Creepy stuff right there. I've seen guys under a car with just a jack holding it up and that freaked me out. But I guess you're taking a chance just walking out the door in the morning.
Jacking Up the Front
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Creepy stuff right there. I've seen guys under a car with just a jack holding it up and that freaked me out. But I guess you're taking a chance just walking out the door in the morning.
if your car is on Jack Stands and it shifts you are doing it wrong, WAY wrong. I have been working on vehicles up on jack stands since I was about 10 with my father. so that makes abot 40 years of cars on jackstands. NEVER had one slip ever.
if they slip you have them positioned wrong end of story.
I have worked under a car about twice with just a jack. was nervous the whole damn time. but that was due to necessity and even then I had the rear wheels chocked, emergency brake on two hand tight and I was still nervous LOL
I did a quick search on this and wasn't happy with what I came up with. My jack that came with the car crapped out on me and I need to do an oil change without using it. Sadly my low profile jack isn't quite low enough to get to my typical jacking point that I can reach in conjunction with the factory jack and I'm trying figure out a way to lift this bastard up without having to use the factory jack stand and just my low profile jack.
Long story short, these are the right jacking points for the front portion 03/04 Cobras, correct?
The red circle is usually where I jack the car up once I have it lifted a little bit off the ground once I've used the factory jack to get it high enough to reach that point.
So is this a bad position to jack the car:shrug: Been using this spot like op along with jack stands.
Another good tip if you have the wheels off is turn them on their sides and slide under the car. I don't see how a properly placed jack stand on a flat surface could possibly slip but if it did the car would land on the wheel and not crush you. Well not entirely depending on your size.
I am definitely going to do this.
A few thoughts here. First of all, the factory jack is for changing a flat tire NOT working under the car! I haven't looked in the manual but I have to believe there is some warning against using it for even an oil change. Second, if you are going to spend any time working on your car do your self a favor and get a set of subframe connectors welded in.. many vendors make them and although there used to be wars 10 years ago about which was the best it turns out they are all pretty good. They dramatically stiffen the car but also provide a great stretch of new jacking points. I would assume they cost a few hundred bucks + install/weld. Search the board for info. Third, this thread makes it sound like the vast majority of people are not using jack stands. I think it's the opposite. They are safe if you use them correctly and as mentioned *always* have redundancies. For example, if I have the car completely in the air with four jack stands (two on each subframe conector), I also stick jacks about 1" below the rear diff (pig) and the front engine brace / k-member. It is important that these jacks are not supporting the car unless it were to tip. Jacks should never be used for extended periods to hold up a car they are generally for lifting and lowering only. Finally, Malcolm has a good suggestion about the wheels as a last resort. They can be bulky and could get messed up of course, if you want to save some space and your wheels some good ole' cinder blocks will do the trick.
Using the factory jack was only a short term measure for getting the car high enough to place my old jack up underneath. I would then place my jack stands and backups. I never got under the car with just the factory jack in place. I'm pretty OCD with making sure the car is properly up and in place. I only used the factory jack a few times to get the car high enough to place my regular jack. Things are much easier now with the new low profile jack I have. Drive it up on two old pieces of deck boards and I'm good to go.
if i ever feel like my jack stands might "shift" while im under the car i always push a tire under the steering knuckle but i have NEVER had a car fall off jack stands as long as you have good jacking points on level ground there shouldn't be a problem if you need to do something that dos not require you to take the wheels off (ie trans/engine swap oil change ect...) I just jack up the car and put it on the drive on ramps from auto zone for $40 set the E-brake and be done with it its not rocket scene if you are really that concerned about it push on the car to see if it falls
I did a quick search on this and wasn't happy with what I came up with. My jack that came with the car crapped out on me and I need to do an oil change without using it. Sadly my low profile jack isn't quite low enough to get to my typical jacking point that I can reach in conjunction with the factory jack and I'm trying figure out a way to lift this bastard up without having to use the factory jack stand and just my low profile jack.
Long story short, these are the right jacking points for the front portion 03/04 Cobras, correct?
The red circle is usually where I jack the car up once I have it lifted a little bit off the ground once I've used the factory jack to get it high enough to reach that point.
I've used the cross-member to jack all of our Mustang up into the air for years. Never had a issue. As long you centered the jack, you'll be fine.
Pulling the trans w/o it being on a lift and a floor trans jack? You will need a way taller jack/stand combo to do the job safely
I got a low low profile jack from harbor freight yesterday for 84.99. 2-3 inches of space required and 29" of reach i believe. very good deal for a over 3ton jack.
Really, I don't know how unsafe it will be but my buddy that is helping me did his last year on stands without any problems.
If they are tall enough to clear the trans with a jack under it you are set
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