Newb question. Jacked car up from jack point, rear wheel didn't come up.

[djcdmv]

Possibly a dumb question, but I jacked my 85 up with a 2 ton jack and a jack pad from the "central" jack point (driver side) and the rear wheel never left the ground (front was fine). Also tried from bottom of engine sump. Only way I could get the rear up was to jack from the base of the shock as a fellow pelican suggested in a past thread discussing wheel spacers. Is this a sign of something wrong with the suspension? Thanks in advance.

[wildcat077]

Dave,

There is a jacking point just forward of the rear wheels which is good if you're only jacking up the back of the car ... I try not to use the central jacking point as it puts a lot of stress on the chassis when you are lifting the whole side of the car.

You could also use the transmission crossmember to jack up the rear evenly and then put your axle stands on the jacking points forward of the rear wheels !

Cheers !
Phil

[ivangene]

often times I find jacking the car up to be stressful and the cause of more problems than the work I plan to do once its up....I hate that !

[euro911sc]

Regardless of where you jacked from it does not sound correct, with a few caveats:

'Central' jacking point means the jack receiver tube?
did you jack the car way up or just a until the front wheels lifted?
when you used the sump area did the other rear wheel come up and the drivers did not?

With my car, the pass side lifts right off the ground and the drivers takes a few more pumps... *shrug* Probably a function of the sway bar.

Pics of what you are experiencing would be of great help, but in general, if jacking from the side the front comes up 1st then the rear. If jacking from the motor, both rears should rise at some point. I have no qualms about jacking this car from anywhere that is well supported...

-Michael

[Wil Ferch]

Dave:

Do I need to come over your house?....we've threatened to meet ! ....

Did you ever get rim/tire questions answered on your earlier post that relates to a wide body?

Seriously....the jack point is "fairly" close to the fore-aft balance point. That said, it doesn't mean the front and rear suspension have the same "droop" range and same resistance to drop. Jack up a bit higher after the fronts see air....I'll bet the rear comes up too after a short time therafter.

Seriously....call me.....would love to see your car now that mine is gone....nothing personal ..

[djcdmv]

I jacked it up until my 2 ton floor jack maxed. When jacking from the sump, I'm pretty sure neither wheel came up when maxed. Should I add a wood block? I will try again this evening and take pictures. I do remember when I lowered it from the jack, it sat high for a while and sank back down to normal height over a few hours (if that is any indication).

Wil, I'm going out of town Friday for a week, but we'll have to get together... (I have plenty of questions). With regard to the wide body question, it does have factory spacers. I'm just going to leave it as it is.

[Wil Ferch]

Others have done it....but I am always leery of jacking up on the sump ( after all....you ARE taking the weight of the car on a CAST aluminum block...no matter how well you may "block" and even-out the loads wit wood pieces or whatever).

Something doesn't sound right. A 2 ton jack has ( IIRC) about a 14.25" lift. Should be plenty. Then again, sometimes I use the standard lolli-pop jack plate that plugs into the body hole as you did...and sometimes I use the "L" shaped piece I bought from another source many years ago. The "L" has a short and long length...allowing various add'l inches of "lift" from the puck of the 2 ton roll-jack.

[euro911sc]

If you maxed out your jack something is in error. Feed Wil beer and he can sort it out for you

-Michael

[Wil Ferch]

.....

[djcdmv]

Originally Posted by euro911sc

If you maxed out your jack something is in error. Feed Wil beer and he can sort it out for you

-Michael

Only German dark beer here... Hope that will do.

[Dantilla]

Originally Posted by wildcat077

... I try not to use the central jacking point as it puts a lot of stress on the chassis when you are lifting the whole side of the car.

I've never heard this. I've always used the central jack points, but it's usually to swap between street tires and R compounds, so half the car at a time works well.

[marksearls]

+1, do it all the time and never had a problem.

[DRACO A5OG]

Post a pic

[80-911SC]

if yo jacked from the sump plate and could not raise either rear you either have a really small jack or something really wrong if you rear suspension sags that much ....

Let Wil look at it before something breaks or someone gets hurt .....

Steve

[Wil Ferch]

Won't need beer......simply seeing your black Turbo Look after being Porsche-less these few months will be worth it ....

[djcdmv]

Finally had some time to get some photos. When jacking from the rear sump or the jack point just in front of the rear wheels, neither wheel comes up. Jack is maxed from jack point in the photos. Front wheel is up about 2 inches, rear won't come up at all.

Also, when I jacked from shock base and took the rear wheel off, I put a jack stand at the point just in front of the rear axle. When I lowered the jack, the shock lowered so far, I couldn't get the jack out. Only way to get the jack out was to jack back up, replace wheel, and then lower the jack.

Wil, if you're out there, I'm sure I'll take you up on the offer...

[WPOZZZ]

That little jack scares me.

[Driver8]

You need a bigger jack thats all.

[RSTarga]

Thats like a mini Tonka jack

[175K911]

I wouldn't trust that jack for 1000lbs, let alone 2 tons. I have one like that, but solely for the purpose of jacking up the tongue of my trailer (about 600 lbs). I wouldn't even try using it to jack the car. Like the other have said, you need a better, beefier jack.