i know the rear mount point for a heavy duty jack is on the middle of the rear beam (correct?). well while it was lifted (not to the point where the tires were off of the floor yet) i heard a bang noise. apparently the portion of the jack that was in contact with the rear beam finally found the center and fell into it. (the center, meaning the edges of the rear beam). the next time i jack the car up from the rear, do i just have to use my best judgement to find the exact center of the rear beam? or is it normal for the car to kind of "fall" into place?

and also...

i have to do some work with the front wheels...where should i lift the car from?

 

As you jack up the car, it is natural for the jack to shift forward on its own wheels. But the car should "fall" on it. What I do is raise the jack until it just touches the mounting point, then I wiggle the mount until it is perfectly centered on the point. That way, it stays on center when the jack is raised.

The front jack point is easy to find. From the front, it is a flattened portion towards the front of the center crossmember (which runs fore to aft).

If you didn't notice, the title of your thread is kind of funny. If you really wanted "jack up your car", you would beat it everyday and never do maintenance and sooner or later, it will break down on you.

 

lol yeah i know

oh well!

 

No harm was done when the axle fell into place. However, you can avoid that problem.

I replaced the original cup-like steel saddle on my floor jack with a rubber-faced flat plate such as Harbor Freight #36004 http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=36004 This is kinder to the car, marks it up less. Another approach would be to fashion a rubber insert for your cup-like saddle. Collect one of those truck tire treads which litter the highway roadside. Look for a thick one. Cut out a piece which will fit inside the saddle. Let it "float" or secure it with a big gob of adhesive, as you wish.