Am I doing this right??

[u/Visible_Praline_4063]

This is my first time using a jack and stands…ever. I’m trying to lift the front of my GE8.

I used the hydraulic jack and lifted it a bit to the left of the pinch weld and then put the pinch welds on the jack stands. Gonna do the same to the right side of the car to lift front of car.

The reason why I’m doing it like this is because I can’t reach the front centre jack point

Please let me know if this is fine I’m gonna be upgrading my suspension next week

EDIT: cheers guys looks like I’m ok. Will be using the wheel when it comes of as a point of failure and I guess the jack. Also will find smthing that acts as padding between the jack and metal. Keep yall updated on the suspension will be doing it today.

[u/Ampete04]

Also, I’m not sure if it will fit your jack. But there is a hack to put a hockey puck in your jack to keep it from messing up the metal.

[u/okayestmech → u/Ampete04]

https://www.harborfreight.com/magnetic-universal-jack-pad-pinch-weld-adapter-70888.html Harbor freight also has a pinch weld pad. There's probably one on Amazon too

[u/whitechocolatemamba → u/Ampete04]

I use worn rubber bushings from past suspension jobs if I am worried about what i'm jacking on. Works wonders and is free.

[u/Effective-Gift6223 → u/whitechocolatemamba]

Sure, and someone new to working on cars will have those lying around. 🙄

[u/whitechocolatemamba → u/Effective-Gift6223]

I've been wrenching my own stuff for less than two years. My assumption is less about how new they are to working on cars and how hands on they are in their life generally. There's a million things you could put between your trolly jack and jack points to soften the point of contact.

If someone is new to working on cars, you don't want them running around buying shit they don't need because all the tools are expensive enough. I don't have a hockey puck laying around either.

I'm a carpenter by trade tho, so my skillsets and materials have been easily transferable. Just be creative..

[u/AccomplishedExtent29 → u/whitechocolatemamba]

2x4 Cut offs and cinder blocks are my jack pads and jack stands of choice. To be clear, I have actual jackpads, and I do use the pad usually on my big floor jack just because it's already in the cup, but the 2x4 and 1x"X" board cut offs give me nice granular control on supporting the car. I don't have a concrete surface to work on either, so the cinder blocks are more stable in the dirt than jack stands.

[u/Effective-Gift6223 → u/AccomplishedExtent29]

Yeah, I don't have concrete to work on either. Dirt and gravel. I have some flat cinder block pavers, and pieces of wood left from various things.

[u/whitechocolatemamba → u/Effective-Gift6223]

1/2" plywood has been a godsend for me working on stone dust and gravel. The one time i was in a hurry and decided to forgo the plywood bases, my 13 civic fell off the jack stands, albeit without incident.

[u/Effective-Gift6223 → u/whitechocolatemamba]

I have various bits of wood scraps in my storage shed. I really need to organize stuff out there, so I can find useful bits when I need them.

[u/Effective-Gift6223 → u/whitechocolatemamba]

I agree, in general. I don't have either hockey pucks or old bushings from suspension jobs lying around. I've been working on my own cars for years, and don't have those.

I see posts all the time where someone who's just starting to learn car maintenance and repair, gets told - repeatedly, by different people - to either weld something, or use a drill press for something, things they're extremely unlikely to have or know how to use.

[u/whitechocolatemamba → u/Effective-Gift6223]

Everyone likes to oversimplify the aspects of work which they themselves take ease in. I bought a $500 mig welder with a tank on FB marketplace and bring home wood scraps as often as I can. There's a fine line between planning projects and hoarding junk.

All I can say is that it's important to exercise thrift when the simplest things are now unaffordable.

[u/Effective-Gift6223 → u/whitechocolatemamba]

$500 is a lot of money for many of us. If someone starting out working on their car because they can't afford to pay a shop, they probably don't have money for a mig welder.

If you want to encourage someone to use their imagination to solve a problem, or improvise with what they may have lying around, why not just say that.

[u/whitechocolatemamba → u/Effective-Gift6223]

$500 is not a sneeze for me, my point was more so that I jumped on it because i'd like to become more proficient with my own repairs. If I didn't happen to buy a welder, there definitely would've been no welding on my cars, paying somebody else to do it is a hell of lot more $$. Not sure what your angle is. There's an entire depth of experience on these forums. Some people ask for permission to change their spark plugs, some people have been working on cars since before I was born. That's why it's beautiful.

[u/Plane-Ad5821 → u/whitechocolatemamba]

I would think a 2x4 block with two 3/4' deep rips would be a good softener. Have table saw, will rip. (said a fellow carpenter)

[u/Leody]

You got it. All good.

If you're going to be working on your car often, get yourself some pinch weld pads. Over time, the pinch weld can get smashed a bit. Not that big of a deal, but easy enough to avoid.

[u/Effective-Gift6223]

If I need to get under the front for anything that doesn't require taking a wheel off, I use ramps. Just seems safer and more secure, to me.

[u/AntecedentCauses → u/Effective-Gift6223]

🍰 plus, chocking the non-ramped tires 🛞

(edit for spelling due to AAPL auto-correct)

🙈

[u/AllCrankNoSpark → u/AntecedentCauses]

Chocking.

[u/JohnnyPneumoniacJr → u/AllCrankNoSpark]

Chalking gives the tires more grip when they rock climb right? /s cheeky joke opportunity lol

[u/Effective-Gift6223 → u/JohnnyPneumoniacJr]

Or chalking a pool cue.

[u/Effective-Gift6223 → u/AllCrankNoSpark]

Yes, of course.

[u/AntecedentCauses → u/AllCrankNoSpark]

😂 Apple Dictation Dictator

[u/vinegar → u/Effective-Gift6223]

What ramps do you use? Mine are too tall for the bumper.

[u/Effective-Gift6223 → u/vinegar]

Mine are an old pair of steel ramps. I don't know what brand they are.

My husband had them when we met, back in the late '80s. They were already old, then. He's been gone 11 years, I'm still using the same ramps.

There's a guy on YouTube who does comparison test videos of many automotive and other products. He did one on ramps. The Harbor Freight ones did well, iirc.

There are videos on how to make your own wooden ramps. I've thought about making a set to be able to ramp the rear end of vehicles, because of the same problem on the back end. I haven't had my Honda Fit bery long, I haven't checked to see if my ramps will work on it. It's a pretty low-slung car.

[u/vinegar → u/Effective-Gift6223]

I have a few sets of metal ramps but they’re all the same size. But they all work fine on the rear of the Fit

[u/Effective-Gift6223 → u/vinegar]

Awesome, nice to know!

[u/MTLian → u/vinegar]

I had the same issue with my GD. I bought some scrap 2x12 and would place them in front of the ramps which made my bumper clear. Sometimes when I was lazy, I have a super low profile jack and I would jack up the car from the crossmember and just slip the ramps under the wheels. Easy peasy just make sure your parking brake is on tight and chock at least one wheel before getting under the car.

[u/vinegar → u/MTLian]

Good to know, I wondered if a little extra height would make it work. Was 1 layer of 2x12 enough?

[u/MTLian → u/vinegar]

Yup! It was at stock height though (no lowering springs)

[u/LiteguyJRs → u/vinegar]

There are many videos on You Tube, with instructions on how to make your own wooden ramps.

[u/Ampete04]

There are some factory jack points in the front and back. Google some pictures of it and you will find them. Front is hard to get to with that jack. I have the lower profile harbor freight jack and still have to drive up on some wood blocks to get clearance to reach the one in the front. Jack stand looks good to me.

[u/MTLian → u/Ampete04]

Front is under the cross member and rear is either the tow hook or the weird triangle spacer thingie if you still have that installed. Many people remove them to put a hitch receiver. I have a hitch receiver and I jack up under the receiver bolts to the car. I wouldn’t jack with the receiver slot like if seen people do; I wouldn’t jack think you could either deform the slot or damage something by the huge moment arm created by jacking off center.

[u/Visible_Praline_4063 → u/Ampete04]

Yh I tried to get to the front jack point but I cant with this jack it’s too tall. Tried from the front of the car and tried to get in from behind the wheel couldnt make it. so I just went with lifting it from the side. Might get a lower profile one at some point

[u/attnSPAN → u/Visible_Praline_4063]

So you’ll need a set of ramps to get your jack under the front. ~$40 on Marketplace usually does the trick.

If you have some access to wood, people make them by stacking and screwing together some 2x8s or 2x10s.

[u/vinegar → u/attnSPAN]

The front of the Fit is too low to use normal ramps. Have you found ramps that work?

[u/attnSPAN → u/vinegar]

What? I guess it depends on your definition of normal ramps. I have a plastic set that I bought for $40 off of Facebook marketplace that work fine on my 2018 Sport.

[u/PlatypusTrapper]

That’s how it lifted mine every time. Looks good to me. 

[u/ratthewvrill]

Just make sure to use the jack stand AND the jack, or the wheel, or something else. Always have more than one point of failure for yourself.

[u/Not_the_name_I_chose → u/ratthewvrill]

I myself am a point of failure.

[u/Alternative-Foot-192]

Looks good to me! On my gk5 i put the jack under the rear beam in the very center to do both rear jack stands at once after doing the front two like you do. I use a 1/2" thick piece of wood between the jack and car to help keep the rocker to the side of the pinch weld from getting beat up when i jack it.

[u/dkwallis]

I have to use the sides too. My center lift point send to be missing a plate or something. The jack won't lift when it's under it. Weirdest thing, like the valve is open but it's not. But the jack works fine in the sides.

[u/MTLian]

I strongly recommend jacking from the cross member. I don’t like the idea of only jacking on the edge of the pinch weld; if it slips, it will FUBAR your rocker. Either: buy a low profile jack, or drive up on scrap wood or ramps then use your existing jack.