Placing Jack Stands?

[sloban]

I confess, it's been about 20 years since I did any of my own work on a car. Umm ... they've changed some.

I'm starting out doing the simplest dang mod ... I want to paint my brake calipers. I went to slide a jack underneath to get the front wheels off and I swear everything under there is plastic or sheet metal! I literally couldn't find anything that I recognized as a frame cross-member. The handy-dandy owner's manual has a section for changing a tire and it instructs to place the jack in a notch (see the picture: http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/vbpicgallery.php?do=view&g=723) that looks like it's where the body wraps under.

If I lift from the notch, there's no place to put the jack stand. I need some remedial instruction here. It's a 2006 LS Sport. Where can I place my rollaway jack and two jack stands to get the front wheels off the ground without breaking something. And I foresee the same problem with the rears.

Hope someone can help! -- Scott

P.S. I do work on my F-350 sometimes, but the last car I owned that I did my own work on was a 1974 Pinto. I kid you not.

 

[Quik LS]

Here:

 

[SoonerLS]

It also bears repeating that you should NEVER, under ANY circumstances, lift the car by placing a jack on the suspension components themselves. That is a good way to SEVERELY damage the suspension. (The lifting points that look like they're on suspension components are actually on the cradles or mounting points, which are designed to take the load of lifting.)

 

[sloban]

Thanks very much, guys! A life-saver, for sure. I'm gonna see if there's a Chilton's for this car.

 

[lightweight]

Lifting by the suspension components damages what, exactly? I've either jacked the car up by the arms, or used them as a place for the jackstands, after lifting it from the body. There has been a clunking in the front end that I don't think was there when we got the car, so what did I unknowingly mess up? What is special about the LS suspension components? Those same arms have to withstand potholes and all the various loads of a heavy sedan intended for fast corners. Why won't they survive a floor jack?

 

[jlser]

You can cause a stress point in the aluminium suspension components which you may not be able to see. Unlike steel, which will usually show a crack forming long before failure, aluminium just suddenly snaps. You won't know it failed until after you wake up in the hospital. I have a friend who experienced sudden aluminium failure while riding an aluminium tubed bicycle. Luckily he wasn't going too fast when it failed and only ended up with some severe road rash.

 

[SoonerLS]

Suffice it to say that Lincoln has several prominent warnings (using almost exactly the same verbiage as I did above) about this in the service manual pages that show the jack points. Obviously, they think it's important...

 

[lightweight]

I never thought about the aluminum cracking, but it makes sense. So I guess that means the clunking noise is likely the typical sway bar issue, and nothing I messed up with my jack or stands. What service manual are you guys using? Thanks for the help.

 

[Upstairs Chris]

Holy dead thread batman.


Can someone elaborate a little more on where the put the jack stands? That diagram leaves sometimes to be desired and I look to where it shows and I see nothing but aluminum parts.

 

[RigsLS]

FRONTS


Left Front ... (drivers side)




Right Front ... (passengers side)








REARS


Left Rear ... (drivers side)




Right Rear ... (passengers side)




Rear facing



* Note: don't worry about the runs on the stuff in the rear, it's penetrating fluid.


​

 

[Upstairs Chris]

So for the front, you used the notches where the stock scissor jack goes. Where do you lift it up from if you place the jack stands on the notches. Ever since putting on the eibach's I can't use my craftsman jack, I have to use the scissor jack so I run into the issue of wanting to put the jackstands on the notches like you pictured, but then I don't really have a place to jack it up from.

 

[RigsLS]

Yes for the fronts in the notches, I have Eibachs on my fronts also but I ended up buying a lower profile jack.
I used a small piece of wood which was one inch thick to support behind the lip (notch) on the inside, just to be sure
to give the jack something flush to push on while raising it. I did this a bit back from the notch so as to fit my jack stand directly underneath.

It was a careful and cautious process and included a fat tree trunk as she was going up, just in case.
When I had one side up, the other side started to lean a bit and I had to make a correction.

Sorry, I do not use scissor jacks, never have, never will, too scary looking of a contraption. (has death written all over it)

 

[Upstairs Chris]

Not a fan either, but after discovering my regular jack wasn't going to work, I had to do something for the time being. I'll have to try the wood block.

 

[RigsLS]

Can you not begin to lift with the scissor jack a bit until you can fit your other jack underneath?
Then reposition it ... to where the jack stand then is directly below the notch.

either that or break the bank and buy a nice low profile jack, mine isn't the lowest profile jack but it just fits underneath to begin to lift.

Scissor jack stays in the trunk for roadside emergency in the event of a flat.

Good luck Chris, lift cautiously!

 

[Telco]

Or, you might get a couple of 1x8s, make mini-ramps that will let you raise the car 2-3 inches, then back the car up onto them to give enough space for the jack to get under there. If you back onto them instead of pulling forward on, then the wood won't be in the way for the jack.

 

[LS4me]

Not a fan either, but after discovering my regular jack wasn't going to work, I had to do something for the time being. I'll have to try the wood block.

You'll need a low profile jack and one of these for side lifting. I usually place the jack under the front of the lower control arm, where it mounts to the frame, just after the lower splash shield. Been lifting there for years.....

 

[ArabianNight]

My rear jack point are starting to weaken last time i lifted the car from them with my floor jack i heard some crackling in there i got me a nice piece of wood that i notched out a groove in to place in there when i jack the vehicle up but is there a central location in the rear end to lift the entire back up at once i know they say dont lift by the pumpkin and i dont see anything else under there to place the jack under

 

[fabrizio]

Hi

I'll lift the car from this point as BigRig showed and rest the car on the notch.
Just to add some pics.

The notch looks like the second pic.

 

[RigsLS]

Right on, I'll be getting to lifting mine on the stands for the winter probably by next weekend. Wheels and hood are coming off.

 

[fabrizio]

Another pic lifting the car.

Very helpful BigRigLS

Damm,that oily pan >_< , I recently change the gasket but the oil comes from top