Two Questions about 2005-8 models:

What is the best way to use a standard hydraulic floor jack (the ones with a "cup" at the business end) to jack the Stang up at the locations where the supplied "toy" jack fits.

Are there locations where a standard hydraulic jack can be placed to lift either the front or rear pair of wheels at once?

 

to lift the whole rear up i use a 3ton floor jack with a piece of 2x6 on it and put it right under the differential. Get it to the height i want then put the jack stands under the sides of the car, right in front of the rear wheels

 

No! Do not ever do this. You can use a floor jack on the same jacking point as you would using the wimpy jack that came with your car. However, I cannot stress more that jacking a car up under the "pumpkin" is a really bad thing to do. You will bend the axle tubes if you do this. You may never notice it but, your axle bearings will. If you want to risk a 1k repair job to save a little time, by all means, go ahead. Us mechanics can use the work. Otherwise, read your owners manual and follow it to a T. Its the best information you have readily at hand that most people do not even give a second thought or ever turn a page.

 

On my floor jack, the cup comes out and leaves a nice flat area that I use instead of the cup for most of the jacking, with the exception of when I jack on the rear axle. There's a note in the manual to not jack on the differential, but I think it may be OK as long as you pad it and look carefully at what you're jacking on - think about where the stresses are going and make sure you're jacking on a flat area (not stressing the cover, etc). Others will disagree. Since the book recommends not jacking on the pumpkin, I usually either use the same area as the small jack would go, or jack each side by the axle, as far out as I can get (depending on whether I want the suspension loaded or not). With a hydraulic jack, it really doesn't take much time to jack twice instead of once. On the front, you can jack under the engine K-member to jack both sides at once. This is described (with diagrams) in a previous post - if you search, you should be able to find it.

 

This is exactly what I am talking about. Its not just about stressing the diff, or bending the cover. You have to look beyond the immediate area.

Here, read this:
Okay, here’s a little exercise I like to use when doing training and someone asks me if it’s okay to jack a car from under the differential carrier i.e. “pumpkin�.

Pretend your head is the pumpkin. Your body is the jack. Now, hold your arms out horizontal from your sides. Now, have someone place some weighted objects in each hand and see what happens. Hold it for a bit and you will get the message. Now, before tossing the weights off, have two friends place their shoulders under your out stretched hands. What do you feel? Relief? Now, look at your rear axle with all this in mind.

 

You guys are forgetting that we leave in a Country run by Lawyers...


YOU WILL NOT, BEND THE REAR AXLE HOUSING BY PLACING THE JACK UNDER THE PUMPKIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!
CAN YOU SAY : BULL S#HIT?


The books says one thing, but real life says that the housing is 3 1/6 of an inch thick, or more, on just about any car.
It would take an enormous load to bend anything, way more than the weight of the car itself.
I worked on cars (professionaly) all my life and I never had an axle bent...
Lots of my friends have worked on cars all their lives, no bent axles.
All my business relations (dealers etc...) have worked on cars most of their lives, no bent axles.


There is a safety warning though.
Make sure the car is levelled, for one.
And second, it's a good idea to use an oversized jack cup or something similar to avoid said jack to slip.


Oh, and those of you that really believe that you can bent the axle, please show me a pic of a bent axle after jack up under the carrier...
Not a story about someone that said: "I think" I bent my axle today when I put the jack underneath it.

 

https://mustangforums.com/m_5249219/tm.htm
Ford tech spotted it from a distance.....

nuff said
Are you running NASCAR and need to lift both
tires off the ground at the same time?
Someone seems to hit a nerve with pascal
[IMG]local://upfiles/69445/FAE6E2A0B9074AE8B6EDFAA174447DFB.jpg[/IMG]


Recommended Mustang jacking points:
[IMG]local://upfiles/69445/FD657C8672EA4EEA8E29BC3256FD2D06.jpg[/IMG]

 

When we talk about bending the axle, we are not talking about a noticable half an inch. What we are talking about here is thousands of an inch. Axle tubes are not made of spring steel. If you stress them with the weight of the car, they will deflect ever so little. When the car is back on the ground, the deflection will not correct itself. Over time doing this repeatedly will result in tolerances outside of spec. That means bearing wear and eventual failure. To be on the safe side, jack the axle under the spring mount area, one side at a time,like it states in the OWNER'S MANUAL. You know... that book no one ever bother's to read.

 

I have to agree with pascal. i could see if someone was jumping up and down on the tires while it was jacked under the pumpkin but that is not the case. Its there maybe 15-20s until the jack stands get under it then the pressure is off. The idea of your head and holding your arms out is a bit off. I mean i can hold stuff in my hands for atleast a minute or so which is longer than the jack will be on the pumpkin and as pascal mentioned we are talking about a very thick housing, not human strength. Look at an airplane supporting giant wings on either side. It has to do with structural integrity.

 

The exercise I mentioned wasn't about human endurance. It was to demonstrate where the load isin relation to the fulcrum. Do any of you understand the principles of levers?

As for an airplane wing, they are designed to flex under load. Ever watch a 747 when it is being fueled? Watch as the wing tips bow lower and lower to the ground? Ever look out the window of a large jet moving through turbulence? The wings are moving! They are designed that way. A jet wing is really not a good analogy to compare to a rigid axle.