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I know this has been covered multiple times, but I'm yet to find a definitive answer.
I want to jack up the front of my '81 - not the entire car, just the front - both front wheels off the ground at the same time.
I have jack stands to put under the frame behind the front wheels, that part I'm comfortable with, as I am with releasing the doors and glass top latches.
What I'm struggling with is trying to avoid inducing torsional stress by just jacking up one side only - I can see why so many people have used the cross member, but also see so many of them are damaged. mine is untouched and un marked and I want to keep it that way and definitely don't want to bend it.
I don't have a lift, nor do I have ramps - I have a single trolley jack and a pair of jack stands.
What is the best, safest and least damaging way to raise the front of the car?
Hey Buddy ! You could use a wide board under the cross member. It needs to be stout though. You can also do one side at a time under the frame. I know you don't want to do this but I don't think it will hurt anything. Pretend you are changing a flat.
Harbor Freight (I know, I know...) sells a cross bar that should fit in your floor jack that is adjustable and allows you to jack 2 places at once. I haven't tried it but you might be able to spread it wide enough to lift both lower control arms at once with it.
Good luck.
Use the crossmember, but use a piece of wood to spread the load (a short length of 51x153mm, for example?)
This is the intermediate step to getting the car completely on jackstands. The 2x8s under the rear wheels give clearance to get a jack and a spreader bar under the differential, then I put the jackstands in front of the rear wheels. Jack the front from the crossmember, and the car doesn't rock very far on the rear jackstands. Front jackstands go on the darker points in the image above, just ahead of the front wheels.
I found this method to be much better than twisting the frame, even when using two jacks.
Harbor Freight (I know, I know...) sells a cross bar that should fit in your floor jack that is adjustable and allows you to jack 2 places at once. I haven't tried it but you might be able to spread it wide enough to lift both lower control arms at once with it.
Good luck.
We`ve been using one for a couple years.... GREAT tool that works well, whether we`re lifting front, rear, or sides.
Love those race ramps - but boy are they expensive for some expanded PU foam coated in truck bed liner!
Curious as to why it is better to jack stand in front of the rear wheels and not behind?
They really are crazy expensive, but I've gotten my money's worth out of them.
The frame stubs are closer to where the weight of the car is carried (by the suspension). Maybe it doesn't matter, and I've used both, but I prefer the frame stubs.
The spreader bar pictured above is how I lift the 79 by the (steel) rear spring, straddling the exhaust that passes under the differential.
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
I jack mine up on one of the front horns and put the jack stands under the supports for the sway bar or the bolting area for the A Arms. The frame bhind the wheel is too smooth for my liking and wouldnt trust he jack stands there. Ive done it before and it just isnt a place I like. I have the quick jack lift and put that on the frame in front of and behind the wheels no problem. But with a jack I dont want it to slide or move and the height I have to jack to to get the stands under it and be able to climb under, the angle is just to extreme for my comfort. Any point that sees stress while the car is under its own weight will suffice to jack from. The front cross member would be perfect if it didnt collapse. I dont think I could get the crossmember jack under my car but it is a nice jack
We`ve been using one for a couple years.... GREAT tool that works well, whether we`re lifting front, rear, or sides.
That's really interesting - may I ask, would you jack from the front frame snubs?
How does it attach to the jack pad? The one's I;ve seen over here in the UK say they fit jacks with a 1 1/8 hole in the pad..... my jack does not feature a hole...
Just like VF-301 said, pretend you’re changing a tire. I don’t understand why owners are afraid of “hurting” their car? It is an automobile made of metal and fiberglass, I’m sure GM thought of these possibilities when creating the car and didn’t design the car to distort just by jacking up one side. Sorry to sound nasty but some of these concerns just get the hair raised on the back of my neck.
Just like VF-301 said, pretend you’re changing a tire. I don’t understand why owners are afraid of “hurting” their car? It is an automobile made of metal and fiberglass, I’m sure GM thought of these possibilities when creating the car and didn’t design the car to distort just by jacking up one side. Sorry to sound nasty but some of these concerns just get the hair raised on the back of my neck.
Thanks.
I'll have to jack from behind the front wheels / under the body mount area as my jack doesn't have the reach to find the front snubs, but I can rest it in the jack stand there no problem.
I always use the crossmember but I put a board on my jack so it's lifting from the edges of the crossmember and not the middle as to not further dent my already dented crossmember (It was dented when I bought it).
That's really interesting - may I ask, would you jack from the front frame snubs?
Originally Posted by theandies
I always use the crossmember but I put a board on my jack so it's lifting from the edges of the crossmember and not the middle as to not further dent my already dented crossmember (It was dented when I bought it).
The same idea, but the cross bar on the jack eliminates the need for a board
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
I have a really low profile jack and I can only reach the front frame "snubs" because of my air dam. I do use a block of wood and come in from the side. Doesnt hurt a thing.
Hitting a pothole in my area does more damage.... that causes a need for front end alignments
Last edited by Rescue Rogers; Jun 21, 2021 at 08:48 AM.
Interesting idea. Did you fab this up old man? Was it added to cover up a dented crewmember or to add protection for jacking? I seem to remember at one time you could buy a cradle similar to the plate shown in old man's pic that you could use on a jack. It fit around the crossmember so it wouldn't slide forward or back, and it had a welded pad with edges so the jack couldn't slip off. BTW, my crossmember is also dented from previous owners, and I use some wood to protect it from further damage. Never seen those spreader jack bars. Thanks for sharing.
Where to jack front end from?
