Jacking Points

[gilly]

Sorry for all my questions lately...

Just wondering if there are any decent front and rear jacking points on the VR4? With my GSR, i was able to place my trolley jack under the rear diff and lift both wheels off the ground at the same time without an issue, and likewise with the front wheels. The gsr only weighed 1200kg, so maybe that was a factor, but can a VR4 be lifted from the front or rear?

And with the side jacking points, my trolley jack has a flat connection area, it doesnt have a big gap like the standard VR4 jack has (the ridge on the chassis slides into place in the ridge). So with my trolley jack, should I lift the car on the ridge, or behind it? (Maybe more photos would help if this doesnt make sense!).

 

[Guest]

i used the front middle tow hook to jack the front of my car up to fit my coilovers.
and when i jacked up the rear left (the point infront of the wheel), both rear wheels lifted off the groud.. stiff chassis!

 

[leebutts]

Good question Simon, I faced the same dilemma at the weekend and chose to jack up one side at a time behind the ridges (as I've flattened them before on other cars). I was contemplating using the diff but then chickened out

cheers

Lee

 

[Guest]

I think I seem to recall that there is a proper jacking point front and rear on the underside of the car. a perfect place for putting a trolly jack. Im sure someone with more knowledge will come along soon and confirm or deny it. Alternatively I could take a photo looking underneath of mine tmrw if you want.

 

[Guest]

Found a couple of pics for you. Jacking points should be obvious. looks like a trolly jack will fit perfectly.

hope this helps .

Don

 

[bradc]

yep, trolley jacks work well at the rear, not so well at the front if you have a low car.

the ones on the side are fairly strong too, you shouldn't have much of a problem with jacks or axle stands at all.

 

[gilly]

thanks Jon for the photos.

Just to confirm, am I correct with these?

the tow hook at the front seems to be the only place to put the jack, as my car has an underbody cover, which covers everywhere else.

 

[bradc]

you're not supposed to use the towing hook, there is a jack point just behind it

 

[Guest]

yeah sorry, i meant the spot behind the tow hook.

is it just me, or is the VR-4 chassis extremely rigid?
i jacked up the front left of my car today to get to the radiator hoses, and the WHOLE left hand side of the car went up, at the same height too, both wheels where ~100mm off the ground.

 

[gilly]

my next question....

Is it fairly safe to have the entire car supported by jack stands for a couple of hours? I need to take all 4 wheels off and take them elsewhere to swap them for the standard 16" rims (cheers Cory!). My next dilemma is I only have 2 jack stands! Maybe I could use bricks to support it, is this dodgy or common practice??!!

So I just place the jack stands on the side jacking point, behind the ridge?

 

[SiliconAngel]

Simon, just buy another pair of axle stands, ya twerp!

 

[bradc]

You could use a couple of big blocks of wood, but yeah 4x axle stands would be preferable

 

[Guest]

Yeah, given that a Legnum weighs a tonne and a half dry, and that being crushed by one can kill you untill you die of it, get another set of axle stands. You're life is worth more than a few beer tokens.

 

[gilly]

thanks Jon for the photos.

Just to confirm, am I correct with these?

the tow hook at the front seems to be the only place to put the jack, as my car has an underbody cover, which covers everywhere else.

can someone confirm this rear jacking point?

 

[bradc]

yep

 

[Esoteric]

On a more macabre note a former colleague of mine was crushed to death when his Cefiro slipped off the jack.

 

[bradc]

yeah I guess he would be a former colleague

 

[Nash]

Another set of stands is a good Idea.

Your best bet is to use blocks of wood if you have to, especially end to end.

Wood is also a good safety backup if you're afraid of getting under the car on stands, (I mean you use both !)

I am talking hardwood, like what you burn in wood fires..

NEVER use Bricks. Bricks will collapse under load.

Think about what holds the several tonne roof over your head in a brick veneer house. Its the timber framework.

Its usually pine, but prolly not good using softwood under a car.

I'm talking as safety backup if your stands fail people...

 

[Guest]

shit the only cars i see on bricks are commodores cause someone jacked the wheels, imo i would never use bricks, as the other guys say, just get another pair of stands..
also with the stands you dont have to put them on the side jacking points, i lifted the back of my legnum and put the stands on the actual chasis.. you can see the two suport beams running down the sides from the back of the car..

 

[BuzzPuppy]

And you have gotta love Mitsi for conveniently showing where the gap is for the front jacking point. I found it easily this afternoon when I flushed out the engine oil. How many of us have the under-engine plastic stone guard?