jacked in wrong spot and crushed the frame... make a difference?

[Enjin]

I jacked the car up in the wrong spot and it crushed in the frame just a little bit in the spot where the jack was (about 2 inches across maybe?) . looks like I jacked it up in an area which wasnt reinforced. my question is will I need to get this fixed or will it affect performance or driveability at all?

thanks :)

[bardabe]

Pic would help for judgement. but I kinda doubt that minimal dents will affect it. I'm no frame specialist tho, so post some pics.

[markyboi]

show us some pix so we can c how bad it is

[axiomatik]

you shouldn't be lifting the car by the frame rails. most likely you will see no adverse effects, as they are just there to stiffen the chassis and it doesn't soud like you flattened it. when you jack up the car, use the jack points specified in the owners manual. If jacking up the rear, you can use the diff as a lifting point. In the front, I always use the engine crossmember and place jackstands under the suspension mounting points on the xmember. some people lift by the front tow hook, but that would make me nervous, and I wouldn't suggest you do that. Never try to jack up your car using the frame rails.

[aznpoopy]

use proper jack location

diff for rear
crossmember for front
from the sides the reinforced sections of the rail lip thinger (not the frame rail)

[aNskY]

use proper jack location


from the sides the reinforced sections of the rail lip thinger (not the frame rail)

but be careful, make sure you use a piece of 2x4 or something very sturdy over a ~1ft span, or it WILL crush.

[e1_griego]

Yeah, most every 240 I've seen has the pinch rails folded over. Not really to concerned though...

Alex

[Dream240]

Well actually you CAN lift from the frame rails as long as you have about an 8" long 2x4 in between the jack and the car to disperse the pressure, and only from the extreme rear or front...NOT THE MIDDLE!!!

Keep in mind though, ONLY LIFT the car from here DON'T SUPPORT the car from here!! I usually lift the car from the front end of the frame rail and then place my jack stand right under the engine x-member right where the LC arm bolts to it. A standard jack stand fits under that bolt section and cradles it nicely.

This is how I jacked my car up for my tranny swap. And in the back use the two rear subframe mounting points that are just behind the standard side lip jack point for the jack stands. U should be able to jack the car up from the standard points and then palce your stand right under the mounting point so that the car rests the subframe bolt right on top of the stand.
Using this method my car sits about 15" off the ground and I have plenty of room to crawl around, plus the car doesn't even budge while I was wrestling the old tranny out!!
I'll try to get pics tonight. should help.

[Dream240]

Yeah, most every 240 I've seen has the pinch rails folded over. Not really to concerned though...

Alex

You can straighten those out easily with some vice grips. Makes the side view of your car look better. At least to me....I'm anal about that kind of stuff.

[aznpoopy]

there are supposed to be jack stand inserts that support pinch rail thinger. i have never found any.

i've been thinking about reinforcing the sections i always jack from. maybe get some thicker bits of metal and weld it on there or something.

[HalveBlue]

Proper jack locations are under the cross member for the front and the differential for the rear.

Safety stand points are at the front and rear of the frame rails, NOT the Cross member or subframe mounts.

The above pertains to S13's only. The safety stand points are different on S14's.

[Kahl]

I've always fould it easier to jack from either tow hooks (both front and rear) or the radiator support panel, my jacks not the flashest and is about 120mm high so I can't get it far enough under to get to the diff or engine crossmember.
Never had any issues and you usually need to so something to either both front or both rear wheels so lifting one side is pointless.

[td5turbo]

A little trick to raise cars up enough to get ajack under it:
Drive the car up onto a 2x4 or a set of 1x4's in a stairway pattern until you have enough room to get a jack uunder it.

I use the diff and crossmember as jack point and support the car by the reinforced sections of the frame rails.

[Irukandji]

it's fine, dont worry. just dont do it again.

[sean350z]

there are supposed to be jack stand inserts that support pinch rail thinger. i have never found any.

i've been thinking about reinforcing the sections i always jack from. maybe get some thicker bits of metal and weld it on there or something.

This place is 15 minutes from my house so I got one. No more bent jack points for me. Anyone with a welder and some metal bending skills can make one, but I have neither of those things so I just bought one.

Eastwood Jack Adaptor (http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=2061&itemType=PRODUCT)

[mmdb]

As for using the front x-member I wouldn't. Mine bent a bit when I did. Although it's specified in the manual I'd advise against it.

[aznpoopy]

This place is 15 minutes from my house so I got one. No more bent jack points for me. Anyone with a welder and some metal bending skills can make one, but I have neither of those things so I just bought one.

Eastwood Jack Adaptor (http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=2061&itemType=PRODUCT)

holy shizer. thanks man. i've been looking for that shit for 3 years... literally.

[BOROSUN]

my pinch weld is fucked up beyond recognition from the previous owner.

[sean350z]

No problemo, I'm glad I helped your search. It's worth the money if you want to jack your car correctly, just make sure you can remove the original jack top before you buy it, or else it will not work. My jack is a craftsman and it worked. You just need to take off a c-clip and pop that sucker in there.

[harlockssx]

my pinch weld is fucked up beyond recognition from the previous owner.

Mine too...along with a bent frame I had to get straightened (he hit a wall!) & completely misaligned front end from his crash...

[axiomatik]

Yeah, most every 240 I've seen has the pinch rails folded over. Not really to concerned though...

Alex

That's because most people try to lift at incorrect locations. There are 2 designated points on each side of the car for jacking. On the s13 (don't know about s14), you can identify them by looking at the back-side of the pinch rail, there will be a small (1.5"x1.5" maybe) tab welded to the unibody just behind the pinch. The pinch rail also has a small notch at the location, though I have found that it is difficult to spot if the car has beeen improperly lifted before.

[HyperTek]

its not a ferrari or a lotus elise, so you should be ok =D

its mostly a cosmetic/depreciation thing...