Car feel off jack onto jackstand, fell about 5" Options

[LvSteveH]

I usually put the rear jack stands on the outside trailing arm pickup, the part attatched to the car, not the arm itself, and in the front I use the whole corner by the doughnut (using a piece of wood) or the front of the A-arm, where it bolts into the body. I just don't like the idea of putting a jack stand directly on any sheet metal.

I wish someone would come up with something better, It's always a stressful process.

[ArtechnikA]

my car fell off jackstands so many times while i had it in NV, and then a LOT more times trying to get it raised and onto the cradle to get it outta there. many bumps and dings under there, fortunately mine is at the start of any restoration process, not the end...

lemme tell you - it is a REAL PAIN getting a 914 tub out of a sandbox !

[7391420]

All good ideas on this one,

I also get scared with the stands, so for any work that doesn't require removing tires I always drive the car up on ramps (I guess this doesn't help anyone who's car is torn apart..) but with a good set of ramps, and then locking the other set of wheels with chocks, the car aint going no where. At this point I've pretty much decided that if I cant do the work under the car with it on ramps than it goes to the pros....

I got a great set of 4000LB max ramps from the local auto parts store, they are black poly plastic and have a raised edge at the end so you almost cant drive over them...

-Adam

[Air_Cooled_Nut]

...
this is how i've been doing it lately. bought the jack plates off ebay -- it feels safer putting a jack stand under a metal bar rather than trying to seat it just perfectly under the donut (pucker factor). this jack's reciever fits the donut perfectly, but it's there only as a back-up (the load is fully on the jack stand)...

I put my 914 on jack stands and it was too much of a process to get it up high -- I had to shuttle back-n-forth to get her up to the highest jack height. All I needed was a couple more inches in lift, then I could put the jack stands to their full height the first time. So, I made an extension...

This image shows the normal jack assist that you can buy from the catalogs. It is the smaller, simpler one in front and I originally bought it for my VW but it fits the 914 equally well.

The bigger, more ungainly unit in the back is the extension I made. It adds about 3.25" of lift.

[Air_Cooled_Nut]

This is the underside of it. Notice the extra strips of metal I welded on? Well, I originally used a square piece of stock...not good. When attempting to lift the car the smaller bar rotated within the jack receiver (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif) Now I know why the catalog piece was in the shape/design that it was. So I took a couple pieces of scrap metal and welded them on to fill the gap (IMG:style_emoticons/default/welder.gif) and the fit was a tad snug (a smidge of grinding required) but I got it to fit and it didn't rotate in the receiver (IMG:style_emoticons/default/clap56.gif)

Yes, I drilled a hole in the middle of the jack place and welded it there, too. The car will break before the extension does... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smash.gif)

[Air_Cooled_Nut]

This is a comparison of the two. The carpenters triangle there is 7" tall.

[Air_Cooled_Nut]

I always put my jacks -- on any vehicle -- where the suspension mounts to the body. I try to keep the jack slightly pushed up at the jacking point (where ever that may be) as a back-up to the jack stand(s).

Girlfriend is snoring up a storm (please, don't say anything to her!) and I can't sleep so that's why the late-night posting (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)