Jacking Basics
 

Okay, as the owner of a new (well, okay, almost new now) 2002 330cic, I plan to change the oil about twice as often as the service indicator dictates. Call me old school, but 15K miles is a long time to go, even for synthetic oil.

Anyways, this car is my first BMW, and for the first time, my car's too low to the ground to squirm under. I'm going to have to jack it up!!

So what are the basics on lifting? I guess I should get a floor jack with a rated capacity of at least half the (unloaded) weight of my car, a bit more really, since the weight distribution may not be perfectly even side to side, front to back. Ditto for stands, but with the weight distributed over four.

Is the process mostly similar to the method described at this site for E36's? I don't see a corresponding place for the jack pads that article describes.

What about brands? Should I just pickup whatever the local parts store sells? A recent Roundel column seems to recommend a particular brand.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Why not take it easy on yourself and get a topside oil extractor? All you do is slip the extractor tube down your dip stick tube until it bottoms out and hook it to the extractor and pump the sump dry. When it's done, replace your filter (the extractor will also suck out the oil in the filter housing) and you're ready to add oil - no dealing with messy drain plugs! Go to www.griotsgarage.com and look in the tools section. I've used one for years and I'll never go underneath the again.

You might also want to check out Wayne's article on jacking up the car.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/techarticles/E36-Jacking_Up/E36-Jacking_Up.htm

You can jack an e46 under the engine on the round pad that is probably marked jack here or something like that, in the rear you can jack it in front of the differential on the suspension brace. The problem is with jack stands. I couldn't find any good place to put them so I made 4 steel blocks that fit into the 4 plastic jack points on the side of the car. I place jack stands under these steel blocks.

Hmm, okay, thanks, that helps. By "plastic jack points" you don't mean the sockets on the E-36 where jackpads are inserted, ala the "Jacking Up" article that was posted earlier, do you? I don't see such features on my car, so I presume they don't exist on the E-46.

The jacking points on the e46 are the 4 plastic sockets just behind the front wheels and in front of the rear wheels. The openings are about 2" long and 1-1/4" wide. They're designed to accept the factory jack. They are not the same as on the e36.

I have a jack for you! 3.5 inch. clearance
 

I don’t normally pull products out for sale that are not listed under the website but.... We have a slim-line professional jack that is able to slide under some of the lowest cars out there. I'm only offering this because you could really use one.

I have pasted the following insert that has not been offered on our website yet. The retail on this garage jack is around $399.00 and worth every penny. If you’d like to see a picture please send me your E-mail address through PM.

World-class garage jacks designed for heavy-duty, intensive and commercial use. Simple and safe to operate. Just depress the lever with your foot and the jack pad raises up to contact the jacking point on your vehicle. DK13HLQ is constructed with a flat inner steel frame so the front 16 inches of the jack has a height of less than 3.5 inches and a maximum lifting height of 29 inches! Just the perfect height for stock or lowered vehicles! Ergonomically designed handle ensuring a firm and comfortable grip whatever the conditions. Dead-man’s control on raising and lowering the jack arm.

Eli
General Manager
Pelican Parts/ Drivewerks
SmileWavy SmileWavy SmileWavy

I second Eli on this. These jacks are really nice units.

A man with fabrication skills! What would it take for another set of those inserts to tumble out of your shop? I lifted my wife's car for the first time a few weeks ago & wasn't happy using those points w/o reinforcement.

thanks,

RNH

I'll third - I bought the same jack about six months ago. Writing the check is painful, but the payback comes every time you work on your car. I'm not sure if you could even *get* to the differential without a jack w. this much reach & low profile. I know it's the only way to get my 911 *way* up in the air.

Why not just use ramps ?

How do you take the wheels off after youv'e put the car in the air when you're using ramps?

I have three gripes about ramps, the first is my car's front spoiler gets scratched while going up. Second they always slide when I'm driving up unless they are on the lawn. Third I can't use them when I need to remove the wheels.

I have a set and they are really good at what they do "collect dust".

When you use ramps to remove the wheels you just put them centered and.......drive at them very fast (dukes of hazard style) ;) My ramps are low so they do not scrape on the spoiler

Low Low Low
 

"My car is low so it scrapes the ramps"http://www.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/stick.gif

So, is it possible (recommended?) to run, say, the rear wheels up on ramps and then jack up the front end? The front jack points could then have jackstands put underneath them.

I'm just looking to do some work on engine components and/or check the transmission fluid (not change wheels).

My solution...

Start lifting free weights. Get so buff you can bench press the front of the car.

Or do like I did last week flip it over by hand.......... Oh sorry that was someone who had flipped it on the freeway! I just did my part to flip it back over. Happy to say that Dad, Mom, and baby all survived with only minor scrapes and scratches.