[ideloera]

Originally Posted by Cottage Dude

I've got a question on the rear lift point.
My 335d has a 'strut' running between the two exhaust pipes directly below the rear lifting point (i forgot to snap a photo on the weekend). There is no way for me to get my jack to this lift point. Is there another rear lifting point so that I can jack the rear and change both tires at the same time??

If this is the only 'designed' rear lift point, then it is pretty poor engineering by BMW.

Same question here, 2011 335d. The exhaust has a welded support bar in the way (see the pic edited by Cottage Dude) which prevents the jack from reaching the support strut.

Is it safe to lift from the differential?

Thanks

[zzzbullseye]

Originally Posted by ideloera

Same question here, 2011 335d. The exhaust has a welded support bar in the way (see the pic edited by Cottage Dude) which prevents the jack from reaching the support strut.

Is it safe to lift from the differential?

Thanks

I think I misinterpreted Cottage Dude's original post. So there's an additional strut piece between the exhaust pipes that keeps you from getting the jack head to the jacking point? If so, I know I've read on other posts that lifting the rear of the car from the diff is okay. I've never done it because I prefer not putting that amount of load on the diff, and because I could (on my 335i) and can (on my 550i) get to the cross support instead. Internet wisdom seems to indicate you'll be okay using the diff, so proceed according to your own comfort level.

[ideloera]

Originally Posted by zzzbullseye

I think I misinterpreted Cottage Dude's original post. So there's an additional strut piece between the exhaust pipes that keeps you from getting the jack head to the jacking point? If so, I know I've read on other posts that lifting the rear of the car from the diff is okay. I've never done it because I prefer not putting that amount of load on the diff, and because I could (on my 335i) and can (on my 550i) get to the cross support instead. Internet wisdom seems to indicate you'll be okay using the diff, so proceed according to your own comfort level.

Yes, well.. it's not an additional strut piece, but more like a metal rod connecting the exhausts, for exhaust support I assume. That metal rod comes before the metal strut jack point, the only way to lift from the metal strut is by cutting off the metal rod which is in the way.

Thanks zzzbullseye, next time I need to lift my 335d from the rear to place it on jack stands i'll post back here with pics and results and hopefully a differential that is still in tact .

[zzzbullseye]

Originally Posted by ideloera

Yes, well.. it's not an additional strut piece, but more like a metal rod connecting the exhausts, for exhaust support I assume. That metal rod comes before the metal strut jack point, the only way to lift from the metal strut is by cutting off the metal rod which is in the way.

Thanks zzzbullseye, next time I need to lift my 335d from the rear to place it on jack stands i'll post back here with pics and results and hopefully a differential that is still in tact .

Yeah, I was gathering that the exhaust pipes have an additional strut or brace that connect them together and prevent access to the rear jacking point. Weird that this exists on the "d" models and not the "i" models.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

[aydreeun]

This is a great post, however, it seems like the link to the images are no longer working.

Can you re-upload the pictures?

Thanks in advance!

[zzzbullseye]

Originally Posted by aydreeun

This is a great post, however, it seems like the link to the images are no longer working.

Can you re-upload the pictures?

Thanks in advance!

So anyone that has used ImageShack in the past knows they did the old screwjob on their "free" image hosting...apologies to all.

I've moved the images over to Google, let me know if you still have issues seeing them.

[VP-jiminy]

It seems many people use jack stands to support the car. How about placing blocks of treated wood under each tire to distribute the weight? Would that work, instead of using jack stands which makes me a tad nervous?

I'm thinking if you were to place, say, three 4x10 pieces of wood on top of each other under each of the four tires, it'd lift the car 12". Could do so by jacking the car from the front, placing one piece under each front tire, lowering the car, then jacking the rear and placing a piece under each of the rear tire, and repeating until all three blocks are placed.

Any thoughts?

[zzzbullseye]

Originally Posted by VP-jiminy

It seems many people use jack stands to support the car. How about placing blocks of treated wood under each tire to distribute the weight? Would that work, instead of using jack stands which makes me a tad nervous?

I'm thinking if you were to place, say, three 4x10 pieces of wood on top of each other under each of the four tires, it'd lift the car 12". Could do so by jacking the car from the front, placing one piece under each front tire, lowering the car, then jacking the rear and placing a piece under each of the rear tire, and repeating until all three blocks are placed.

Any thoughts?

Umm...I suppose you could give the ole stacking blocks of wood a whirl...but I'm not really sure what you're trying to accomplish. How would this work when removing/rotating tires?

I would be waaay more nervous about the codged together setup you describe as opposed to just using jack stands that are purpose built for holding an automobile in an elevated state. There are innumerable options for safe/sturdy stands that are affordable. Rigging up some other contraption is just not worth it IMO.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by VP-jiminy

It seems many people use jack stands to support the car. How about placing blocks of treated wood under each tire to distribute the weight? Would that work, instead of using jack stands which makes me a tad nervous?

I'm thinking if you were to place, say, three 4x10 pieces of wood on top of each other under each of the four tires, it'd lift the car 12". Could do so by jacking the car from the front, placing one piece under each front tire, lowering the car, then jacking the rear and placing a piece under each of the rear tire, and repeating until all three blocks are placed.

Any thoughts?

Yeah, you'll end up killing yourself. Just get the proper jack and stands and lift the car via the instructions BMW provides. It's about $600 for a good low saddle long reach floor jack and four(4) flat-topped stands. It's the professionally engineered and safest way to work on your car outside of having a lift. If you want to kill yourself over $600 then by all means go for it.

If you really think stacking up wood to fit under the tires is more safe than using stands, you should re-think your ideas of DIYing and leave the work to professionals.

[Three_thirty_I]

Helpful thread. I need to replace the rear shock bump stops on my 330i and have already got the two new parts. Just need to get a decent low profile jack to reach - my small 2 ton jacks are not going to work for this. I see that it is often recommended to lift from under the diff (avoiding the cover of course), but wouldn't that put unnecessary load on the various bushes etc? Therefore wouldn't it be simply better to lift from under that cross member? The jacks that I am looking at have a max lifting height of either 500mm or 540mm, so I reckon either of the two should be good enough.

[zzzbullseye]

Originally Posted by Three_thirty_I

Helpful thread. I need to replace the rear shock bump stops on my 330i and have already got the two new parts. Just need to get a decent low profile jack to reach - my small 2 ton jacks are not going to work for this. I see that it is often recommended to lift from under the diff (avoiding the cover of course), but wouldn't that put unnecessary load on the various bushes etc? Therefore wouldn't it be simply better to lift from under that cross member? The jacks that I am looking at have a max lifting height of either 500mm or 540mm, so I reckon either of the two should be good enough.

The cross member is definitely my preference, although it's supposed to be acceptable to use the diff. Most jacks should provide enough lift height when using the cross member location. Low profile / long reach jacks are the way to go if you're purchasing, although they're usually more expensive than the standard profile models. You may still have to initially elevate your vehicle by driving onto 2x4s depending on your individual setup, especially when trying to reach the central lift point in the front.

[Three_thirty_I]

Originally Posted by zzzbullseye

The cross member is definitely my preference, although it's supposed to be acceptable to use the diff. Most jacks should provide enough lift height when using the cross member location. Low profile / long reach jacks are the way to go if you're purchasing, although they're usually more expensive than the standard profile models. You may still have to initially elevate your vehicle by driving onto 2x4s depending on your individual setup, especially when trying to reach the central lift point in the front.

I am going to take a look at some tomorrow and see. If I have to lift the rear by driving onto my staggered planks, that's not such a big deal - would have to use them for the front anyway since I doubt any of the low profile jacks would be able to lift from the front without being lifted a bit.

[Yangorang]

So you see all these companies selling circular jack pad adapters that fit into the plastic pads. Are these things just a sham? Are the pads meant to simply be supported by the edges and then replaced once they break?

[zzzbullseye]

Originally Posted by Yangorang

So you see all these companies selling circular jack pad adapters that fit into the plastic pads. Are these things just a sham? Are the pads meant to simply be supported by the edges and then replaced once they break?

They're unnecessary in my opinion. The idea is that it centers the jack under the pad, and prevents wear and tear. Unless you have no hand/eye coordination and no dexterity, you'll be fine without them.

[BlindWolf187]

Awesome. Thanks for the info

[zzzbullseye]

Originally Posted by BlindWolf187

Awesome. Thanks for the info

You're welcome.

[DOMs335D]

This is an excellent post. I'll be doing my first oil change and this was just the writeup I needed.
Thanks OP

[zzzbullseye]

Originally Posted by DOMs335D

This is an excellent post. I'll be doing my first oil change and this was just the writeup I needed.
Thanks OP

You're welcome.

[shenanigans01]

Is there any adapter for the front center lift point? My jack starts sliding when it gets in the air but not high enough yet for jack stands.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by shenanigans01

Is there any adapter for the front center lift point? My jack starts sliding when it gets in the air but not high enough yet for jack stands.

So your jack is not rolling properly under the car as the chassis raises. Release the parking brake and push the jack forward (towards the rear of the car). The jack and car need to roll a little to keep the jack centered on the center jack point.

[shenanigans01]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

So your jack is not rolling properly under the car as the chassis raises. Release the parking brake and push the jack forward (towards the rear of the car). The jack and car need to roll a little to keep the jack centered on the center jack point.

Yeah, I'm in my driveway which has a rough surface and doesn't let it roll much.

[blackhawkk22]

Originally Posted by ENINTY

This be it... It's plenty strong enough to lift the rear of the car from (as long as the jack has good purchase on the beam!).

Thanks for the clarification. Just so I can be perfectly clear - since my jack does not reach the rear brace, I can use the diff to jack up the rear using the purple dotted line. Is that correct?