How to Jack Up the Front Suspension

[Nitrate]

81' 2000. Most cars I've owned allow you to place a jack under the lower A arm to raise the car off the ground in it's " Driving Stance". I can't seem to figure out a way to do this with the Fiat Spider. There are a lot of obstacles underneath the lower A arm, lower shock mount, grease fitting for lower ball joint not leaving much space to place a jack. I'd like to be able to jack out by the lower ball joint. There are time when you want to jack the car up and not have the suspension droop down. Any ideas? RB

[RRoller123]

I jack up my 80FI at the center of the crossmember and then put jack stands under the ball joints. It is really tough getting the jack directly under the ball joints. Or if just one side, start from the reinforced jack points just aft of the front wheel. A small block of wood helps in both locations.

Pete

[Nitrate]

Pete, i appreciate that advise. I'll make up some custom wood blocks to place under the ball joints. RB

[RRoller123]

Nice soft bit of a 2x4 works fine!

[RRoller123]

A couple of points on this topic:

The block helps the jack pad clear the oil pan when you jack up at the center off the Crossmember. Many cars have jack damage to the oil pan there.

The little bit of 2x4 is very soft, and thereby conforms to the reinforcement ribs on the front side jack points, which helps keep it from slipping off. After a couple of times, there are grooves in the 2x4 pad, that fit the ribs. This is a serious concern when jacking up from the side, as the reinforced perch is very narrow.

Most importantly, especially when jacking from the side, make sure that the 2 small front steel wheels of the floor jack are pointed in the direction that the car will shift, which is in, so the jack can roll slightly as the car is raised, and hence stay directly under the jack point. This is very important for our safety, as the car will shift as it rotates, and the jack points in effect move to the inside somewhat. This shift can easily be an inch or more if you are raising the car way up.

Many recommend putting the removed wheel/tire under the car along the side, just in case something goes wrong while you are under there. Really good idea!

Pete

[Nitrate]

Thanks to all. A very big help to a newbie. RB