Are my Jack stands in a good spot?

[viper04blk]

I am removing all 4 wheels to goto the tire shop, so I am putting the car on jack stands for the first time. Is this a good spot for the rear? Currently 90% of the weight is on the wheels and 10% on the stands. (incase I was going to damage something). It looks like a solid part of the frame, put I am not 100% sure.

Thanks

http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l326/blkviper04/DSC_02441_zpsrd3q0ped.jpg (http://s328.photobucket.com/user/blkviper04/media/DSC_02441_zpsrd3q0ped.jpg.html)

[C.J]

Looks fine to me. These frames are very strong. Have you seen the Esco jack stands? They are flat top stands and very strong.

[Steve M]

Yes...that's the frame, and any part along the frame rails are perfectly capable of handling the load.

[Vprbite]

Sp you used the jack points to lift and and placed the stands under the frame? Sounds like a good system to me.

[viper04blk]

Cool thank you kindly.

If the front jack-stands are slightly lower then the rear jack-stands (different brand of jack-stands going on the front) could this pose a hazzard?

[Steve M]

Cool thank you kindly.

If the front jack-stands are slightly lower then the rear jack-stands (different brand of jack-stands going on the front) could this pose a hazzard?

It's not ideal, but also isn't the end of the world. If you aren't going to be working under the car, I wouldn't worry about it. Slightly differing heights wouldn't be a huge deal even if you were working under the car. If you want to be sure, rock the car once it is up on jack stands and see what it does...if it's unstable, you'll know it.

[viper04blk]

duely noted. I will just go buy another pair of stands.

I removing my cross-over pipe as well. So I will be under for a while.

[MalingatorGTS]

duely noted. I will just go buy another pair of stands.

I removing my cross-over pipe as well. So I will be under for a while.

Having had my Viper fall on me..yes, and no idea how I'm here...LUCKY and my daughter was able to run, get my wife and I had a jack in place so she could get the car off of me!...That said, I will NEVER again use jack stands with this car. The frame is so stiff, when I was pulling on a stuck bolt, both the stands toppled towards me.

Now, if I'm under the car, it's on RaceRamps. Not cheap, but safe. Still less $ then a lift.

[viper04blk]

Oh wow...

I do have race ramps, but I need to rip apart the wheel wheels in order to get the sills off. So I have to remove the tires I think.

I will figure something out... perhaps wood blocks under the rotors as a precaution

[Redx]

Viper04blk, there's a place in town to get esco stands and they are not badly priced. I was using them before I got my lift.

[RCVIPER]

Oh wow...

I do have race ramps, but I need to rip apart the wheel wheels in order to get the sills off. So I have to remove the tires I think.

I will figure something out... perhaps wood blocks under the rotors as a precaution






I removed my side sills, without removing my tires and wheels. I just recently removed my crossover pipe on my '04 as well and it was pretty straight forward and easy. Just take your time and don't get into a hurry and you should be fine.

[06SRTCoupe]

Having had my Viper fall on me..yes, and no idea how I'm here...LUCKY and my daughter was able to run, get my wife and I had a jack in place so she could get the car off of me!...That said, I will NEVER again use jack stands with this car. The frame is so stiff, when I was pulling on a stuck bolt, both the stands toppled towards me.

Now, if I'm under the car, it's on RaceRamps. Not cheap, but safe. Still less $ then a lift.

What bolt were you pulling that made the car rock? How was the car set up on jackstands? I have swapped motors in Corvettes and just got through doing a ton of maintenance on my 06. Both cars were on jackstands and I never once have had a problem with the car being unstable, rocking, moving, or anything remotely close to that!

[Vprbite]

The different brand of Jack stands thing is something I have dealt with too. On mine, we probably aren't talking about more than 1/4" so I do the think it increased the potential energy that much. And no, I wasn't working under the car. Even so, it didn't feel like I could have knocked that thing off if I wanted to. My brother and I did some work on one of his previous cars too with the dame set up and again, felt incredibly stable.

Malingator, first I am glad you are ok and that you had gone redundant on safety. Obviously NEVER a bad idea. That being said, that is the first time I have heard of a car coming off Jack stands. Were they extended all the way? That would increase the leverage and perhaps could have encouraged it. Ordinarily, mine aren't extended much if at all but I have never attempted to change exhaust with them or something like that. So perhaps that could have effected it? Also, I woild always try to have them out at the corners as much as possible. With patience and jacking one side up higher than the other, I have been able to use the Jack points for the stands by lifting with the frame and the Jack point felt like that thing would have survived an earthquake. Though of course, I don't care to test it. Glad you are ok!

Also, I recommend the Ranger Quicklift. It's portable (for the track it easily fits in a truck bed, it won't fit in our cars) and tucks out of the way when not in use so you don't have to commit your garage to a whole lift when space is at a premium, like mine, and as lifts go it's pretty darn cheap at about a grand. They are also great to talk to if you have any questions.

[MalingatorGTS]

What bolt were you pulling that made the car rock? How was the car set up on jackstands? I have swapped motors in Corvettes and just got through doing a ton of maintenance on my 06. Both cars were on jackstands and I never once have had a problem with the car being unstable, rocking, moving, or anything remotely close to that!

It was the safety loop over the rear half shaft. I broke one (half shaft) and was swapping it out. The jack stand was on the rear jack point and was not fully extended, but it was up enough for me to fit and work on it.

I'm NOT saying they will always fail. Not saying, it's a Viper design. I'm simply saying it does happen and despite working on car since I was 16...a lifetime ago, it was the first and only time it occurred. That said, it's not not like I'm the only one in history of working on cars for a jack stand to topple and fall. It happens. If I thought the car was rocking, or unstable, I wouldn't have gone under it!

I too looked at a Ranger Quick Lift. It seemed for the number of times I'm working under the car, I could get away with two set of ramps with high wheel rest.
I was simply pointing out, that a Viper is so stiff the frame does not flex and I believe it might have been some of the contributing factor to the car shifting. I'm sure there are 100% different factors, but it's just a kind word of warning.

[Vprbite]

Malingator, please don't think I saying you made a mistake. I just wanted to know exactly what the conditions were so that I can be aware.

For the record, I have never liked being underneath a car even on a lift. It gives me the heeebie jeebies. Just cause the consequences are so high, no matter how safe they tend to be. I don't want to be the one in a million.

It's a good reminder to go redundant though when you can. The consequences, even if rare, are just too high not to,

[06SRTCoupe]

It's a good reminder to go redundant though when you can. The consequences, even if rare, are just too high not to,

I agree. Whatever side I'm working on when the car is on jack stands, I always have the jack snugged up on the jacking point for double redundancy. If you aren't using four jack stands and are only on one side, you can also double up the jack stands.

[ViperJon]

I use four Esco stands and leave both floor jacks in place. No way could this fail.

[sssammm]

Yep, I always leave the jack in place as a fail safe

[quickster2]

Not to be critical here but I would get some Fluid Film or Krown Rustproofing spray on that under body and in the frame innards once it is cleaned while it is up in the air. Just a suggestion.

[viper04blk]

I removed my side sills, without removing my tires and wheels. I just recently removed my crossover pipe on my '04 as well and it was pretty straight forward and easy. Just take your time and don't get into a hurry and you should be fine.

Did you drill a hole to access the side sill nuts? or did you remove the wheel well covers?

[Mopar'er no car]

The jack point is used to jack the car up..shouldn't be used to set the car onto..The only safe way of getting it off the ground is to use the frame rails to support it..

[06SRTCoupe]

Did you drill a hole to access the side sill nuts? or did you remove the wheel well covers?

I personally drilled a hole. Makes it 100 times easier and I don't even have to take the tire off. I will jack the car up a little bit so I can get my arm in there better but, it works great. I am going to buy some black duct tape to cover it with just so nothing gets in there. You cannot see the hole or will be able to see the duct tape when it's at normal height unless you get down and literally look up inside the wheel well...lol...which I don't think anyone is ever going to do.

[Mopar'er no car]

How lazy...Why not just do it right instead of drilling a hole...It only takes a few extra mins to remove the wheel liner..Plus it's a good time to clean everything...

[FrgMstr]

I pull my sidesills off all the time to switch out exhaust for race events. Don't be a jackass and drill the hole. :) Chrysler even left a cutout in the sidesill panel for doing this. Surprised it did not come from the factory with the hole there. Drill for a 10mm 1/4" deep socket.

http://kylebennett.com/files/kyle/viper/SideSillHolePlacement.png

[06SRTCoupe]

How lazy...Why not just do it right instead of drilling a hole...It only takes a few extra mins to remove the wheel liner..Plus it's a good time to clean everything...

Lazy? That's cute little buddy. I already removed the wheel liner and cleaned everything when I bought the car. It's not lazy. It's smart, saves time, and makes the job a lot easier. Maybe you should ask around before you make assumptions. I'm not the only one doing this. In fact, guess where I got the idea? Yep...right here in the Gen III/IV part of the forum.

Oh look...there is another member who's post is directly above mine who does the exact same thing. I guess he must be lazy also right?

[viper04blk]

I would drill the hole if I knew the exact spot to do it. So I highly doubt my accuracy would be of any value. I am sure it would look like Swiss cheese by the time I am done.


Perhaps after the sill is off, it will be obvious and I can drill the hole for next time.

Anyone who wants to come drill the hole for me is welcome to get on a flight to Canada.

[FrgMstr]

I would drill the hole if I knew the exact spot to do it. So I highly doubt my accuracy would be of any value. I am sure it would look like Swiss cheese by the time I am done.

http://kylebennett.com/files/kyle/viper/SideSillHolePlacement.png

Not sure how much more specific that picture could be. Hold up a 1/4" driver 10mm Socket and it will show you exactly how the hole should be drilled and finished out.

[RCVIPER]

Did you drill a hole to access the side sill nuts? or did you remove the wheel well covers?



No drilling a hole, I just loosened the inner fender well up a bit. Take out just enough of the screws and you can get to it. Once there all you need to do is loosen that bolt and the side sill will slip out. No need to completely remove it.

[viper04blk]

No drilling a hole, I just loosened the inner fender well up a bit. Take out just enough of the screws and you can get to it. Once there all you need to do is loosen that bolt and the side sill will slip out. No need to completely remove it.


Good to know! I will try that plan 1st.

[viper04blk]

It took me 2 hours to get that car up on jack stands. A combination of me being extremely careful and having a sloped garage floor (having 3 floor drains makes for some odd slopes) made it take a LONG time. But I did it! Removing the rear tires and seeing the sheer size of them made it all worth while. I was quite surprised how light they were.

It freaks me out using jack stands on the sloped floor. Even though I compensated quite well and over thought the crap out of it, I will NOT be going under the car while on jack stands. My race ramps are going to be worth every penny

[Vprbite]

Still may be a good idea to shim them with some cut pieces of race deck or something like that. I could imagine three drains making for some odd slopes.

[viper04blk]

its good.... i didnt have to shim, i angled the car based on the height differences (1/4") between my two different brands of jack stands. It is level... just scary

[brickauto]

I use these pads on my jackstand to minimize risk of scratching the frame paint
http://www.harborfreight.com/2-piece-rubber-pads-for-jack-stand-95952.html

[Mopar'er no car]

Lazy? That's cute little buddy. I already removed the wheel liner and cleaned everything when I bought the car. It's not lazy. It's smart, saves time, and makes the job a lot easier. Maybe you should ask around before you make assumptions. I'm not the only one doing this. In fact, guess where I got the idea? Yep...right here in the Gen III/IV part of the forum.

Oh look...there is another member who's post is directly above mine who does the exact same thing. I guess he must be lazy also right?

So you drive the car at all, only takes a few drives before thoes wheel liners are dirty..

Lazy and you must also be a hack...It's all good, I just like to do things the right way...But hey you read it on the internet so it must be gospel. Guess I should have used a hole saw to change my coolant instead of removing the front belly pan...

[06SRTCoupe]

So you drive the car at all, only takes a few drives before thoes wheel liners are dirty..

Lazy and you must also be a hack...It's all good, I just like to do things the right way...But hey you read it on the internet so it must be gospel. Guess I should have used a hole saw to change my coolant instead of removing the front belly pan...

So, you actually take all four wheel wells out and clean under them every "few drives?" <---LOL

I'm not lazy...I just have an open mind. I'm sorry if you fail to grasp the concept of thinking outside the box. Since this upsets you so much, why don't you start a thread on here and ask how many members drill a hole then you can call all of them lazy hacks also. It has nothing to do with the internet or gospel. It is a good idea that isn't noticeable that saves a lot of time when removing/installing the side sills. You would never notice the hole unless someone pointed it out to you or you happen to bend down and put your eyes about 2-3 inches from the wheel well.

What I want to know is, why are you so upset about this? :smilielol: