Lifting or Jacking your Z...

[ExMX5owner]

In the interest of Safety, maybe there should be a thread as to how we all do it.. I would start one myself however there seems to be no place to put it. Like "Generic Z" not 3 , 4 , or whatever.. I see fragments of such throughout the forum. But maybe it should be in one place, as a good reference to guide others. What do you use, how well does it work, and how much did it cost, tips and pitfalls ?..
Just a thought... Not that I nearly dropped mine or anything like that
I don't mind spending time under my girl, but safety first...

 

[Synclare]

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[Lee]

@Mazza made a good point that I have experienced also. If for example you have the car up on 4 axle stands to drop the rear suspension for refurb, the point of balance shifts. The front end with the engine weight acts as an unbalanced see saw around the front axle stands leaving the rear end floating in the air. I think the correct term is 'moments' - forces of imbalance etc same as you get in an engine.

Playing devil's advocate, would you not think BMW would have designed this into where the jacking points are placed for that very reason?

We always support the cars on all 4 lifting pads and drop the rear first and I've never felt the cars weight shift enough to make it feel unstable. You can if you're strong enough lift it and likewise the front with the engine removed.

We use either the 4 jacking points or the diff to lift the zeds.

 

[ExMX5owner]

Playing devil's advocate, would you not think BMW would have designed this into where the jacking points are placed for that very reason?

We always support the cars on all 4 lifting pads and drop the rear first and I've never felt the cars weight shift enough to make it feel unstable. You can if you're strong enough lift it and likewise the front with the engine removed.

We use either the 4 jacking points or the diff to lift the zeds.

Interesting stuff, as I am about to swap out my diff bush, looks fairly straight forward..

 

[t-tony]

Jack car under the Diff. (use wood or rubber pad). Place stands under rear jack points on outer sills. Lower car onto stands. Then, supporting the Diff. with the jack, remove the bush nut and bolt. Then you can lower the Diff. enough to remove the old bush and fit new one.
Jack up and fit the nut and bolt and tighten. Jack up car and remove stands, lower car. Job's a good 'un.

Tony.

 

[ExMX5owner]

Jack car under the Diff. (use wood or rubber pad). Place stands under rear jack points on outer sills. Lower car onto stands. Then, supporting the Diff. with the jack, remove the bush nut and bolt. Then you can lower the Diff. enough to remove the old bush and fit new one.
Jack up and fit the nut and bolt and tighten. Jack up car and remove stands, lower car. Job's a good 'un.

Tony.

Bloody good, I like that plan. I was looking at the maybe need to remove the back off the diff housing. If I can do it that way, and get the bush out easy enough.. My Oath it's a good'un.

Normally I would split bush sleeves and collapse them in on themselves for ease of removal, especially in an aluminum casting.. But yeah, Ill try it that way.. Thanks @t-tony ..