All, Yes, I have used search but not found a PIC to help. I am sure they are there but I couldn't find one. Sorry to kill electrons over this but I have NEVER done this before and am scared $hitless of making my wife and kid semi-wealthy too early. You are looking at the rear of my 81 308 GTSi. The front wheels are blocked. Hand break on. You can see where I placed the jack stands. The arrow points to the location I used to jack the car up with my new floor jack. What have I done wrong or could do better about keeping it in the air, before I get under this F@^%#ing car. Thanx in Advance. P.S. Question: Can I open a door while the car is like this or will that possibly tweak the frame or something else????? Image Unavailable, Please Login
Ok, first of all, what are you attempting to do? Second, I do not see any arrow, so I cannot comment on that. Also it seems to me you have placed the jackstand on the subframe holding the motor. I am not familiar with your car, so I will reply to you in a couple of different ways: No, you should not fear to be crushed under the car. On the other hand that may not be the best spot to support the car. I am assuming you have used the designated lifting spots for the floor jack, so if I were in your place I would place the jack stands under the suspension arms, as close to the wheel hubs as possible. You should be able to open and close the doors with the same ease as when the car is on the ground. Good luck
When working under my 308 I remove the wheels [loosen the wheel nuts on the ground first] and jack it up on 4 frame points [search the forums for a diagram]. Once the car is on 4 jack stands it will be safe [better than having it's butt in the air]. Leave the wheels under each corner laying flat for safety purposes.
Maybe this helps? http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=67365&highlight=jack+308+stand I have used the tube you show in your pic for my jack stands. If I'm going to have it up in the air, I tend to use 4 stands under the rear. Only 2 will normally actually have the car weight truly on them, but the other pair make me more comfortable just in case.
While there may be not actual pics on F-Chat, the question on placement of jackstands has been discussed quite a bit and several diagrams have been drawn to show placement. In essence, if you place jackstands at each of the four corners of your car supporting the chassis / tube frame, you will be OK.
Sorry, looks like the arrow didn't make it. It points to the shinny spot above the shinny flash streak on the frame(?) above the jack stand head in the photo. The stands are placed at the two 3-way frame intersections (I think) just in front of the engine. Yes I used the designated lifting points on the side of the car to get it part way up. Then placed the jack at the shinny spot in the frame in the pic noted above. I got to get into the trans and oil sump to change shift shaft seals and get the transmission and shifter back insync after changing the shaft seal in the cockpit and cleaning the bottom cup of the shift lever-- what a mess was in there to include fossilized dinosaur poop I think.
Tillman, Roger. I used the diagram in your link. I have the stands at the red boxes JUST infornt of the motor, I think. I wanted you guy's expert advice to ENSURE that what I did was correct and I was not mis-"seeing things." I'll put the other pair of stands and tires under there too as suggested. Any other suggestions guys? A BIG THANX for all the responses so far!!!!
Thanx Buddy. This one was great as I could see the actual photos. Diagrams are great but I like photos better. Thanx one and All !!!!!!
Looks like a good spot to me. The door open or closed is not going to keep the frame from twisting a little bit (temporarily). I've never lifted a car from the side on one end and NOT felt the door does not feel quite right when opening or closing. The latch mechanism will probably be a wee bit out of alignment while you've got it up. Maybe in your case less because you are lifting from both sides at the rear. PS. It's hand BRAKE not break (unless it's broken ;-) I don't understand why so many people spell this incorrectly. I would need a thousand hands to count the number of times I've seen educated, intelligent people (like you) spell it "break." Not picking on you Mark! God knows I'm not the most bestest speller but it has always caught my attention. This incorrect use of the word just makes me wonder what is going on with this mistake because it really is widespread. Again, not picking on you just mentioning something that I notice often. If anybody has a theory.... I'm listening!
Thanx. Maybe I can get this thing 1/2 fixed this weekend and completely fixed, next. As to "break" vs "brake," just not paying attention and NOT using grammar check. Mea Culpa!!! P.S. Did you get my email to your work address?
if you pick up the rear end - the hand brake is ineffective - the tires are in the air. keep the stand under the frame as shown in the pic - not under a suspension component. securely block the front tires or 'better yet' put the front end on stands as well & leave the tires on. use quality stands - no chinese knock-offs. Sears is good. no cheating - never work under hydraulics! (my bad) short of a quake - u should be just fine. Don't worry about opening doors unless u only pick up only one corner. Have fun, Vince
Okay, you've got a deadline. Have it ready next weekend! Haven't been at work for a few days. PS. Not sure a grammar check would catch "break" unless it's really smart software that knows you're talking about a vehicle hand brake versus a broken hand ..... or maybe the program offers alternative choices to commonly misspelled words?
Hope you are Ok (missing work)! "Okay, you've got a deadline. Have it ready next weekend! " Ohhhhhhhhh, the P - R - E - S - S - U - R - E ! Well I got a good look under this thing finally. Found some rust like Pizzaman's in the trunk area along the sides. Some of it is going to have to be cut out .... this coming winter. Funny thing is the trunk bottom looks brand new. Rest of the car looks pretty good. Got a bunch of oil leaks but look like gaskets and from screws. Belt side looks dry. Not a huge deal, but more to do after the at the end of this summer. Sure I'll have more questions. Thanx All !!!!!
No insult intended but if you are questioning your jackstand positions I question your ability to do the shaft seals and realign the shifter. By comparison the jacks are preschool and the shaft seals are college level. So my suggestion is to rattle the Fchat trees in your area and meet a new friend with some experience and have him come over to lend a hand. I think you are going to need it. On the other hand the money it will cost for a pro shop to do the job is not worth getting hurt over...ever. Maybe you should start on a simpler project and work your way up to the bigger gigs. Shaft seals are not hard just dirty, limited access with jackstands, and need some dexterity and good visualization skill of what you are trying to achieve. Aligning shift shaft is not hard just tricky to get right in Ferraris just not alot of tolerance for chevy level of slop.
I hate to give you bad news but if you are seeing rust in the sides of the trunk bottom there will most likely be more. The center section that you said looks good as new is actually a stainless heat shield so it won't be rusted. There is a steel pan right above it though that might be. Don't mean to scare you, it can still be fixed. I said the same thing as you when I started looking at mine but wound up replacing all the trunk panels. Good luck with the project and if you need any help with the trunk just ask, I took quite a few pics and have a somewhat decent memory!
Buy a nice lift...the ~$2500 will be less than your health insurance deductible and co-pays if that thing falls on you ... or worse, your funeral costs!
Hey guys.. Sorrry if this is a bit off topic, but the rubber caps on mwr's jack stands, does anyone know if there is a dealer/manufacuture in N.A (hopefully Canada) that carries and sells such an item?.. I have been looking for a while for such a rubber cap form my jack stands, and I can not find them in N.A thanks alot guys!
I don't know what the prices are in Germany, but you can get a portable low-rise for about $1500 delivered in the US. Even a low-rise lift will give you a lot more room to work than jack stands.
Here's another one for your collection: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=201694 John
When posible I leave the jack in place as well. I lower the jack just till the weight is on the jack stands then leave the jack in place in case something happens with a jack stand. Someone mentioned leaving the wheels under the car as well. I like that idea too.
ALL, I got mine here...... http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95952 Hope this helps. Mark
