Read this BEFORE using Jack Stands

[sadales]

Help! I am planning to do some rear suspension work on the car this weekend and I need to be able to get the car up on jackstands at both ends so that I have some room to work. Since I will need to use the lifting blocks(the only recommended jacking points in the owner's manual)for the jack, I can't very well put jackstands there.

So, where else can I put my jackstands without damaging anything? The front crossmember seems sturdy, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of obvious options in the rear. I'll need to be able to remove the struts / shocks / springs / swaybars at both ends while the car is in the air.

There are times when I really wish I had a lift available, but my only options are ramps and jackstands.

Any tips from people that have tried this before will be greatly appreciated!

Scott
90STX

[BruceK]

DANGER!

IMPORTANT: The lifting blocks work well with the MINI's standard jack because part of the jack fits INTO the bottom of the lifting block, pushing against a internal pin, thus helping to secure the block against the car body.

But using a non-MINI jack can be dangerous. Gromit had his car FALL OFF of a floor jack using one of the lifting blocks. The same could happen when using jack stands.

Please read carefully to learn more:

http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthrea...jack+and+block

[sadales]

Thanks for the warning and concern Bruce. I remember the original incident but re-read the thread anyway as it has grown a bit.

I understand the care needed in jacking the car up, but I still need to find a suitable place to put jackstands front and rear in order to swap parts on the suspension. There's no way I'm crawiling under any car that is only supported by a jack. I will put the tires/wheels under the car after I remove them, just in case, after I get the car up on the jack stands. After I figure out where to put the silly things of course.

Scott
90STX

[PigLick]

Hm, I know there's a MINI "How-to" page out thre somewhere that tells/shows where/how to use jack stands on a MINI, but I don't know the link off-hand. I'll do some searching and see if I can find it...

PigLick

[PigLick]

Here we go:

http://www.tech-esq.com/mini/main.htm

On the far right side, under Tire/Suspension, you should see safely jack up the MINI. Hope that helps, good luck.

PigLick

[sadales]

Well, that link certainly clears up where to put jackstands for the front of the car. Thanks!

I haven't really seen any reference as to where to put jackstands at the rear of the car other than the lifting block points, but at least we seem to be headed in the right direction.

Any other info would be great, but I really appreciate the help I have gotten so far.

I love this site.

Scott
90STX

[BruceK]

Well, one idea is to use a small piece of wood shaped so it fits into the recess on the lifting blocks.

The floor jack or jack stands would then contact this piece of wood, thus replicating the way the standard MINI jack pushes against the pin. I haven't tried this and therefore can't recommend it, but in theory it sounds reasonable.

[Keith]

Good idea - but it doesn't help. The jack will be in the lifting blocks to raise the car so the jack stands have to go somewhere else.

[PigLick]

This is slightly off-topic, but I'm still a bit confused about the lifting bloacks and pin. If this pin is in danger of falling out if part of the jack or whatever is not in there to keep it from dropping out, what is it that holds it in place while we're just out motoring around?

PigLick

[sadales]

Friction. Plus there is a circular spring mechanism. Of course, it only works just so well. I had one of mine fall off my car at just under 2000 miles (one week after I got my 2003 MCS)and it broke when the rear tire ran over it. I'm over 7000 miles now and neither the replacement nor the other three have fallen out. I made sure all the pins were fully seated after losing the first one.

Scott
90 STX

[jlm]

I have been lifting the entire side by putting the jack pad just aft and inward from the jack point (where the stands are in piglick's link), then lower the jack point onto stands. the front rear balance point is about 10" aft of the front jack point.

[sadales]

John's suggestion is good. I installed the RDR rear sway bar today, with the help of a couple of friends/competitors and a collection of jackstands. Here's how we got my MCS up on four jackstands with a minimum of drama.

After breaking loose all the lug bolts (barely) and chocking the wheels, we jacked up one side of the car using the front lifting block. We used a floor jack and an insert to hold the pin fully seated in the lifting block, and were careful about making sure the jack was perpendicular to the car and rolling freely.

Anyway, we lifted the car far enough to put a jackstand under the closest edge of the front subframe. At this point the stand was fairly low. We then lifted moved the jack to the other side of the car and again lifted at the front lifting block. This time we went all the way up and put jackstands under the rear lifting block and the front subframe. Then once more to the original side and we took it the rest of the way up. This ended up giving us plenty of room to work under the car without having to tip the car at too severe of an angle. We reversed the process to get it back down. I recommend sticking a let into the car and depressing the brake so someone else can torque the lugbolts before lowering the car, as the wheels come down at a pretty good angle to the ground and I wouldn't want loose lugbolts at that point.

The instructions that came with the RDR adj sway bar were quite good, as I had been told by Per at GRM. After removing the four bolts in the rear subframe and the two rear gas tank strap bolts you don't need to worry about supporting either part. You will actually have to pry them down low enough to get the disconnected sway bar out. The bar can be removed without taking anything loose in addition to the procedure in the instruction sheet, but it takes some serious fiddling to find the right angle and prying technique. Once you do, the new bar will go in the same way but much faster.

Scott
90 STX

[sadales]

Correction. I posted earlier that the pin in the lifting block is retained by friction and a circular spring. I was thinking of another part. It's just friction, no spring. I looked today while working on the car.

Sorry for the bad info.

Scott
90 STX