Dant

I need to jack up the cutlass to do a tire rotation and other maintenance, I was wondering what is the safest way to jack up the cutlass on four jackstands? At my school auto shop we mostly work on newer cars and there is a crossmember we place the jack on. We usually lift the front two tires first and the rear two tires after. Is there any way that I could safetly jack up the cutlass like this? It's a 1972.

Sorry about the newbie questions,
Dan

442much

Here's what I did with two jack stands for an oil change. Ramps up front, jack in the middle (kept the suspension from hanging) and stands at the sides. Another way is to place the stands at the suspension points or if for a short time, on the frame.

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oldsguybry

jack the front wheel up , take tire off ...add jack stand under frame , or a safe block of wood , remove jack , go to other end of car with jack ( kiddie corner ) and jack up car , take that wheel off and swap with other wheel....undo what you just did , and repeat for the other two tires... this is what i did when i rotated the tires on my 2001 Z24 , instead of jacking the whole car up.... but there is a big weight difference , and im not sure if that would be to much strain on the frame or something

69442C

Are you using a floor jack or bumper jack? I would highly recommend using a floor jack. A floor jack can be placed under the center frame crossmember to lift the front wheels. Place stands under the frame rails in the area of the front edge of the front door. Place the jack under the center of the differential and lift the rear wheels and place stands under the frame rails just ahead of the rear wheels or under the axle tubes. If you are not comfortable doing this or completely understand it, get someone local who is knowledgeable to assist you. Remember, safety is rule #1. When you lift a car, you need to make sure it is safely supported.

Run to Rund

I jack up either the front or back and put welded-together wheels under the frame torque boxes, or under the middle of the crossmember under the engine plus jackstands under the front A arms. I like the extra stability of wheels over jackstands, especially if the car will be up high. Then, jack up the other end and support it. I like to have a 2/6 etc. on the wheels so the steel frame isn't on the steel wheels to skid if something goes wrong. When done, for something like a clutch change, I have wheels plus boards under the rear torque boxes, jackstands under the front A arms, wheels under the engine crossmember, and the floor jack under the differential pumpkin. Too safe? Not when my discontinued body parts are at risk

DEEPCUTT

I think that's a great question! I was wondering the same thing. Hey 442much, I'd sure like to hear that sweet 442 you got there, bet it sounds real nice. Beautiful car! Any videos?

MDchanic

I put the jack under the ham (differential), jack up the back, put two stands under the axle ends, near the shock mounts, then put the jack under the frame skid plate in the center of the engine, jack that up, and jam a couple of stands under the heavy fram pieces ahead of the doors, or on (or near) the lower control arm mounts, depending on what I need to do.

There's about a hundred ways to do it. If your doors won't open while it's up in the air, you should probably choose a different jack point, because you're bending the fram a bit, but it will bend back when it's back on the wheels.

After it's all up, stand next to it and give it a good shove - it should stay where it is.
If giving it a good shove makes you nervous, then you don't have it stable enough to crawl under.

- Eric

stevengerard

Yikes, I'm getting old - that just makes me nervous just looking at it as it seems ready to flop over those car ramps.

442much

Actually I usually change tires the way oldsguybry described. However this was an oil change, I was bored and didn't want more oil left in the pan with only the front on the stands. So I jacked it all the way. The ramps and stands are rated for 2.5 tons each and I grabbed the wheels and gave the car a shake, it didn't budge.

Aceshigh

Same exact thing I do., except my rear stands are never that high. Just 2-3 notches up.
If you only have 4 jack stands, just find the 2 most forward locations under the frame instead.

I have 2 ramps up front and the rear is 2 jack stands under the full frame car before the rear tires.
I shake the car to confirm it's safe and not wobbly. Then I roll in under it.

I'll be doing it again this weekend putting my new EFI tank in and modern OEM Nylon fuel line setup in.

74 Omega

You could make some of these...very simple and very stable....
Sorry about the picture quality, it was a cell phone picture, (I'll take a pic of them latter if you want) It is how i store my car all winter.
I just take 2x4's and screw them together to make a box of any height. I can't remember but I think it was about two studs per box, and don't use drywall screws either, too brittle.

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