325i - lifting point

"Zean Smith" wrote

The differential in the rear, and the front cross-member in the front. You can't really lift each side - the rocker panel has no reinforcements, and the uni-body is designed to have support at the ends, not the center.

FloydR

great article on jacking up BMW - E46 much the same

"william piccione" wrote

1) just the opposite of the reference that 330xi mentions (at pelicanparts.com) 2) Hard "pull" supports that are being PRESSED.

I see by the photo in the pelicanparts website that the jacking point illustrated is at the extreme aft end of the differential exactly under the aft mount of the differential. I believe that it is very important to use this jacking location as it avoids putting any stress on the subframe or the forward mounts of the subframe. If the jack were placed farther forward on the differential then the jacking load would have to be carried over to the sides of the body by the subframe. I think this could possibly overstress the subframe or it's forward attachments because they normally don't have to carry any vertical loads except the weight of the differential. I see that my Chilton's manual for the 3 series shows the jack in exactly this same position but the Chilton's manual for the 5 series contains this caution: WHEN JACKING THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE, LIFT THE CENTER OF THE FRAME SECTION. DO NOT JACK UNDER THE DIFFERENTIAL. Some days you can't win, or on second thought, maybe you can't lose.

"Floyd Rogers" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com...

No so. There are jacking points in the owner's manual, one behind the front wheel and one ahead of the rear.

JRE

You evidently didn't read: the OP wants to jack up one side at a time, not one corner. You can't do that using the jack support points.

FloydR

You evidently didn't read either. He wants to jack up the ends, not the sides. He was pretty explicit, how could you have missed that?

Argh. I answered the OP right, and JRE wrong. But my comment still stands: the jacking points are useless for getting two wheels (any set) off the ground.

FloydR

You _could_ use your floor jack with a 2x4 (or even beter a 4x4) that reaches from the front jack point to the rear one. This would lift both tires on the same side.

Again, not so. Just how many E46s have you jacked up? By the time one wheel is two or so inches off the ground, the other is also off the ground (at least, with sport suspension; quite possibly not true of standard suspension). In fact, when I did my wife's brakes last week, jacking the rear on each side up high enough to make it comfortable to work on had the front wheel *well* clear of the ground--which I took advantage of to put on the wheels with her snow tires without having to jack the car more than twice.

I discovered this quite by accident one day when I was changing a wheel. I jacked the car up high enough to change the wheel with a couple inches' extra space--in short, no higher than usual--and noticed that the other end was also off the ground. The body and springs are so stiff that while it's possible to jack just one corner, the other on the same side generally follows suit not long after the suspension at the corner you're jacking gets to full droop.

JRE

Not if you use two jacks or a jack and a jack stand. Personally, the only way that I ever jack my 3 series (E36) is via a piece of steel rod stuck into the jacking holes and a trolley floor jack. I forget exactly what diameter the rod is but the sides are flattened some so that it fits in the holes precisely. It performs identically to the jacking plate tools you see around for sale. Once one corner is lifted a jack stand goes under and the the lack is moved to the other corner you want to lift.

I do this all the time, such as when rotating tires, etc. Yes, I know rotation is not recommended by BMW, but I usually just want the set of tires to wear out at the same time so I can buy a complete new set.