Gomez

At a fellow member's suggestion, I tried to use the frame rail as a jacking point, and was going to put the jackstand under the 'real' jacking point.

Well, the frame rail started buckling under the pressure of my jack, and needless to say, I aborted the operation.

How the heck do you guys support the car when working on/under it?!? I can always get a pair of ramps to raise the front for oil changes, but those will be useless for changing brake pads when the time comes due. Also, I refuse to work on a car supported only by a jack, so I guess I'm SOL on this one.

My only thought is to put a 2x4 under the frame rail to better distribute the load and try again, but I'd want to get a nice block of wood and 'notch' it so it nestles nicely against the frame rail box section so it cannot slip.

Comments/suggestions?

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'01 White Diamond Pearl 3.2TL
-Wing, tint, burlwood shift, Whistler 6-band
'88 White RX-7 Convertible
-Permanent tinitus courtesy of Rockford-Fosgate

mr tl

under the skirts there are little arrows that tell you where to place the jack

ive jacked it up many times using those points, and have yet to run into a problem

oracion

Take a closer look. That part should look a little different than the rest of the rail.

UW RL

are you talking about me? I said to jack it up by using the front part where the rail connects with a part of the frame. That is, the place where two bolts are right next to each other. Shoofin' told me this and I did it too and it was perfectly fine. I also said not to use the rear rail cuz it's hollow, as AcuraTL mentioned as well.



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2000 Metalic Silver TL
Comptech springs
AEM Short Ram
Polarg M-12 Side signals
Bra - XPEL clear bra, that is.
Pikkachu on the back passenger window

Guest

I think what G' is trying to say, is that he doesn't trust the jack to hold the car while he puts his body under there and turns a wrench. If you only have one place to jack up the corner of the car, how do you do it safely?

There are some low profile ramps available on the market, short enough to clear the bumper, but high enough to allow you to creep under the car. Last time I saw good ones was in the back of Car and Driver magazine a few years back.

I change the oil without lifting the car. If I have to get further under the car, I park the car just outside my garage where the driveway slopes down.

But if I have to do work that requires a lift, I let someone else do it nowadays. I make enough money to let someone else take the risk

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2000 3.2 TL, Paper maps.
Comptech axle-back exhaust.
225/55ZR-16 RE730s on OEM alloys.
205/55QR-16 Alpins on steel wheels w/covers (winter).

Pictures

SLVR TL

That's what I've been doing ever since I started driving. Have someone else take the risk!

Shoofin

I know about the frame rails, I noticed the same thing when I tried lifting the car once...in the rear, you can lift the car up on that hook that looks like a tow hook in the middle of the car, right behind the bumper, that's if u wanna lift the car with a hydraulic jack. If you want to lift the frond, you can go to the grooves where u lift the car using the factory jack, lift the car there with the hydraulic jack, then put the stands under the suspension, just make sure u know where on the suspension is a solid piece that won't move or buckle.
Ed

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Acura-TL.com - Forum Moderator

'99 TL Satin Silver/Ebony, Non/Nav, Comptech lowered, Comptech Air Filter Element, Inspire Tails, AEM Brake Pads all around, Comptech Axle Back Exhaust, "Guy Smiley" doll on the dash as my Co-driver...

Pics of my TL
Pics of my Miata! Wadya think?

Fiddler

I had the same exact problem with my accord.. well, in front, i found a point on the frame rail wehre there is a big fastener.. so i put the jack there and it seemed to be strong enough to jack it up w/ my floor jack.. on the rear i couldnt find anything though

Road Rage

The front should be jacked under the front crossmember - it is black. I painted mine with safety yellow so I can see it easily.

And I agree about lifting the rear under the tow hook - this is gusseted for that purpose.

Then I put the jack stands under the frame rails at the "arrow" points. I use some very tough Sorbothane I got from McMaster Carr to protect the rails from the stands (left over from when I had the NSX - the painted rails were too beautiful to scratch). Am I anal or what?

grishulia

The guy that usually does my tires, balancing and etc., uses two jacks to lift the whole car... try that for a change...

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Just my 2 cents...

Gomez

My life and limbs are not worth it, but maybe his are. I stick by the standard advice to never work under a car not supported by immovable objects! Jacks can fail...



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'01 White Diamond Pearl 3.2TL
-Wing, tint, burlwood shift, Whistler 6-band
'88 White RX-7 Convertible
-Permanent tinitus courtesy of Rockford-Fosgate

yu888

Yep, Had my hydraulic start to slip once just as I was putting the stand underneath, you never know...good thing it wasn't ME underneath. ALWATS use blocks or stands before getting underneath the car...its kinda heavy if the jack fails.

grishulia

Well... that wasn't the idea... first of all he just works on the tires... and not under a car... and second you can use this technique to put the stands under the car...

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Just my 2 cents...

eujinc

I use point A (see pic - pardon the salt spray) to jack up the car and then slip the stand under the real jack point. This is done with a 2x4 block of wood on a hydraulic floor jack and I've been using this method on both my Civic and Integra for years. Sounds like point B and C are places that some of you are using as jack points. I have to admit that it never really occurred to me to use the frame rail. Might give that a try the next time I go under.

For the rear, I can't get enough height to slip the stands in if I use the tow hook to jack up the rear. I'm thinking of point X as the jack point that I'll use to get the height I need before slipping in the stands.








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2000 Acura 3.2 TL (Nav) Nighthawk Black Pearl

Shoofin

If you don't have any jackstands, jack the car up, and put the wheel right under either the front or rear doors depending on if your working on the front or back, this way, if it falls, it will drop on the wheel and not you... I don't recommend that at all, but when all else fails, do that...better to have to pay a couple hundred to get a new rim instead of potentially losing your life or a limb!
Ed

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Acura-TL.com - Forum Moderator

'99 TL Satin Silver/Ebony, Non/Nav, Comptech lowered, Comptech Air Filter Element, Inspire Tails, AEM Brake Pads all around, Comptech Axle Back Exhaust, "Guy Smiley" doll on the dash as my Co-driver...

Pics of my TL
Pics of my Miata! Wadya think?

Fiddler

DO NOT ever work under a car supported only with jacks. I had a jack fail on me once when I was working on my brakes.. scared the fvck out of me! .. luckily it wasnt a total failure or my car would've had some messed up rotors.. this was a scissor jack and it just "bent" .. if i didnt have my standard jack that's included w/ the car, i would've been in trouble .. so do yourself a favor and use jackstands