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Jacking the Elise and Placing on Jackstands

129K views 141 replies 76 participants last post by  Help Me DIY 
#1 ·
I am getting ready to send my wheels off for some powdercoating and therefore I need to remove them from the vehicle. My dealer wouldn't let me house the vehicle on his lift for the 4 days that it will take to get back from the shop.

They recommended me to just jack the car up and place them on jackstands.

Couple of questions:

1) Any recommendations on quality jackstands and a jack?

2) What are some good points on the vehicle to jack the car up? I was looking to jack the front and then the rear. I want to avoid having jacking the car up on one jackstand at a time.

Thanks
 
#27 ·
masheen said:
i am thinking of raising the entire car off the ground and onto stands by myself, and getting all the wheels off to take them to a shop to get new tires installed, because i don't want to run the risk of insulting the mechanics when telling them how to change the tires on this car, or have them ignore those instructions, or have those instructions as an excuse to charge me a lot more.
I wouldn't give it that much effort. Before I even came in for my tire change I explained to the guys that it wouldn't go on a lift and required a padded, low-profile jack that had to be used at a certain point on the car and they were cool with that. I even brought in my jack just in case and pointed out where to lift and gave them the owner's manual for reference. They were done in about an hour or so with no issues.

What I would watch out for, though, is them overtorquing the lug nuts and overinflating the tires. I retorqued my lug nuts when I got home and a couple were tight enough that I literally had to bounce up and down on my wrench (I'm a fit 220lbs). And, last night, I finally got around to checking my air pressure (I was bad and let it go for a month or so:eek: ) my pressures were 35F and 37R :eek: . Again, that's after over a month! No wonder the car felt numb and seemed to turn so easily. I just thought it was the fact that they were a different brand of tires. :)
 
#84 ·
I wouldn't give it that much effort. Before I even came in for my tire change I explained to the guys that it wouldn't go on a lift and required a padded, low-profile jack that had to be used at a certain point on the car and they were cool with that. I even brought in my jack just in case and pointed out where to lift and gave them the owner's manual for reference. They were done in about an hour or so with no issues. ..........
Warning, obtuse question coming:

I am about to take my car into an alignment shop for a Tirerack-drop and install of some new Toyos. This is going to be a (lesser than) jacking 101 question, but the Owners manuel indicates: (point) A Identified by a blue sticker. My stickers seem to have washed off.... is this circle (yes, with a little blue outline) the proper spot? I would rather ask the question now than look back wistfully later. So should I suggest the shop use a padded jack which fits within this circle and that they take great care NOT to make contact with the outside edges?

I am looking to inform the tire-guys EXACTLY what they need and Where to jack.



 
#28 ·
Icedog_16 said:
I wouldn't give it that much effort. Before I even came in for my tire change I explained to the guys that it wouldn't go on a lift and required a padded, low-profile jack that had to be used at a certain point on the car and they were cool with that. I even brought in my jack just in case and pointed out where to lift and gave them the owner's manual for reference. They were done in about an hour or so with no issues...
that's another, even better/simpler idea for me, that i didn't think of - i'll do just that! - tell them to only lift one side of the car at a time using a jack. i already agreed on the price so hopefully seeing the car in person will not affect it. thanks!

i am still glad i have learned all this other stuff for when i need it.

although i am starting to doubt my creativity.

i just called them asked and they are ok with it. i am going monday, which is supposed to be a reasonable-weather day (the end of this week had snow!).
 
#29 ·
I change tires often for autocross and it is common to lift one side using the rear side lift point to do both tires. This is also how I have the local tire shop work on my car using a floor jack.

Note, make sure you bring the lug tools you need for your car. That includes the splined driver if you have the original bolts from Lotus and the locking tool if you have the locking bolts (and you should replace this!). If you have replaced these with a stud kit, bring in a thinwalled 17mm socket as they may not have one.

My preference is to actually pull the tires off myself and take them loose to the tire shop so I am in control of the mounting on my car.
 
#32 ·
shay2nak said:
Arno
what or where did you get those Praxis cubes you're using on the jack stands?
thanks
Well.. Umm.. 'Praxis' is a DIY shop for building materials and equipment here..

They're called 'hammer caps' here in europe. Made from tough rubber and used to cover a small sledgehammer/mallet used when laying pavement slabs or cobblestones by hand and you need more weight than a normal rubber hammer.



The cover for the 1.5Kg mallet was pretty close to the size of the jackstand, so I just had to cut out a few mm's along the edges for them to fit over the ends.

Bye, Arno.
 
G
#33 ·
Arno said:
Recently did some suspension work and I used it like this..

For putting it on stands I use a 2-step process:

- remove engine undertray
- jack up 1 side, slide rhinoramps under the wheels
- jack up other side until it is just a little higher and put stands underneath
- jack up side that's on rhinoramps and place stands as well

That way the stands are never subjected to much side loads.

I used the front point and the one on the chassis beam under the fuel tank. Car was very stable.

Bye, Arno.

How do you remove the engine undertray without first jacking the car?

Also... you have MORE than 2 steps... :D
 
#34 ·
qball said:
How do you remove the engine undertray without first jacking the car?
I just remove the diffuser first from the back, then from the sides I stick my arm under car, loosen large center bolts.

Then remove the small bolts on each side, remove the large center bolts.

Undertray now drops onto the floor. Slide it forward and then sideways from under the car.

And it's out of there! About 5 minutes work.

Putting it back is pretty similar process. At first you struggle a bit, but after a while it starts to become routine and it's no biggie.

Also... you have MORE than 2 steps... :D
Yeah.. It boils down to jacking up one side and putting it on rhinoramps and then fitting the jackstands. Keeps it nice and level when setting it on the stands.

Bye, Arno.
 
#35 ·
i ended-up having to get all the wheels of the car to get new tires mounted after all. so i raised the whole car.

a slight modification to the suggested process of raise at A, place stand at B, place stand at C, repeat on the other side: instead i used my ramps to hold up points B instead of using jack stands - looks much more stable and i don't see any disadvantages in my case (except that the ramps are not as portable for track days).

in general, i just realized, a potential risk is the difference in heights between the ramps and the stands, but in my case they are close (as far as i remember) when the stand is all the way down on its lowest setting. the angle (and thus weight) of the car may be slightly towards front or rear, but not noticeably in my case (and so i can't even tell/remember). i didn't think of this last night so i will check the difference better.

others have suggested using ramps as an intermediate step after which the car ends up all on the stands eventually anyway. in my case i left the ramps in place.

note this is only useful for when the car only needs to be raised slightly, as for removing all wheels since may ramp height does not give enough height to work under the car.
 
#38 ·
waydui said:
The more I look at that picture, the more afraid I get!! :thwack:

This bit of stupidity was performed pre-Qball. If mine had flipped, we'd be calling it a "wayner". :)

Won't happen again, I promise..
Wayne
That raised the hair on the back of my neck to see. Please do not get under that ever again Wayne without a much more secure way to lift it. Whew....

your a much braver man than I.
 
#39 ·
masheen said:
that's another, even better/simpler idea for me, that i didn't think of - i'll do just that! - tell them to only lift one side of the car at a time using a jack. i already agreed on the price so hopefully seeing the car in person will not affect it. thanks!

i am still glad i have learned all this other stuff for when i need it.

although i am starting to doubt my creativity.

i just called them asked and they are ok with it. i am going monday, which is supposed to be a reasonable-weather day (the end of this week had snow!).
I believe you have already got the job done, but would like to add a comment regarding the above. Qball, whose car was dropped backwards off a lift, also slowly explained the proper procedure and provided the owners manual to the shop. He went over every step detail by detail. He had a power-point presentation.

They waited until he left and then did what they wanted.

xtn
 
#40 ·
solar said:
How do you align the jack stands with the B & C jacking points while the car is up on the jack?
I forget what I used to align the jack for point "A", but the rear one is pretty easy. Once you take off the undertray, you will see the shear panel. This is the large flat panel of aluminum with the large holes in it directly under the fuel tank. At the rear of the shear panel, there is a beam that runs from one side of the car to the other. Place the jack stand under this beam between two bolts as close to the outside edge of the car as you can get (within reason). If you are only taking the rear tires off you don't need to use the fronts points. Use the center to point to lift one side, place the jack stand under the rear point, and take the rear tire off. Then repeat for the other side. You will end up with the front sitting on the tires and the rear on jack stands. This works fine and is stable as long as you put wheel chocks on BOTH SIDE OF BOTH front tires as you no longer have an emergency brake when the rear is on jack stands.
 
#41 ·
I may be the only one, but I have to give a word of caution.

I once attempted to lift one side of the car and slide the RhinoRamps under that side (going to repeat it for the other side).

Before I go the car high enough to slide the RhinoRamp under the rear tire, the angle of the car (one one side lifted) causes the jack to slip - and luckily - shoot out from under the side of the car. Luckily, because the car fell back to the ground without hitting the jack or causing any damage.

I learned my lesson, and back up on the RhinoRamps to access the under-tray and remove it, then drive it back down onto the ground. I then jack up one side high enough to get two jackstands under the car with then set at their lowest point. Then I jack up the other side to normal working height and place the jack stands. Then back to the first side to raise those two jacks to the working height.

Lowering is the reverse.

Like I said, I may be the only one, and several people lift the car and slide the RhinoRamps under the tires, but I'm not going to even consider doing that again. Once was close enough to catastrophe...
 
#42 ·
I also back the car onto the Rhino ramps first, then I use the jack to lift one side enough to put the jack stand under it. Once you are on the rhino ramps, it does not take much to lift the car enough to get a jack stand under it, and their is little chance of the jack shooting out from under the car since both rear wheels are already on the rhino ramps and the car is level side to side. The angle from front to rear is MUCH less since the car is longer in that direction so again, really no chance of the jack shooting out because of the angle.

Good point Tim!
 
#43 ·
Is there a way to jack the car up only from the 2 "C" points without placing jack stands under points "B"? I torqued my toe-links without having to use more than one jack but I'd like to know for future reference. I don't think the front wheels would resettle onto the ground without tipping the car since the frame is so stiff.
 
#44 ·
You don't have to use jack stands under the front of the car when you lift the rear. Back the rear of the car onto ramps, drop the undertray, then jack the car at point "A", install jack stand under "C" and remove ramp. Repeat for the other side. You will end up with the front wheels on the ground and the rear on jack stands. Make sure you chock both front wheels though!
 
#45 ·
mpsalm said:
I torqued my toe-links without having to use more than one jack but I'd like to know for future reference.
I've pointed this out several times before, but here it is again.

The toe-link bolt is also the lower a-arm bushing mounting bolt. Only tighten that bolt (and any other bushing bolts) with the car at ride height - wheels on the ground. If the wheels are "drooping" with the car on jack stands, it will "pre-load" the bushing - besides causing the bushing to fail sooner, it will mess up the effective spring rate of the suspension.

Put the wheels on the ground or on RhinoRamps (or something else) so that the weight of the car is on the wheels prior to tightening the suspension bolts.
 
#46 ·
Good to know, thanks... It's hard sifting through the many many many threads on this topic...

TimMullen said:
I've pointed this out several times before, but here it is again.

The toe-link bolt is also the lower a-arm bushing mounting bolt. Only tighten that bolt (and any other bushing bolts) with the car at ride height - wheels on the ground. If the wheels are "drooping" with the car on jack stands, it will "pre-load" the bushing - besides causing the bushing to fail sooner, it will mess up the effective spring rate of the suspension.

Put the wheels on the ground or on RhinoRamps (or something else) so that the weight of the car is on the wheels prior to tightening the suspension bolts.
 
#47 ·
Placing on 4 jack stands

I have two racing aluminum floor jacks from Summit Racing (built-in hockey pucks, 3000 lb capacity). Caution - lower carefully, VERY gradually release the handles, otherwise they lower all the way at once.

Place wheel chocks in front of the front wheels. Remove the rear diffuser.

Jack the rear of the car using both locations D gradually at the same time. Place jack stands near locations C.

Repeat using both locations B at the same time at the front. Place jack stands under the tie rods. The car remains stable at all times.

Raising one side of the car using location A did not seem very stable. Too bad. I would have preferred not to have to remove the rear diffuser.
 
#49 ·
Yes i do it all the time, infact i have all 4 wheels off the ground using B, C or D.

Use A to lift one side, place a stand under B. Then lift the other side using A and place a stand under B.

As a side note, alot of members here like to put hockey pucks on top of the stand. I feel this practice is kinda dangerous, the chassis is made to be lifted there so there is no reason to protect it.
 
#52 ·
Because A is a balance point, is it unsafe to just put the front on jack stands via:
1. Jack car up at A.
2. Place jack stand at B.
3. Jack car up at A on opposite side.
4. Place jack stand at other B.
 
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