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I bought a new low profile 3 ton floor jack and made 4 jacking pucks this summer, so raising the car this way is a little different than I'm used to.
The old way was rhino ramps under front wheels, and use a block of wood under rear crossmember, jack up exactly in center, put 2 jack stands under the same wood and lower cross member onto stands, making sure jack stands were placed so rear cross member was balanced just right.
Last night I used jacking pucks to get ramps under front wheels instead of driving on (they slide sometimes) then used other jacking pucks under the rear slots under door handle to raise each side higher, got passenger side up on jack stand fully extended.
Then moving to driver's side I found it was becoming weird, and I wasn't able to get that side as high.
So I guess I should do like I used to and jack under the middle of the crossmembers?
Last edited by 1999corvettels1; Dec 29, 2018 at 05:09 PM.
Also having jack stands under pucks at front positions, I think I would prefer to have the rear jack stands under the rear crossmember with the section of wood, vs under the rear jacking puck area, because that seems like a tight area to be in.
I'm taking off exhaust center section and tunnel plate and feel I would have more room to work.
See any issues with doing that vs having all jack stands under jacking pick locations?
I have also tried different approaches to this. I find most convenient is to have two floor jacks with jacking pucks installed on each side and raise the vette slowly alternating the lifting drivers side front/passenger side front. Put on jack stands or ramps & repeat for the rear of the vehicle.
I do this every spring for the oil change without starting the car
For the 10 years I owned my c5, I jack form the middle of the car, at the frame, roughly below the side mirror. There is a thin crossmember at that spot. Jack it up, put the jack stands, front and rear at the slotted puck locations. Repeat on the other side. If you need it really high, do it in two steps. Low jack stand position first on both sides and then go up from there on each side to the higher location. Going to the highest slot on the first try seems risky to me. I always use hockey pucks on the stands and jack even though I have aluminum pucks, rubber seems to be less prone to slip, maybe I'm wrong. Usually can get it up on all fours in less than 5 minutes. This is how I was taught when i bought the car, never had issues and I'm sure some will disagree with this method. Keep it safe out there.
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
C5 of Year Winner (performance mods) 2019
if you have an old set of floormats you can put those under the big end of your ramps and they won't slide anymore... I always jack from and use stands under the crossmembers, the only time I use the puck locations is when removing the drivetrain with the car on stands or putting the car on a lift
I always jack from and use stands under the crossmembers, the only time I use the puck locations is when removing the drivetrain with the car on stands or putting the car on a lift
if you have an old set of floormats you can put those under the big end of your ramps and they won't slide anymore... I always jack from and use stands under the crossmembers, the only time I use the puck locations is when removing the drivetrain with the car on stands or putting the car on a lift
I too follow this approach. The only time I used the puck locations is when I’m quickly pulling a wheel for a small job or if I’m doing drivetrain work. Additionally, once I have the car up and at the height I want, I put jack stands under the puck locations, as well as the cross members. Can’t be too careful! I’ve got my drivetrain pulled for a clutch swap right now and have 4 jack stands under the puck locations and two under the front crossmember. I think the key to getting your car off the ground is doing it in phases. As mentioned, start at the lowest jack stand location and work your way up incrementally from there. Good luck and be safe!
From: Central PA. - - My AR15 identifies as a muzzleloader
I believe in the Beer Fairy
I use these for jacking the car up. I have a real low profile Jack from Harbor Freight. The blocks at the edges are at the proper spacing to fit the cradles and they are glued and stapled on. The two-by-sixes are yellow pine, not Spruce framing Lumber. They're very dense, no problem with lifting the car. Once the car is raised I actually put the jack stands right underneath the two-by-sixes and support the car there.
I don't have access to a lift. I used to use both methods described by owners here--cross member & jack stands and jacking puck & jack stands. Both single methods made me itch all over; on almost any other vehicle when I was under it, sometimes I'd push off the jack stand to get out from under the vehicle. I never did that with JS & crossmembers, or JS & pucks. It always seemed to me that the crossmember sites are narrow width-wise, and the puck sites are narrow length-wise. I never wanted to rock the car to test the stability of either 4-jack set up as shown in the diagram; I always did check by "rocking" it, but that was always preferred to finding out when I was underneath.
After I bought the Elite Engineering rocker panel protectors, I abandoned the OEM recommendations. EE's panel protectors are each one long solid strip (~1"x1"x4' available in composite or aluminum) fastened under each rocker panel. Now I just floor jack the center of the EE strip and I use as many 2"x12"x12" boards at each extreme end of the strip as I need to get to the height I desire. This puts the support sites much closer to each wheel and farther apart than the crossmember method and it also separates them better than the puck locations did. Also, I don't have to worry about the small and possibly slippery plastic puck sliding on the pretty flat jack stand platform.
I've got a c7 that only allows pucks; there isn't a rocker panel protector available yet. For that, I jack up one side of the car all at once using a 2"x4"x18" piece of wood between the panel and the floor jack. Then I insert the 2"x12"12" under the jacking pucks. I'm sure from my experience with the c5 EE rocker panel protector that this method with the 2x2x18 is fine for the c7, and should be fine also for the c5.
From: Central PA. - - My AR15 identifies as a muzzleloader
I believe in the Beer Fairy
Originally Posted by dork
I don't have access to a lift. I used to use both methods described by owners here--cross member & jack stands and jacking puck & jack stands. Both single methods made me itch all over; on almost any other vehicle when I was under it, sometimes I'd push off the jack stand to get out from under the vehicle. I never did that with JS & crossmembers, or JS & pucks. It always seemed to me that the crossmember sites are narrow width-wise, and the puck sites are narrow length-wise. I never wanted to rock the car to test the stability of either 4-jack set up as shown in the diagram; I always did check by "rocking" it, but that was always preferred to finding out when I was underneath.
After I bought the Elite Engineering rocker panel protectors, I abandoned the OEM recommendations. EE's panel protectors are each one long solid strip (~1"x1"x4' available in composite or aluminum) fastened under each rocker panel. Now I just floor jack the center of the EE strip and I use as many 2"x12"x12" boards at each extreme end of the strip as I need to get to the height I desire. This puts the support sites much closer to each wheel and farther apart than the crossmember method and it also separates them better than the puck locations did. Also, I don't have to worry about the small and possibly slippery plastic puck sliding on the pretty flat jack stand platform.
I've got a c7 that only allows pucks; there isn't a rocker panel protector available yet. For that, I jack up one side of the car all at once using a 2"x4"x18" piece of wood between the panel and the floor jack. Then I insert the 2"x12"12" under the jacking pucks. I'm sure from my experience with the c5 EE rocker panel protector that this method with the 2x2x18 is fine for the c7, and should be fine also for the c5.
well buy some decent jack stands with a bigger base instead of the crappiest little things you can find.
I was using pucks when I first got my C5 but now I raise the car by first raising the rear at the middle of the cradle, then when on stands I go to each side up front and get the car in the air on stands. I’ve found that to be the easiest and quickest way to get all four corners on stands without ramps.
If you do decide to go the route of jacking up at the cradles (sub frames) you’ll need to get, or make, something to protect them. There are some rare documented instances of the cradles cracking when jacked directly.
This is what I go by on my 99. But, on my 02 I have TWO sets of A&A Corvettes frame rail installed so no use for jacking pucks. The combined rails are over an inch thick.
I looked for these rails on A&A's web site but could not find them, possibly discontinued??? So I would recommend:http://www.eliteengineeringusa.com/c...nd-mtg-screws/
FWIW, using the QuickJack is a very sturdy method - albeit more expensive. I put in the jacking pucks and use those as the lifting points. You can rock the car pretty hard without worries.
But I am a bit of a whimp, so if I'm getting under I will also put some old Rhino ramps under the wheels on the end I'm working on.
My Kwik-lift is the best investment I have made for working underneath my car. It puts the car 20" up in the air from the floor to the bottom of the tires, which is a perfect height for working underneath on a creeper.
I almost pulled my car off of jackstands once using a breaker bar to break a brake caliper bolt loose and it scared the crap out of me.
Now i feel 100% safe with the kwik-lift.
Its also great for detailing the car. I can sit on my mechanics stool and roll all the way around the car. No more back breaking bending. It's a great addition to my garage.
Last edited by lewislgZ06; Dec 31, 2018 at 01:40 AM.
I suspect mine has been lowered. In the rear I barely have room for a "low profile" jack to go under. How do you fit a jack and 1 1/2 to 2 inches of lumber under there? I might be able to fit the jack and a 1/2 or 3/4 single piece of plywood under there, certainly not a single 2x4.
Working under car safely
