98 hond accord ex front centeral jack point

[harryhk]

Dear All:

I want to use a floor jack to lift the two front wheels up and use jackstand to support the car (I am going to take the front bumper off ).

The user manual only tells me the four jacking points on each side of the car for replacing flat tire.

Is there a front centeral jack point on the car? Or any point on the frame of the car is fine?

Thank you very much for your reply.

Best,
harry

[jeffcoslacker]

If using jack stands, I just put them as far forward under the box channels in the floor as they can be.

If you're worried about that, anywhere under the subframe/engine cradle is good too, just be sure you aren't pinching the oil pan or tranny case or anything when the weight is on. Preferable to lift under a spot where two members come together rather than in the middle of a member, less stress on it.

I like to use wood blocks to spread the load a bit if I use the box channels in the floor...

[harryhk]

Thanks a lot for the reply. But I don't know where is the box channel. I search online but could not find a picture. Do you have any pics?

Yesterday I tried to use floor jack to lift my car. When I lift my car using the standard jack point, that piece of metal is very short. If I put floor jack there, there is no room for the jack stand. So I can't release the floor jack to leave the car on jack stand.

I am really new to this. Thanks for your patient.

Originally Posted by jeffcoslacker

If using jack stands, I just put them as far forward under the box channels in the floor as they can be.

If you're worried about that, anywhere under the subframe/engine cradle is good too, just be sure you aren't pinching the oil pan or tranny case or anything when the weight is on. Preferable to lift under a spot where two members come together rather than in the middle of a member, less stress on it.

I like to use wood blocks to spread the load a bit if I use the box channels in the floor...

[jeffcoslacker]

Box channels are the features of the floor underneath the car, where the floor pan is folded to create features that look kind of like frame rails, to give it more strength than a flat pan would have.

They are about 6-8" inboard of the rocker panel rails where you'd put the little jack the car comes with under...just look under there, farther in towards the center of the car, you'll see what I'm talking about.

In this picture you can see the red "rails" running from just behind the front suspension towards the rear of the car, ending about halfway back...they are just outboard of the exhaust system. Anywhere near the front of them is a pretty good jack stand point.

[harryhk]

Hey jeffcoslacker:

Thanks a lot for you reply and the image. It really makes things much more clear. Just before I am jacking the car, I want to make sure that I understand what you're saying correctly.

I use two black arrows pointing to the "rails" on the box channel where is safe to put jack stands. Is that the place you refer to?

Thanks a lot.

Originally Posted by jeffcoslacker

Box channels are the features of the floor underneath the car, where the floor pan is folded to create features that look kind of like frame rails, to give it more strength than a flat pan would have.

They are about 6-8" inboard of the rocker panel rails where you'd put the little jack the car comes with under...just look under there, farther in towards the center of the car, you'll see what I'm talking about.

In this picture you can see the red "rails" running from just behind the front suspension towards the rear of the car, ending about halfway back...they are just outboard of the exhaust system. Anywhere near the front of them is a pretty good jack stand point.

[somick]

Originally Posted by harryhk

Hey jeffcoslacker:

Thanks a lot for you reply and the image. It really makes things much more clear. Just before I am jacking the car, I want to make sure that I understand what you're saying correctly.

I use two black arrows pointing to the "rails" on the box channel where is safe to put jack stands. Is that the place you refer to?

Thanks a lot.

You will most likely dent them because they are made out of soft metal. I usually jack up my Accord in the front: as far as I remember there is spot in the front that looks like a square loop (probably for towing). For safety sake I put jack stands at the jacking points on the sides.

Sam

[jeffcoslacker]

Originally Posted by somick

You will most likely dent them because they are made out of soft metal. I usually jack up my Accord in the front: as far as I remember there is spot in the front that looks like a square loop (probably for towing). For safety sake I put jack stands at the jacking points on the sides.

Sam

That's why I suggested a piece of wood. I usually put a 8" piece of 2"x 4" block on my jack and in between the stand and the rails, to help spread the load. I've been supporting unibody cars this way for 25 years, and have yet to damage one. If you stay close to the front, there is usually a weld where the front firewall panel is "pancaked" or nested into the floor pan, the channels are double thickness there, and the weld adds strength too. I lift under the channel far enough back to be able to place the jack stands forward of this spot, usually the front 8" or so before the channels begin to wrap upwards.

If there is a recommended point to support it farther forward, in the engine cradle area, by all means use that if it feels safer to you...I just like not having stands in my way limiting my movement and ability to see or work on things from any angle...



With the black lines it was hard for me to tell where it was pointing, so I highlighted the area in green...

[jeffcoslacker]

Hey Somick, just wanted to point out where/why we differ on this, perhaps...not that I'm right, I'll just tell you what I'm thinking...

I used to also drive our shop's wrecker, and I had manuals that described solid points for lifting/pulling/towing on various types of vehicles, as a general reference.

Many unibody vehicles, particularly imports, you find loops and hooks on the body in the front and rear, but the refernce manuals said these were NEVER to be used for lifting or pulling the vehicle, no matter how convenient they appear to be....they are actually for one purpose, to secure the vehicle from moving (tie-down) during rail or sea transport....and that they are not in load bearing locations on the unibody and distortion or damage to the structure could occur if they are used to pull or lift the entire vehicle.

So I always just stayed clear of them. Of course as you pointed out, the box channels aren't really an accepted load bearing location either...so...

And I also just realized that the pic I found is a RWD vehicle, I might have found a better one for a reference...it's good for illustrating what I was talking about, but not for showing possible forward support points on a FWD car...I'll try to find one that might show some points up front that could be used as well...

[jeffcoslacker]

I thought this was a good pic...shows how I set them up on the box channels (the jack on the right)...you can also see where it had been lifted without wood blocks before, denting it. Doesn't really hurt anything, but would create a place for corrosion to start if the paint was broken...the stand on the left is under a good spot on the engine/suspension cradle, any places where load bearing suspension attaches to or the body attaches to the cradle are gonna be good places to lift under...

[harryhk]

Thank you guys so much for the quick reply. Yesterday, I successfully jacked my car up .

I am using the "rails" on the box channel to jack my car up, and use the manual referred jack points for jack stand. I didn't use the welding point near the frond suspension because I couldn't find it that time.

I will post a picture later when I am home. I use a piece of wood to spread force before, but later on I found the metal is very strong so I simply use a floor jack to put my car off the jack stand. I might dent the metal a little. I am not sure. I need to take a look today. But I didn't hear any cracking sound yesterday.

[somick]

Originally Posted by jeffcoslacker

Hey Somick, just wanted to point out where/why we differ on this, perhaps...not that I'm right, I'll just tell you what I'm thinking...

I used to also drive our shop's wrecker, and I had manuals that described solid points for lifting/pulling/towing on various types of vehicles, as a general reference.

Many unibody vehicles, particularly imports, you find loops and hooks on the body in the front and rear, but the refernce manuals said these were NEVER to be used for lifting or pulling the vehicle, no matter how convenient they appear to be....they are actually for one purpose, to secure the vehicle from moving (tie-down) during rail or sea transport....and that they are not in load bearing locations on the unibody and distortion or damage to the structure could occur if they are used to pull or lift the entire vehicle.

So I always just stayed clear of them. Of course as you pointed out, the box channels aren't really an accepted load bearing location either...so...

And I also just realized that the pic I found is a RWD vehicle, I might have found a better one for a reference...it's good for illustrating what I was talking about, but not for showing possible forward support points on a FWD car...I'll try to find one that might show some points up front that could be used as well...

Thank you Jeff...

I once again learned something from you. Eric The Car Guy (You Tube) suggested that towing hooks may be used a jacking point. Since I consider him to be a good mechanic I recommended that. I was a little hesitant about this but if the professional mechanic says it is good....

Sam

[harryhk]

Thanks everyone for the reply. here is the picture showing where I jack my car. It is the rail on the box channel and I use a piece of wood to spread the force. I found the wood on my backyard.

The "rail" is pointed by two black arrows in the picture. I think they are pretty sturdy and there was once I just put floor jack on them without wood.



Thanks again for the help.

[harryhk]

I found out I have better pics to show.

Also, some one told me that the connection between the control arm and car body is also a good place the jack. I am not sure I find the right place because in the picture, the joint seems weak.

One picture shows the place I jack my car( box channel)
The other picture shows the joint between control arm and car body.