paint vs jack
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 2,276
Likes: 337
From: "ɹǝpunuʍop", Adelaide, South Australia
paint vs jack
can leaving the car jacked up on stands at the rear while i work on the brakes do any harm to the paint/body?
i have noticed that in the last few days i'm seeing cracks appear in the paint work along the tops of the wheel arches at the front and rear.
car has been on the stands for the past 3 weeks.
the stands are just inside the wheel arch, between the rocker panel and the trailing arms.
maybe it's just me being fussy, but i dont remember them there to the same degree a couple weeks ago
i have noticed that in the last few days i'm seeing cracks appear in the paint work along the tops of the wheel arches at the front and rear.
car has been on the stands for the past 3 weeks.
the stands are just inside the wheel arch, between the rocker panel and the trailing arms.
maybe it's just me being fussy, but i dont remember them there to the same degree a couple weeks ago
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,255
Likes: 7
From: Coralville Iowa
Coupe or convertible?
A convertible might get a little flex at the doors jacked up at those points on the frame but would settle down when you brought the car back down.
I would think supporting at that point on the frame in the rear would not have much stress on the rear wheel wells. The back fiberglass section of the body has no weight to speak of. I suppose if you had a full gas tank and a spare tire in the rear tub, it might add a couple of hundred pounds trying to force the rear frame down and causing a slight deflection. Remember you have the rear kick ups that travel to the back of the car supporting the tank and body mounts just behind the wheel wells helping to support everything.
Not enough to crack the paint in the rear wells and definitely not in the front wheel wells?
A convertible might get a little flex at the doors jacked up at those points on the frame but would settle down when you brought the car back down.
I would think supporting at that point on the frame in the rear would not have much stress on the rear wheel wells. The back fiberglass section of the body has no weight to speak of. I suppose if you had a full gas tank and a spare tire in the rear tub, it might add a couple of hundred pounds trying to force the rear frame down and causing a slight deflection. Remember you have the rear kick ups that travel to the back of the car supporting the tank and body mounts just behind the wheel wells helping to support everything.
Not enough to crack the paint in the rear wells and definitely not in the front wheel wells?
Last edited by highschool67; Nov 30, 2010 at 09:47 PM.
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 115
Likes: 1
From: New Hartford Iowa
In my experience if you are going to leave a lightweight sports car like a Corvette or Ferrari up on stands for any period of time the safest way to do this is to put the stands under the suspension so the weight is supported the same as if the car was on the ground. If you need to work on the suspension keep the chassis level and support the chassis as close to the suspension mounting points as possible. I had a customer with a Ferrari 365 GTB walk into the shop while I was working on his rear suspension and grab the drivers door handle and yank it open before I could stop him. The door latch mechanism scratched the door opening. I explained to him that these cars are more flexible than you would think. The same goes for Corvettes. When I worked in a 'vette shop it was our policy to never open a door on a car that was not supported by it's suspension. Supporting the car by the chassis like you are doing could cause stress cracks that were already there to open up a bit more. The chassis is quite flexible and the body does bear part of the load.
Last edited by skaping; Dec 1, 2010 at 01:24 AM.
Drifting
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,491
Likes: 2
From: North Royaton Ohio
In my experience if you are going to leave a lightweight sports car like a Corvette or Ferrari up on stands for any period of time the safest way to do this is to put the stands under the suspension so the weight is supported the same as if the car was on the ground. If you need to work on the suspension keep the chassis level and support the chassis as close to the suspension mounting points as possible. I had a customer with a Ferrari 365 GTB walk into the shop while I was working on his rear suspension and grab the drivers door handle and yank it open before I could stop him. The door latch mechanism scratched the door opening. I explained to him that these cars are more flexible than you would think. The same goes for Corvettes. When I worked in a 'vette shop it was our policy to never open a door on a car that was not supported by it's suspension. Supporting the car by the chassis like you are doing could cause stress cracks that were already there to open up a bit more. The chassis is quite flexible and the body does bear part of the load.
Nailed it.
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 38,923
Likes: 1,481
From: Southbound
Cruise-In II Veteran
