A point on jacking and axle stands. The underside of your car will be undersealed, and jacking straight onto the underseal may well damage the seal, and possibly the metal chassis, as jacks have lugs around the jack plate to prevent slippage. More expensive jacks, as used in some garages, have a rubber pad on the plate to prevent this damage. To protect my chassis from such damage, I make up an appropriate block of wood or rubber to fit the jack plate, and the weight of the car, if on level ground, will prevent it slipping if jacked in the correct place. Axle stands, because of their shape, and with correct positioning, are less likely to cause damage, however I still use protective measures.
To find the jacking points on a car, refer to the owner's or workshop manual. There is invariably a jacking point to take a hydraulic jack, just inboard of the point where the car's wheel change jack is designed to fit, and you will see tyre fitters putting the jack there as a matter of course. There are often other places on the underside of any car's chassis which MAY be safe to use as jacking points, sometimes with timber used as a load spreader, but you will no doubt learn about this on your mechanics course, and with experience.
My apologies if I am telling you stuff you already know.
Best wishes and good luck on the course.
Author
Topic: Finally found my course. Also some maintenance Q's..... (Read 5107 times)