Best place for axle stands (D8)

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munkymanmatt
1.8 16v
Posts: 64
Joined: Wed Sep 04, 2013 8:13 pm
Location: Ireland

Best place for axle stands (D8)

Post by munkymanmatt »

Well lads, looking into servicing my 1.9td myself as I'm doing about 10k miles every 3 months.

Only problem is I've no clue where to place axle stands under the car. I had a look at ramps but to be honest I wouldn't trust them enough as a weld could easily let go and it's game over then. Might build a pair of solid wooden ones but I'd still want to put stands under the car just as a backup.
Can anyone give me some pointers about where to position the stands. Won't be able to use the jacking points under the side skirts because the car will be up on ramps.
I did have a look under the car but I can't see anywhere on the front axle to put axle stands :oops:

Cheers
1996 1.9TD SVDT in China Blue
jasper5
3.0 24v
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Joined: Fri Nov 28, 2008 1:30 pm

Re: Best place for axle stands (D8)

Post by jasper5 »

Place them at the back of the subframe on the front of the car and under the rear spring/shock absorber mountings on the rear.

Always place them under a solid lump of metal like a mounting point for a subframe or similar.
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mjb
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Joined: Wed May 31, 2006 9:06 pm
Location: Stoke

Re: Best place for axle stands (D8)

Post by mjb »

When possible I use ramps because they're so much less work and make for a very stable platform. I trust the integrity of my ramps a lot more than I trust axle stands. If I need extra height I'll jack the car from the subframe and lower it onto axle stands under the jacking points. I'll also put another set of axle stands under the subframe bolts as a backup. No weight on them because they're shorter, however if the car falls they'll catch it.
<steve_earwig> I think this forum is more about keeping our cars going with minimal outlay than giving our cars more reason to go bang
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