For the rear there seems to be plenty of room for ramps but not so for the front. I know there are low profile ramps but I am not sold on them. I comtemplated getting a low profile jack but realized looking under the front of the car that I couldnt see underneath the car to place the jack under the crossmember. I dont fully trust pucks so not sure I want to use them on the side with a floor jack. But my scissor jack fits nicely under the side life points. After lifting it with scissor jacks I could put jack stands under the front crossmember. I will wait for feedback before I try anything. I find the whole issue of lifting the car frustrating.

 

Hey, if it works for you great. My experience with a scissors jack is that they are built pretty wimpy, are slow to use, and not very stable. Pucks with a floor jack at the frame lifting locations do work quite well.

 

I have a scissor jack from my previous car a Lexus SC 430 and it lifted that car quickly and easily and it was a heavier car. I worry about a floor jack slipping off the pucks as has been mentioned in the forum previously. I just think that a scissor jack would be safer as it is directly under the frame. Does anyone have experience using a scissor jack? Corvette should have made provisions for an easier method of jacking the car.

 

If you are concerned about a puck slipping off a jack, you can buy special pucks that fit positively into both the car's frame and a standard hydraulic floor jack. With these special pucks, there's no way anything can slip, the jack is effectively "pinned" to the car.

This puck has a "pin" on the top that fits into the car's frame hole and a "pin" on the bottom that fits into a hydraulic jack pad hole. Get two of these pucks and two heavy-duty hydraulic floor jacks and you'll have an extremely solid set-up for raising the front, rear, or a side of the car.

Scissor jacks... you must be referring to some type of very heavy-duty ones because the ones that most of us are familair with are not nearly as heavy-duty or reliable as a good hydraulic floor jack. Plus, typically, scissor jacks have a much smaller footprint and may have a tendancy to want to "topple over" where big heavy-duty hydraulic floor jacks, especially if you use two (one on each side of the car) placed and different angles, would be nearly impossible to topple over.

In general, I'd be more concerned about the "topple over" factor using a small footprint jack than the "slip off" factor using even standard rubber-type pucks... that is assuming things are placed in a "proper" manner.



http://www.mamotorworks.com/corvette?frame=1.174

 

I don't care for them.

 

I use simple wooden 2 x 10 ramps...a couple boards sandwiched together for the front ramps (edges beveled) and a single board ramp for the rear. I can then slide my Craftsman 2 ton floor jack (with the adaptor beam(s) attached) under the car to lift it from the preferred lifting points. I can then set the car down on jack stands using jacking pucks in the oval frame slots (augmented with the floor jack/adaptor beam(s) for safety).

 

A scissors jack is unsafe. The next thing is, it is virtually impossible for a floor jack to slip off the pucks. The most important thing is you never crawl under a car without jack stands! I use 2 jacks (1 per side) to raise the car evenly, then set stands.

 

I just recently purchased jack stands for mine. My heavy duty floor jack wouldn't even come close to fitting under the vette.
I discovered the floor stands would not work either due to interference with the air dam.
I solved the problem by making some 2 x 10 starter ramps that allow the air dam to clear before starting up the store bought ramps.
I also rigged some 2 x 4 from the ramps to the garage wall to keep the ramps from sliding foreward when I drive up.
LJ

 

I have a scissor jack that I purchased from Tractor Supply Co. that I use for starting my floor jack in the front corners of the car, so I can get the car up enough, to provide room for the floor jack...

I don't feel it is unsafe to use at all. Sometimes I use it for pulling a wheel/tire off the front, for detailing, at a show also...

Like anything...using the proper care with any jack, is a must.

 

That is exactly what I do,never had a problem yet

 

I think a scissor jack is really just for roadside tire change type emergencies. That said, if it is just used to raise the car so that a jack stand can be used before getting under, then I don't see a problem. I prefer a low profile floor jack just because it is quicker and easier.

 

I found a link on this forum for building wooden ramps out of 2x10's. They are easy to make and work like a charm!
http://mikemercury.home.att.net/ramp.htm

 

Personally I prefer levitation...



Seriously though, there is no substitute for having the correct equipment and using it carefully be they Jacks, ramps or lifts. Don't skimp here.

 

Thanks for all the input. I mightl buy the pucks that insert into the jack. Also I like the idea of using the scissor jacks to raise the car enough so that I am not blind when sliding the jack under the front. I agree with everyone that the scissor jacks could topple even if it is unlikely but certainly more so that a good jack. I believe that the car is more stable with stands under the front crossmenber rather than the sides but dont know if that is true.

 

I'm guessing you may have seen this post in the FAQ already, but just in case you haven't... will give you a little food for thought in any case.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...ml?forum_id=74

The method in this above post is considered by most to be extreme overkill and I can understand why, but, it does appear you are concerned about achieving the greatest degree of stability when jacking the car. If you were to jack the car as described in the above linked post and then ALSO add a screw jack under each puck point, the car would be almost impossible to knock over... would be earthquake-proof. I don't think it could get any better for a mobile set-up, at least with all four wheels OFF the ground.

You could also, as you suggest, place hydraulic floor jacks under the PUCK points (as in the two front puck points for instance), from the sides of the car, and then place stands under the "preferred" points on the main front crossmember... I'd think this would also be just fine, but just make sure that the jack stands you use will properly support the aluminum ribs of the crossmember... the stands should have a wide perch and you may want to add a block of wood or something to help distribute the load across the ribs, etc... but pay attention here because if this step isn't done "right", you can have problems... a block of wood could split, etc...

I'm not a big fan of using wood in general for these types of things, a lot of folks put way too much confidence in wood and that's a big mistake in my opinion. While a 2"X4" or even 4"X4" might not snap in half so easily, it could split length-wise very easily, causing the car to shift suddenly which could lead to a collapse. I'll buy and use a steel Northern cross beam adapter any day before rolling the dice with a piece of wood. Your life is worth the price of good lifting tools.

But in sum, I have lifted my car using a hydraulic floor jack on each front puck point (with nylon pucks in place), placing the jacks at the SIDES of the car... yes, you need to walk back and forth and jack little by little from side to side... it's ok, we all need the exercise... I unfortunately do not remember what I used for support under the crossmember that time... I likely used my Blackhawk forklift stands that have nice wide flat perches with possibly small blocks of hard rubber on top... as it says in the owner's manual, you need to span across more than one aluminum rib of the crossmember when supporting.

But keep in mind, for oil changes and the like, ramps may be the easiest solution. I personally do not like ramps because often I need to raise my car in my tight garage, and with a manual tranny, I don't trust myself to ride the clutch up steep ramps only inches from the garage wall... one minor slip and I could smack the wall... so, for me, it's jacks and stands.

 

I usually use 3/4" board under the jack and jack stands that crush as the car is lowered which seems ok but maybe I am wrong. I went out to the garage and used the scissor jacks to raise the car and sure enough I could see the cross member and reach the front easily with a regular floor jack. I know that this is not the desired lifting place but others have said they use it regularly. I imagine shops use it as well. But if I raise the scissor jack more I can reach the rear front crossmember.

 

To be honest I dont trust the cross beam adapter as much as I would 2 individual jacks for stability. With the jacks you have direct contact with the car and nothing could be better than that in my mind. I know we talk about the preferred method of jacking per the manual but it is hard for me to believe that the cross member cant be lifted at any point with a floor jack with no damage. The jack stand points are understandable as they should be as far apart as possible. I wish there were clearer factory instructions.

 

I do not have a hard time believing what the factory instructions dictate, I just follow them.

The manual shows the "preferred" lifting locations... lift from those locations and you should be ok.

The front and rear crossmembers are made of what appears to be cast aluminum or similar... they are designed to take the evenly spread and "shock-absorbed" stress of the suspension, not necessarily take the stress of a single jack pushing up in one small spot against the full weight of the car (or much of it anyway). Doing this places way more localized stress (pressure) on the member than it was specifically designed for.

Can you crack a crossmember jacking from the center of it with one jack??? I don't think we've ever heard any reports of this happening, so maybe not. But why tempt fate and ignore the factory instructions?

If anything, I think you could maybe get away with lifting from the center of the larger front crossmember if you place something under it to distribute the pressure (some like using a piece of 4"X4", but... wood flexes a good deal even though it doesn't appear to, and it could split, so...). Lifting from the center of the larger front crossmember IS actually considered an "optional" lifting point in the manual (though not "preferred"), so I guess it's not too much of a sin to lift from there... but they do not go into much detail beyond that.

But jacking in the center of the smaller front crossmember (which is easier to access)... I would very much NOT recommend that... I'd think there is a much larger chance of cracking this piece. If I remember correctly, there was a website somewhere where a guy recommends lifting from the center of this member... I personally would not follow that advise. The manual does NOT indicate that the center of this member should be used for lifting... at all. It does show the ends of this member as "optional" points, but not the center... so... very simple, DO NOT lift from the center of that member... the manual is certainly clear on this.

I've pointed this out before, in a Mustang forum, guys were saying that you could lift from the center of the rear axle even though the Ford manual says not to do so... and then a few weeks later there were posts from guys crying that their axle housing were now leaking etc... they should have listened to Ford as opposed to listening to some kids on the internet.

My attitude with my C6... the last thing in the world I want to do is have to bring my car back to the dealer... hasn't been there yet and hopefully never will be... so by following the GM manual to the letter and using only the designated "preferred" lifting points, I figure this gives me the best shot at keeping the car OUT of the dealership... it's the "safe" way to go and worth the extra effort, at least for me, even if it IS "overkill"... it's good peace of mind in any case.

 

Thank you for a very informative reply. I was relying on a another site who used the front cross member and will take your advice. It just means using small ramps or scissor jacks to make room for my regular floor jack. As far as safety goes I was always taught to release the floor jack on to jack stands so all the weight is on the jack stands. Keeping weight with the floor jack creates instability. I have not been able to keep my 08 out of the dealer as it had a defective engine that needed to be replaced and a noisy rear end. But I have been very happy with the service. They take more care than they do with other chevys.

 

I used to use a scissor jack until I had my '73 coupe fall on me. I had been under the car for over an hour (stupid me had no jack stands) when with no warning whatsoever, the car fell to the concrete, with me underneath it. I was very lucky...a bloody ear, some bruising, no broken bones and I was still alive. After several minutes, I figured out how to get out from under the car. My head was in between the exhaust pipes and would not go under. My ear kept catching on the exhuast pipe, no matter how hard I pushed my head into the concrete. A bolt from a hanger had hit me in the sternum but did not break the skin. I finally dragged myself to where the exhaust turns up toward the motor and dragged myself out behind the front tire. Bloody and bruised but still alive. For me, a floor jack and jackstand only. Just my 2 cents.