Safe jacking points?

"BaconSandwich is tasty." (baconsandwich)
04/24/2014 at 16:01 • Filed to: None

I want to make sure that I'm doing things safely when I'm working on my car. Obviously this means using jack stands. There's something I'm a bit puzzled over, and that is the proper place to put the jack stands and the proper place to jack up the car (a 2001 four door Civic).

The usual jacking places for the car, as indicated in the owner's manual, is just behind the front wheels and just in front of the rear wheels, like this:

(In this case, it's a newer Civic, but it shows the same places)

Now from what I understand, jack stands can be placed under any solid point, such as where the suspension subframe attaches things together. If I jack the car up from the usual jacking points, in theory, I should be able to get a jack stand under one of these points, however, there's a problem with this. Either my jack doesn't get things high enough, or my jack stands are too tall. My current jack is one of these - a standard 2 ton hydraulic floor jack. I had an uncle who is a welder trim a 3/4ths of an inch or so off of my jack stands to shorten them, in hopes it would allow me to slip the jack stands under the car when the jack is cranked all the way up. Unfortunately this didn't help. The other day when I needed to get my car up to get a look at some things under it, I was able to dig a bit down in the gravel and that gave me enough clearance to get the jack stands under. I'm planning on doing some work on my car on Saturday, but it will be in a garage with a cement floor, so that's not an option. Also, I'm going to be removing my lower control arms, so even putting the jack stand where they attack to the subframe isn't an option.

This brings me to my question: Where can I safely jack up the car that will allow me to get it up on the jack stands? The current jacking points seem too narrow to get both the jack and jack stand under it, and I won't be able to put the jack stands in their usual place as I'm doing some suspension work.

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DISCUSSION (24)

Sn210 > BaconSandwich is tasty.
04/24/2014 at 16:03

tow hooks?

crowmolly > BaconSandwich is tasty.
04/24/2014 at 16:04

Typically when I put a car up in the air with a floor jack and jack stands I don't use the factory scissor-jack points. IMO that's for side of the road tire changing.

I'll find a wide structural member to lift and support off of. Regarding safety, I'd rather have a wide contact point with my jack/jackstands than use the factory rocker panel pinch that is typically on the sticker.

jariten1781 > BaconSandwich is tasty.
04/24/2014 at 16:04

Put a 2x4 on the jack to get extra clearance.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Sn210
04/24/2014 at 16:05

From what I remember seeing, there's one tow hook in the middle of the rear bumper, and it's likely that there's another single one on the front. I'm not sure that sounds like a good idea.

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/2006-201…

These guys seem to do the side-by-side jack and jack stand, but that looks like it might be damaging things a bit. Honestly, it's a 13 year old Honda Civic with 220,000 km on it. If I dent things down there a little, I'm not going to lose sleep over it, but I'd rather do it right.

KnowsAboutCars > BaconSandwich is tasty.
04/24/2014 at 16:05

I might have read your headline wrong at first...

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > crowmolly
04/24/2014 at 16:06

I'm with you 100% on this one crowmolly

Roberto G. > BaconSandwich is tasty.
04/24/2014 at 16:06

Best jacking point is the rear seat.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > KnowsAboutCars
04/24/2014 at 16:09

Yeah... I can see how there might be some confusion there. I couldn't think of any other way of wording it.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > jariten1781
04/24/2014 at 16:09

Good point. I might have to try that.

jariten1781 > BaconSandwich is tasty.
04/24/2014 at 16:10

Some people cut channels in the block of wood to protect the pinch welds as well. Pretty common.

Nibbles > jariten1781
04/24/2014 at 16:11

Yup.

Sn210 > BaconSandwich is tasty.
04/24/2014 at 16:12

my 08 civic had two hooks on the front on the frame. I used to jack up from there and then put stands on the points under the door sills.

Racescort666 > BaconSandwich is tasty.
04/24/2014 at 16:16

You have some options available to you.

First, I would recommend jacking in the middle of the car from a sub frame. Either of the 2 big black tubes that go from side to side in the picture below. I searched for 2001 Civic front sub frame.

Kinja'd!!!

If your jack is all the way down and there are several inches between your jack and the sub frame, put a couple of blocks of wood on the jack to take up the space. This way you won't be wasting a bunch of the jack's travel before you can even use it.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > jariten1781
04/24/2014 at 16:19

Well, I'm in luck. I happen to have some spare bits of 2x4 kicking around, and a way of cutting it. I'm going to have to try that.

deekster_caddy > BaconSandwich is tasty.
04/24/2014 at 16:31

Sounds to me like you need a bigger jack. A 2-ton isn't good for much more than getting a single tire off the ground.

Justino6969 > BaconSandwich is tasty.
04/24/2014 at 16:31

Anywhere on the penis, really.

d1ck > BaconSandwich is tasty.
04/24/2014 at 16:34

The factory service manual will tell you where it is safe to jack the car. For example on my 1995 Integra you jack the front up using the centre of the radiator support, and the rear using the centre mounted tow hook.

PatBateman > KnowsAboutCars
04/24/2014 at 16:54

Came to play with the words as well.

Best jacking position: slight recline, somewhere private.

Big Bubba Ray > BaconSandwich is tasty.
04/24/2014 at 17:26

I was able to dig a bit down in the gravel and that gave me enough clearance to get the jack stands under

I don't want to sound like your mother, but for safety's sake, don't jack your car up on any surface that is less than solid. It's just asking for trouble. Have you used your factory jack to get the car high enough for jack stand use?

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Big Bubba Ray
04/24/2014 at 18:34

The gravel was pretty solid. I had to use a shovel, and it took quite a bit of effort in order to remove an inch or two. I wasn't too worried about that.

The factory jack really doesn't get any higher, if at all, than my hydraulic jack.

Big Bubba Ray > BaconSandwich is tasty.
04/24/2014 at 18:41

Fair enough. Not sure if anybody else mentioned it yet, but throw a block of wood in between the jack and jacking point for an extra inch or so of height. Might do the trick!

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Big Bubba Ray
04/24/2014 at 20:37

Yeah, a few others have mentioned it. I'll definitely be trying that out.

George McNally > BaconSandwich is tasty.
04/24/2014 at 22:16

What kind of jack are you using? If you're using the jack that came with the car.....go to Sears and buy a decent floor jack-it will get the car higher in the air plus it will be more stable.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > George McNally
04/25/2014 at 13:40

My current jack is one of these - a standard 2 ton hydraulic floor jack.

*cough*