I'm planning to have some small dents removed and my car fully repainted. I'd like to have the jacking rails (under each door) fixed up while they're doing it - anyone had this done? What did it cost? Can they be made more durable? Mine are all bent up and uneven.

Once fixed, what do you guys do to avoid your jackstands and jack from screwing them up?

Dave

 

Get side skirts and cover them up???

 

I don't like body add-ons. My end goal for the car is a great-looking all stock R2. (Well, except for a couple of reliability mods)

Dave

 

Buy a real jack and don't use the rails for jacking up the car in the first place, and don't put a jackstand under them when supporting the car.

The differential and the engine cradle make great jacking points. If you have to, drive up on a couple short pieces of 2x6 to get the car high enough to slip a floor jack under, especially in the front, or just buy one of the more expensive floor jacks with a low pad height and longer arm made for the job.

There are several points that work well for supporting the car on jackstands, but the engine cradle and rear subframe work very well, and you can tape a shop rag over the top of the jackstand cradle to keep from damaging anything.

The OEM scissor jack is a piece of crap and intended for roadside emergencies only. It will not put up well with repeated use (and people have had them collapse), and it'll tear up your rails, as you've now seen. The rails were never meant to support the weight of the car.

 

I have a piece of 2X4 which I cut a slot in to put on the jack stands.

The rail goes in the slot and does not get bent.

 

Well, the previous owner(s) were lalready guilty of beating up these rails, and so when I first started working on it that's where I lifted. I couldn't see any other accessible jacking points considering the low clearance of the car.

I want to buy a good low-profile jack, but until I find the cash I'll probably try the 2x6 starter ramps and squeeze in my $100 sears floor jack. The back end shouldn't be so bad. Do you recommend any particular low-profile jack?

For all the pictorials I've seen on the 'net, I've never seen one that discusses jacking. Does anyone have a decent pic(s) that show these spots? I was using the rails because I wasn't sure where else to support the car.

I've never even taken out my OEM jack. Thankfully.

Dave

 

I always use a piece of wood on top of my jacks or jackstands.

A piece of wood will spread the load better than the little tip of the jacks.

Reza

 

Try the Ultimate Garage ( http://www.ultimategarage.com/ ) for a very good low profile jack.

Harbor Freight ( http://www.harborfreight.com/ ) has some racing style aluminum jacks (3000lbs & 4000lbs) with flat rubber jack pads insted of the traditional cast cup that dents the heck anything it contacts.

I also use a 2x4 w/ a slot cut in it to protect the rails when jacking from the side.

 

This will get your started:

https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showth...threadid=94583

 

I disagree with this.

The OEM scissors jack works perfectly fine with the jacking rails. It has a slot for the rail.
The rail is not meant to support the weight but to be fitted in the slot to prevent the jack from "slipping out" from under the car.

Ed

 

From one of the manuals...

 

Yep. My car is not lowered and I jack it up twice a weekend to change tires when at the track. My jack and I see eachother a lot

Anyways I use a standard 2.5 ton floor jack with a round head. I had a friend make a "head adaptor" for the jack out of a piece of pipe and a few pieces of steel. Basically it's a 4"x4" steel plate with two steel bars welded to the top with a 3/8" gap between them for the rail to fit in. On the bottom is a short length of pipe that fits around the head of the floor jack so the adaptor can't slip off. Works perfectly and anybody who does much welding probably already has scraps of stock to do it with.

 

I, too, have beat the hell out of my jacking rails over the years. They simply shouldn't be used to raise the car.

Ideally, those should be used 2-5 times in the life of the car and that is only in emergency to fix a flat.

But, reality is different and I have used mine hundreds and hundreds of times to swap race and street tires, check brake pads, etc.

My suggestion is that any competent body shop will be able to straighten the lip and make them look new again. I would estimate a shop would charge 3 to 5 hours of shop labor to do each side. Bundle that in with a full paint job and it won't be that bad to swallow.

Also, take Jim's advice and start jacking the car correctly. Cut up some 12-20 inch long ramp/pads made out of 2x8 or 2x10. These will ge the car off the ground far enough to use a proper floor jack on the front cradle or the rear carrier.

I do it this way now, exclusively, and it is the only way to go. (but my marred frame rails will persist until I get the car redone)

 

Well, where do you put the jacks when its on a lift? I am forced to but it on the jack rails as there is no other spot to support it with the style lift I usually use.

 

I can't help you there. I have never seen a lift (commercial or otherwise) that doesn't have adjustable pads that go on the front and rear subframes.

Hopefully someone else can advise you.

I can tell you that I have seen two FD with collapsed jacking rails from overuse of the area to jack the car. One friend used a small jack and it slipped off the rail and destroyed the bottom of the rocker and front fender.

It just isn't the proper place to jack the car, particulary if done over and over again.

Good Luck with it.

 

Granted it may be a pain to align but blocks with slots in them as Mr. Stock describes would work.

 

And I disagree with you disagreeing.

I'm aware of what the slot is for, however the slotted head of the OEM scissor jack doesn't tilt well with the angle of the car. It can and often does bend the rail and/or cut the paint, which I've seen on many FDs. It should be used for emergency tire changes only, if you ask me. I gave mine away without ever using it; the car doesn't weigh enough to fully collapse a flat 30-40 series tire if driven reasonably anyway.

I can see using it to raise the car high enough to get a floor jack under it to a better jacking point if that's all you have available, but there are easier ways to raise the car that are less likely to cause damage, in my opinion.

I'll post a link to the "ultimate floor jack" web site tonight after I get home from work.

 

Hydraulic lifts usually have relatively large pads, and most that I've seen have slots in the pads to accomodate a frame or body rail. The pads spread the load over a much larger area than the small head of the OEM jack, and is obviously far more capable of safely raising the car and should be far less likely to cause damage.

 

Mark Valskis had his on 4x4 posts with slotted tops for the rails and plywood bases. I'll post a picture of that when I get home, too...

 

http://www.ultimategarage.com/acjacks.html

 

 

Whoa, those 4x4s scare me. The plywood bases add zero stability - it's really just balanced on the 4x4s

Thanks all. I think I'll buy some low ramps and save some coin for the ultimate jack. Or maybe look for a used one.

Dave

 

ACHOOOO!!!

 

My mechanic has put a steel piece on each side of each rail to make a sandwich if you understand what I type. The strips of metal are 3/8 inch thick and are as long as the rail and as wide. They are held together with several counter sink allen head screws. He can jack it from the center and place jack stands at each end. The bolts are drilled through the stock sheet metal ,the outside part is drilled and countersink the inside part is threaded for the bolts . Then it was painted black so the car looks lower . So simple to not have adented up rail

 

What about using the subframe?