77-4speed

Hello all,

I am soon going to be doing a differential removal and general rear end overhaul and I've been wondering, "how does everyone else jack up their car?" I have only had it on jackstands once and did not have the stands fully extended. I couldn't find a good place to put the 3 ton jack under the car to get a good lift without worrying about breaking the body. :smash:

So, I was wondering where you position the jack when lifting your rear end.

Thanks,

Russ

theandies

I put mine under the rear spring attachment point right in the center.
John

ylose

I just removed my rear diff., still on stands yet, expect to complete this weekend or so....I only lifted the tail end, each side in front of the rear tires...stands not extended.....worked like a breeze.

as I tell the ladies, I'm very flexible, yet sturdy ! :eek:


[Modified by ylose, 12:20 PM 6/17/2002]

77-4speed

Without extending the jack stands, did you have enough room to operate under the diff? Since you only jacked the rear of the car, did you use blocks to hold the front wheels in place?

As for jacking up under the diff, did you use a peice of 2X4 or something to cushion the spring or did you just use the bare jack?

Thanks,

Russ

ylose

I put a thin piece of wood on the jack for when lowering the diff...
I liked not having the car up so high, as many have stated fear of dropping it and cracking the diff-case. I had pleant of room and even left my custom dual exhaust on.

for safety I put blocks in front of the front tires....but the car never shifted by the way.....not even a slight budge during the complete removal.

I also did this same procedure when I put in the new 7-leaf a few months ago.

Koz

This is going to be my winter project BUT how did you remove the Diff without removing the exhaust? Doesn't the rear come out with that big rear support that goes from driver to passenger side?

'79ProwlerOrange

i just recently did my rear diff and i coulndt remove the exaust because the way the exaust shop mounted it. its custom dual too. all you have to do is take off the tires and pull the spring and the crossmember from the side. it would have been alot easier without the exaust, but we managed. that and i know i wiuld have started it with no exaust. :eek: :D

and to answer the main question, i jacked it up but the rear end, and threw jackstands under the sides in front of the rear tire. i didnt even need to put wood block in front of the front tires. it barely budged.

yellow 71

newbie vette owner here..... I have always heard the stories of open the doors take the t tops out..... open the hood.... seems like to me it would be better to leave the doors shut and t tops in to make the car more ridged..... which way is correct?

been working on cars all my life so no problems with jack and stand placement just curious what you guys think about the myths listed above.

hugie82

The cars are pretty ridged but you wouldn't want to jack up one wheel and slam the door shut with the window up
Most of the time I'll jack the car up a little in the rear and set it back down. The suspension will usually sit high until you roll the car. While it's sitting high, you can roll the floor jack under the pinion crossmember. Then jack the entire rear of the car in one shot. Jack stand I'll usually position 3-4 inch in from the upright section of the frame. Its a nice heavy steel with notches to hold the stands in place. Just be sure there isn't rust damage in that area.

yellow 71

thanks for your reply hugie all of what you say makes sense.........but back to my real question.......... doors open? t tops out? hood open?

AirBusPilot

Doors and hood open for sure.

Mick71

It's fine to leave the doors open or closed and tops in or out. Our cars are stronger than you think, but you still need to be careful with jackstand placement. If you put them behind the front tires, the rear end gets pretty light on the stands.

GRipp 73

These old cars are pretty strong (if the frame is in good shape). But I have always popped the hood, and I will open the doors, and then just shut them so they click once, not a full shut, but enough so they don't swing open on me when I am raising one side of the car. As for the t-tops? Never had a problem with them in or out. For me it depends if I am getting in and out of the car. If I am, windows down and tops off for easy access.

Jartanyon

...

resdoggie

In 26 years of ownership and a good solid frame, I've never had any problems. I place my floor jack about midway between the front and rear wheel and jack the whole side up and then place my jack stands accordingly. Do the same on the other side also to get the car up on four jack stands.

hugie82

I've always left mine closed and T Tops on. Never had a problem! As I mentioned before, I wouldn't be slamming my doors shut with the window all the way up. I'll bring my windows down just in case it's off a little.
These frames are stiff and as long as both side of the car supported equal it's not a problem. The doors will open and close, T tops will come off no problem (putting them back on might be a little harder) and the hood is no problem in any position.
The only time you'll get a twisting problem is by jacking 1 wheel up high while the other 3 are on the ground. You'll see little gaps between the glass and the weather stripping and body gap lines of a tiny bit.
Hope this puts your mind at easy.

yellow 71

thanks for all the good answers...... it does help put my mind at ease.....

AirBusPilot

The frames on these cars are hardly rigid. Jacking the side of the car up puts a lot of stress on the door striker. Since opening the door is "free", why take the chance?

Don't believe me? Jack the car up with the doors closed and try opening a door..

resdoggie

Not rigid? Take a look at the frames of some cars back in the day, if they even had one!

resdoggie

51 times now and I checked to see if the door would open. Yep! So, believe me when I say my frame is original and rigid.