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Thread: Jack Points and Jack Stand Placement (Definitive?)

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    Post Jack Points and Jack Stand Placement (Definitive?)

    Hey all,

    I've been reading around a lot of the forums for how to jack up my 2008.5 Mazdaspeed 3 (including one of the threads here). After much research, it's still not perfectly clear the ideal method of getting jack stands in the right location under the front of the car. There have been some really bad ideas (one guy was talking about using the cross member under his oil pan or something), and some not bad ideas. Spoke with a friend as well, and wanted to get the definitive "how to get your car on jack stands" thread. Afterwards I could document with pictures and process as a separate thread that we can mark sticky. (I've written technical documentation for years, so this is something I should be able to handle without issue.)

    I created this gallery on imgur with the best pictures I was able to find of the official(?) jack points. I'll be assuming that these are the only points in which are safe to jack from.

    http://imgur.com/a/D30JM


    Jack points on pinch plate:



    Jack points on cross member:


    Starting off, a low profile jack with a long handle seems to make this nearly trivial, since it should be able to reach the central jacking point of the car. Since I have a standard 3-ton jack and 2x 3-ton jack stands, this is a non-starter for me. I don't plan to purchase a separate jack at this point.

    Because the cross member seems to connect and sit directly behind the front pinch plate, it is very difficult if not impossible to jack up the vehicle, and also place the jack stand on the pinch plate. A suggestion from my friend was to use the rear pinch point to lift the car enough to get the jack stand under the front pinch plate point. Repeat on the other side. Another sane suggestion seems to be to use a block of wood (4"x4"x2") inside the cup on the jack, with the grain at a 90 degree angle from the pinch plate (likely to avoid splitting the grain with the weight of the plate on the wood). The wood block seems to be to avoid bending or indenting the pinch plate with sharp edges on the jack.

    At that point, I was thinking I would then have lots of space to get the jack to the front jacking point on the car (marked with the X) to lift the car to the ideal working height, and adjust the jack stands to suit.

    Does this make sense? Is there a better known method for approaching this? How have you lifted your car for the purposes of oil changes, RMM changes, etc?

    Additional question
    I have a single car garage, and it appears to be nearly impossible to really move around and get the car lifted in this situation. The alternative is to then work on the driveway; however the driveway is not level since it is inclined. Of course there would be a parking break and tire blocks. The incline is not massive; it appears to be a standard driveway incline. Is this something people do when working under the car? I'm not too worried about that kind of thing just for rotating or changing tires.

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    Default Re: Jack Points and Jack Stand Placement (Definitive?)

    i usually just jack up one side at a time in my driveway (also on a decline) by using the pinch welds. all those spots are perfectly fine, on the cross members if you have a low profile jack, make sure that it has a high lift. and to solve your one car garage problem, your gunna have to put 1 half of the car in at a time and do it that way. also make sure you have wheel blocks (or peices of 2x4) under your tires that are still on the ground, as well you can leave it in gear and lift the ebrake to prevent the car from moving accidentally.

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    Default Re: Jack Points and Jack Stand Placement (Definitive?)

    Quote Originally Posted by 2010maztre View Post
    i usually just jack up one side at a time in my driveway (also on a decline) by using the pinch welds. all those spots are perfectly fine, on the cross members if you have a low profile jack, make sure that it has a high lift. and to solve your one car garage problem, your gunna have to put 1 half of the car in at a time and do it that way. also make sure you have wheel blocks (or peices of 2x4) under your tires that are still on the ground, as well you can leave it in gear and lift the ebrake to prevent the car from moving accidentally.
    I feel like you missed part of the discussion though. Lifting at the pinch welds is fine, but where do you put the jack stands? Are you putting them inside of the pinch welds on the crossmember? Or are you lifting from the rear pinch welds from the rear and putting the jack stand in the recommended location on the front?

    Jacking up one side at a time is fine, but please elaborate on the method of where you put the jack stands and how you get the front end of the car on 2 jack stands.

    I had also been using half the garage as well so the entire car wasn't on an incline since the garage is fairly level. At least this jack does have a foot pump that I can use to get the car up most of the way.

    The purpose is not just to lift one tire at a time to change the tire (that is simple), but rather how to get the car safely on jack stands without damaging the car in order to work under it (such as oil changes, RMM change, etc).

    Thanks!

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    Default Re: Jack Points and Jack Stand Placement (Definitive?)

    I use the large member just inboard of the front pinchweld. You can jack the entire side of the car up in one go if you use that point.
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    Default Re: Jack Points and Jack Stand Placement (Definitive?)

    Quote Originally Posted by Noisy Crow View Post
    I use the large member just inboard of the front pinchweld. You can jack the entire side of the car up in one go if you use that point.
    How do you get the jack stand added though? There is no space for the jack stand if the jack is in the space physical space.

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    Default Re: Jack Points and Jack Stand Placement (Definitive?)

    I've stickied this. Actual pictures would be also good to compliment this. It might help those members who aren't 100% sure.

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    Default Re: Jack Points and Jack Stand Placement (Definitive?)

    Great sticky.
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    Default Re: Jack Points and Jack Stand Placement (Definitive?)

    Ya the info for this is buried in other posts. However I would like a picture of the spots where people are putting their stands. On the gen2
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    Default Re: Jack Points and Jack Stand Placement (Definitive?)

    Quote Originally Posted by cwp_sedan View Post
    I've stickied this. Actual pictures would be also good to compliment this. It might help those members who aren't 100% sure.
    I want to get actual pictures of the whole thing being done, but I'm still looking for definitive answers to my questions before I go and gather them.

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    Default Re: Jack Points and Jack Stand Placement (Definitive?)

    So after another failed attempt, I'm fairly confused how anyone gets this car on 2 jack stands. Lifting the car with the jack is obviously not a problem. Getting it in the air and then placing on a jack stand seems to be a non-starter with a standard jack.

    Attempt #1: try lifting the car enough from the rear pinch plate to place a jack under the front.
    * Non-starter. Getting the car in the air enough makes it terribly unstable. On to attempt #2.

    Attempt #2: try using a wood block to lift from the front pinch plate and place the jack stand on the cross member just inboard of the pinch plate.
    * The jack is still in the way. Having the cup of the jack centred to the pinch plate causes the wrong wheels of the jack to be in the way. No angle between 45 degrees towards the back tire to 45 degrees towards the front tire make a difference. At least 1 wheel from the jack still be in the way.

    Attempt #3: try placing the jack on the cross member just inboard of the front pinch plate
    * This would be the most ideal since the jack stand would sit on the recommended points. Unfortunately there is no way the jack and the jack stand can co-exist in this configuration.

    Next up I guess is to break down and use the tire changing jack on the front pinch plate, lift the car, place the jack under the front of the car at the recommended lift spot in the centre of the vehicle (see earlier pictures), and attempt to jack the car up from that location. Once lifted, then I should be able to place a jack stand on the opposite pinch plate, remove the tire changing jack, and replace it with a jack stand. When complete, I guess I would reverse the process.

    I really don't like this last method. Using the tire changing jack on a regular basis seems like a bad idea, and a terrible nuisance. At that point, I would really just need to invest in a second jack just to lift the car enough to get the primary jack under the front of the car.

    Is there really no better way?

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    Default Re: Jack Points and Jack Stand Placement (Definitive?)

    Pics coming in a minute
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    Default Re: Jack Points and Jack Stand Placement (Definitive?)

    Front pinch weld for jack

    Rear spot for jack on rear crossmember

    on the first picture, you can see where the pinch weld is indented, jacks should go there, stands will be close to it

    P.s my hand looks fat
    Last edited by greyseason; 06-19-2013 at 02:44 PM.

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    Default Re: Jack Points and Jack Stand Placement (Definitive?)

    Quote Originally Posted by greyseason View Post
    Front pinch weld for jack

    Rear spot for jack on rear crossmember

    on the first picture, you can see where the pinch weld is indented, jacks should go there, stands will be close to it

    P.s my hand looks fat
    You mean phat? :lolz:

    Perhaps we're getting closer now.

    So I tried this at lunch, I could easily get the jack on the front pinch welds, no problem there. The problem was where to put the jack stands. It seemed like they should go as close to the pinch weld as possible, but perhaps it's ok for it to go in a bit more towards the centre of the car? The ideal is that the jack stands are as close to the outside as possible for stability. How far in is "OK", or rather, how far in do you need to go?

    I would love to see a picture of someone with the car jacked up and the jack stand placed under the car. If I get a chance tonight I'll jack up one side and show what I'm looking at when I have the car jacked up.

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    Default Re: Jack Points and Jack Stand Placement (Definitive?)

    Ryan (Someguy) helped my when i first jacked the car up, i really should have taken one for a reference lol

    Im sure atleast 1 member has a picture of their car up on stands

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    Default Re: Jack Points and Jack Stand Placement (Definitive?)

    Quote Originally Posted by greyseason View Post
    Ryan (Someguy) helped my when i first jacked the car up, i really should have taken one for a reference lol

    Im sure atleast 1 member has a picture of their car up on stands
    How can I mention someones name and they get notified in the thread? @Someguy ?! heh

    I've yet to find a picture of the car on stands and the relation of the jack to the stands. That would be the magic bullet!

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    Default Re: Jack Points and Jack Stand Placement (Definitive?)

    just shoot him a PM, just search for his name on the forum but no idea if hes online right now

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    Default Re: Jack Points and Jack Stand Placement (Definitive?)

    Okay, so what I tend to do...

    To get the front up on stands:
    If you have side skirts, about half way between the front and rear pinch weld along the side of the car there is a spot you can slide a jack in. Jack it up plenty high, put the jack stand under the front pinch weld. Job done.
    If you don't have side skirts, you can jack a little closer to the front along the pinch weld. YES it will bend a bit but it's plenty safe to support the car from there just for lifting purposes. If you care about your pinch welds, then a hockey puck with a slot cut in it will cure that problem. Do not use wood. Lift it up, slide jack stand in the normal pinch weld spot at the front. Job done.
    With the right jack you can also jack from a cross member further under the car and still place your jack stands. It's a bitch, done it once, never again. The front center jack point is just wayyyy too far under the car.

    To get the back up on stands:
    Jack from the center rear point as shown in the "peace" picture above. Lift it high, then jack stands on the pinch welds at the back on either side. Job done.
    If your jack won't go high enough (which is entirely possible). You can do the same center or near the rear pinch weld method to get it up as the front. I DO NOT recommend doing this if the front is already up on stands.

    To get the entire car up on stands:
    Jack the front as above THEN jack the rear up from the center as you will pivot on the front stands and not risk pulling it off.


    Some disclaimers:

    - Be safe and don't be an idiot. Read the manuals for the shit you're using.
    - Block your wheels, so the car doesn't move. Parking brake on and in gear.
    - Make sure you are on a flat and level surface which is solid. Concrete is best. On pavement, use some plywood under all jacks/stands to prevent them from sinking in. DO NOT jack on gravel/grass/dog poo.
    - Make sure your jack is centered, your stands are centered under the pinch weld, etc.
    - Have someone around in the event of worst case scenarios.
    - If your wheels are off, throw them under the pinch welds because you'd sure rather a wheel get wrecked than yourself.
    - Ensure jack stands are in good shape, no bad rust/cracks/etc. Ensure wheels of the jack turn freely, the jack will move slightly when lifting and the wheels need to be able to keep up or you will end up pulling the car.
    - Never put your body under the car unless it's fully supported by jack stands.

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    Default Re: Jack Points and Jack Stand Placement (Definitive?)

    Quote Originally Posted by SomeGuy View Post
    Okay, so what I tend to do...

    To get the front up on stands:
    If you have side skirts, about half way between the front and rear pinch weld along the side of the car there is a spot you can slide a jack in. Jack it up plenty high, put the jack stand under the front pinch weld. Job done.
    If you don't have side skirts, you can jack a little closer to the front along the pinch weld. YES it will bend a bit but it's plenty safe to support the car from there just for lifting purposes. If you care about your pinch welds, then a hockey puck with a slot cut in it will cure that problem. Do not use wood. Lift it up, slide jack stand in the normal pinch weld spot at the front. Job done.
    With the right jack you can also jack from a cross member further under the car and still place your jack stands. It's a bitch, done it once, never again. The front center jack point is just wayyyy too far under the car.
    <snip>
    This is great stuff, thanks! Two follow up questions:

    * When you say "If you have side skirts, about half way between the front and rear pinch weld along the side of the car there is a spot you can slide a jack in." do you mean along the pinch weld?
    * After you get the first jack stand in the front setup, it's not perfectly clear that you just rinse/repeat the same process on the other side. Do you use the same "mid pinch weld" spot on the opposite side to get the 2nd front jack stand up?

    Sorry for the ton of questions. I want to make sure I get this done as correctly as possible the first time in order to document and record the process. Thanks to everyone who has responded thus far.

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    Default Re: Jack Points and Jack Stand Placement (Definitive?)

    Quote Originally Posted by SomeGuy View Post
    To get the front up on stands:
    If you have side skirts, about half way between the front and rear pinch weld along the side of the car there is a spot you can slide a jack in. Jack it up plenty high, put the jack stand under the front pinch weld. Job done.
    If you don't have side skirts, you can jack a little closer to the front along the pinch weld. YES it will bend a bit but it's plenty safe to support the car from there just for lifting purposes. If you care about your pinch welds, then a hockey puck with a slot cut in it will cure that problem. Do not use wood. Lift it up, slide jack stand in the normal pinch weld spot at the front. Job done.
    There is still something the bothers me about jacking from outside the cross member or the front/rear pinch welds. Has anyone ever asked a Mazda service tech or rep if jacking up outside of those points is kosher?

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    Default Re: Jack Points and Jack Stand Placement (Definitive?)

    Quote Originally Posted by leifmadsen View Post
    This is great stuff, thanks! Two follow up questions:

    * When you say "If you have side skirts, about half way between the front and rear pinch weld along the side of the car there is a spot you can slide a jack in." do you mean along the pinch weld?
    * After you get the first jack stand in the front setup, it's not perfectly clear that you just rinse/repeat the same process on the other side. Do you use the same "mid pinch weld" spot on the opposite side to get the 2nd front jack stand up?

    Sorry for the ton of questions. I want to make sure I get this done as correctly as possible the first time in order to document and record the process. Thanks to everyone who has responded thus far.

    - Yes on the pinch weld...with side skirts they have cutouts in 3 spots along the side that you can slide a jack in (front/rear/center), otherwise you end up crushing your side skirt when you try to hit the pinch weld.
    - Yes, repeat on the second side. The car will teeter totter a bit when you're doing this because of how stiff the chassis/suspension is, so you may have one rear wheel in the air while you're lifting the other side, no big deal. Like I said, make sure the wheels of the jack roll so it doesn't pull sideways and only lifts upward. Once both sides are up, if you aren't perfectly happy with the placement of the stands, you can jack either side up just off the stand and reposition them slightly.


    Another thing I'll do, if I just have one wheel off the ground for servicing in the front I'll jack on the normal pinch weld and then slide a jack stand behind it (towards the middle of the car) into what looks like a little steel valley. I will then lower the jack down until it's just touching the jack stand but leave the weight mostly on the jack. The spot isn't listed as a jack point but will support the cars weight if the jack were to let go and lets you work on a wheel/brakes/suspension safely without the pain in the ass of getting the entire car up.

    Quote Originally Posted by leifmadsen View Post
    There is still something the bothers me about jacking from outside the cross member or the front/rear pinch welds. Has anyone ever asked a Mazda service tech or rep if jacking up outside of those points is kosher?
    They use lifts which they can just put at the pinch weld points and be done with it. I doubt they would recommend it, it would be interesting to see what they say. I'm going to double check tonight when I get home to see if the center point of the pinch weld has additional strengthening or anything. That all said, I've never had an issue with doing it the way I described on dozens of cars. Without a long reach jack the front center point and cross member is a pain to reach and you have to put your body under the vehicle while jacking which is a no-no.
    Last edited by SomeGuy; 06-19-2013 at 03:59 PM.

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    Default Re: Jack Points and Jack Stand Placement (Definitive?)

    first rule of TireClub

    Quote Originally Posted by SomeGuy View Post
    DO NOT jack on dog poo.

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    Default Re: Jack Points and Jack Stand Placement (Definitive?)

    Quote Originally Posted by leifmadsen View Post
    How can I mention someones name and they get notified in the thread? @Someguy ?! heh
    Don't think that feature is on these forums . I'm sure Hyperion or atleast half these forums have done it and can snap a pic at some point.

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    Default Re: Jack Points and Jack Stand Placement (Definitive?)

    Quote Originally Posted by SomeGuy View Post
    - Yes on the pinch weld...with side skirts they have cutouts in 3 spots along the side that you can slide a jack in (front/rear/center), otherwise you end up crushing your side skirt when you try to hit the pinch weld.
    In the case of my car, there isn't the middle cut out in the skirt; only the ones in the front and the back. The pinch weld line seems to drop down a little further though outside of the metal plate cutout though.

    Quote Originally Posted by SomeGuy View Post
    - Yes, repeat on the second side. The car will teeter totter a bit when you're doing this because of how stiff the chassis/suspension is, so you may have one rear wheel in the air while you're lifting the other side, no big deal. Like I said, make sure the wheels of the jack roll so it doesn't pull sideways and only lifts upward. Once both sides are up, if you aren't perfectly happy with the placement of the stands, you can jack either side up just off the stand and reposition them slightly.

    They use lifts which they can just put at the pinch weld points and be done with it. I doubt they would recommend it, it would be interesting to see what they say. I'm going to double check tonight when I get home to see if the center point of the pinch weld has additional strengthening or anything. That all said, I've never had an issue with doing it the way I described on dozens of cars. Without a long reach jack the front center point and cross member is a pain to reach and you have to put your body under the vehicle while jacking which is a no-no.
    I ran my hand along the pinch weld of the car, and it does seem to be a little thicker towads the actual cut outs on the plate. Outside of that, it seems to be an almost cosmetic wrapping of the plate. However, directly behind the front pinch weld cutout it seems to be fairly solid there as well. It seems to me the place directly behind the recommended jack stand placement almost seems ideal. I'm not placing jack stands on the back, so I think lifting from that point just behind the front might be my best bet.

    Now, time to get a hockey puck I guess from a store

    Once I've done this successfully, I'll drop everything down, and show some steps of how I'm approaching this for future reference.

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    Default Re: Jack Points and Jack Stand Placement (Definitive?)

    I got the Cobb RMM installed on the weekend. Thanks to everyone who helped out! I took a few pictures after I got the jacking procedure figured out.

    Shoutouts to SomeGuy and greyseason for the help!

    Mazda 3 gen1, jack stand mounting procedure, front end
    Because of the awkward position of the jack points on the pinch weld and the crossmember behind it, lifting up a gen1 MS3 is difficult. If you resign yourself to having to use another location on the pinch plate, then the process is relatively straight forward. The following pictures will take you step by step on the process I used after getting help on the TM3 forums.

    Step 1
    Always use tire blocks!




    Step 2
    Jack up the vehicle in order to get the jack stand set at the pinch welds. I found lining up the jack with the side mirrors was a pretty good location, and still very close to the recommended location.



    Step 3

    Once you get the one side jacked up enough for the jack stand, place it under the car. Place the the jack stand perpendicular on the pinch plate (so that the pinch plate is cupped at the base of the stand between the two points). Slowly lower the jack onto the jack stand.

    Be sure that you check that the jack stands are centred on the plate both forward and back, and from side to side.

    Step 4

    Repeat the process on the other side as well. Same general location under the mirror for the jack. The jack stand will fit in correctly just in front of the jack that way. Slowly lower onto the jack stand. Check the plate is centred on the jack stand both front/back and side to side (e.g. make sure the plate isn't sitting too far left or right on the top of the stand).

    I also left the jack there as a secondary backup. Just make sure the jack stand is holding the weight, not the jack.

    Make sure to use a jack stand where the pinch weld spot is not too deep for these cars. You want stands like this where there is no extra indent.


    Should go something like this (not my picture, just random google search):


    Conclusion
    This process worked quite well for installing a rear motor mount. If I was to do it again I'd probably have jacked the car a bit higher to the first notch on the jack stand, but at 180lbs, I still fit under the car.

    When done, of course just reverse the procedure and remove the tire blocks before going out for a test drive.

    Note: do not leave the flashlight in the plastic under the engine like I did. At least I remembered before starting the car, but I had to find a reaching stick to get at it
    Last edited by Mr Wilson; 03-19-2014 at 11:56 AM.

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    Default Re: Jack Points and Jack Stand Placement (Definitive?)

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  26. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Mr Wilson For This Useful Post:

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