jacking the front

[Randy Webb]

Instead of arguing about whether to jack up the rear by using the engine case seam (in the spriit of full disclosure, I am an engine case seam jacker), let's argue about where is the best place to jack up the front when you want to raise both front wheel up at once.

Let me know if this is the best place to put a jack -- if not, maybe you can circle where it should go on this or another pic (it's hard to figure out some of the word descriptions on this).






And also, is this the best place to put jack stands for the front?

[ChrisBennet]

I jack just in front of the gas tank with a 2x4 just like you did in the 2nd picture.
-Chris (engine seam jacker and not ashamed of it)

[vanwyk4257]

Randy, that's essentially how I jack mine up except I use a 2x8 to further distribute the load of the weight. I place the jack stands under the end caps of the A-arms, which requires jack stands with a U-shaped top bracket, since your's are flat I would assume that your method is alright.

[addictionMS]

same, but to wood for me, just the jack.

Jim

[midlife]

Grown men talking about jacking technique....

Randy,
What are the two tubes in front of the 2X4? Are those drain tubes?

[Bill Verburg]

As pictured except I don't like anything sitting on the seam unless there is a seam block involved, something like this

[David]

I prefer to jack on the front of the torsion bar, i.e. to the left and right of the 2x4 in the pic. Of course this usually requires jacking in two places, but the whole front of the car will lift if jacking on only one of these locations.

[Icemaster]

Bill,

Cool seam blocks, where'd you get them?

[Craig 930 RS]

Psst - Randy, you going to the PIR track event(s) Fri-Sun?

[Bill Verburg]

Cool seam blocks, where'd you get them?

JC Whitney calls them trolley-jack blocks $6.99ea. Very useful items

[Randy Webb]

Dang! And all I got from JC Whitney was skull with lighted eyes & and some fuzzy dice. I am going to order those myself. I was worried about the seam myself.

Other Replies --
Youp those are the rubber drains - search on my name and you'll find where somebody kindly posted the p/n -- I think the same go in the headlights and front & rear turn signals. That's a total of 8 per car(!)

No PIR - I jacked it up just to prep. for getting new tires. Mine are 10 years old & hard as a rock. Also engine trans & clutch are too new to drive hard.

[strupgolf]

OK guys, but where would you lift on a slantnose 911? I can get a jack up to the front sway bar spot from behind the front wheel, but is this correct. The front of the car is too low for any lifting, so what is the best method?

[911pcars]

I use an unorthodox method to lift the front. Humor me while I describe it.

Directly below the front suspension crossmember is a sheet metal cover. Normally there's an air space between them. I installed an aluminum spacer block onto the cover that spans the distance between the two parts. From memory, the spacer is less than an inch high x about 18" long. With the floor jack (with 2x4) under this "stacked" area, the lifting load transfers straight up to the crossmember. I'm pretty sure this is substantial enough to temporarily support the weight of the front end; surely more substantial than a load point under the front pan.

My car is too low (or my floor jack is too high) for a straight shot at this area, so I lift one side using a jack plate in the rocker and a small HF hydraulic scissors jack just high enough to roll the floor jack under the above area. To help position the floor jack, I painted a white target on the sheet metal cover. One can lift from the front or either side. It doesn't matter as the front end goes up evenly.

Like others do, I support the front end with a jack stand under each frontmost torsion bar cover.

Works for me and avoids bending any sheet metal, the current thickness of which is unknown in my 35 year old car.

Sherwood

[Randy Webb]

Sherwood - that all makes perfect sense. It should be a very strong 'point' to lift on.

But doesn't the white target on the sheet metal cover encourage the gophers to shoot at your car from their littel buried gun emplacements?

[911pcars]

Randy,
I try not to park where the gophers reside.

The "target" is actually a white rectangle. Not concours, but it would be clearly visible to road kill in their prior life.

Sherwood