Is the rear Diff suitable as a jacking point?

 

Yes. I use it to get the back end up and then put jacks under at the real jack points..... .

 

i have used it but not a fan of this. seems my suspension sits higher until driven after lowering. makes me wonder if im overextending my shocks

 

Correct me if I'm mistaken, but aren't your shocks extended as far as they will go when ever the tire is off the ground (no matter "where" you jack the car up)?

 

LOL, That is exactly what I was thinking. Steve, explain please.

 

no arguements fellas. but when i did it the rear sat up almost 1" higher than normal. drove around and it settled. im not krazy!! oh wait..... i am!! could be a hallucination but it bothers me so i try not to do it.

 

ok: It just doesn't make sense to my simple mind. It seems like the stress on the suspension would be the same no matter where you lifted the car that was not directly supporting the suspension. That is where I always lift mine when swapping rear tires out. I guess next time I will have to pay more attention and see if there is any difference in suspension height.

 

The service manual for my former Mercedes stressed not to lift the car by the differential. I've done it once on the Crossfire but I do my best to get it on jack stands as fast as possible.

Les

 

like isaid bob it just seems higher when i lower it. could be nothing at all and i dont do it very often. but you know me always looking! the more you look the more you find! i think i found 4 more clk rims!! looking at them tommorrow. hopefully i can pass them along to the forum

 

Is there somewhere else that is safe to lift the backend (Both rears at the same time)? Thanks

 

Wow, that is great about the CLK wheels. I am a believer in them. Steve, do you usually just do one side at a time,or do you have another point that you use as a jack point to lift the rear? Thanks buddy.

 

It's no hallucination 32, I think the phenomena you're talking about is caused by the rear tires going into a "positive camber" mode when jacked up using the differential. Then when you drop the car back down, the outside edge of the tires hits the ground first (while being pinched inward) and sticks, so naturally the rear end "lifts" up a little. Then as soon as you move the car a few feet, the suspension "settles" and everything goes back to normal.
I'm only guessing here, but if the differential housing is aluminum, that may be one reason the owners manual suggests not using it to jack up the car.
I've done it once or twice, but I always put a couple leather gloves on the jack pedestal "for padding".

 

Thanks for you comments guys. There is no risk of suspension damage here, and yes the effect of raising the level of the car until driven is merely the camber (suspension geometory) which just settles back to normal. This happens at just one side if you just jack one side up.
The issue with the diff is to do with how the diff is mounted under the car and if its housing is built to bear the weight of the car as a jacking point. Having now checked out the workshop manual I dont recomend doing this except in an emergencey. The diff is mounted on a set of bolts (just 3 I think) designed to support the weight of the diff and to deal with the effects of torque from the propshaft, and not the weight of the car. The reason there is a flat surface under the housing is so a jack can be used to suppoort it for removal. Also I think there is a risk of damaging the housing, and a lot more if it slips off.

 

Good thread guys! I've been wondering about this myself.

So, where do you jack up the car front and rear? I haven't looked at the manual for this, is it even in there?

Pics would be helpful if you have any to share.

 

There is a rubber block at front and back under each sill section - these are the jack points

 

Steve,
I meant a single lift point under the front and rear so you could slide jacks under the side jack points.

 

Got you - unfortunately no there is not. In fact if you ever see a garage workshop lift your car in that way, they do it by putting it on the lift, then sliding a hydraulic beam lifter into position under the rubber blocks to lift the whole front or back end.
I know this is annoying for us - I'm about to re finish my callipers, brake back plates, wheel wells and steam clean suspension parts etc but will end up doing just one corner at a time.

 

I was able to put the car up on stands using 3 floor jacks, one on each front jacking pad and one on the DS rear pad. As we all know the car is extremely ridged and when I jacked the car up slowly and evenly on 3 corners the 4 corner lifted enough to slip the stand under. I use a hunk of 1/2 rubber between the jack/stand surface and the plastic jack pads to protect the jack pad surface. Once all four corners were up I was able to remove a jack at a time and slip the stand under the pad.

 

I love stress.....I put my jack under the rocker in front of the rear tire and lift the car until all but the rear tire is off the ground. Walk around and put jack stands under the front positions. Lower the car. Put the jack under the diff, raise her, put jack stands under the two rear positions, and I am done. This little dude is so rigid, it's is amazing...now, if you beleive that, I have an electric supercharger I bought awhile back that I need to sell.....

 

Thanks Steve, take pics always good to share visuals with the group of this type project.