Car jacking question
 

No, not a question about stealing cars ...

Rather, I want to jack the rear of the car, pull off the wheels, inspect oil leaks, inspect bushings and simply get familiar with the car. This will be an evening project over a few days.

My question is this - is it ok to put the rear up on stands and leave it that way for a few days? Does this put undue stress on the front?

Thanks - Greg

Won't hurt a thing.

Nope.

Thanks!

I left mine up for 2 weeks and even started the motor while it was on jack stands. I got a nice smoke screen for that brilliant move. :) It didnt hurt anything and the smoke cleared up after about 5 min of driving.

Kemo - since I got polite replies earlier to my obviously novice question, I'll hazard another.... Why the smoke??

Greg

You may want to get a set a ramps. The plastic ones are cheap, and this is more convenient than jacking the car. I used them to adjust my valves, to clean the engine...The car is up like in a breeze with ramps.:)

Aurel
78 SC Targa

rs911t,

from what i can gather, oil will settle around cyl 3 and 6 due to the tilt. If you start your engine with the ass-end of the car up, there is a good chance you will get some smoke. This smoke is often compared to a texas mosquito truck. At first, it kinda freaked me out. I had just finished my first valve job and i decided to check the engine for oil leaks at the valve covers before taking the car off the jack stands. After conversing with folks on the board, they all agreed that i needed to take the car down from the stands and drive the heck out of it for about 15 min. It takes about that long to burn off any oil that gets in the exhaust headers. Kind of a long post for a simple question. sorry about that, i just got to work and im already slacking off. I wonder if people with steep driveways have smoke at startup? Hmm, maybe on my next 911, ill find an owner with a steep driveway and talk him down. ;) :D

Can you recommend any reasonably priced ramps?

i'm having trouble understanding how ramps are easier than using a hydraulic jack and 2 jack stands?

the sump plate is a good jacking point to get the entire rear end off the ground in one lift, or, you can use a jack pad and the side lifting point to do 1 side at a time.

i've always been afraid of driving off or over ramps.

I agree - that's main concern. Anyway, already bought a nice jack and stands, so I HAD to jack it. Did so this morning. No problems.

Greg

I won't get into where to jack the car in this thread, but my car was on jack stands for approx. 15 years, so I speak with some authority.

I had to rebuild the engine and replace the front end, but that was not due to it being on stands that long. On a normal, running car, being on stands does not affect the service life unless it's rusting away at the same time.

Sherwood Lee
http://members.rennlist.org/911pcars

I do it so often that I can get my car on jacks in less than 5 minutes if just the rear.

To answer the question about good rams....I have some called Rhino....molded plastic and they cost about $35 at any auto parts store....I have used these as well, and they too work great.

Rhino ramps are the way to go. They have a less severe angle and shouldn't hit any airdams/body parts. I have both stands and ramps and ramps seem quicker and easier for small jobs.

I agree. I prefer the ramps to just get under and take a look - quicker and less equipment to move around.