Hi all I'm a newbie to maintaining cars and I have a question. Where's the best place to jack up my car plus then put it on stands so I can work underneath it?

Depends what sort of Jack.

The one supplied with the car is only for changing a wheel in an emergency. It goes on the seam of the sill as marked by the cutouts.

Small trolley jack goes under the front anti roll bar mounts and the rear axle.

A trolley jack with a nice big pad on can be used on the jacking points welded onto the floor behind the sills, only if they're not rusty.

Hi it's a trolley jack and 2 metal stands.

Edited 31 July, 201511 yr by GUESTY

A bit of old carpet between the jack pad and the car helps to protect the paintwork.

A couple of wooden wedges are an added safety point, particularly useful when raising the rear wheels, as there is no hand brake on the front wheels. - These can be made quite easily by sawing a piece of (say) 2"x2" X about 150mm timber diagonally to form two wedges.

Glad to hear that you are using axle stands!

Regards

I use short bits of 2x4 with a groove cut in to support the car when on axle stands. The same sill-seam mentioned above goes in the groove.

I use two wooden pallets under the sills either side. feel more safer having a 1 metre length area supported either side. mines 6n so depends what car as u dont want to ruin the sills.

Edited 9 August, 201511 yr by damunk

Using pads helped kill my front floor jacking platforms - The pads help put pressure on the soft bits as well as the strong bits. Really, they're just not strong enough, at least for regular use. There will always be a little damage if you use any part of the body shell.

You should use ramps as often as you possibly can.

I use short bits of 2x4 with a groove cut in to support the car when on axle stands. The same sill-seam mentioned above goes in the groove.

Also this, but when wood splits, the result can be damage to the sills/floor or ultimately a mouse-trap collapse. I should've made a sill block using nylon or aluminium, as big as possible.

I've taken to jacking it up by the front anti-roll bar, then resting it down using the brace in the centre of the floor onto a wooden railway sleeper.