hello,

i am wanting to know the best way to allow yourselves to work under the car. i know leaving it jacked up isn't the safest and using stands and blocks would be better. what is an economical way to do?.. for now i've been just using the jack for oil changes, but wanted to know of safer and better ways to use 'jack stands' or 'blocks', but i dont want to ruin the jack points under the car.

but the thing is, how do u guys do it?. i don't want to hurt the car and know of how u guys can put it up on blocks or etc..?

thanks..

 

Get 2 jack stands, they are fairly inexpensive. You can use the front jackpoint to lift car and when it is high enough, slide jack stands to the jack stand points on the side of the car and then lower the car onto the stands so the jack is no longer supporting the car. I have stands that have a smooth contact surface for where they meet the stand point on the car and they don't mar the stand points. When jacking, be sure to block the tires and ensure the stands are on a solid surface and all 4 legs are in contact with ground.

 

Safest way would be with a hydraulic lift. But not many of us have one of those in his garage.

NEVER, ever go under the car with only a jack holding it up. It would be very ugly if the car were to roll out and fall right on top of you.

Use either a set of ramps or jack-stands in combination with some blocks to prevent the car from rolling out. ALWAYS use the emergency brakes.

My car fell once while I had it up only on a jack and I'll never forget it. I had forgotten to put some bricks behind the rear tires and use the emergency brakes. I had one front wheel off at the time. I heard some creeking sound and turned just in time to see the jack tilting sideways and the car starting to move backwards. Then BANG! It just dropped. Luckily I was standing on the side cleaning the brakes when it happened.

 

wow.. thanks for the pointer.. good thing u were okay..

i always use ebrake and my dad tells me to use blocks behind so it dont' roll. the home is pretty leveled and what not.

im still uncertain as to how and where to get the stands underneath after u've jacked the car up via jack.

i have a 97 and i dunno if the jack points are any different than the other years/models.

so ex:
im jacking it up on the driver's side, and i jack it up and slide the stands in from the right?.. and i just lower it till the jack stand catches the poitn? or do i do it away from the points?


thanks... sorry for noob questions... i just dont' want to smoother or ruin the jack points. i'm guessing i use the jack points fully to jack up, and alittle to the right i use that area for the stands?

thanks..

 

the pinch welds suck, use the subframe.

 

so use pinch to raise, and sub to lay jack stand?

 

Step one: Go buy a rubber chicken.

Step two: .......

Step three: Profit!!

 

unless you have a jack that is pinch weld friendly, overtime you will still most likely mangle the crap out of them.

I havent messed with the 5th gen in a long time, but on the 3rd gen there are points on the car that allow you to jack up both front tires or both rear tires easily.

 

You can get adapters for regular jack stands to use in the pinch weld area. Or just set them up against the frame of the car.

 

I like car ramps, they are very sturdy and easy to use. Manuals will have more trouble, but for us auto people, its very easy. Also, you wont even have scraping issues if you dont have more than a 1.5" drop. Key thing is to ease off the ramp so they dont flip up and hit your bumper. Later down the road i will invest in a jack and jackstands for times i need to take the wheels off. But for simple stuff like oil changes, exhaust work, tranny work, car ramps work very nicely.

 

BlueC, with the ramps, are they the metal ones or the plastic ones? I just dont feel safe around the plastic ones, although after a recent experience with metal ones I think the plastics are probably a better choice (had a maxima on the metal ones and the stand looked like it was about to collapse.


Personally I just took a trip down to Home Depot and bought some 14x2" wood boards and built my own. (14" because I work on trucks aswell and wanted some room with 12.50" wide tires ).

 

I bought the plastic ones for $25. They are 100% sturdy, i trust them. They hardly flex at all. Metal ones seem like they could bend or something.

 

breast feed.

 

best way is using ramps. nothing will ever go wrong.

 

Use ramps....I personally use the stock jack for the oil changes.

 

For changing oil????????
I use the ghetto jack.....
I pull my car up onto the curb on 1 side. Easy, done quick. And if u do it on the right side it helps all the oil drain out better.

For all other work i use a 2 ton floor jack & jack stands.

 

where are teh jack points for the front? ??

bumping this up.. still a little unsure..

 

If you consult your owner's manual, they have an illustration of where these jack points are located. If you don't have a manual, they are on the sides of the cars just behind the front fender well. There are two small grooves in the frame rail that run the length of your car where the jack is placed.

 

those rhyno ramps work really well, and also the jack stands. but if you dont want to mess up your car because of the jacks, get the ramps. they are pretty good and not expensive either.

 

I simply use one 2 foot long piece of 2X10 wood and drive the car on top of them. This gives me plenty of roon to get under it. If this is not enough space then just use two pieces of wood under each side. Just stager them so its not so hard to drive up them.

 

"Garage Jack Points" = the place where you use the jack to raise your car.
4 Inner circles are the places where you put the jack stands

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=311845
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=319220

 

I'm going to change the oil this coming weekend. I have two metal ramp everytime I do it. Is one of the safest if you want to get under a car. Is just a ***** to get it up the ramp. Everytime I get the wheels on to the ramp, I need to put a plywood to get it off the ground on to the ramp, or it'll scrap the bumper.

 

My car is lowered on eibachs and there is no need to use ramps. You guys are panzys. Lay down, stick your arm up, twist. Easy enough.

 

No.....

 

Hell yes! I do it this way, and I got a pretty d*mn big head. Sissies.

 

I just curb my car on the right side and that sort of levels the car since the road is kind of arched to help the water drain out of the street. Works fine for me

 

That is an awesome idea!!

 

not really, chances are your pulling the passenger side up, which means most of the oil is going to the drivers side of the oil pan. IIRC the drain bolt is on the passenger side

 

I cant fit any jacks under my car. I have about 4 jacks in my basement and even with the smallest one, which is about the size of a large cat... I cant fit it. I have to get someone to lift the car a good inch to inch and a half to get it there.

That or use the stock scizzor jack to lift it up enough..

Use jackstands or ramps ONLY.
Dont EVER use just a jack to hold up your car while your under it.

Or you could always do like they do around here and use 4 milk crates

 

I don't have an indoor garage. Actually, my friend has one, but it too far away. If the weather is good this weekend, I can change the oil. If not, i'll go to a mechanic. Brooklyn, N.Y.

 

I work in the street here in Brooklyn for small jobs like oil changes, brakes... etc

 

so I'm guessing it's fine putting the car on jack stands on the subframe? The subframe looks like it would collapse with the weight of the car on it. I thought about doing that once but didn't want to chance it.

 

Put the stands wherever a proper Maxima repair manual suggests to put them, or you could be sorry in more ways than one. You could get away with putting them in various places, but you won't have any guarantees...


On another note, I put my car up on FOUR jack stands a few days ago. Put the front on stands (standard procedures here), and then lifted the back. It was kinda scary to think about doing since I'd never done this before, but it was so uneventful and easy that I felt pretty silly afterwards.

 

Hmm, I have always lifted up the front of the car wth a jack then put two jack stands under the front tow hooks. Is that safe? I haven't had any problems with it but I wanted to know if this is safe practice.

 

I just wouldnt get in the car thats all, and be careful, it always looks like the car is going to slide off of them.

If you jack your car up enough on the pinch welds, chances are they will get mangled.

 

is it possibel to get a jack stand that does not ruin the points??

i have some craft mans ones and i dont think they are capable of supporting the stand points w/o ruining it or osmething..

i am needing a method to raise car to work on the brakes and what not.

 

Just put a rag on top of each stand.


BTW, I don't believe I missed this eariler, but JaTaN's post is wrong. You should NOT put the jack stands on the rocker seams where the circles are. Instead, there are 4 points further inwards along the subframe or suspension (depending on Gen) that you can put the stands on. Consult a repair manual. These 4 spots are wide enough that putting a stand under it won't cause it to crumple or concentrate too much weight on one spot.

The circles only show the points where it is okay to use a 2-post hydraulic lift or where the emergency jack in the trunk can go. I wouldn't put a skinny set of jack stands on those points.... it'd be 100's of pounds on a few mm of steel!

 

darn its cuz an inexperienced person like me who is afraid to go do something that may ruin the car and endanger himself..

i still want to see a pick of a common jack stand being placed under the point of a maxima just to see how the wedge works out and everything else.. i rather be safe than sorry..

 

I would get a ramp, it's a lot easier, just drive it up. Then change the oil, then drive it down, then you're done in no time.

 

exactly, and even then I put the pads from the lift on the subframe, not the pinch welds. So much safer plus then you dont have to worry about mangled pinch welds and possibly making it hard to bolt/unbolt fenders/etc. (I saw that on one car :-/)