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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
 
#90 ·
Nice video. I might add that if the wheels are going to be removed, the wheel nuts/studs should be "broken" loose prior to jacking them up. Not removed, not totally loosened, just enough so that you don't have to apply a lot of torque to anything while the car is up.
And if you are going underneath the car, it can be very wise to add an additional hard support like the wood stacked up enough just in case the jackstand nearest to you fails you might not be left smooshed (technical term). The wood isn't supporting weight, just stacked high enough to stop the travel prior to smooshing (there I go again with the technical) you.
 
#91 · (Edited)
After reading this thread, I'm somewhat confused as to the best and simplest way to raise the car. Wouldn't this be the simplest method to have all 4 corners off the ground, with the wheels off?

1) slightly loosen wheel lug nuts at all 4 corners
2) remove diffuser panel
3) raise car at A on left side
4) slide 2 jack stands underneath, one at B, one at C
5) lower onto both jack stands at the same time
6) repeat 3-5 for right side
7) reverse steps when done

Isn't this the simplest and best way?
 
#96 ·
#98 ·
Be very careful with ramps! Accidents have happened where the car slides off a ramp while backing up, or the ramp slides out from under the car while it's moving up or down the ramps.
Better to jack the car and place it on the ramps, rather than driving the car up the ramps.
 
#102 ·
I am about to jack my new Elise for the first time, and worried I'll mess it up and damage the car. Can you guys review the steps below and tell me if anything is wrong or missing?

1) use trolley jack to jack car on right side at point A
2) lower car onto plastic ramp on rear wheel
3) repeat (1) but on left side
4) repeat (2) but on left side
5) remove under tray at rear
6) lower car and drive around to warm engine
7) raise car on right side with jack at point A
8) place 2 jack stands at front and rear of car on right side (points B and C)
9) lower car onto stands
10) repeat (8) and (9) on left side
11) use trolley jack again to raise car on both sides if required
12) reverse above to complete

Also, wheels should be loosened before jacking if you are not using an impact wrench.

And I've read about a hockey puck to place on the stands, but mine are too narrow to properly seat a hockey puck. So I'm thinking of using a cork/rubber square instead (Grainger Mason item # 4C977)
 
#103 ·
I am about to jack my new Elise for the first time, and worried I'll mess it up and damage the car. Can you guys review the steps below and tell me if anything is wrong or missing?

1) use trolley jack to jack car on right side at point A
2) lower car onto plastic ramp on rear wheel
3) repeat (1) but on left side
4) repeat (2) but on left side
5) remove under tray at rear
6) lower car and drive around to warm engine
7) raise car on right side with jack at point A
8) place 2 jack stands at front and rear of car on right side (points B and C)
9) lower car onto stands
10) repeat (8) and (9) on left side
11) use trolley jack again to raise car on both sides if required
12) reverse above to complete
up, down, up, down... :facepalm:

What are you trying to accomplish? Why do you need to lift the entire car? Why are you lifting the car, dropping it, driving it and then lifting it again? How about drive then lift...? Lots going on there that is quite out of order and seems unnecessary.
 
#104 ·
Thanks for reminding me why I have you on my ignore list, RoadDad!

It's quite clear what I'm trying to accomplish, as per the thread - jacking the elise and placing on jackstands.
Driving it is to warm the fluids, as I stated. You can drive it before, but then you risk cooling the oil by the time the undertray is removed...
 
#105 ·
Put me back on your ignore list... and proceed on with the silliest method of oil change I've ever seen.

Obviously it isn't clear that you are just trying to perform a simple oil change, for which you have absolutely no need to jack up the front of the car. That's why I asked... and no, your oil isn't going to cool enough to matter if you drive it first, jack it up and drop the tray... I've done it for years.

Then again, I bet most folks here jack up their car, drop the tray, drop the car, drive it around, then jack it up again to change the oil... sounds pretty standard... :rolleyes:

Good luck.
 
#106 · (Edited)
I just drive it, then lift it and put it on ramps in the rear (or drive up on them).
Then remove undertray and drain oil.
It is not like your oil is turning into a solid mass if the oil temp drops a few degrees until you drain it.
 
#108 ·
Geez, Surge

Tray takes 5 minutes, then drain oil and trans lube.

I have never heard of the technique you describe; way too much work.

Are you sure you can't bleed brakes right thru the spokes? Many of us can.

Pray tell which oil and trans lube are you going to use?

BTW:

For oil and trans fluid change, need only ramps.

If you must remove wheels, safer to do only one side per time...or even one corner.
 
#109 ·
Sounds very complex for a simple job.

If you are, in fact, using "plastic ramps" why not drive the car up on those? Backing up onto ramps isn't hard. You can remove the undertray with the ramps in place.

If removing the undertray takes so long that the oil cools, just start the car up again while on the ramps and let the temp come back up.

Also, you don't need to remove the wheels to replace the transmission fluid or bleed the barkes. I do it just using the ramps and working on the brakes from underneath. Very easy.

Good luck

Regards,
Wayne
 
#112 ·
i just do the oil... and then take the car off (i use plastic rino ramps, personally, never had a problem). and then set the car on the ground and lift each corner to do the bleed (and the clutch while i have that wheel up. why? well... not that it matters, but i like to have the wheels off to inspect everything and just have more room - its pretty quick regardless...

if the engine is truly warmed up - you are going to need the time it takes to raise the car and remove the tray to let it cool enough to drain! i mean, oil will stay more than warm enough for a good while.
 
#114 ·
You're entirely welcome.

Couple of points, some repeats:

1. The plastic ramps I've used slid around dangerously. If I owned them (not a chance), I'd attach a pc of wood with rubber fastened to it.

2. I use a Sears hand vacuum pump and brake bleed kit, but however you do this:

a. Do not use your foot, which pushes the m/c piston into the rough, unused portion of the cylinder, prematurely wearing the seal.

b. Just before opening bleed valve, tap the caliper with something to release the air bubbles clinging to the metal into the stream of b/f about to leave.

c. I love Castrol LMA. Tech guy for NJ BMW CCA found it still had high boiling point when "old", better than the other brands he tested.

3. Bear in mind we only get a portion of our oil out; the lines & coolers still have oil in them.

I think most of us use mobil 1 turbo diesel 5w-40.


Last, RoadDad was trying to help you and he was, in fact, correct.
 
#115 ·
Thanks glb. I don't like Roaddad's style, and I'm not sure he was "right"... My method was correct, it was taken from the Sands site, but I've learned it was overkill.

As for the ramps, that's why I plan to raise the car with a jack, then lower it on the ramps. I'm not going to drive up them.
 
#116 ·
I suggest getting better ramps or modifying your so they don't move. My cheap, old steel ramps never budge. (Modifying them should take 20 minutes or so.)

I say this because it's just easier and much quicker, and you'll be using the ramps fairly often.

Sands is simply quite wrong; that method is ridiculous.

RD is a very smart guy and helps many ppl here. He can be funny and sarcastic, but worthwhile reading.

He was, indeed, correct, Surge.
 
#117 ·
Thanks to everyone's help (including Roaddad's (despite the sarcasm :) I jacked her up and placed the rear wheels on ramps yesterday. It was quite nerve wracking as I felt the hockey puck was slipping as it got higher, so I took off the hockey puck and used my hydraulic trolley jack with its own "pad" and that seemed to work better.
 
#118 ·
Oops, sorry but I forgot to mention this: Hockey pucks, save the soft rubber ones someone told me exist for street hockey, are NO GOOD. Too hard, too slippery.

I use a piece of wood: non-slip and spreads force over a greater area.

Good for you for seeing that and changing methods.
 
#119 ·
I thought hockey pucks were a little slippy to so I bought a boat trailer rubber roller and sliced it. Works well, has a hole in the middle which I use with a bolt head to keep it centered on the jack stand and I was able to cut the roller sections long enough to not need to modify the curve on the top of the stands.



Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App
 

Attachments

#120 ·
Nice, Wmangm, I like that approach.

Also, it seems like the Jack Helper is the best to go to raise the rear of the car and lower it onto ramps. Is that correct?
Rather than raise the car at point A, raise it at the rear with the Jack Helper then lower onto ramps. Am I missing something?
 
#121 ·
#122 ·
After reviewing this thread and consulting with my son (another Elise owner) and the Q-Ball thread on this site, I finally felt confident enough to get the Elise up on my 2-post lift. My anxiety was finding the exact location of the 'C' lift points. I'm happy to report I had no issues at all. I'm posting these pictures to help those of you who also have a two-post lift, or perhaps to print to review with your mechanic for piece of mind.

The second-to-last picture provides a good perspective of the 'I-beam' on the topside of the gas tank shear panel that provides the actual support.

Now on to the brake pad swap...
 

Attachments

#123 ·
Heres a simple guide to the lift points on the Elise & Exige:

Locating the Correct Lift Points on a Lotus Elise | HowTune.com

We just finished installing new shocks, bushings, and balljoints on my car last weekend. So I thought I'd put together a concise guide for lifting a lotus. I've done a clutch swap, suspension refresh, tire changes, brake replacements, clam removal without any issues so far.

If it looks familiar it's actually done on HocusLotus's lift (having a dad with a garage is a good thing).
 
#125 ·
The Jack Helper has 2 tubes that have an angled cut on them. This allows the jack to sit horizontally while the tubes support the angled underside of the car.

I'll tell you right now, even with the Jack Helper it's scary jacking up the car. There's a lot of weight resting on the side of those bolt heads and the Jack Helper is not bolted to your jack so it wouldn't take too much to shove the car off the jack. I personally wouldn't Micky Mouse anything.
 
#127 ·
Hi Jim

Being in Oz and a bit on the poor side at the moment i just had to give it a go myself - sorry! A struggle is good for kids anyway isn't it?:D

I thought it worked well and it didn't feel unsafe at any time. The rubber pads i've used seem to grip well too and take the diffuser angle quite well.

Have to say it's a great idea and I would recommend Jim's Helper to anyone.:)

Chris
 
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