Floor jack point

[ubergeek]

Hi,
I can't seem to locate the floor jack point to lift the front of the car. The whole bottom is covered with the plastic cover.
Other than two indented side where you are supposed to put the factory jack, where else can I safely put a jack on to lift the car?
Thank you.

[AZhitman]

The side "pinch welds" are the safest. There's not likely to be a good central jacking point in the front. I'll check the FSM, but for now, use the side indentations.

EDIT: Just as I figured. There's a central front point, but you'll have to remove the plastic AND use a saddle to do it right... See below:



Either use 2 jacks, or jack it up at the sides a little at a time, raising the jackstands each time.

[ubergeek]

Thanks for the reply and the picture.

I spent over a few hours reading on this topic on many different forums and it looks like there is no single answer on how to lift and place a jack stand safely.

If I use the pinch welds to lift, where do I place the jack stand?

I know many people claim that they have been successfully lifting their cars on the pinch welds but unless I am missing something ( I did check visually), what is so special about this pair of sheet metal welded together? Isn't the area right next to the inside of the welded sheet metal much sturdier?

It is mind boggling that so many people are asking and complaining about the jacking point on cars but no auto makers have come up with a solution yet.

[AZhitman]

You can lift the car just ahead or behind the pinch weld notches.

As far as "what is so special about this pair of sheet metal welded together", think of an aluminum soda can - the rim is FAR stronger than the middle of the side of the can. In a monocoque-chassis car like the EX, the flat floorpan area is subject to flexion and damage if the weight of the car is resting on that area.

In MY garage, what I've done on all of my cars that are similarly-constructed, is this (bear with me - it sounds silly, but it works): I've used ramps to get the nose in the air... remove the underbody plastic pan, and find that central jacking point. Once you do, punch a small hole in it and insert a piece of light-colored yarn (with a knot on top) so that it hangs down through the hole. This gives you a visual point of reference when placing the jack under the central jacking point. As long as your jack has a nice thick rubber pad, you won't damage the underbody panel and you can hit the correct spot every time. Throw a pair of stands under the pinch welds and you're done.

[ubergeek]

ah.... great suggestion! thanks!

[tooth knockn]

Hi,
For the 2009 Ex35
could someone explain how place this vehicle a little better and simpler?

The front end has the plastic shield, so that has to be removed, to access the from end lift area, BUT how does it look like?

and for the rear, where do I put the floor jack?

and once the care is raised, do I put the jacks Perpendicular or Parallel to the vehicle frame?


and how do I do this to avoid any damage ?

Im trying to change oils, transmission, differentials, and to spray with Fluid Film

[NJGuy]

Hi,
For the 2009 Ex35
could someone explain how place this vehicle a little better and simpler?

The front end has the plastic shield, so that has to be removed, to access the from end lift area, BUT how does it look like?

and for the rear, where do I put the floor jack?

and once the care is raised, do I put the jacks Perpendicular or Parallel to the vehicle frame?


and how do I do this to avoid any damage ?

Im trying to change oils, transmission, differentials, and to spray with Fluid Film

Please see the following thread:
post6433144.html#p6432802

FYI, I don't know why, but there is an error on the illustration that shows the front jacking point. There is not much behind the plastic cover to support the weight of the front end. If you look a few inches towards the rear of the car after the plastic shield, there's a metal frame/sub-frame that'll do the job. I've jacked up my EX from there numerous times without any issue.

As for the rear central jacking point, I used the differential case. However, I would put a rubber hockey puck on the jack's saddle as a buffer.

When I raised one end of the vehicle, I'd put the jack stands in the pinch welds at each corner as shown in the illustration.

[tooth knockn]

OK
But for the rear, Instead of putting lift onto Differential (shown w/ blue arrow), Could i Put the lift of the floor jack on that black metal beam ( shown w/ red arrows)?

https://imgur.com/a/Fnhrp


And with the jack stands, can I place them Parallel with the frame? or does it have to be horizontal.


And BTW, some pictures I can not see due to "Photo bucket"

Hi,
For the 2009 Ex35
could someone explain how place this vehicle a little better and simpler?

The front end has the plastic shield, so that has to be removed, to access the from end lift area, BUT how does it look like?

and for the rear, where do I put the floor jack?

and once the care is raised, do I put the jacks Perpendicular or Parallel to the vehicle frame?


and how do I do this to avoid any damage ?

Im trying to change oils, transmission, differentials, and to spray with Fluid Film

Please see the following thread:
<a class="vglnk" href="post6433144.html#p6432802" rel="nofollow"><span>http</span><span>://</span><span>forums</span><span>.</span><span>nicoclub</span><span>.</span><span>com</span><span>/</span><span>post6433144</span><span>.</span><span>html</span><span>#</span><span>p6432802</span></a>

FYI, I don't know why, but there is an error on the illustration that shows the front jacking point. There is not much behind the plastic cover to support the weight of the front end. If you look a few inches towards the rear of the car after the plastic shield, there's a metal frame/sub-frame that'll do the job. I've jacked up my EX from there numerous times without any issue.

As for the rear central jacking point, I used the differential case. However, I would put a rubber hockey puck on the jack's saddle as a buffer.

When I raised one end of the vehicle, I'd put the jack stands in the pinch welds at each corner as shown in the illustration.

not working

[waichai]

Is this a floor jack point in front? It's like a button or bump.

[tooth knockn]

that is where i raised my from end. .. . .

BUT

For placing the jack stands, on the jack points adjacent to the wheel well, on the welds,

The jack presses the exterior body panel, and kinda bends it. . . .

How do you put jacks w/o bending body, like the lower side moldings beneath the car door?

[NJGuy]

Is this a floor jack point in front? It's like a button or bump.

Yup. I've used that spot lots of times without issue.

[NJGuy]

that is where i raised my from end. .. . .

BUT

For placing the jack stands, on the jack points adjacent to the wheel well, on the welds,

The jack presses the exterior body panel, and kinda bends it. . . .

How do you put jacks w/o bending body, like the lower side moldings beneath the car door?

Jack stands can come with different styles of cradles on top. Most of them come in varying degrees of "V" shapes, where some are flatter than others. And some stands are just plain flat in the middle, with a slight angle up right near the edges. If you do a google image search on jack stands, you'll see what I mean. My stands have a shallow V shape that does press on the pinch welds slightly, but they were still deep enough that the metal strips did not get affected too much.

If you feel that your pinch weld areas are getting too beat up by your jack stands, I'd say to look into getting a set of jack stand pads or adapters. If you're not comfortable going that route, you might be better off getting a set of stands with a different style of cradle.

[tooth knockn]

NJGUY,

which Jack stands do you use?

And how about using those 2 parallel frame beams that are in the center of the EX35 for the stands?

I did the Diffs and transmission case oil change btw

[NJGuy]

which Jack stands do you use?

I've got two pairs of Craftsman 3 ton stands. While they can be considered a bit overkill for an EX, I've needed them for their height for our vehicle at home (SUV).

And how about using those 2 parallel frame beams that are in the center of the EX35 for the stands?

Honestly, I never tried supporting the weight of the car on those frame rails. It might work, but I just preferred using the pinch welds where the car's scissor jack is supposed to lift from. The first reason is that the pinch welds are farther out, giving the car a more stable base. The second reason is that those are the recommended points by Infiniti and I didn't want to overthink something like this.

[tooth knockn]

Take a look at this video, , ,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvA4eYmj_vE

could we put the jack stands like this?

[waichai]

thank you both for reply.

@tooth knockn
I was looking for that video to show you. I just tried it myself today that i learned it from that video you just posted. If you look right behind the weld point, there is a bump perfectly for jack stands. I never seen anyone put a jack stand like that in youtube video.

[tooth knockn]

thats pretty cool

Seems better like that. . . .

AND less risk to bending anything

[tooth knockn]

Did you raise all 4 corners?

[waichai]

no, only left and right in front. I try out first to see everything is ok and safe before I do my own first oil change this weekend.