Jacking the car up?

[Fiat88]

I'm having trouble finding an adequate location to jack the front-end up and placing it on jackstands. I'm trying to drain the cooling system to remove the radiator. What points do you use to lift the car and whre do I place the stands? Thanks.

[Foster48x]

Check out this thread we had a discussion about it not long ago.

http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic ... ack+stands

Rick

[bajacalal]

Invest in a pair of ramps. I have some nice, U.S. made metal ones that were only $50 for the pair, well worth the money IMO. They save a lot of time vs. jacking when you need to lift the car a foot or so off the ground but don't need to remove the tires or drop the suspension.

[wachuko]

Seems that 83-85 have a different method that earlier cars. 83-85 have what looks like 3/4" square rods that you can place your lift under:





In the my '81 I use the points described in the owners manual. I place a small piece of wood to make sure I distribute the load better:

[Fiat88]

Ok, got the front end up successfully on jackstands today using the crossmember rail under the oil pan. Feel better now.

[kmead]

From the other thread:

The front cross member, center of the rear axle pumpkin (using a rubber pad to protect the drain bolt) under the spring attachment points on the rear axle or front A arms.

If you look carefully under the car (and the car is in good shape ie minimal rust) you will see there are 4 rectangular reinforcements with downward facing flanges. These are where the factory jack is intended to be placed.

Unlike many modern cars you are not intended to jack the car using the flanges that run along the bottom of the sills, especially since the Spider has decorative sill covers which won't take any load at all.

Never jack on a tubular suspension arm of any kind. You can jack on the mounts at the ends of the longitudinal tubes but never on the tube itself. Never use a jack on any part of the Panhard rod mounting or the tube itself Never on any part of the engine or transmission (to lift the car) as the mounts can easily tear apart.

I use a rubber block or old hockey pucks on top of my jack or a soft piece of pine to distribute the load and in effect lock the position of the jack to the body.I lift the car using the rear axle or the crossmember and then place the jack stands under the other hard points with a couple of layers of cardboard on top of the jack stand to minimize paint damage and movement. I keep the jack under the car but not taking the load, its just there to take the load in case.