Gentlepersons,

I need a little help. I can't figure out how to put my C5 on jackstands. (Duh!) It all has to do with the 4 lift points on the car frame. I wanted to replace the ripped up two front rubber(?) air dams. I have a barn/garage with a good concrete floor, but have neither funds nor overhead clearance for a proper lift.

My floor jack would not fit under the car - too low. So, I took a 2 x 10 about 6' long and cut it into 2 3' pieces with a 45 degree angle cut - simple 1 5/8" ramps. I ran the front wheels up on the makeshift ramp which gave me just enough room for the floor jack to clear. I installed my lifting puck and lifted up the left front of the car. That's when "dumb" got in the way. I stood there for the longest time with my jack stand in my hand staring at the floor jack lifting the front of my car, and contemplating how two physical objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time.

I did replace the air dams myself. Let's not talk about that particular process any deeper.

Suffice to say I'm still here to ask the question. Considering I have 4 jack stands, one floor jack, two half-a$$ed ramps, 4 lifting point pucks and a car with only 4 recommended frame lifting points, limited clearance and funds...how in the devil do I get my baby up on jack stands?

Go ahead and have fun with this dumb jarhead; I'm used to it. (I'm 47 years married...)

Thanks in advance, good people,

Gunny John

 

I learned a lot from this thread and have since raised my C5 up onto 4 jackstands while working on mods.

For most projects however, I usually only have to lift either the front or the back and then place the car on stands. Wheel polishing for example. I lift the front first, do the wheels, remount and then do the back.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...ck-stands.html

 

MSG C5,

Thanks! That thread really helps a lot. What I didn't realize is that their are other OK lift points, i.e., the front and rear cross members. So...

Here's what I've learned. 4 taller ramps, home made or store boughten, run the car up on them; then, floor jack with a cross beam, home made but store bought better, and jack up the front first and then put jack stands, with pucks, at the two front frame lifting points, then do the rear the same way. If I'm taking the wheels and tires off, do so, and place them under the frame for safety. If the tires and wheels are staying on, put my spare set of rims under the frame for safety, then...get to work.

Critique this, friend, if'n you don't mind, and thanks so very much for helping out a simple, but Corvette-lovin' elderly Leatherneck.

Semper Fi to you,

Gunny John

 

Hey Gunny, know why Marines have round shoulders and flat foreheads? You ask them a question and they shrug their shoulders. Tell them the answer and they slap their forehead.

Just kidding, thanks for your service. Go Navy!

 

You know that the Navy is Department of the Marine Corps!
OOOrah. Thanks to both of you for your service.

 

Here are a couple videos that gives a pretty good example

 

Well Gunny I have had my car three years now and still not brave enough to raise it up on jack stands, I still just do one jack point/tire at at time. My garage floor has a slight grade so water runs out the door when the snow melts off the cars. Makes me very uneasy raising the car with the angle of the floor.

 

maxx2200,

The way I heard it was that the Marine Corps is a Department of the Navy...the men's department.

dadaroo,

Actually, truth be known, I was USN before I was USMC. I also answer to "Boats" (BM3, 1962-65)

meflyfrc

Prefect! Being a "Jarhead" and a "Boats" I don't read nor comprehend none too good. Those two movies are worth a thousand words!

All; Thanks so very much! Now I know what to do. And...with stuff I already have. Check my profile and if you're ever driving past Corydon, Indiana on I-64 give me a shout. I'll buy us lunch at Frederick's, downtown on the square, the best little country greasy spoon between Louisville and St. Louis.

Warmest regards to all,

Gunny John

 

I know the feeling! That was me until I decided I wanted to replace the air dams. That's when DUH! hit me big time. The other fellows answers ought to give you and me the "noive" to try it the way the big boys do.

Guns/Boats (Hell! Take yer pick. After walking around the forum wit me fly open I can't rest on me pride.)

 

 

Colored this a while ago and I keep a copy in my garage.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...ons-image.html

 

Semper Fi Gunns! You Ain't Tanks...

 

Just make sure you don't lift against the leaf spring.

 

(Gee, I thought I was...)

 

Then you know the rest of that saying...

 

Semper Fi!!! Adapt and Overcome!!! Jay

 

Try this

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...ting-pads.html

 

My garage also has a slight grade, would have preferred flat but that's the way it was built. Anyway, I put my car on 4 jackstands all the time. I've done many repairs at home from oil changes to clutch replacement and have my car in the air sometimes for extended periods with no problems. Right now it's been jacked up for four weeks with all the lousy weather we've been having, I'm doing a lot of little things that are easier with it off the floor, including polishing my CCW's.
First, I run up some small ramps I made to jack up my street rod, then I can use my jack on the front crossmember and put two jackstands on the corners of the crossmember where the control arms pivot. Then I go to the rear and jack up under the rear crossmember. I put the rear jackstands at the factory jack points where the pucks would go in. I have A & A's rocker strips so it's not critical exactly where you put the rear stands. If I'm changing the oil, I'll open the door and put a level on the sill to make sure the rear is higher than the front. I'll give the car a little shake to make sure everything is secure before I remove the wheels. I've never had a problem, just take your time and work carefully. I've heard too many stories about cars falling on people and I don't want that happening to me.