Question re: using frame rail jacking points
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Instructor
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 149
Likes: 1
From: Houston Texas
Question re: using frame rail jacking points
I've read every thread I can find on properly jacking a C5 - some very helpful info here for sure. Here's my situation: I want to put my car on jackstands for brake work and I have a very tight single car garage that makes the use of ramps extremely awkward if not impossible. Can anyone tell me if it is okay to use the four side rail jacking points one at a time (with appropriate pucks of course) to raise each corner enough to slip a piece of 2x12 under each tire? My plan is to take this approach to get the car high enough to be able to then use my low profile 2 ton floor jack with the wooden crossmember supports I saw on this forum to fully raise each end and support with jack stands. Will using the side points in this fashion damage anything? Thanks!
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 32,910
Likes: 2,402
From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
Hell,, I jack that way all the time. No issues at all. Just make sure when you get one jack stand under one side, that when you raise the other side, you dont put any side loading on that jack stand and cause it to slip or tilt. Then when you let it down, just reverse the order.
The C5 and C6 are so ridged that you can raise the car up on to ONE wheel with one jack!
BC
The C5 and C6 are so ridged that you can raise the car up on to ONE wheel with one jack!
BC
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 6,774
Likes: 361
From: Midland TX
Hell,, I jack that way all the time. No issues at all. Just make sure when you get one jack stand under one side, that when you raise the other side, you dont put any side loading on that jack stand and cause it to slip or tilt. Then when you let it down, just reverse the order.
The C5 and C6 are so ridged that you can raise the car up on to ONE wheel with one jack!
BC
The C5 and C6 are so ridged that you can raise the car up on to ONE wheel with one jack!
BC
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 11,482
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From: Common courtesy and common sense are not common.
St. Jude Donor '09-'10-'11-'12-'13
Make some 2-inch tall by 12-inch wide by 3-feet long ramps out of wood to drive the front wheels up.Then you can get the floor jack under the front cross-member. I like to set a 8" long 4" wide piece of ply wood on the jack pad before raising. The jack will fit under the rear cross-member without platforms, if the car isn't lowered. The C5 is stiff enough that side jacking isn't a problem. If you jack from the side, most people use the jacking pucks to prevent damage to the rocker panels. I think it's easier to lift it under the cross-members. You can then set you jack stands under them for extra safety.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...l?forum_id=103
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...l?forum_id=103
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 11,150
Likes: 890
From: South Western Ontario
Put the jack at the frame to the inside of the front fender. Jack it up enough to put a couple of boards under both wheels on that side. Repeat on the other side. As long as you have a flat pad you are OK but use a hockey puck if you feel it's necessary.
I just jack to one side of the cross members when going from the front or rear. They don't seem rigid enough to just jack in the middle and I can't be bothered building some type of load spreader.
Peter
I just jack to one side of the cross members when going from the front or rear. They don't seem rigid enough to just jack in the middle and I can't be bothered building some type of load spreader.
Peter
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,591
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From: kent ct - "if i'm not in the vette, i damn well better be on the yacht."
St. Jude Donor '13
I, too, have a very narrow garage, and I have planks laid on the floor which aid in reversing the car into its narrow space. They also raise the car enough to get a floor jack under the front air dam and allow jacking from the cradle. lifting is a snap. The hard part is trying to remove the rear wheel that's too close to the wall for comfort.
My ramp/planks are three sections long and the center section is removable so that after the car is up on the jack stands, I can dollie under for oil/fluid changes. The ramps go from one layer of 2X10 to the rear which is three layers with a bump-stop. 
My ramp/planks are three sections long and the center section is removable so that after the car is up on the jack stands, I can dollie under for oil/fluid changes. The ramps go from one layer of 2X10 to the rear which is three layers with a bump-stop.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 41,026
Likes: 9,779
From: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
Hell,, I jack that way all the time. No issues at all. Just make sure when you get one jack stand under one side, that when you raise the other side, you dont put any side loading on that jack stand and cause it to slip or tilt. Then when you let it down, just reverse the order.
The C5 and C6 are so ridged that you can raise the car up on to ONE wheel with one jack!
BC
The C5 and C6 are so ridged that you can raise the car up on to ONE wheel with one jack!
BC
I do this all the time at the track. Using the front shipping slot I lift the car just like the NASCAR pit crews do.
Bill
