Jacking Points [ to Avoid Frame Damage ]

[Patton]

Since I have bought the Healey, the car has always been running, so when I have needed to work under the car, I have been able to use my ramps.

Now that I have the radiator out, I want to get under the car and degrease everything taking advantage of the extra access space. I may also detail and touch up paint the engine and bay while I am at it.

It just occurred to me that I don't know what the correct jacking points and stand locations are.

I of course know that the front cross member is an absolute NO, but where should I jack the car up? When it is up, where should I place the stands?

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hammer.gif
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazyeyes.gif

Thanks
Patton

 

[Keoke]

Re: Jacking the car

Hi Patton, Safe jacking positions are ;1] under the front spring pans and 2] under the pumpkin at the rear. Jack stands can then take up posion 1 and under the rear axel. On the other hand ,if you are just going to put the car up on ramps and its cool you can still drive it on sans the Radiator.-FWIW---Keoke

 

[tahoe healey]

Re: Jacking the car

I've been very successful with a rolling jack and a 14 inch long, 1/4 inch thick piece of steel. It has a 1 inch lip on one side. I can put it anywhere on the box frame and disperse the weight so as not to damage or dent the frame. Once it is high enough I use stands. I can raise front and back this way' one end at a time. The frame is currently about 20 inches off the floor while I fit a hole new exhaust system from manifolds back. I could go higher but then I couldn't get to the stuff under the bonnet.

 

[Dave Russell]

Re: Jacking the car

I must be missing somthing. What do you guys know that I don't. Maybe my 100 is different than your cars.

I place a floor jack with padded top under the center of the front cross member, jack it up & put stands under either the outer cross member/frame junctions or under the spring pans.

At the rear, I jack under the center of the rear crossmember & put stands either under the crossmember/frame rail junctions or under the axles.

Haven't put any dings in the crossmembers or frame at all. What am I likely to damage by doing this? Door gaps & body alignment don't change at all during this procedure.
D

 

[Editor_Reid]

Re: Jacking the car

I'm with you, Dave. I think that the only issue here is the size of the jacking surface. If you use a jack with a small contact patch, so to speak, you can dent the frame upwards a bit, especially in front where all of that engine weight is directly above, but with any normal floor jack and the use of a pad of some kind (I use a thick carpet scrap), you won't damage the frame. Healey frames are pretty "robust" and you have to work at it to hurt one. Of course, it happens, but going about it with a little sense will avoid problems here.

 

[John Loftus]

Re: Jacking the car

I had a bit of dent pulling to do on my Healey undergoing restoration. The P.O. obviously used a small jack directly on the welded seam of the frame. The front cross member weld was cracked from the stress and required rewelding. I came up with a pretty efficient way to pull the dents (see attached). It just required a bit of grinding to remove the welded stud after the pulling operation. After everything gets painted (going into the shop next week) I will be very careful that the floor jack does not press against the welds when lifting. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yesnod.gif

 

[bob hughes]

Re: Jacking the car

I am with Dave too, I use a 20mm thick 150mm wide 300 long piece of hard wood ontop of my trolley jack head to spread the load. I have large dents to pull from POs. but waiting for a suitable time. I have read an artical on brazing several lugs onto the the chassis and using a dent puller on each in turn to relieve large damaged areas, but i must say that I like the extractor device.

Bob

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/england.gif

 

[Bugeye58]

Re: Jacking the car

John, is that a Pitman Arm Puller you are using as a basis for the dent puller?
Pretty ingenious.
Jeff

 

[tahoe healey]

Re: Jacking the car

I use the metal based upon the appearence of the frame, that it was soft. It is very dented and I didn't wish to add to it or damage frame. I like the dent puller you made. Cleaver.

 

[John Loftus]

Re: Jacking the car

[ QUOTE ]
is that a Pitman Arm Puller you are using as a basis for the dent puller?


[/ QUOTE ]

Yes .. an inexpensive ($5?) Harbor Freight PAP tool with a threaded stud and nut used for mill set-ups. The stud is undersized so that it doesn't interfere with the threads on the puller. I used a small stack of neodymium magnets to hold the stud for welding (with the frame on it's side for easy access .. see attached picture). Tack welded the stud with my Mig welder and then used a long 1/2 inch ratchet to pull the sunken sections. It worked best to overpull the dent because there was some spring back. Repeated the process every 4 to 6" and then rewelded the seam.

 

[Bugeye58]

Re: Jacking the car

Thanks. I'm going to file that one for future reference.
Jeff

 

[Patton]

Thanks for the help guys. I thought that the frame rails wouldn't take the wieght, especially the crossmember. Its good to know, and easier to work with, knowing that I can just use a board to spread the pressure.

Am I understanding right that I all need is a foot of 1x6 between the jack and the car and am ok anywhere on the frame?

Thanks, Free beer to anyone who shows up to help!

Patton
Richmond, TX

PS... Hey Reid, what was wrong with my original title "Jacking the car"????

 

[Editor_Reid]

[ QUOTE ]
PS... Hey Reid, what was wrong with my original title "Jacking the car"????

[/ QUOTE ]

As you've noticed I have been "helping" some of the subject lines on these threads. As an editor, it's just what I do. Seriously though I think it will make it easier to find and reference the threads in the future, making the discussion subjects more clear. For example, a subject line such as, "Question" isn't very helpful and will likely be overlooked in the future when someone might be searching subjects in the archives. It may contain a fascinating discussion on a topic of great interest to many people, but they'd never know that from the subject line. Writing headlines -- or in this case, subject lines -- is an art unto itself. I try to stay in practice. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[tahoe healey]

Good. I thought you felt my "brass nuts" may have another meaning and added the clairification. "I would never do that" hee, hee.
I switched to the steel because the wood compressed and cracked. The 1/4 inch steel fit nice under the car where the extra 3/4 inch made it tight to get the jack under the frame. And I had it so it was free.

 

[John Loftus]

[ QUOTE ]
Am I understanding right that I all need is a foot of 1x6 between the jack and the car and am ok anywhere on the frame?


[/ QUOTE ]

Whatever you use ... padded jack, hardwood or steel make sure you aren't putting all the weight on the weld bead. A milled or routed groove in the wood would work and most of the better floor jacks I've seen have a relief in the center to avoid the bead. Same with the jackstand profile.

Cheers,
John

 

[Jim Weatherford]

Wow! What great information. I wish the previous owners of my Jensen Healey hadn't damaged the side rails and folded the seams over totally flat, they never though to jack the car on proper points or the cross members or other major sub frame that could support the weight properly.

I have a lot of work to do, but I really like the imporvised dent puller (Thanks John), plus it gives me a reason to buy a MIG welder (LOL), since when do we need a reason? I'll tell the wife that it is going to be primarirly used to build that new iron fence she's been asking for, pretty cool huh?