Supporting the front frame rails of a 308 via a crossbeam

This winter's 308 project will involve a rebuild of the front end steering and suspension wear components, such as bushings, ball joints, and the like.

This will require the support of the frame at the front of the car for quite some period of time, as the front wheels will need to be removed for a couple of weeks. And since the car will be sitting up on a 4-post lift for this work, I can't consider the use conventional floor jack stands for support.

Looking up at the underside of the car while it is up on the lift, the easiest way that I can see to support the front of the car for this work will be via a substantial wooden cross beam, the ends of which will be resting on top of the lift's wheel ramps, spanning the gap between these ramps. And I see two (2) potential locations for this support:

a). The cross beam (modeled by a meter stick in the pictures below) will support the car at the frame rails at the -rear- of the A-arms (the blue channel and cable seen at the top of these pictures is a part of the lift):

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b). Or else, alternatively, I'd move the cross beam forward and support the frame rails at the -front- of the A-arms, as shown here:

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In either case, I'd build a pair of slightly raised "pads" onto the top of the cross beam so that they would support the car's weight at only the pair of frame rail locations. The cross beam will not come into contact with the car at any other intermediate location along the beam's length.

So, my question: From the point of view of properly supporting the front of the car via the car's frame rails, is there a case to be made for selecting either a) or b)?

Thanks for your thoughts / opinions! - DM

 

Brian - Thank you for your reply! Your experience and insight are always welcome!

Yes, you are obviously right in your observation that the cross beam would be in the way of the work at both locations which I'd shown. But those appeared to be those locations which seem to be the most recommended whenever jacking points are discussed, and I'd figured that I would just need to work around the cross beam as best I could at either location. But your excellent idea of moving the cross beam back a bit further towards the back of the car makes perfect sense.

Mike - That's a substantial-looking trolley that you have there! While it certainly looks suitable for the need, one advantage of using a lift as I will be doing is that you can raise the car to a comfortable working height, saving me the need to either lay flat on my back beneath the car or to wad myself up into the wheel well.

Joe - Yes, that's exactly the concept which I am planning to use. I don't have the steel "tray" which you show (and which looks all handy and proper-like), so I'll be building a similar cross beam as a DIY so to span the gap between the ramps. I'll be supporting the weight of the car at two points in the same manner as you've done with your jacks, but I will make the cross beam sufficiently tall enough with a couple of raised pads on top (as noted by Brian) so as to forego the need for a pair of jacks.

Thanks to all! - DM