How do you get your car on Jackstands?

[Someone?]

Yes im for real,lol These M's arent ez like a car with a solid axle. Im talkn about if you need to Take ALL four wheels off with no spares to put on, I mean i know theres Jack Pads but im just confused about how you can jack it up from the jack pads Then get Jackstands onto the Jackpads?lol

[dmw16]

The short answer is you jack from the center jack points (there are 2, one front one rear). But it can be a challenge if you don't have a pretty long low profile jack.

For my E46 I use an AC Hydraulics jack and drive the car onto a 2x8 boards to be able to easily reach the front. For the rear I will sometimes jack a corners, put 2x8 boards then jack from the point ahead of the diff (NEVER the diff itself).

The best option is flat top jacks with jack pads at the 4 jack points, but you can use regular axle stand jacks at the 4 jack points as well. It's plenty stable.

[mkPOTO]

its such a pain the ass for me lol.. i drive up some ramps I made with wood, jack up the front with the jack point (behind the oil drain plug) and then go to the rear and jack from the diff. My race jack barely clears sometimes lol

[cposk]

Originally Posted by mkPOTO

its such a pain the ass for me lol.. i drive up some ramps I made with wood, jack up the front with the jack point (behind the oil drain plug) and then go to the rear and jack from the diff. My race jack barely clears sometimes lol

I'm close to that, but I never jack from the diff. It a hard shift can snap a diff bolt, I don't want half+ of my car's weight being supported by them.

Front on ramps, jack under one of the rear side jack points, lift enough to get my other jack under the subframe, jack rear, put rear on stands, jack front, put front on stands.

[baba louey]

I've been wondering about this. Thus far I've only used my floor jack to lift at the side jack points to change tires one at a time. By the sounds of it, there are official front and rear jack points. I used to rear lift my RX7 using the diff. Does this work for the E92 too?

[signes]

Nice basic instructions:

http://www.madrussian.net/m3/diy_jacking.shtml

[baba louey]

Very nice, clear and safe description. Thanks.

[DopeM3]

Some say it's okay to jack it at the diff and some say don't

[MisterEm]

Originally Posted by AyooooJay

Some say it's okay to jack it at the diff and some say don't

The differential will work if you center the load on the case and use a firm jackpad in between. If you rush or don't pay attention the load can shift as you drop it on the stands or load one side of the diff case more than the other. Either case has the potential to damage the diff or axial bushings.

Pay attention and work slowly.

[donovan]

Not sure if serious..

[Transfer]

For the front, I use ramps to get clearance then use the center jack point. For the rear I've jacked up via the black forward portion of the diff (NOT the aluminum cooling section) and then lowered onto jack stands without issue. There were no weird groans or movements. I would not recommend this as supposedly it's a bad idea but no problems for me. The biggest issue is that you have to have a high height jack to get enough clearance for the stands under the pads.

[TrevorM3]

i would advise to follow instructions from somewhere on how to do this. Take no advice from ANYONE on a forum on how to do this. I know there alot of people on here who are knowledgeable on mechanics, but just be careful. One mistake with a car in the air..........

[baba louey]

Since my car is only a year old, I haven't checked out whether there is a shop manual for it. I assume there is and it should have a page or two on how to lift the car. Does anyone have a shop manual and can share this info?

From my experience, if diffs haven't been specifically designed as a lift point, I wouldn't use it as one.

[anselmw]

Originally Posted by dmw16

The short answer is you jack from the center jack points (there are 2, one front one rear). But it can be a challenge if you don't have a pretty long low profile jack.

For my E46 I use an AC Hydraulics jack and drive the car onto a 2x8 boards to be able to easily reach the front. For the rear I will sometimes jack a corners, put 2x8 boards then jack from the point ahead of the diff (NEVER the diff itself).

The best option is flat top jacks with jack pads at the 4 jack points, but you can use regular axle stand jacks at the 4 jack points as well. It's plenty stable.

I finally got my first AC jack and I love it. I put the M3 up on all four jack pads with 4 esco jack stands. Made changing from winter to summer tires very easy.

[roastbeef]

i wouldn't jack on the rear diff, the aluminum won't support the weight of the car. i'd say it might hold up once or twice, but its quite a gamble whether or not it would collapse or crack.

[anselmw]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

i wouldn't jack on the rear diff, the aluminum won't support the weight of the car. i'd say it might hold up once or twice, but its quite a gamble whether or not it would collapse or crack.

It is not the rear diff, the jack point is actually the mount which is a solid piece of metal. It is just behind the differential. Same spot for my m coupe and othe bmw's.

[sensi09]

I want to get these, but rather pricey especially since I don't jack the car up all that often.
http://www.jackpointjackstands.com/

[Transfer]

Originally Posted by sensi09

I want to get these, but rather pricey especially since I don't jack the car up all that often.
http://www.jackpointjackstands.com/

Huge thumbs up on this but holy crap it's wicked expensive for what it is. $745 to outfit 4 corners for a BMW?

[anselmw]

Craftsman had the same idea with their jack stands and jack combo but you need clearance to get to the jack underneath that the extra pad height takes away. Especially on lowered cars.

Here is my M3 on all four jack points using the AC hydraulics jack




Here is my daughter inspecting the esco jack stands.

[White 13]

Mentioned above was using Rhino Ramps. I would check first before buying. For my E92 they are too steep. A 2xsomething gives me enough room to get my service jack under the front though.

[Someone?]

Originally Posted by anselmw

Craftsman had the same idea with their jack stands and jack combo but you need clearance to get to the jack underneath that the extra pad height takes away. Especially on lowered cars.

Here is my M3 on all four jack points using the AC hydraulics jack




Here is my daughter inspecting the esco jack stands.

So where did you jack the car up at to be able to get those jackstands under there? Shit i think it will be easier to find so spares that have the same lug pattern, and probably cheaper.

[anselmw]

Originally Posted by ibmike

So where did you jack the car up at to be able to get those jackstands under there?

My car is stock height so the AC jack is long and low enough to get to the front jackpoint. if you don't have a similar jack, just drive the car up on some 2x4's and you will have the clearance to use a regular jack to get the car up on the front jack point.

Rear jackpoint is just behind the rear differential. You will see a solid piece of metal there. Probably cast iron or similar. Put a spacer on your jack, I use hockey pucks so your jack does not hit the differential. Then you will be able to get your car on all fours.