I just bought a small garage jack. Nice to have when doing oil change and other minor things.

Only problem is my car is lowered a bit so the jack doesn't reach all the way under the car. Only solid point I'm able to reach seems to be the towing hook. Is it safe to use the towing hook to jack the car up? Will I damage anything by doing so?

 

i do it all the time but it doesnt get my car high enuff to take off my wheels with a regular jack

 

yea you can use that but i use the little bump that is right in the middle of the underside of the radiator support, straight infront of the header......... and yea like the post above unless you have a bigger jack it probly wont get the wheels off the ground but it will get it high enough to crawl underneath and change the oil

 

don't be crawling under cars without jackstands.

<---has had a car fall off of a jack.

 

Jacking up the rear of the car from towing hook is normal. From the front, I don't like the idea of using the tow hooks, because this jacks up the car from off center, placing a large twisting load on the core support and the frame.

I put some 2x6's (you can use 2x4's too) lengthwise in front of my front tires, then drive up onto them. This gives me the extra bit of room to get the floor jack under the center jack point in the front (that little metal bump sticking down, that the front plastic splash pan is molded to go around).

Ditto - Use jackstands. Jack alone is not safe when under the car.

 

Why not just make a sequence of stair steps with 2x6's or some other wood, and drive it up so it's high enough to get a jack under it?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ill &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
I put some 2x6's (you can use 2x4's too) lengthwise in front of my front tires, then drive up onto them. This gives me the extra bit of room to get the floor jack under the center jack point in the front (that little metal bump sticking down, that the front plastic splash pan is molded to go around).
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Great ide! Why didn't I think of that

And, of course, I never lie under the car without jackstands.

 

Or if you want the extra bling....

http://www.jhpusa.com/catalog/...d=733

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Fat Bradstard &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Or if you want the extra bling....

http://www.jhpusa.com/catalog/...d=733

</TD></TR></TABLE>

You can get them cheaper at: http://www.calcarcover.com/pro...&s=on

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Mugen Mike &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

You can get them cheaper at: http://www.calcarcover.com/pro...&s=on



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Or you can get them even cheaper at Home Depot out of 2x4s

 

I don't think you'll hurt anything by jacking there. It seem sto be standard autox practice when changing wheels: jack up the back end using the rear tow hook, and jack up the front using the little bump in the middle.

I <U>think</U> (correct me somebody) the Helms manual even calls those out as jacking points.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bender &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I don't think you'll hurt anything by jacking there. It seem sto be standard autox practice when changing wheels: jack up the back end using the rear tow hook, and jack up the front using the little bump in the middle.

I <U>think</U> (correct me somebody) the Helms manual even calls those out as jacking points.</TD></TR></TABLE>

The REAR tow hook is a jacking point, but he's talking about the FRONT tow hook

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bender &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I <U>think</U> (correct me somebody) the Helms manual even calls those out as jacking points.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I believe you are correct in those being the preferred jacking points - tow loop on the rear, bump on the front.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by KOALA YUMMIES &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Or you can get them even cheaper at Home Depot out of 2x4s



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the cheapest - FREE! I made these out of plywood leftover from the work bench I designed and my dad and I built in the 3rd garage space.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Mugen Mike &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

The REAR tow hook is a jacking point, but he's talking about the FRONT tow hook </TD></TR></TABLE>

When he said tow hook I was just thinking of the helm's specified rear tow hook too and wondered how he was going to change the oil jacking it up from the back... LOL

The other alternative is to get this bling bling aluminum jack... and it's light enough to take to the track to show off the "one-pump-to-chassis" too



Incidentally, it's on sale for $179.99 now... WTF I swear I paid $249.99 back in the day...

To think, I used to jack it up with an OEM GM scissors jack (because it has the iron attached to the crank) and then with a big jack... wooden planks work well too...


Modified by DC2fanboy at 5:48 PM 9/10/2004

 

how heavy is that car jack?? i got from Coastco...like under 100 and 3ton jack..its for lower car..like 1 finter height...but problem is heavy...i live in APT...hard to bring up and down..haha

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SpoonTypeOne &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">how heavy is that car jack?? i got from Coastco...like under 100 and 3ton jack..its for lower car..like 1 finter height...but problem is heavy...i live in APT...hard to bring up and down..haha</TD></TR></TABLE>

This one is around 40-45lbs I'd say... I did look at the costco one before getting this one... I was kind of iffy on build quality, especially the release valve, it felt like the Harborfreight one, but was 3 ton instead of 1.25 ton... but it was a good deal though, if I remember correctly, the costco one comes with 2 stands, 2 chocks and knee pads or something... was almost too good to be true, so I just went to sears for the piece of mind... Plus, if it breaks, I can go back to Sears, no questions asked...

 

I've got the Harbour Freight one; low enough to get under my car, 6 pumps and I've got 2 wheels off the ground. 35 lbs, easy to take to the track. I've had mine over a year with no problems. I probably see 30 of them at every autox and I've never heard of anyone having a problem.
I think this is it here: http://www.harborfreight.com/c...91039
but WTF! $79.99?!? I almost felt guilty when I only paid $139.00!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Mugen Mike &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

The REAR tow hook is a jacking point, but he's talking about the FRONT tow hook </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes, yes, thanks. I guess I have to read every little word
Helms manual does say rear tow hook and front "jack lift platform" in the center.
I wouldn't feel good at all using the front tow hooks...

 

Otay..

here are the acceptable "jack points" according to Manuel Helms



I don't think I've ever used this one





...says nothing about the front tow hooks.. I have actually seen the front tow hooks, bend in while jacking not a good idea IMO.

I have the harbor freight jack as well.. Thing has seen double duty jacking up my ITR and Lude @each event for ~1yr.. no problemo so far

To change my oil, I jack up from the drivers side jacking point (underneath the door) put a jackstand under where the LCA connects to the chassis. Then do the same to the passenger side..

 

i use the one in the front and it works just fine for me but i do have some precautionary measures. I take the wheel off driver side and slap it under the car's side jack point while the car's jacked up. Acts like jackstand even thought it doesn't hold the car up, if anything were to happen, it would land on the tire.