Kris
I agree with you in regards to safety, so here are my thoughts.

Car lifting:
- What jack to use.
It depends on the weight of the car, when you buy car jacks there are designed for certain weight. If unsure get help from someone where you buy your car parts.

- Where to place the jack.
If you read your cars manual it shows on the graphic where to place the jacks so that the car is properly supported

- Does a “soft pad” need to be used.
I am assuming you mean between the car jack and the car. Most cars have a harden point on which the car sits on the jack. I personally have never used one btween my jacks and car.

- Any special considerations.
Ensure that you lift up both sides of the car before you start to work on it. That means that if you are working under the front part of the car that both side need to be jacked up.

- Safety rules to follow up.
For me personally the use of good work gloves and safety glasses are a must when working on a car. so that your hands and eyes are protected.

- Apply park brakes.
Always use you parking brake, however if you are working on the rear discs or ant other time you are working on your car with two wheels off the ground, always block your tires in case the emergency brake fails for what ever reason.

- Do’s & Don’ts
DO NOT Rush your work, make sure that your car is ready to work on and that it will not fall on you.

Ensure that your battery is disconnected when working on the electrics as you can cause a electric short that may damage your equipment.

If what you are doing does not feel right for what ever reason, back away and decide if what you are doing is correct or whether or not you can do it successfully. Maybe it is time for a garage.

DO use the right tools and do not start a job unless you have all the tools you need.

Ensure your tools are functioning properly to be used, having a broken set of pliers can ruin your day.

Inspect your tools to see if there is mechainical damage like cracks in handles or working ends of the tools.

If you working in your engine compartment, use cover to protect the paint and grill that box in that compartment.

Well that is enough for now, look forward to others comments on this subject.


:2:

 

Well said. I can only think of a few additional items at this point.

1- If you did not know the above, then you do not know enough to attempt any repairs on your MO so do not even start. Leave it to the professionals.

2- If you do use a jack to lift the car, remember that a jack is a mechanical device and can fail. Besides using blocks to keep the car from rolling, use jack stands and let them support the weight of the car while the jack itself will be your secondary safety support. This will also keep the car from rolling, or swinging from side to side and falling off the jack.

3- Never use ramps to lift one end of the car while using a jack to lift the other. This is very dangerous and will increase the chance if the vehicle falling off. With the same token, do not use 4 jack stands to lift all four wheels. The car will not be stable.

 

Great posts! And some details on lifting points locations. Let's hope it help some of us....

 

Great thread.

I will second the caution for the rear axle jacking point. Be VERY CAREFUL not to damage the canister located near the jacking point. Other than that, there is some excellent advice posted above that I hope all home wrenchers will have a look at (or already know).

To add to Zelbakahn's jack stand comment - never ever climb underneath the car that is supported only by a jack. The most secure setup would be to use both jackstands (at all four corners) and to have a backup jack pumped up to one of the front or rear jack points in case something something fails.

Oh and get yourself a nice pad to sit or kneel on in the garage. Nothing is worse than kneeling or lying on hard concrete while arching your body in all sorts of contortions to reach something underneath the car. I picked up some non slip garage mats from the local Costco and they fit together in a jigsaw like fasion. Very useful.

Always wear eye protection, no matter what kind of repair you are doing on the car. And always take your time. Rushing leads to sloppy jobs, leaks, and possible injuries (no brakes, no brakes...ahhhhhh).

 

Surprised no one made this a sticky yet. So, I'm doing it.

 

Where to buy jack stand attachment?

What do you place on your jack stands to avoid crushing the vertical steel lip that exists at the jacking points? Is there a quick substitute that everyone uses or do you have to buy the adapter from Nissan?

 

I have never had a problem with that vertical lip. Its plenty strong to support the weight of the vehicle, you will not need an adapter (although I suppose it wouldn't hurt).

 

I did not buy attachement. What I did was buy a "normal" stand like this....

 

then take a grider and cut a groove like this.

It worked for me.........

Notice: take every safety precaution when working with a grinder!!!

 

You can do that with a good piece of wood, like a landscape timber. Much easier to cut the groove!

 

The "stock" jackstand looks like it already has a groove in it that is perpendicular to the one you cut. Is there any reason you can't use it that way?

 

Why never should lift all 4 wheels with Jack Stand?

...3- Never use ramps to lift one end of the car while using a jack to lift the other. This is very dangerous and will increase the chance if the vehicle falling off. With the same token, do not use 4 jack stands to lift all four wheels. The car will not be stable.

I usually only need to lift front or rear side of the car, in which case I only need to use 2 jack stands. However, I plan to change CVT fluid shortly, and read in a different thread that to properly drain the old fluid the car will need to be level.

Your quoted comment above discourage use of 4 jacks to lift all 4 wheels - is your comment for jobs that require only front or rear side lifted (hence no benefit but downside to lift all 4), or use of 4 jack stands should never be done?

Thanks.

 

I have done it many times without problems. I do not know why not to do it that way? If you use the right jacks you should be fine....

 

Kris
I agree with you in regards to safety, so here are my thoughts.

Car lifting:
- What jack to use.
It depends on the weight of the car, when you buy toyota wheels and tires car jacks there are designed for certain weight. If unsure get help from someone where you buy your car parts.

- Where to place the jack.
If you read your cars manual it shows on the graphic where to place the jacks so that the car is properly supported

- Does a “soft pad” need to be used.
I am assuming you mean between the car jack and the car. Most cars have a harden point on which the car sits on the jack. I personally have never used one btween my jacks and car.

- Any special considerations.
Ensure that you lift up both sides of the car before you start to work on it. That means that if you are working under the front part of the car that both side need to be jacked up.

- Safety rules to follow up.
For me personally the use of good work gloves and safety glasses are a must when working on a car. so that your hands and eyes are protected.

- Apply park brakes.
Always use you parking brake, however if you are working on the rear discs or ant other time you are working on your car with two wheels off the ground, always block your tires in case the emergency brake fails for what ever reason.

- Do’s & Don’ts
DO NOT Rush your work, make sure that your car is ready to work on and that it will not fall on you.

Ensure that your battery is disconnected when working on the electrics as you can cause a electric short that may damage your equipment.

If what you are doing does not feel right for what ever reason, back away and decide if what you are doing is correct or whether or not you can do it successfully. Maybe it is time for a garage.

DO use the right tools and do not start a job unless you have all the tools you need.

Ensure your tools are functioning properly to be used, having a broken set of pliers can ruin your day.

Inspect your tools to see if there is mechainical damage like cracks in handles or working ends of the tools.

If you working in your engine compartment, use cover to protect the paint and grill that box in that compartment.

Well that is enough for now, look forward to others comments on this subject.


:2:

Whoa! Great! Thanks for this infos & short reminders. Actually, I am having a very hard time dealing with the soft pad issue. Thanks!

 

It just Fell!!

Hi Everybody!
New user here. I've owned my 2004 Murano for about 2 years now and the craziest thing happened yesterday!!! The truck fell off the jack stand while me and my dad were inspecting the brakes. The Stupid thing slipped from under the vehicle. Thank God nobody was hurt. I was so shocked that damage to the truck was the last thing on my mind. After a few minutes and lifting it back up we inspected it and discovered no damage.

Please be safe when working on your car. And as for me I'm going to go invest on a good set of jack stands.

 

What happened

Can you share details of what caused the car to slip off the jackstand, so we can all learn something?

I can't imagine how that could have happened with Jack stands properly supporting left and right - unless you are using only 1 jackstand so the car is tilted all along?

 

Glad your all right,

I had a car on stands that we took the engine out and we had always heard about the danger of a car falling off so we tried to knock it off the stands. Couldn't do it no matter how hard we tried - and we put a good effort into it. Of course it was an integra and had a lower center of gravity so my guess its not that easy for them to fall off.

 

WHere to buy the adapter and how much?

Anybody bought the safety stand adapter? I am not comfortable of making a pair myself. Want to know where (online store, or have to go to a dealer) to buy, and what exactly is the part number?

By the way, my 2004 Murano has always been serviced by Nissan Dealer. I looked at underneath the car and found a section of the vertical lip close to the front jack points on both sides are slightly bended. Rear sides are OK. So I'd say unless you use jack stands that have deep groove, you should probably make/buy adapters.

Great posts! And some details on lifting points locations. Let's hope it help some of us....

 

Why need adapter or a slot on your jackstand?

Hi,

I talked to my local Nissan dealer to investigate why the vertical lips toward front side of my Murano are slighted bent/deformed. They call the lip "lift seam", and it is supposed to sit on jack stand and carry the weight of the car. I orignally thought the adapter will allow elevate the tip of lift seam so it does not support he weight of the car, and instead the base of the lift seam will.

That makes me wander why we need an adapter at all? Is the purpose of the adapter to insert a layer of plastic material (I assume adapter is made of plastic) beteen the lift seam and the jackstand so there is no metal to metal contact? The way Nissan dealer explains to me, with or without the adapter, the vertical seam carries the weight of the car regardless.

Thanks.

Great posts! And some details on lifting points locations. Let's hope it help some of us....

 

I would line up the car from left to right to this jackstand, NOT front and back (which is how your cut is oriented). I would feel using this cut is dangerous because the width of the support this way is much narrower. In addition, notice that the lift seam now sits only a few mm (2mm?) below the top edge of the jackstand, vs. the other way (perpendicular) the lift seam will sit much lower. Just my 2 cents.

then take a grider and cut a groove like this.

It worked for me.........

Notice: take every safety precaution when working with a grinder!!!

 

Re: Why need adapter or a slot on your jackstand?

Hi,

I talked to my local Nissan dealer to investigate why the vertical lips toward front side of my Murano are slighted bent/deformed. They call the lip "lift seam", and it is supposed to sit on jack stand and carry the weight of the car. I orignally thought the adapter will allow elevate the tip of lift seam so it does not support he weight of the car, and instead the base of the lift seam will.

That makes me wander why we need an adapter at all? Is the purpose of the adapter to insert a layer of plastic material (I assume adapter is made of plastic) beteen the lift seam and the jackstand so there is no metal to metal contact? The way Nissan dealer explains to me, with or without the adapter, the vertical seam carries the weight of the car regardless.

If you take a look at the OEM jack you will see that it fabricated in such a way so that the lip does not support any weight.

-njjoe

 

Well, I don't think that diagram is conclusive:
1. The lift sill (i.e. the vertial lip) is quite tall. It may exceed the depth of the adapter slot and actually sits at the bottom of the adapter.
2. I looked at the base at both sides of the front lift jack point on Murano. The inner base actually is not flat with (it is lower than) the outer base. If the lift sill does not touch the adapter bottom, that would imply only one side (inner side) of the adapter is supporting the base?

Let me know your thoughts.

By the way, I used my regular jackstand without any adapter this weekend. The car sits on top the stands for about 24 hours. No damage at all.

 

Well, I don't think that diagram is conclusive:
1. The lift sill (i.e. the vertial lip) is quite tall. It may exceed the depth of the adapter slot and actually sits at the bottom of the adapter.
2. I looked at the base at both sides of the front lift jack point on Murano. The inner base actually is not flat with (it is lower than) the outer base. If the lift sill does not touch the adapter bottom, that would imply only one side (inner side) of the adapter is supporting the base?

Let me know your thoughts.

By the way, I used my regular jackstand without any adapter this weekend. The car sits on top the stands for about 24 hours. No damage at all.

Yes the inner side supports the weight of the vehicle. I find this to be true when I use regular jackstands on the car, and those are "notched" too.

 

In no case does the extended seam support the vehicle. At most, it provides a locating device that keeps a lift from slipping off. Bending it over is a no-no.

I have used 2x4 pads with a seam cut down the middle to lift cars with such an extended seam (like my 1983 280ZX), but the wood tends to split when the weight hits it. I like the idea of modifying a jackstand with a slot cut down the middle, as that would be a secure way to support it.

To lift the front of the Murano, I either use ramps or use a floor jack with a 2x4 chunk on top of it directly under the point where the sub-frame bolts to the underbody. There is plenty of beef there to lift. That leaves the question of where to put a jackstand in addition to the floor jack. The lift point on the seam area would be the best spot for the jackstand, but you do need so avoid bending the extended seam.

And I want to dispute one assertion in the earlier threads...I have often had a car on four jackstands at once, and I have never had a problem with it being unstable. However, it is important to jack one end, install the stands, then jack up the other WITHOUT pushing or pulling the vehicle against the previously installed jackstands. This is one reason that floor jacks have wheels; if they are properly oriented while lifting, the floor jack will roll slightly on its wheels as the lift arm goes up, avoiding pulling or pushing the previously installed jackstands off their centers.

I also often install a large chunk of 2x12 under jackstands to give them a flat and stable surface. And of course, I push and pull against the car once it's in the air to assure that it is firm and stable on all jackstands.

 

What height of jack stands do people use? I'm thinking of swapping out my 3t ones for 6t to get the extra height as I don't like using the 3t ones almost at their highest setting. I'd like to get 20+ inches.. Curious what everyone else lifts too. I've got metal ramps too..

Also, what floor jack do you use and height again.. I'm getting a new one and curious what people general lift too. Was looking at a big red 3t that lifts to 24..