How to jack up the car?

[katsooba]

instead of reading the manual, you just used the manual

[kioneo]

I just got a set of ESCO jack stands from Fred at Reverselogic. They are super nice, even with just the "standard" flat rubber top. Car is super solid on those. They have two sizes with one being a bit shorter and great if you don't have a super high jack.

Just wanted to share my recommendation for those jack stands. Pricey, but confidence inspiring (much more than my old ratcheting 1.5 ton stands).

[aloksatoor]

Originally Posted by kioneo

I just got a set of ESCO jack stands from Fred at Reverselogic. They are super nice, even with just the "standard" flat rubber top. Car is super solid on those. They have two sizes with one being a bit shorter and great if you don't have a super high jack.

Just wanted to share my recommendation for those jack stands. Pricey, but confidence inspiring (much more than my old ratcheting 1.5 ton stands).

+1 I have a set of the short ones. Very stable and easy to use. Fit perfect on the lift points.

[houtan]

To be honest, this doesn't look safe to me. You have the puck, then the book, then the jack stand head parallel to the jack pad, which doesn't look stable at all. When I put a jackstand underneath a car, I have the jackstand head perpendicular to the jack point, not parallel. I understand you are concerned about the deep crevice in your jackstand, but the point of the crevice is to securely hold the seam or jack pad. You could cut the puck so it will fit inside the jack pad and use your jackstand normally, or cut 3/4 inch plywood into little blocks that fit inside the jack pad underneath the car. Your jackstand heads look a little deeper than mine though, so maybe 1 inch plywood would be better. Or you could get jackstands with slightly more shallow heads.

Originally Posted by muddtt

3) Drop it down on jack stands carefully. I bought some rubberized inserts. I also use a small book just cause I'm paranoid about the jack shape. I figure the book eases it onto the rubber puck better.
WP_20150702_08_16_58_Pro by

[muddtt]

The puck in the jack point is actually crafted to insert into the plastic. I know it might not seem that stable. I thought the exact same thing when I saw someone post a similar picture, but when it was down on the jack stands it was pretty rock solid. I wanted to mount the jack stand the way you were talking about, but the grooves in my jack stands were so deep I was afraid it might run into the car.

WP_20150708_16_07_43_Pro by jsk945, on Flickr

[katsooba]

i made this today,
i am done with destroying my jack pad points
also earned a few lower mm, to help with the lowered car

[$iriu$black]

So I'm looking to test fit some wheels but don't have a floor jack. Would a normal "scissor" type jack work to at least get the wheels off the ground so I can do this? I have a jack that came with the better half's car and that's the only one I have available. Is this a bad idea and should I just go ahead and pay a shop to do this very easy task...

Sucks if you live in an apartment and not have access to tools... Any ideas is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[muddtt]

If it fits the jack point securely, I'd go for it.

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by $iriu$black

So I'm looking to test fit some wheels but don't have a floor jack. Would a normal "scissor" type jack work to at least get the wheels off the ground so I can do this? I have a jack that came with the better half's car and that's the only one I have available. Is this a bad idea and should I just go ahead and pay a shop to do this very easy task...

Sucks if you live in an apartment and not have access to tools... Any ideas is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

You can replace the jack pad, so as long as you can be sure it won't slip off the jack, go for it.

[bmw1racer]

If I jack the car up at one of those two points on either side of the car, where do I place the jackstand for added security?

[ayao]

The only places I would personally place a jackstand would be at one of the four jack points. You will either need to lift from a center jackpoint (assuming you have a jack with a low enough profile) or you will need to place a jackstand at the rear jackpoint once you've lifted the side of the car high enough.

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by ayao

you will need to place a jackstand at the rear jackpoint once you've lifted the side of the car high enough.

That seems odd (and maybe unsafe?) to place the jackstand at the rear jackpoint if I was say, working on one of the front wheels/discs... What a poor design.

On my E36 I was able to jack the car (through an access hole) and place a jackstand at essentially the same point underneath the car.

[dailowill]

Originally Posted by bmw1racer

That seems odd (and maybe unsafe?) to place the jackstand at the rear jackpoint if I was say, working on one of the front wheels/discs... What a poor design.

On my E36 I was able to jack the car (through an access hole) and place a jackstand at essentially the same point underneath the car.

If you were working on the front wheel/discs, you would jack up the rear/side jack point up high enough to put a jack stand under the front/side jack point. The frame of our car is pretty rigid so it allows for it.

The more ideal way IMO is to get your car up just enough to use the front subframe/jack point with mini ramps/wood blocks. I find I spend less time in total with this method than the previous.

Another option is to shell out for a real low-profile jack that reaches to the front subframe/jack point without any assistance.

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by dailowill

If you were working on the front wheel/discs, you would jack up the rear/side jack point up high enough to put a jack stand under the front/side jack point. The frame of our car is pretty rigid so it allows for it.

Ahh, I never thought about doing it that way. Seems ass backwards, but it makes sense... I'll try that.

The more ideal way IMO is to get your car up just enough to use the front subframe/jack point with mini ramps/wood blocks. I find I spend less time in total with this method than the previous.

Hmm, I can't seem to visualize this approach.

Another option is to shell out for a real low-profile jack that reaches to the front subframe/jack point without any assistance.

Yeah, I'm trying to avoid this, seeing that I don't need to jack the car up that often to merit the expense.

Thanks for your suggestions!

[dailowill]

Originally Posted by bmw1racer

Hmm, I can't seem to visualize this approach.

So you would drive the front wheels onto ramps like http://www.raceramps.com/trak-jax1.aspx which should give you enough clearance to reach the front center jacking point. Other folks have made something similar using wood.

[ayao]

Originally Posted by bmw1racer

That seems odd (and maybe unsafe?) to place the jackstand at the rear jackpoint if I was say, working on one of the front wheels/discs... What a poor design.

On my E36 I was able to jack the car (through an access hole) and place a jackstand at essentially the same point underneath the car.

Sorry -
I misunderstood your initial question -- I wasn't trying to advocate a rear jackstand + jack under the front jackpoint -- that would be suicide.

In my experience, the car is either up on all four jackstands or it's not on any at all.

If you have jacked up the car from a particular jackpoint, there is no good place to place an adjacent jackstand that I have found.

If you are trying to work on one of the front wheels/brakes in isolation and you're quick about it, I have occasionally jacked up that wheel and left that as my only protection -- but I'm not getting underneath the car and there's little recourse for a sudden jack failure. I've seen some people slide the wheel they removed underneath the hub assembly as an added (modest) layer of protection.

Your only other alternative would be to access the center jackpoints. There is enough clearance in the rear to get a jack underneath, but the front center jackpoint can be too low to get a jack underneath. Most people will either get the car up on a set of low-profile ramps, or they will drive the car up on a series of 2x6s to raise the car enough to get access to the front center jackpoint. Then you can raise the car high enough to get a couple of jackstands underneath.

And as a side note, if you're using the center jackpoints, don't forget to chock your wheels.

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by dailowill

So you would drive the front wheels onto ramps like http://www.raceramps.com/trak-jax1.aspx which should give you enough clearance to reach the front center jacking point. Other folks have made something similar using wood.

Ah OK, now I gotcha.

A bit convoluted, but it would save having to buy a low profile jack for the task.

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by ayao

If you have jacked up the car from a particular jackpoint, there is no good place to place an adjacent jackstand that I have found.

Yeah, I found that out too... Like I said, poor design by BMW.

I guess they figure most owners are not do-it-yourselfers, so they think "why bother?"

If you are trying to work on one of the front wheels/brakes in isolation and you're quick about it, I have occasionally jacked up that wheel and left that as my only protection -- but I'm not getting underneath the car and there's little recourse for a sudden jack failure.

That's what I have been doing, though cleaning the wheels and/or replacing the brake pads does take a bit of time and effort.

And as a side note, if you're using the center jackpoints, don't forget to chock your wheels.

Yup, I do that whenever I jack up the car, regardless of which point I'm jacking it up from.

[mr.fabulous]

My jack is not low enough for me to access the front center jackpoint. And so in addition to my jack, I use qty(4) Esco 10498 jackstands (flat top) and qty(4) BMS jackpoint adapters.

[1] Lift with your jack and a BMS adapter at the LR. Place a jackstand w/ BMS adapter at the LF.

[2] Do the same with the right (jack from the rear, support with a jackstand at the front).

[3] Jack from the diff (not the cover) to raise the rear and support with a jackstand and BMS adapter at each rear jackpoint.

If I'm not removing a front wheel, I alternatively use ramps at the front instead of jackstands (sliding them under each wheel with the side of the car in the air, jacking from the back). It's a bit more stable getting the car back down using ramps at the front than it is using stands.

[squidge]

I got tired of lifting from the sides and working my way around to get the front or back lifted. Here's what I'm using with URLs and prices, semi-budget setup:

Picked up a set of these 3" ramps mentioned above, which are really nice quality, non-slip, and lightweight: http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B003ZAGMEA, $90

Now my jack (http://www.harborfreight.com/15-ton-...ump-60569.html, $70 on sale) can easily reach the front central jacking point or the rear diff, allowing me to put jackstands under the car. My car isn't lowered, but I think a car with a 1"-1.5" drop would still work with this setup.

I cut 3/4" galvanized pipe (http://images.lowes.com/product/conv...60105207lg.jpg) to fit in the jack pads and use jackstands with the divot in the middle (http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000CO86BY, $25) perpendicular to the jack pads. The shape of the jack pad captures the pipe inside and is quite secure once the car is lowered.

The jack above doesn't have a ton of lift height. I use an aluminum jack pad adapter http://amzn.com/B012LRYO10, $19) with a hockey puck (http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00BPHES8W, $2) on top of it to get enough lift to put the jack stands at a reasonable height.

I'd like to switch to the ESCO jack stands in the future, but that would probably require a nicer jack with higher reach even with ESCO's "shorty" version, so we're talking like a $400 outlay ($250 for ESCO stands, $150 for a better jack) so I'm sticking with what I've got for now. I'm also using plastic wheel chocks that work okay, but I'd suggest something rubberized instead. I also haven't attempted to put the entire car on stands with this method, just front or back.

Hope that helps.

[dailowill]

Originally Posted by squidge

I'd like to switch to the ESCO jack stands in the future, but that would probably require a nicer jack with higher reach even with ESCO's "shorty" version, so we're talking like a $400 outlay ($250 for ESCO stands, $150 for a better jack) so I'm sticking with what I've got for now. I'm also using plastic wheel chocks that work okay, but I'd suggest something rubberized instead. I also haven't attempted to put the entire car on stands with this method, just front or back.

I have the reverse logic pivoting block heads w/ ESCO (shorty) stands. They are the best. They feel much sturdier/safer than my Torin equivalent, plus I do not have to constantly re-position my jack point blocks/stand. I'd highly recommend it.

[squidge]

Originally Posted by dailowill

I have the reverse logic pivoting block heads w/ ESCO (shorty) stands. They are the best. They feel much sturdier/safer than my Torin equivalent, plus I do not have to constantly re-position my jack point blocks/stand. I'd highly recommend it.

Thanks for the tip, those look pretty awesome:

http://www.reverselogic.us/shop.html...tegory=4643108

$288 for a set of four with the pivoting block heads and their promo code "SAVE10" is a bit spendy but worth it for the peace of mind.