Like the prostitute says: 'It's not the work. It's the stairs.'

industrialsized said:

i'm just going to give my self a warning post and cut out the middle man

Rofl. Im guessing you were about to post something offensive. Such as the N-word or nudes?

Is there anything that would be safe to put the jack on to get a little extra height out of it?

Also, never jacked up the rear on my car. Should I put the floor jack under the rear differential?

The biggest mistake I tend to make involves the rear wheels on the ground, car in gear, and me loosening the driveshaft, axles, or any other powertrain component which then propels the car forward making it want to come off the jack stands.

dont do that.

And ALWAYS try to shake the car around when it is on the stands to be sure it is stable before going underneath.

Here is a side shot to show how they are constructed, the top board is 2' the second is 3' and the bottom is 4'.  On 2 of them I added a block at the front edge as a stop.  The great thing is that unless your car is really low even if you drove off of the front it wouldn't hurt anything.

And they all stack up nicely when you aren't using them.

I tried working with those jacks today, and it was the first time the car almost fell Luckily I wasn't under it, since I was in the process of jacking it up... is there a strategy around putting the car on 4 jacks? We were doing my girlfriend's mazda, so maybe we just didn't have the jacks in a good place -- when you have the first jacks in place and you start jacking up the other side, what stops the car from making the other jacks start to tilt?

I think part of it may be us not having the jacks in the right place, so maybe when I do it on my e36 and have them in the designated spots, it won't be as much an issue.

patsbimmer1 said:

It's perfectly fine to jack it up and run it.  Just take every safety step you can to make sure it won't come down.  I usually put all four wheels in the air on jack stands because I am a bit paranoid but it is alright to put 2 jack stands in the back and chock the front wheels.  I usually put the stands under the LCA's in back.

The $15 stethoscope works just fine for this job and you just move it around on the case until you think you have pinpointed your noise.  I always listened without it first then with and compared noises.  You may not need anyone pushing the pedal unless it is at a certain rpm/mph.  Once you put it in gear the wheels will spin.

You don't need to apply gas in 1st to stop it from dying? I guess that makes sense since it has no car to push... never thought of that.

I only have 2 jack stands... would it be it worth it to grab 2 more for this, you think? For some reason I picture 4 stands as less safe than 2 Do I chock both sides of the front wheels to be safest? Never had to jack up the rear, and when doing the front I always had E-brake and in gear so chocking the back I never second guessed.

Is there a reason you use the control arms instead of the sides under the jack points?

The $15 stethoscope works just fine for this job and you just move it around on the case until you think you have pinpointed your noise.  I always listened without it first then with and compared noises.  You may not need anyone pushing the pedal unless it is at a certain rpm/mph.  Once you put it in gear the wheels will spin.

patsbimmer1 said:

I LOVE my stethoscope!  When I was in a shop that thing was magic!  I got teased ever time I pulled it out but it worked and that shut everyone up lol.  

Think it'd help in this case? Do I buy one of the mechanic ones for like $15 then point it against transmission while someone is pushing gas pedal?

Is it safe to run back wheels in 1st/2nd while it's up on jack stands?

xgeetx said:

How much cheaper could a transmission that is incredibly robust cost? My brother picked up 2 for 200$ from Dons sportcars. You should check them out. They will have everything you need. 

Wait a minute is your car clean? Its junk Sell it for cheap.

328's are the best. 

Is that a salvage yard? Was it a used transmission then?

Used with 100k on them. Yea it's a salvage parts place. Can't really go in the yard unless you know what's up.

Nothing wrong with used items like zf trans.

Rowleym said:

How much cheaper could a transmission that is incredibly robust cost? My brother picked up 2 for 200$ from Dons sportcars. You should check them out. They will have everything you need. 

Wait a minute is your car clean? Its junk Sell it for cheap.

328's are the best. 

Is that a salvage yard? Was it a used transmission then?