jacking up front?

[Vinnie]

Hey folks,

This might be a bit of a n00b question (which I am to these matters) but what's the best/preferred way to bring up just the front of the car (73) so that I can replace the fuel pump?

Only points I know of are the "official" jacking points but are those usable without a car lift?

Cheers,

Vincent.

 

[72MustangSprint]

I jack the front up under the engine (sub frame), then use jack stands.

 

[Manu Mach1]

There are no noob question when it's about safety.

If you don't feel safe with jack stands, you can use a pair of ramps.

 

[Vinnie]

I looked into this again, not easy coz I'm unfamiliar with the names of certain areas of our cars.

If I wanted to leave the car on jack stands for half a year, do I put them:

- Rear: under the rear axle or at the front where the spring leaves attach?

- Front: under those square beams behind the front wheels? (are those called side members?)

I'd rather not jack up the car under the cross member. Can I jack up one side at a time at the front?

Jacking up the rear is OK under the diff?

Thanks,

Vince.

 

[Mister 4x4]

Up front you have:

- Front Frame Rails

- Torque Boxes

- pinch weld roadside jacking points

- engine cross member

I wouldn't jack the front of the car under the front cross member - or radiator core support as it's commonly known. Granted, it boxes the front frame system, but it's really not the best place to support the weight of the vehicle from.

Yes, it's always good to jack the rear up from under the axle.

 

[rcadd1ct]

I jack it up then slide then put the ramps under the tires.

 

[mach1000]

I try to get under the engine cross member if you have a jack rated enough to pick up the front end. Jack stands on each side under the frame rails near where the lower control arms mount. If you can only do one side at a time I would go under the strut rod brace in front but jacks shouldn't go under this for any length of time.

Rear, I jack under center of axle and jack stands under each frame rail or under each side of axle closer to each leaf spring. Depends on what I'm doing and what I need access to.

 

[BeerDontCount]

While we are on the subject, what are the jacking points when you have sub-frame connectors? I had the Global West ones installed, and have not had to get them on a jack since then. Is it ok to use the sub-frame connectors as jacking points or will is it too much stress?

Thanks,

Scott

 

[Pastel Blue]

While we are on the subject, what are the jacking points when you have sub-frame connectors? I had the Global West ones installed, and have not had to get them on a jack since then. Is it ok to use the sub-frame connectors as jacking points or will is it too much stress?

Thanks,

Scott

I would not jack the car up on sub frame connectors...

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

My two cents worth. You should only jack the car from points that Ford designed the car to carry weight. I always jack the front from under the lower ball joint where the spindle connects. That puts the weight of the car where it was designed to be. Jacking from the front cross member adds leverage to the weight and will flex the body. If you have rust it could actually do damage.

I also like to use ramps when doing simple repairs like oil change or lube. Always put jack stands under the car even with ramps for safety reasons. I jack the rear from below each leaf spring mount and have used the center of the rear to lift both wheels. I do not have my Ford manuals handy but I recall there is a diagram on where to pick up with a lift also.

When these cars were new I heard horror stories of people jacking them up and twisting the body and actually cracking windshields.

The physics of jacking the entire front of the car from the front radiator support is saying I am making the car a lever from the center of the rear axle all the way to the front so the force applied is much more than I want to put on the body. If there is no engine, transmission etc. then the weight is much less and probably ok then.

 

[Mister 4x4]

While we are on the subject, what are the jacking points when you have sub-frame connectors? I had the Global West ones installed, and have not had to get them on a jack since then. Is it ok to use the sub-frame connectors as jacking points or will is it too much stress?

Thanks,

Scott

I would not jack the car up on sub frame connectors...

Depending on the SFCs, I'd tend to agree.

But, I've done that (I have the same Global West SFCs), and nothing flexes. The subframe connectors being round tubes and welded to the front and rear frame rails makes the car 'almost' like it has a full frame. I installed mine with the car on a drive-on lift, so the weight of everything was on the wheels [as it would've been normally]. The Global West units seem a lot sturdier than some of the others out there, which is why I was OK with it. I've seen similarly constructed rock sliders and nerf bars take a LOT more punishment than the seemingly 'careful' act of lifting up the back end of the car.

When jacking the rear for anything that doesn't require the rear axle to be free, I usually jack it up under the rear diff, then slip the jack stands under the axle tubes near the leaf springs, or right under the leaf spring pads (which is sometimes fun because I have old school Lakewood traction bars instead of traditional spring pads).

Here's another question: What's the consensus - jack the front up first, then the rear... or the rear, then the front when putting up all four corners?

I ask because I've noticed when I jack the rear up first (which is easier to me), sometimes the car will shift rearward a tiny bit as I'm raising the front - that's after having chocked the front wheels prior to doing anything. I once even dropped the car off the rears as I was bringing the front down it had shifted so much (fortunately, I was just changing tires, so it was only up a few inches, but still scary nonetheless). My driveway has about a 1-2 degree decline away from the house - nothing major - but I'm sure it's enough to cause issues if I'm not paying attention or in a hurry.

 

[Vinnie]

I'm googling and googling but cannot get a clear idea of what exactly the lower ball joint is :-/

Is there a schematic anywhere of our Mustang with these parts named? Also things like subframe connectors, upper/lower control arms, side members etc.

 

[BeerDontCount]

Vinnie - The lower ball joint is the pivot point between the lower control arm and the front spindles (the part that the front brakes bolt onto and the wheel bolts to). Sometimes the parts suppliers have decent pics of the different parts and how they fit together. Probably better pics and schematics out there.

Thanks for the feedback. I guess my assumption was that the SFC covered up the jack points and made them inaccessible. That being said I haven't actually looked under the car since they were installed. Once I do, it'll probably be apparent.

Thanks,

Scott

 

[mycoses]

the stock ford jacks used the pinch welds and most of the new cars also use the pinch welds along the sides for jacking. So i will chock the back wheels to prevent rolling and jack up each side of the car on the pinch welds at the front where the original jack was supposed to go moving from side to side jacking up a little at a time until the car is high enough to place jack stands under the front frame rails at which point I lower the car enough to contact the jack stands and I leave the jacks also in place as a two point stabilization. to speed up the process i cut a slit in a hockey puck and use that to jack up at the pinch weld with a hydraulic jack. works best if you have the luxury of two hydraulic jacks. I jack the rear under the pumpkin and put jack stands under each axel. I made some ramps out of layered 2 x 10 wood and run the car up on those if I am not pressed for time. that leaves the car weight on the front tires and is very stable and safe

 

[Pastel Blue]

Well, here is how I stored my big block Mach 1 for 6 months every winter for 20 years:

Jacked it up under the center of the main cross beam located directly under the engine. Two jack stands and a piece of 2x6 the length of the front brace under the rad. Lowered the front end onto this set up. Front suspension hung freely.

Jacked up the rear of the car under the diff. until the wheels were sufficiently off the ground. One jack stand and a small piece of 2x4 under the uni body frame area immediately in front of the rear spring perches. Ensured that when the rear was lowered, it did not bind on the spring as the spring lost the weight of the car and the wheels now hung freely in the air.

Right or wrong, this worked for me, no issues ever with the unibody flexing...

Now, with my new project being a BB convertible, I will have to look at this a bit more...

 

[EBSTANG]

While we are on the subject, what are the jacking points when you have sub-frame connectors? I had the Global West ones installed, and have not had to get them on a jack since then. Is it ok to use the sub-frame connectors as jacking points or will is it too much stress?

Thanks,

Scott

when using a 4 point lift, I position the 2 front lift points under the front end of my Global West subframe connectors. I slip a cut section of radiator hose over the connector where the lift makes contact. It's plenty strong enough for that.