Jack points

No. Never jack the car up under the pan. It's sheet metal.

Use the torsion beam. Use 1 jack and lift one side at a time, and place jack stands under the end caps or the last edge of the trailing arms. 

If that doesn't work for you, get a piece of good 4x4 lumber, about a foot long, and put it just behind the crux of the Y you point to in your pic. Behind=closer to the rear bumper. 

Put a jack under that and you'll safely lift the whole rear end. 

 Thanks for the reply Ed - it sounds like doing one side at a time is the safer way to go. So if I put my jack in the same location of the lift in this pic, and put my jack stand as close to the outer end of where the yellow arrow is, I should be good?

  What is the center rear jack location in the diagram referring to?

   Bill

slowshoes posted:

 Thanks for the reply Ed - it sounds like doing one side at a time is the safer way to go. So if I put my jack in the same location of the lift in this pic, and put my jack stand as close to the outer end of where the yellow arrow is, I should be good?

  What is the center rear jack location in the diagram referring to?

   Bill

 

Yes, that's a good place for a jack-stand.

No idea on the diagram. The suggested jack-points in the center (front and rear) are just silly. The transaxle, just under where the axle-tubes come out in the rear is a nice place to get both wheels up fast in the back, and the center of the "beam" up front gets both front wheels up. I've never understood trying to jack on the pan- as Ed says, it's relatively thin.

 Many thanks Stan - much appreciated. I ordered a CB Performance camber compensator to replace my Empi one, and I wanted to make sure I had the right jack points, so I'm ready to go when the new compensator arrives.

 I'll use car ramps for the rear wheels once I get it jacked up to take the strain off the compensator, but I still wanted to know the correct placement for jack stands for future work.

 Thanks again,

  Bill

Bill,

In the diagram you posted at the top of the page the center lifting point is the top of what they call Napolean's Hat if IIRC. Here's a picture of where that diagram is referring to:

This is where I place my jack but I used a scrap of 2x4 across the top of the hat to get the jack lifting sooner and for a little protection from scuff damage. Then I place my jack stands on the outside edge of the torsion bar.

Actually Napoleon's hat is up front - see black piece in photo.  Not sure what they call the piece where the engine/trans support horns meet the chassis - maybe Marie Antoinette's thighs?

To quickly get the rear end up a piece of wood across the frame horns just behind the front trans mount will do it as well, and you're not going to hurt the car. And Greg's right- the Napoleon's Hat is the front piece that holds the front beam.

Robert M posted:

Bill,

In the diagram you posted at the top of the page the center lifting point is the top of what they call Napolean's Hat if IIRC. Here's a picture of where that diagram is referring to:

This is where I place my jack but I used a scrap of 2x4 across the top of the hat to get the jack lifting sooner and for a little protection from scuff damage. Then I place my jack stands on the outside edge of the torsion bar.

 Many thanks for that pic Robert - so on my car, that would be here, right?

WOLFGANG posted:

Actually Napoleon's hat is up front - see black piece in photo.  Not sure what they call the piece where the engine/trans support horns meet the chassis - maybe Marie Antoinette's thighs?

 lol Wolfgang!

Yep. 

When lifting the rear of the car, the further back you jack from, the more stable it will be, which is why I suggested the piece of wood just behind the front trans mount. I would think that any more forward than the spot on the pan where the frame horns come together and you'd probably be trying to lift the whole car!

 OK - I think I've got it. Many thanks fellas!

 Bill

I would recommend NOT using the transaxle to lift because it is held with the rubber transaxle mounts and they should not be used to lift the car.  

I use Ed's method mainly because the speedster is too low to get my floor jack under the middle, unless the engines out then I use ALB's method.

If my mounts are flimsy enough to tear lifting the back of the car by the transaxle, they're already on the way out. I understand the concern, but I've been doing it like this for 20 years, and have never had an issue.

 I might as well get the front jack points covered as well, as I'm not positive what to do there either. In the pic, do I place the jack where the yellow arrow is, and the jack stands where the red arrows are? Is there a single point in front that will lift both wheels simultaneously?

 In looking over the front end, does everything seem as it should be? Is my front end a link pin type?

Is there a single point in front that will lift both wheels simultaneously?

Under the center of the beam, between the 2 red arrows.

Just back it up on some ramps to remove your CC.

Bill Prout posted:

Just back it up on some ramps to remove your CC.

 No worries about scraping anything?

Yeah, I was wondering about that, too.

There is NO WAY I could ever get a pair of ramps under the back of my Speedster - it just plain sits too low.  And if the car isn't too low, the dual exhaust pipes are right behind the rear tires and they are way too low.  Same thing on the front.  That's why I finally got the Quickjack lifts.  I can barely fit a low-profile roll-around floor jack under there.

Hey, Halakahiki Bill!  Check out my sheepskin seat covers in there.  Just the thing for open cockpit Holoholo ka'a around the Island!

I agree with Stan (although I would only ever jack up on drain plug area of the transaxle case itself if there's no engine installed- I'm sure the case is strong enough to support the engine weight as well, but it is made of magnesium and I don't think I would go there; better off with wood across the frame horns); I wouldn't think twice about the jack being under the front trans mount though (with a small piece of wood on the jack cup) and I wouldn't worry about being under the rear trans yolk either (again, with a piece of wood between). 

@slowshoes- link pin beam will have the top of the shock held by a horizontal bolt, while a ball joint shock has the stud coming out vertically from the top- show a pic of the top of the shock mount.

My car is just as low as it can go without the tire rubbing the fenders and I have no problem backing up onto ramps. Although my A1 is tucked up nice and tight so that could be the difference. The front is a whole different story.

ALB posted:

@slowshoes- link pin beam will have the top of the shock held by a horizontal bolt, while a ball joint shock has the stud coming out vertically from the top- show a pic of the top of the shock mount.

 Al, so I have ball joints then, right?

Gordon Nichols posted:

Yeah, I was wondering about that, too.

There is NO WAY I could ever get a pair of ramps under the back of my Speedster - it just plain sits too low.  And if the car isn't too low, the dual exhaust pipes are right behind the rear tires and they are way too low.  Same thing on the front.  That's why I finally got the Quickjack lifts.  I can barely fit a low-profile roll-around floor jack under there.

Hey, Halakahiki Bill!  Check out my sheepskin seat covers in there.  Just the thing for open cockpit Holoholo ka'a around the Island!

 Gordon - I don't know if my floor jack will fit under my car either. I was surprised when I changed my oil, that my oil drain pan wouldn't fit under the car.

 And your car looks fast just sitting there!

slowshoes posted:

Robert M posted:

Bill,

In the diagram you posted at the top of the page the center lifting point is the top of what they call Napolean's Hat if IIRC. Here's a picture of where that diagram is referring to:

This is where I place my jack but I used a scrap of 2x4 across the top of the hat to get the jack lifting sooner and for a little protection from scuff damage. Then I place my jack stands on the outside edge of the torsion bar.

 Many thanks for that pic Robert - so on my car, that would be here, right?

WOLFGANG posted:

Actually Napoleon's hat is up front - see black piece in photo.  Not sure what they call the piece where the engine/trans support horns meet the chassis - maybe Marie Antoinette's thighs?

 lol Wolfgang!

See, I'm still learning. I've looked at that area in my post who knows how many times and I've said to myself, "That sure doesn't look like Napolean's hat.". Now I know why, it isn't Napolean's hat. 

Very good, Bill- yes, you have ball joints! I won't even try to describe it- look at the pics

ALB posted:

Is there a single point in front that will lift both wheels simultaneously?

Under the center of the beam, between the 2 red arrows.

That's where I lift the front from as well. Between the red arrows, middle of the beam. 

Bill Prout posted:

Just back it up on some ramps to remove your CC.

Mine is too low to back up on ramps which is why I suggested lifting it up and putting the ramps under it. 

Robert M posted:

Bill Prout posted:

Just back it up on some ramps to remove your CC.

Mine is too low to back up on ramps which is why I suggested lifting it up and putting the ramps under it. 

That's what I do with the front if a jack or Jack stands are in the way of what I'm working on. Always more than one way to skin these cats!

I asked about jacking up when I bought my car (Chesil) The guy told me the steel frame used box section along the side, right along the length of the car - also used for the heated air into the cab. He siad it was OK to jack anywhere along the side.