okay, you guys know that im completely noobtastic...

here is a lame pic of a frame rail of my car (both sides ar banged up). there all dented up like the Prev Owner was playing dukes of hazard. i suspect the dents are from all of the pesky speed bumps.

what i want to know is:
Is this a big deal? is the car not structurally sound?
will this be a problem in the future?
how can this be fixed? (preferably by ME!!)

 

The car is OK.
What that is My friend, is called "I am a Moron,so I'll put the jack here" Syndrome!..The frame rails under the car is NO place to jack the car up!.There are proper places to Jack up the FC...Like the diff,subframe mounts.etc..There is a Link on the Forum(somewhere)..Try Proper use of Jack.something like that.
Now,It can be Fixed,by either Popping the Rails out or Reinforcing them,But in all reality,it is Fine.The car won't fold in half on ya!.(but the jack will go through the Floor eventually If you decide to keep on doing what the "other guy" did!).
Cheers man.,Hope I helped ya.

 

okay, this pic in the fsm says to put jack stands on the frame... this is the same frame that is bent under my car. if im correctly interpreting your reply, then this would be a BAD place to put jack stands.

what am i not getting right here? if its no good to jack it up frome there, wouldnt stands tear thru my floor as well? where would i place the stands then?

im feeling stupid X_X'''

 

The FSM has some odd translations. The jacks and stands are supposed to go on the subframe.

 

I did this to my car shortly after I got it out of ignorance.

 

Pshh I jack my car up at the tow hooks










It's too low to jack up anywhere else even with my super low profile jack

 

Look under your car.In Front of the back Wheels.you can just reach under there and FEEL a Big Nut that attaches the Subframe to the car(you can plainly see it too).Put the jack there...OR the rear differential
The front.look under the car just Behind the Front wheel.See where the Control arms meet the frame.(Big Clamp,big piece of Rubber on the A arm)??.you can place a Jack there.
Just make sure that the Jack isn't placed anywhere "flimsy",like the Floor,or the floor rails.Gas tank,Rad support,or rear spare tire well..The jack will cause damage to the car,and it May cause you injury..just Think smart,work safe,and enjoy the car.

 

where is a good place to place jack stands when trying to replace the front diff mount?

 

i would also like to know... perhaps the towhooks? but isnt that dangerous?

 

Frame rails.

Pad the jackstand with some cloth so it doesn't tear up the frame.

 

BAH! i thought jacking the car on the frame rails is what messed up my car to begin with...

 

jack from under the diff to get it up in the air and then place the two jack stands under the frame rails and slowly lower the jack.

 

I'm sorry if this is a stupid question but what do you mean by frame rails? The car to my understanding does not have frame rails. So are you talking about the pinch welds or that floor board reinforcement that npena80 had a question about.

I was told after i asked my question on this thread that the back 5 inches of the pinchweld's would be the best place to place a jackstand when replacing a front diff mount. Would anyone agree or disagree?

Sorry to thread-jack.

 

Jacking is best done from the front and rear subframe to avoid damage to the car. However stationary work can be done with stands on the frame rails (two large rails that run the length of the car, look underneath to see them).

 

I've noticed recently that I seem to have a very slow leak from the side of my diff, seems to be from a seal where the axle connects to it. I don't remember the leak before I first jacked it up with the diff (but I could have just missed it). Could I have damaged anything by using the diff as a jack point? I use ramps now when I don't need to do wheel work.