lowered cars: It may be difficult to get a floor jack under the subframe bolt with a lowered vehicle. If this is the case, use your OEM jack (aka: Widowmaker) to raise the car enough to get your jack in.
3. When the car is lifted, locate the appropriate holding area of the side rail. The corrugated area in green is safe to hold the car, while the area in red is NOT safe. Ask me how I know
4. Place your jackstand under the green area, and slowly lower the vehicle. Make SURE that the rail sits firmly in the center of the jackstand. If you like, you can use a small piece of wood to evenly distribute the weight across the jackstand.
5. Repeat steps 2-4 for the other side of the vehicle. Note: If you raise one side of the vehicle too high, and begin raising the other side, you may notice that the feet on the opposite side jackstand will begin to lift off the ground. This is VERY dangerous, so make sure you raise each side of the car in small increments.
6. When you are finished with your work, raise the front of the car a bit more to remove one jackstand, then repeat on the other side.
Raising the rear of the vehicle
7. Locate the lifting rail at the rear of the vehicle. You will notice a hardened area, shaded in green. This is safe for lifting and holding the rear of the vehicle.
8. Place your jack at the far left of the green section, and begin to raise the rear of the car. Once it is high enough, place the jackstand at the far right of the green section.
9. Then lower the vehicle so that the rail rests firmly at the center of the jackstand. If you like, you can use a small piece of wood to evenly distribute the weight across the jackstand.
10. Repeat steps 7-9 for the opposite side. Note: If you raise one side of the vehicle too high, and begin raising the other side, you may notice that the feet on the opposite side jackstand will begin to lift off the ground. This is VERY dangerous, so make sure you raise each side of the car in small increments.
11. When you are finished with your work, raise the rear of the car a bit more to remove one jackstand, then repeat on the other side.
That's it, let me know with questions.
Mike
Chapter 11 Dubs: Member #001
http://www.chapter11dubs.com
#2
i found out the hard way too. lolmajor shaftage when i saw the soft part crinkle as i jack it up
#3
Great post.
Oh look snow cool is back, nice
#4
Is there any way to know exactly where the hardened part ends on the rear? I find it frustrating to have only the marker on the rocker panel to go by when lifting (and then supporting) at the same time. I'm always scared that I'm going to crunch the soft stuff.
#5
That widowmaker name for the oem jack was pretty funny. I have been jacking cars for years and never had a problem with any jack until last fall I was using my oem jack in the garage on a perfectly flat surface. When I was lowering the car the jack kicked sideways and mangled itself. Luckily one of the corners got caught on the cement as it kicked out, otherwise it would have shot out and hit me in the nuggets. I now have a nice compact floor jack that I keep in the trunk.
#6
Nice DIY, what happend on the paint for you drivers door
#7
Quote, originally posted by mattyrj » Nice DIY, what happend on the paint for you drivers door Reflection?
#8
My widowmaker made some real weird creaking noises last time I used it....I was standing back in case it gave way.But on another note, I have been using the inside rail to support the car while the jack was on the lip...is this bad? Please excuse my horrible touchpad paint skills. If you can make it out you could see the area I'm talking about...
#9
Quote, originally posted by FaelinGL »
Note: If you raise one side of the vehicle too high, and begin raising the other side, you may notice that the feet on the opposite side jackstand will begin to lift off the groundim trying to imagine what your talking about but i cant cuz iv never seen this happen ever, how do the feet of the opposite side jackstand raise off the ground if its raised too high...
Modified by sk8element at 5:45 PM 11-28-2006
#10
Quote, originally posted by natsilver »
sorry for laughing, but it's funny
great post, my pinch rails are crinkled and crumpled beyond recognition in the red areas, oh well
#12
Quote, originally posted by sk8element » im trying to imagine what your talking about but i cant cuz iv never seen this happen ever, how do the feet of the opposite side jackstand raise off the ground if its raised too high...
Modified by sk8element at 5:45 PM 11-28-2006BELEIVE ME, this happens.
not only will the jackstand become unbalanced, but if you didnt know where to put the jackstand on the rail, your whole rail will now be bent sideways also.. be patient and use small incriments on each side like stated.
great diy. wish it was here a couple months ago when i first got my vw.
#13
Nice write up manAnd for all you kids that dont know how to change a tire yet, bookmark this
#14
very nice write up
#15
Bump for the day-shiftersMike
Chapter 11 Dubs: Member #001
http://www.chapter11dubs.com
#16
Whoa, great write up bro
#17
we needed this for awhile.FWIW, in the rear, you can jack, or use jackstands on ANY PART of the rear beam. I personally prefer it over the pinch rail.
Dave
The Blog
09 S5 | 00 A6 Avant | 87 EJ25 Powered Vanagon Syncro | 80 034EFI 16V Rabbit Covt. | 10 Q5 3.2
#18
DIY guide king at it again
Celebrating my 8yr Vortex anniversary!
#19
From the thread title I thought you broke down and got coilovers.....
#20
Quote, originally posted by rs4-380 »
FWIW, in the rear, you can jack, or use jackstands on ANY PART of the rear beam. I personally prefer it over the pinch rail.Thanks, thats what I wanted to know!
#21
dialed DIY.a
#22
arent those protruding rails good to use as a jackstand point for the front? the red arrow in the second pic of this thread is pretty much pointing to it.
#23
Quote, originally posted by euRo_tuner »
major shaftage when i saw the soft part crinkle as i jack it upi got the crinkles all over... i just gave up and bought ramps
#24
Cool DIY many people need this, so many people asking about jacking locations.
#25
Quote, originally posted by 2Slo2Run » i got the crinkles all over... i just gave up and bought ramps my driveway isnt really level so i might need to do ramps too. where can i get them, from.. like a local auto shop or...?
#26
arent those protruding rails good to use as a jackstand point for the front? the red arrow in the second pic of this thread is pretty much pointing to it.
#27
Quote, originally posted by vr6_d00d » my driveway isnt really level so i might need to do ramps too. where can i get them, from.. like a local auto shop or...? definitely, I went straight to ramps and I love them (but you'll need jack and stands for tire changes or any suspension/brake work). They cost me about $60 at Canadian Tire (major hardware/auto/sporting goods store up north here eh)
#28
when he says the feet will lift off the jack stands, he means they will start to flip over, basically, if you keep going they will flip on their side and the car will fall.
#29
Quote, originally posted by rs4-380 » we needed this for awhile. FWIW, in the rear, you can jack, or use jackstands on ANY PART of the rear beam. I personally prefer it over the pinch rail.
Ditto-- that's were I jack my rear up also
#30
I bought one of these a while ago for my floor jack:http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump...ODUCT
Makes jacking the car up from the pinch welds a lot easier, and prevents damage and bending to any of the surrounding areas.
#31
exklusiv motorsports.
#32
Quote, originally posted by graphix3 » dont be an a$$ man, hes helping everyone out that dont actually know whats safe and whats not. im sure all of us have gone to jack up our cars and been confused at some point in time, even though i know no one will admit it. i know i have. but hey nice write up, thanks for taking the time to do this.
-grphx
For starters, I would never ever support my car on jackstands using the jack point for the stock jack. The stock jack is supposted to pinch and support that jack point. By just setting it down on the jack stand you are inviting the jack point to buckle or fold and the car will shift. Why not set the jackstand under that rail that you see under the car. It would be much more stable.
#33
because you'll crush it. it's not strong enough to support the weight of the car.
#34
#35
Quote, originally posted by Jetta03 »
For starters, I would never ever support my car on jackstands using the jack point for the stock jack. The stock jack is supposted to pinch and support that jack point. By just setting it down on the jack stand you are inviting the jack point to buckle or fold and the car will shift. Why not set the jackstand under that rail that you see under the car. It would be much more stable.Rather then posting a message that says how "not" to do something, it would be more helpful to all to enlighten us as to how you do it. I have been using jackstands at the pinch rail for 6 years, and you see how well the corrugated section has held up. As to the sections in red, well, there's a reason they're bent. It's called Operator's Experience (OE). The goal is to share my experience with everyone else so they don't end up with bent rails.
To answer your questions, the rail you see under the car is too wide to fit in the shallow of a jackstand. You would know that if you did a significant amount of work on your own car instead of taking it to the dealer when the oil needs to be changed.
Mike
Chapter 11 Dubs: Member #001
http://www.chapter11dubs.com
Posting Permissions
