Need help getting it up?

3_97_Sports

3_97_Sports

1st Gear Poster
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Sep 24, 2023
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BC Canada
Vehicle Details
1997 4.6
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A couple tips for people trying to get your car up a little higher for maintenance.
I use ramps for my oil change sometimes, and they slide forward when you are trying to drive up them. I attached a 2x2 piece to one end of two plywood pieces, then the weight of the car is on the plywood, ramps are contained by the 2x2, and they don't slide anywhere.
For jacking the car I attached two pieces of 2x10 together with screws, one piece longer than the other, with the end cut on a slant. When you drive the front of the car up on these woods, it is now high enough for your jack to slide underneath the front.
I have 1.6 drop, and my low profile jack won't slide under without this.
Hope these tips make someones life a little easier.20231120_092718.jpg20231120_092636.jpg20231120_092559.jpg20231120_092431.jpg
 
I was going to say, "Talor swift Deepfakes" in the gogle box works for me, and I'm old, lol.
Picking up on the fender while kicking the jack with your foot also works.
 
Grog6 said:
I was going to say, "Talor swift Deepfakes" in the gogle box works for me, and I'm old, lol.
Picking up on the fender while kicking the jack with your foot also works.
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I go in through the front with the jack, and it is too heavy to kick around with my foot. 106lbs would pull my lower back or hip out.💪💪. I have 4 of the larger suv Jack stands also. I recall my dad dropping a car when the smaller jackstand collapsed back in the late 70s in our carport. I don't want to get squashed under a Thunderbird. The larger stands make it easier to drop transmissions and tanks.
It is a project getting it all the way up though, after front and rear are both on the stands, I have to go from one end of the car to the other repeatedly so it stays reasonably level during lifting.
On a gravel driveway.
Fun times.
Screenshot_20231120-132243_Chrome.jpg
 
You really can't around a cat, lol. Getting out of the shower can be an experience, lol.
 
Like Alan said, just walk into costco or sams club. get their biggest jar of vasolene, and walk out smiling, lol. There's a quart size, lol.
 
Remember the biggest pain job on these is either the gas tank or the trans. Make sure your lift lets you do those; It's a bitch on jackstands. It's much easier if you can roll a trans jack under there. Bonus points if you can drop the irs or k-member, lol.
 
Grog6 said:
Remember the biggest pain job on these is either the gas tank or the trans. Make sure your lift lets you do those; It's a bitch on jackstands. It's much easier if you can roll a trans jack under there. Bonus points if you can drop the irs or k-member, lol.
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Trans is a piece of cake, in the sense that it’s really no different than doing it on any other RWD car. Though you need to partially lower the tank to get the driveshaft yoke clear, but you don’t have to drop it all the way out, you just loosen the straps a little. Here’s a life hack, I forget the length and thread pitch but I keep a pair of long bolts in my toolbox specifically to go in place of the rear most strap bolts to keep the tank suspended but lowered enough to slide the DS out.

Likewise it’s not bad with tall enough jackstands, pull the wheel and you have perfect access to slide straight in with the bellhousing clearing the frame rail(unless you have one of those pesky braces in the way lol). Quite frankly I’m intimidated doing a transmission on a lift by myself, that’s a big heavy part I have no desire to drop from 5’ right next to me.
 
Better to drop it on your chest, lol. I've done both jobs on stands; I'd way rather have a lift. I have to admit tho; I've never seen a lift that would let you get the tank, k-member, OR irs off. :)
 
XR7-4.6 said:
Trans is a piece of cake, in the sense that it’s really no different than doing it on any other RWD car. Though you need to partially lower the tank to get the driveshaft yoke clear, but you don’t have to drop it all the way out, you just loosen the straps a little. Here’s a life hack, I forget the length and thread pitch but I keep a pair of long bolts in my toolbox specifically to go in place of the rear most strap bolts to keep the tank suspended but lowered enough to slide the DS out.

Likewise it’s not bad with tall enough jackstands, pull the wheel and you have perfect access to slide straight in with the bellhousing clearing the frame rail(unless you have one of those pesky braces in the way lol). Quite frankly I’m intimidated doing a transmission on a lift by myself, that’s a big heavy part I have no desire to drop from 5’ right next to me.
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I've done the trans on the ground with stands and on the lift. Definitely need the under lift trans jack when the car is in the air. On jackstands really isn't too hard. I can usually have a trans out in 90 minutes that way. But I live in the west and nothing is rusty here. I've always used the method of lowering the pumpkin and sliding the driveshaft back over top of it. Once I did the trans on a car while I also had the tank out. But lowering the tank really is pretty simple too.
 
Tank method is easier on rusty cars, the diff nuts and bolts are more inclined to fight you than the strap bolts. Either works, I'm just more accustomed to doing it via tank.

Grog6 said:
Better to drop it on your chest, lol. I've done both jobs on stands; I'd way rather have a lift. I have to admit tho; I've never seen a lift that would let you get the tank, k-member, OR irs off. :)
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Which I've done lol 2 post lift will let you drop, err, lift* the car from the K member, IRS et al. Tank would still be a challenge since the pads might be in the way.

I'm not really into laying on the floor with the floorpan 5" from my face but there hasn't been a task that I found too daunting using jackstands only.
 
Yup. And pulling the trans off the pins is nerve wracking. :) No matter now ready you are, suddenly, you're holding a 100lb weight. :)
 
Grog6 said:
Yup. And pulling the trans off the pins is nerve wracking. :) No matter now ready you are, suddenly, you're holding a 100lb weight. :)
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Yeah but better to get the wind knocked out of you when it drops down a few inches, rather than lose a foot when it drops 6 feet!

With 4R70ws swapping on a 95 or earlier pan helps a ton when using a regular jack, you can just put a block of wood under it and it goes up nice and flat, rather than teetering on the 96+ dimple for the pickup. Just remember to swap it back to the later pan when it's buttoned up
 
I have a piece of 2x12 with a big hole drilled in it, lol. I bought a hole saw kit on a surplus site a dozen years ago cheap.
 
XR7-4.6 said:
Yeah but better to get the wind knocked out of you when it drops down a few inches, rather than lose a foot when it drops 6 feet!

With 4R70ws swapping on a 95 or earlier pan helps a ton when using a regular jack, you can just put a block of wood under it and it goes up nice and flat, rather than teetering on the 96+ dimple for the pickup. Just remember to swap it back to the later pan when it's buttoned up
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Years ago I built a square out of 2x4s that i put under the 96 and newer pans so I can use a jack under those. Real simple.
 
racecougar said:
All of that is doable on the 4-post with bridge jacks and a transmission jack. If you're going to use a 4-post for work, get at least one bridge jack, preferably two.
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I waited far too long before I got a bridge jack to go with my 4-post. That thing proved its worth on the first use.
 
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