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Need to jack up my C6 to do a brake job
#21
Former Vendor
Member Since: Oct 2010
Location: Philadelphia PA
Posts: 1,250
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Wooden ramps versus Race Ramps
If you have been a contractor for 40 years then you will know first hand just how heavy wooden ramps will be for just a 6" lift. Race Ramps get you 8" to 10" off the ground, weigh a fraction of the wood ramps, and have great resale value when you no longer need them.
In the time it will take you to make the wood ramps you could be selling something to a customer that will pay for the foam ramps. :-)
In the time it will take you to make the wood ramps you could be selling something to a customer that will pay for the foam ramps. :-)
#22
Safety Car
Member Since: Nov 2007
Location: Tarpon Springs FL
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FL Events Coordinator
I made the exact same ramps BUT didn't put the wheels on the butt end.....THANKS....I'm gonna get some today and screw em on.
Last edited by obxchartercaptain; 01-05-2012 at 01:30 PM. Reason: spelling
#23
Le Mans Master
Great question, and mostly good response's I plan on doing the same job, complete brake service, rotors, pads, SS lines, paint the calipers, new brake fluid.
My jack plan is as follows
Drive front of car on to ramps, I have a set but not "race ramps" mine are a off brand but work great, they get the car about 9" up. At the same time I will use two stacked two my sixes for the rear wheels, this will bring the back of the car up about 3 inches. Plenty of room for my jack to get to the rear cross memeber.
Here is where I am not completely decided which method to use.
With car up on the ramps and boards I can then jack from the cross members and place the jack stands at the recommended jack points.
Or I can jack the car at the recommended jack points and then put the jack stands on the cross members.
I am not sure exactly how I will do it. I think either way will work fine.
Just be careful when jacking at the recommeded jacking points not to damage the body, I don't use jacking pucks (and will be told I am a idiot for not doing it, but) my jack has a rubber pad and if you place it carefully it fits perfect in the cut and does not come close to damageing the body. I have jacked the car many times and never had a problem, the damage happens when you don't pay attention to exactly where the jack is in contact with the car.
Hope this helps, I am paying attention to each method of jacking to help me decide what I want to do.
Thanks for the post.
My jack plan is as follows
Drive front of car on to ramps, I have a set but not "race ramps" mine are a off brand but work great, they get the car about 9" up. At the same time I will use two stacked two my sixes for the rear wheels, this will bring the back of the car up about 3 inches. Plenty of room for my jack to get to the rear cross memeber.
Here is where I am not completely decided which method to use.
With car up on the ramps and boards I can then jack from the cross members and place the jack stands at the recommended jack points.
Or I can jack the car at the recommended jack points and then put the jack stands on the cross members.
I am not sure exactly how I will do it. I think either way will work fine.
Just be careful when jacking at the recommeded jacking points not to damage the body, I don't use jacking pucks (and will be told I am a idiot for not doing it, but) my jack has a rubber pad and if you place it carefully it fits perfect in the cut and does not come close to damageing the body. I have jacked the car many times and never had a problem, the damage happens when you don't pay attention to exactly where the jack is in contact with the car.
Hope this helps, I am paying attention to each method of jacking to help me decide what I want to do.
Thanks for the post.
#24
Melting Slicks
One side at a time, I use jacking pucks.
For Safety, the car is in gear, Parking Brake on, Jack Stands in place and wheel chocks on the front and rear of the oppisite side.
If your pulling the rear rotors, you will need to release the parking brake to remove the rotor.
It's easy work and IMO fun.
Enjoy, take your time and be safe...if your like me, it's your hobby so don't make work out of it...have fun.
John
For Safety, the car is in gear, Parking Brake on, Jack Stands in place and wheel chocks on the front and rear of the oppisite side.
If your pulling the rear rotors, you will need to release the parking brake to remove the rotor.
It's easy work and IMO fun.
Enjoy, take your time and be safe...if your like me, it's your hobby so don't make work out of it...have fun.
John
#25
Melting Slicks
Cool...I have ramps, but dont' use them much because they tend to slide on my floor...Can you post the details...maybe in a seperate thread on lengths, angles of cuts, etc...
#27
Safety Car
$35 in 2x12 lumber and I made my own. I only went with three levels of wood, and it's plenty to get a jack deep enough to the crossmember safely.
I think an actual lift (2 or 4 post) will be worth the investment if you're planning on doing anything more than brakes...
#28
Safety Car
ETA - Hell, this isn't even your thread! WTF, man?
#30
Le Mans Master
A few people have asked me to post the measurements for the wooden ramps I made. Hopefully this can be of some help, you can make it longer/shorter, but I think this is the minimum.
Lumber is marketed as 2 x 12, but actual measurements show they're more like 1.5 x 11.
The top piece is 20" long
Next is 30"
Next is 40"
Bottom piece is 50"
I used a cordless circular saw, set the blade at 45 degrees to make the cut. Wooden screws are 2.5" . I got casters from Home Depot. The "stop" for the wheel can be any shape or size you want, mine is 1.5 x 1.5 x 11 inches.
Lumber is marketed as 2 x 12, but actual measurements show they're more like 1.5 x 11.
The top piece is 20" long
Next is 30"
Next is 40"
Bottom piece is 50"
I used a cordless circular saw, set the blade at 45 degrees to make the cut. Wooden screws are 2.5" . I got casters from Home Depot. The "stop" for the wheel can be any shape or size you want, mine is 1.5 x 1.5 x 11 inches.
#31
Racer
When doing brakes, there's not much advantage to doing 2 wheels at a time. You can only compress one caliper at a time, anyway. Whenever I've put my car on 4 stands, I've lifted the entire side of the car by jacking it from one jacking point - you don't have to get the front wheel very far off the floor before the back wheel comes up - putting a stand under each end, and moving to the other side. Unless you plan to get underneath it, the tires only have to be an inch or so off the floor.
#32
Le Mans Master
What is this brake job of which of speak? I have 75K miles on my '07 and have more than 45% of pads remaining all the way around.
#33
Tech Contributor
Member Since: Oct 1999
Location: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
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The simple way to jack the car and get jackstands under it is to use a 6 inch long piece of 2x4 under the front shipping slot and jack that side of the car until both wheels are off the ground. Then place jackstand (set as high as possible) under front crossmember on that side (as far outboard as you can get it while still bridging the front and rear parts of the crossmember). You can also place a jackstand under the rear crossmember at this time if you want although it will be set a few notches shorter. Them move the jack to the front shipping slot on the other side. If you didn't put a jackstand under the rear crossmember then this side of the car will be in the air and you just jack it far enough to level with other side and place a jackstand on that front corner. Then jack at the center of the rear cross member and place jackstands outboard of it. If you already have a jackstand under the rear you will need to move the jack from the front shipping slot to the rear on the side without a stand and lift that side enough to get a stand under the rear crossmember on that side. Several ways of doing it and all work without damaging the car. A scissors or two post lift makes all of this seem like a lot of work but I did it many times a year for quite a few years until I got my lift.
Bill
Bill
#35
Tech Contributor
I like the Raceramps a lot; don't feel like I need a spotter to drive up them, they don't slip, are light and easy to store. Once up, the removable ramps make it really easy for an oil change.
Last edited by StKnoWhere; 01-07-2012 at 01:19 PM.
#36
Heel & Toe
Member Since: Oct 2012
Location: Mississauga Ontario
Posts: 24
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A few people have asked me to post the measurements for the wooden ramps I made. Hopefully this can be of some help, you can make it longer/shorter, but I think this is the minimum.
Lumber is marketed as 2 x 12, but actual measurements show they're more like 1.5 x 11.
The top piece is 20" long
Next is 30"
Next is 40"
Bottom piece is 50"
I used a cordless circular saw, set the blade at 45 degrees to make the cut. Wooden screws are 2.5" . I got casters from Home Depot. The "stop" for the wheel can be any shape or size you want, mine is 1.5 x 1.5 x 11 inches.
Lumber is marketed as 2 x 12, but actual measurements show they're more like 1.5 x 11.
The top piece is 20" long
Next is 30"
Next is 40"
Bottom piece is 50"
I used a cordless circular saw, set the blade at 45 degrees to make the cut. Wooden screws are 2.5" . I got casters from Home Depot. The "stop" for the wheel can be any shape or size you want, mine is 1.5 x 1.5 x 11 inches.
#37
Pro<br><img src="/forums/images/ranks/500-1000.gif" border="0">
I called all over town to see about getting the tire repaired. The dealer said we don't repair run flat tires because of the liability if something happens after the repair so I would need to buy a new tire for $450, Ouch! I continued checking around town and I found one Goodyear store that has a run flat qualified tech and he may be able to fix my tire, but he's over 20 miles from where I live. I'm still unclear on how to jack the car up to get the tire off to take to the Goodyear store. After reading all the posts about jacking the car up i'm afraid to let just anybody put my car on a lift. I have a floor jack and plenty of tools, but i've never heard of using hockey pucks and such to jack a car up and I don't want to damage my car.
I'm a new Corvette owner and I finally found my dream car and to be honest it hasn't been fun. I found my car at a Chevy dealer a little over a hundred miles from home and the day I went there to buy the car it rained all day. I finally finished the deal on the car and drove it home in the dark with it raining. I had to travel on 2 lane roads since this dealer was out in the country and the drive home was miserable. I've had the car 2 weeks and i've scraped the air dam and run over a large nail in my right front tire! Things have to get better with my new to me Corvette.
#38
Tech Contributor
Thanks so much for the pictures. I've had my 2012 GS 2 weeks and I ran over a large nail in my right front tire! I researched a lot about Corvettes before I bought my car, but I admit I overlooked flat tires and what you have to do. I found my dream car and owning it hasn't been as much fun as I hoped it would be so far. The first week I scraped the air dam pulling up too far over a cement parking block or beam. The hood on my car is so much longer than the SUV I used to drive I misjudged how far to pull into the parking space. A couple of days later a make a 4 mile round trip to Lowes and I come home with a large nail in my right front tire. I'm sick to say the least.
I called all over town to see about getting the tire repaired. The dealer said we don't repair run flat tires because of the liability if something happens after the repair so I would need to buy a new tire for $450, Ouch! I continued checking around town and I found one Goodyear store that has a run flat qualified tech and he may be able to fix my tire, but he's over 20 miles from where I live. I'm still unclear on how to jack the car up to get the tire off to take to the Goodyear store. After reading all the posts about jacking the car up i'm afraid to let just anybody put my car on a lift. I have a floor jack and plenty of tools, but i've never heard of using hockey pucks and such to jack a car up and I don't want to damage my car.
I'm a new Corvette owner and I finally found my dream car and to be honest it hasn't been fun. I found my car at a Chevy dealer a little over a hundred miles from home and the day I went there to buy the car it rained all day. I finally finished the deal on the car and drove it home in the dark with it raining. I had to travel on 2 lane roads since this dealer was out in the country and the drive home was miserable. I've had the car 2 weeks and i've scraped the air dam and run over a large nail in my right front tire! Things have to get better with my new to me Corvette.
I called all over town to see about getting the tire repaired. The dealer said we don't repair run flat tires because of the liability if something happens after the repair so I would need to buy a new tire for $450, Ouch! I continued checking around town and I found one Goodyear store that has a run flat qualified tech and he may be able to fix my tire, but he's over 20 miles from where I live. I'm still unclear on how to jack the car up to get the tire off to take to the Goodyear store. After reading all the posts about jacking the car up i'm afraid to let just anybody put my car on a lift. I have a floor jack and plenty of tools, but i've never heard of using hockey pucks and such to jack a car up and I don't want to damage my car.
I'm a new Corvette owner and I finally found my dream car and to be honest it hasn't been fun. I found my car at a Chevy dealer a little over a hundred miles from home and the day I went there to buy the car it rained all day. I finally finished the deal on the car and drove it home in the dark with it raining. I had to travel on 2 lane roads since this dealer was out in the country and the drive home was miserable. I've had the car 2 weeks and i've scraped the air dam and run over a large nail in my right front tire! Things have to get better with my new to me Corvette.
I did the same thing scraping the curb my first week but learned to use the mirrors as a "sight" reference point. When the curb aligns sighting along the right hand mirror, I'm about a foot from the curb.
No sweat on the jack points. Look under the car behind the front wheel and there will be an area where the sill is cut out with a slot. You want a spacer so that the jack saddle does not crush the fiberglass sill (blue dots on the drawing). Place a block of wood, hockey puck, old wallet, etc. to protect the sill from the jack saddle.
Enjoy the ride!
Last edited by StKnoWhere; 12-14-2013 at 10:50 AM.
#39
Instructor
Member Since: Mar 2012
Location: Cape Canaveral FL
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I have jacked mine from the front and rear cross members many many many times, when we raced c5's we did the same. I have only used a puck once to get to one wheel usually just jack the front and put two jackstands under then move to the rear and do the same.