Jacking Car Up

[dj330xi]

Hello All,

Is there a place on the suspension reachable from the wheel well that jack stands can be placed, rather than only at the jack points? This would allow me to lift each corner individually at the jack point, place a jack stand for safety in case I am leaning into the wheel well, and then lower the corner much more quickly after the pads are replaced.

Have seen multiple posts about jacking up car, and I currently use the front jack point and the rear differential to put the car up on front or rear jack stands to replace brake pads with track pads. But for the front, I have to first jack the front tires onto wood blocks in order to reach the front jack point - making it a two-step process up and down. And for the the rear, my jack just just just gets the rear up high enough to place onto jack stands at the jack points, and takes a lot of time to do every time.

Is there a point on the suspension behind each tire that I could place a jack stand, avoiding a lot of this work while remaining safe that the car is on a jack stand while I'm replacing the brakes? I could then do each corner individually by jacking up at the side jack point then placing a jack stand for safety.

Thanks for any tips/pictures you can provide.

[pbonsalb]

Go to harbor freight and buy a second jack. I like the 1.5 ton aluminum jacks that are regularly on sale for $59 to $69 since they are light and easy to manage, are reliable, and are low profile. But you could also use a 3 ton steel jack if you drive onto a plank for more clearance. With 2, you can lift each side of the car. Put the jack stands under suspension mounting points or anywhere under the front or rear subframes.

[M3 Esq]

I agree get another jack. The harbor freight ones are good and cheap. I don't know of anywhere else to lift from other than the standard lift points and diff.

[Villanofun]

Second jack seems reasonable.

[dj330xi]

Thanks so much for the replies. I am particularly interested in the comment "Put the jack stands under suspension mounting points or anywhere under the front or rear subframes." Can someone define which points these are exactly and possibly show with pictures? At the tire shop I go to this is what they do - had the whole car very quickly up on four jack stands that were under the suspension and not at the jack points, and I would like to do this, at each corner individually, or possible to one side at a time.

I'm not totally clear on how a second jack would help, but I assume you mean lift at two jack points at the same time - i.e. both fronts or both rears or both on one side - to place two jack stands at the same time. What is the advantage to doing this at two points at a time rather than corner by corner?

Thanks again.

[MFL]

You could use ramps, a jack and some 2x4's (for the rear to get behind the diff cover).

Ramps up front with 2x4's on each side to clear the ramps lip. Drive up
That exposes your front middle jack point with the only jack pad there and it opens up your side front jack points for your jack stands. It's also VERY easy to get it on 4 jack stands this way.

[pbonsalb]

I don't like installing stands corner by corner since weight shifts when the car is at an angle. Lifting the whole front or whole rear is better. So do one end at a time. Driving onto a plank (2 x 12) is a great way to get the car high enough to slip a jack under the front to use the center lift point.

The suspension mounting points and subframes would best be explained by a picture. Unfortunately the front subframe is covered by the metal plate. I don't have any pictures. Probably you should get someone who is mechanically inclined to show you.

[WarrantyTracker]

AFAIK, there aren't any convenient and secure front suspension points to use for jack stands.

For the last few years I have been using one jack on one of the front jack points to raise the car a little, a second jack under the front central jack point once the nose is up high enough to clear the second jack, and two pieces of 2x12 to position below the front wheels when I drop the front center jack. The single thickness of 2X12 under the front wheels keeps the car high enough so the nose doesn't hit the jack when I let it down, but it's a low-profile long reach jack and YMMV.

[M3Bimmer77]

This is what I did couple weeks ago. I got (3) cedar 2x10-8. I cut 2 of them in half ending up with (4) 2x12-4'. Then I got the other board and cut it into 4 equal pieces. I glued (liquid nails) and screwed them together using (6) 3" #12s making sure to align the ends on one side. I ended up with a longer piece at the bottom 2" high and stepping up into 4". I also drilled some hole to the longer board to accommodate some long nails into the gap between the pavers on the driveway. The board got a slope at the front to make it even easier to drive on it as well as the small one on top. I used a grinder with an 80 grit paper to do this. Finally I added an old handle to easy carry on. An easy way to get a car with DCT is to use your brake with the left foot while giving it some gas with the right. Practice without the boards first to get the feel of it. This way you have a better control on the moving forward. It was high enough to get down there and inspect the car. Not high enough to work though. If you want to go higher the next step is to get a low profile floor jack to raise the car even higher from the middle jack points and put it on stands. Really easy to make and use. My only problem is that the boards are not completely flat so they wobble a little. Make sure to test the boards before glueing and scewing them. Cheap lift before I make my mind on the garage lift!!!!

[GRUESOM3]

I use 2 jacks and I made some jack stands that fit the bmw jack points.

I jack one side with a jack pad adapter then lift entire front from central jacking point then slowly drop the front or rear both at the same time

Cheapest route is these jack stands I got for like 20$ at Sears and cut the tops so they fit inside