Jack stand points on 240Z

[New-to-240z]

Hey guys, I'm going to be doing a lot of work on my 240Z here for the next few months,(tearing apart the suspension, replacing everything with poly urethane bushings, and powder coating everything. Prob even going to go ahead and tear off all the undercoating and recoat with POR 15. . . ) and I was wondering a few things . .

 

1.) What are the best points to put the jack stands on a 240Z for an extended period of time?

 

2.) Should I put a piece of wood between the jack stand and these spots to evenly distribute the weight?

 

3.) Is there some kind of limit to how long I should keep my car up on stands?

 

4.) Can someone post pictures of the spots for me? No real need, but I'm sure someone will benifit from them.

 

Thanks guys!

[jasper]

Front subframe/crossmember is good,front frame rails, so is the rear subframe.

Take note of your factory jack. The pinch weld/rocker panel is also good. Wood is good, be careful. This is assuming your car is not a total rustbucket.

DO NOT jack on the floor supports.

Length of time is irelevant.

[New-to-240z]

My car is actually in really good condition. I have a few rust spots here and there, but for the most part it is basically clean. I'm getting it painted soon, so I thought now would be a good time to do all the work so if I scratch anything, it will be pre-paint rather then post-paint.

[johnc]

1. Center 10" on the front crossmember.

2. The front subframe rails where the TC rods mount.

3. Rear seat belt mount cups.

4. Rear subframe rails where the lateral and longitudinal members meet outside of the front diff crossmember.

5. Pinch weld points at the front and rear of the rocker panel, but use a 4 x 4 with a1/4" wide by 1" deep slot cut in it as recommended above.

[Mikez31ss]

...

5. Pinch weld points at the front and rear of the rocker panel, but use a 4 x 4 with a1/4" wide by 1" deep slot cut in it as recommended above.

Would that be the best option if you were wanting to inspect/disassemble all suspension components?

This is how I suspended the rear of my shiro in order to remove the entire suspension and differential.

[johnc]

There is no best. You'll use different jack points at different times when working on the car.

[sbooth]

BTW, I've had 3 cars painted over the last 10 years of cheap and very expensive variety and your powdercoated parts will likely get overspray on them in the process. Perhaps spend the efforts to press out old bushings, hit parts with flat black spray can and replace with urethane for now. After paint job, the urethane bushings are easy to remove and have the steel suspension components powdercoated and re assemble. More work but less dissatisfaction. Remeber to mask off machined mating surfaces and close tolerance bushing slip on surfaces as powdercoating can add .01-.02" of thickness.

[hron13]

not to thread jack but, is it safe to jack up the rear end of the car by the differential housing like on a solid axle car. or do you have to do a side at a time.

[iBang]

I've always jacked up from the differential on my cars including the Z. I know its common practice with 240SX's. That's how we quickly change tires when drifting.

[turboHLS30]

That's the only place to jack up my Z because it's too low. But it is safe as long as you put jack stands. That's one thing that my dad has taught me, no matter how much you jack up a car put jack stands underneath it.

[RebekahsZ]

Lack of strong places to put a jack is a real deficiency of these cars. My car is about 5 inches off the dirt at the rocker panels, so much of the undercarraige is less than 3 inches from the floor. I have an airdam, so I can't get to the front crossmember (which is the strongest part of the whole car). I use a $59 Hargor Freight aluminum low-profiile jack and I have padded the handle because I have a knack for smacking my paint with it. For the back, I jack from the differential. For the front, I have to turn the front wheels away from the side I'm jacking, then I place the jack on a little flat spot under the TC-rod mount (about the only heavy steel on the frame rails. My frame rails have little bends all over them from prior owners jacking and bending; the metal is too thin. I then place my jack stands under the front cross member with a 2X4, then let the car down and start swapping the location of my jack and jack stands until I have a jackstand on each TC rod mount (takes about 15 minutes to get car on jackstands). On the back, I put the jackstands on my swaybar mounts. I just picked up some 1/4 inch steel to make jack plates on the front frame rails so that I can start jacking the car up quicker. I would not jack from the rocker panels on a car with paint that I cared about; mine were all kinked up from previous owners before I replaced them. Watch your jackstands for tipping and reposition them as you go with a rubber hammer. If you drop the whole rear suspension as a unit while the engine is in the car, you will want some extra jackstands under the front crossmember. When the suspension comes down, the weight of the engine will lift your car right off the rear jackstands and you will either drop your car or pee your pants while holding down the back of the car and screaming for your wife to help you. Of course, that has never happened to me....and of course it wasn't at 3am on a Sunday night in a pouring rain.

[Miles]

Front: Floor jack under the center of the front cross member. Jack stands under the frame rail aft of the TC attachment point. I leave the floor jack under the cross member after I lower the car onto the jack stands.

 

Rear: Floor jack under the differential. Jack stands under the latteral frame members that are just in front of the rear wheels. see picture. Note that I leave the floor jack under the differential after I lower the car onto the jack stands as an added safety measure.

 

Verify that the frame members rest firmly on the jack stands when you let the car down. When working on brakes or suspension I slide a tire under the frame rail on each side so if the car slips it will fall on the tire and not me.

 

Don't trust those factory scissors jacks. Mine snapped and dropped the car while changing the tire.

 

I now use truck sized jack stands for more stability as recommended by one of the members here.

Edited January 30, 2011 by Miles

[RebekahsZ]

Here's my pics. Concur with wheels/tires under car. Might save your life.

[BTF/PTM]

Hi everyone,

 

I thought I'd revive this thread with a (hopefully) relevant question.  We have a z we just finished urethane bushings on, and the rear diff has not been reinstalled as we're waiting for an LSD R200 (car had an open r200 in it previously).  Can we use the rear suspension crossmember (curved bar that is held in place by the vertical dogleg things) to pick the tail up enough to pull the stands out and set her back on her wheels?  Otherwise we can use the seatbelt buckets as mentioned, but I thought I'd ask.

 

Thanks!

[johnc]

Should be fine as long as the lower control arms are installed and everything is tight.

[nacitar]

Here's my pics. Concur with wheels/tires under car. Might save your life.

These pictures are gold.

[Phantom]

I had my 280 in the air a couple weeks ago.

Ran the front wheels up on 2x6's to allow the jack to get under the air dam and then jacked using the center of the front crossmember. Don't remember where I put the jackstands.

When we jacked the rear we used the standard jacking locations at the rear pinch welds. Then put the jackstands under the LCA's so that the wheels would be at a correct running angle. Did it VERY carefully to ensure everything was secure prior to doing some 50 MPH turns to see what kind of vibration / runout was present in the drivetrain. Overall it was really good except for the loose rear differential stud bolts in the mustache bar.

[Floorless240z]

I have a 2 post lift with offset arms, haven't found a good spot for the rear arms. Any suggestions? I saw the seatbelt cup mentioned but didn't see where exactly would be optimal