I never thought of this, but I was told I am suppose to open up the doors when you jack up the car to relieve tension on the frame and body. Does anyone do this, and since I have not done it did I screw anything up?

 

Never heard of this and can't see anything in the handbook either.

 

Jason:
By jacking up the car, are you saying you are going to put the car up on four jack-stands for winter storage? Or are you just jacking up ONE wheel?

 

Never heard this one? I guess if the body gets too tense then we have to dump Prozac on it?
Where do people get this stuff?

Pat

 

I think the opposite is true - particularly with older soft tops I would avoid opening the doors - if I had used the factory jacking point.
Consider - the doors are normally shut when the cars is bumping down the road.

 

Almost every magazine article that I ever read about the Crossfire, mentioned how "stiff" and "vault like" it's construction was. That it had the "solid" feel that was usually associated with cars built by M/B, the coupes especially.
I'm with PATPUR on this one. Where do these people come up with these "helpful suggestions" about this car?
You should encounter no problems jacking an XF up, using the designated "jacking" points as shown in the owners manual, doors opened, or closed.

 

This suggestion might not have been about the Crossfire - it might have been someone who remembered OLDER cars on chassis which might twist? Key is always think about the advise - how would opening a door remove stress in a car?

 

Malcb, You're probably right. On any car that didn't have a "unit body" construction like most cars have today, they would tend to "fold" when the doors were opened while the car was jacked up in one corner, especially roadsters. If one was to open the door while it was jacked up, in many cases, it would not close again until the car was put back down on the ground. I just assumed he was told this about his XF, because there seems to be so much mis-information going around about these cars. Most of it coming from dealers who know nothing about the cars they are selling.

 

Could you imagine jacking up your new $35,000 sports car to change a front tire and have it just sort of crunch in half? Can you imagine the lawsuits? Unless its printed in big red letters on the owners manual I wouldn't believe it. +fireamx is correct. The Xfire is supposed to be one of the stiffest cars on the road.

Pat

 

Keep them closed. Never hears of such a thing. You ever try to open the doors on an old convertible while it is on a lift? If you have you know what I am talking about.
People come up with some strange stuff...

 

That recommendation was true for older Vettes--not true for new ones. Jack away and don't worry about it.

 

I am aware that with some unibody cars of yore' (Sunbeam Alpine and Tiger for one) the current way to test the present rigidity of the car is to measure the door gaps (top and bottom) of the car sitting on all four tires (doors closed) and then jack car up from the rear lift point and re-measure the gaps while the car is jacked. Any more than 1/8" variance can be a tell-tale sign that rust or collision damage has taken its toll on the chassis integrity. Reason I know this is that I am looking for a good Tiger and have read up on all the "buyer's tips".

However, those cars are going on 40+ years of age now...

 

REDSC400 - a Sunbeam, now there's a name I haven't heard for a while. Quite unique cars from the little I know about them. Good luck.

 

Just saw a bunch in San Diego beginning of October at San Diego British car day. I would love to add a alpine to the stable, but then the wife would want a new stable.

 

Okay, I need a little help here...The other day, my low tire pressure light came on so I decided to check the pressure. I removed 3 of the 4 cap fairly easily, but the fourth (rear passenger side tire) wouldn't budge so I decided to take a pair of pliers and remove the last one (I know, not smart). Well, one quick twist and the valve stem broke off about half way down and needless to say, the air came out in a hurry. Today, I ordered a new stem and sensor from the dealer and they are going to fix the problem.

Tonight, I jacked up my car to take the tire off, but I couldn't find a good place to put a stand underneath the car. Right now, the car is on the jack and the stand is on the axle(?). Is this a safe place for the stand? If not, where should I place the stand. The car will be on the jack all day tomorrow, so I put the stand underneath for safety reasons, but if the jack fails, I don't want to cause any more problems. Please help. Thanks.

 

There are rubber isolators on the rear mounting ears of the rear subframe. There is a bolt through the isolator and a piece of metal to spread the load. I use that point for jack stands. It should be strong to take the torque carried through the subframe and it is usually out of the way of other parts I am working on under there.

 

onefortypointsix,
Out of curiosity, what is the dealer charging for the valve stem/sensor unit? They do not have a replaceable battery, so in time I'll need to be replacing mine.

 

I thought the SITCOMS I worked on were funny, but that's hilarious...

 

For the door open or closed question. I think if I was on the highway jacking up my car because I had a flat tire (no spare, so that would be pointless). I would leave the doors open so passing vehicles could relieve the car's stress, take the door with them and then I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. Now would you have the top up or down on a convertible? Hmm...

Onefortypointsix, do you have any pictures???

 

Okay, everything is back to normal. I got my tire back, the jack held, and the repair didn't break the bank. The total bill was $85.02 ($29.55 labor, $49.00 parts, $2.18 misc chg, $4.29 tax). Not bad considering the horror stories I heard about the cost of the sensors. The $49.00 in parts also includes 4 new valve caps at a whopping $.95 per.

fmljr - thanks for your help!

MI Roadster - Unfortunately I don't have any online pictures. I don't have a digital camera and my PC is a dinosaur.