Jacking front with sway bar

carl

True Classic
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I think this was discussed before, how do you get a jack on the front jacking point when the front sway bar is in the way? Making some sort of adaptor?
 
This might be an unpopular opinion, but the front end of the car is very light, and that sway bar is a beefy piece of spring steel. Plastically deforming the sway bar would take way more load than the weight of the nose of the car could provide.
 
This might be an unpopular opinion, but the front end of the car is very light, and that sway bar is a beefy piece of spring steel. Plastically deforming the sway bar would take way more load than the weight of the nose of the car could provide.
Simple, put a block of wood between the bar and the lift point.
 
Counterpoint: Yes, the swaybar could get bent but the swaybar is attached to the middle of the radius arm and the radius arm is attached to the chassis through the radius arm bushing. The radius arm is far more likely to bend than the swaybar and the bushing's isolator could easily be crushed as the load is transferred from the swaybar through the radius arm, then finally through the bushing's isolator to the chassis.

If you can't access the factory jack point use either of the radius arm mounts. Its a beefy piece of steel mounted directly to the main unibody rail and is designed to support suspension loads.

I prefer to jack the car from the sides using a pinch weld adapter. Works very nicely.
 
You guys disappoint me with your lack of amazing creativity. I was waiting for one of you to make a cool adaptor that went around the sway bar, made from parts you got at Home Depot. That's not to say your responses are not helpful, they are.
 
Counterpoint: Yes, the swaybar could get bent but the swaybar is attached to the middle of the radius arm and the radius arm is attached to the chassis through the radius arm bushing. The radius arm is far more likely to bend than the swaybar and the bushing's isolator could easily be crushed as the load is transferred from the swaybar through the radius arm, then finally through the bushing's isolator to the chassis.

Counter-counterpoint: You are correct that the loads don't stop at the swaybar, but one radius rod can sustain the beam load necessary to lift the nose, and we are talking about splitting that load between two radius rods that are cushioned from any sudden loading by rubber bushings on both ends (I am counting the inner control arm bushings as cushions for the radius rods.) And the stiction between the radius rod bushings and the radius rods and carriers should prevent the isolators from being harmed.

I'm not saying that it's the ideal way to jack a car, but with such a light nose, it seems harmless to me. Yes, it's possible that maybe something could happen, but it probably won't.

Side note: I wish that the swaybars didn't pivot (in this case, they're not really pivoting anyway, more like anchoring) from the radius rods. I am usually very conventional in my thinking, and I like a swaybar to be mounted to the chassis at one end or the other. I built a set of brackets once that slipped between the radius rod carriers and the chassis to serve as the pivot point for the swaybar. The flange that slipped under the carrier was only 1/8" thick, so its influence on suspension geometry was negligible.
 
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I'm not saying that it's the ideal way to jack a car, but with such a light nose, it seems harmless to me. Yes, it's possible that maybe something could happen, but it probably won't.
I was pointing out that there are far better choices than jacking a car via the middle of the longest, thinnest, suspension arm. Yes, the bushing should protect the isolator but why would you when there are better options that are just as easy?
 
Home depot method: Sandwich one 12" long 2x4 between two 12" long 2x6" boards. Bolt them together with machine bolts, nuts and fender washers. Slide assembly into place under jacking point with anti-roll bar inside clearance valley. I'm not sure the vertical clearance between the jacking point and the bar so adjust board widths to your local intra-dimensional needs.
 
If you can't access the factory jack point use either of the radius arm mounts. Its a beefy piece of steel mounted directly to the main unibody rail and is designed to support suspension loads.

I prefer to jack the car from the sides using a pinch weld adapter. Works very nicely.

Just something to note though, maybe as a warning: on my car, the front right radius rod mounting surface has deformed a bit- as the whole mount is recessed into the body by a few millimeters, with visible deformation of the surrounding metal.

I don't know what exactly this is from since it probably happened before I was even born, but it's definitely something to note...If you have to use that as a jack point, just be observant and make sure nothing is deforming before going crazy.
 
My fix has been
1) Drive the car onto the lift.
2) Swing the arms under the pinch welds.
3) Push a button.
4) Shake the car before going up very far.
5) Push the button again until you can WALK under the car.
 
You guys disappoint me with your lack of amazing creativity. I was waiting for one of you to make a cool adaptor that went around the sway bar, made from parts you got at Home Depot. That's not to say your responses are not helpful, they are.
i agree Carl i love the tools and solutions on Xweb so nice one PaulD thats more like it :)
 
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