isn't there a brace near/next to the rear diff?

 

Diff.


Rob43

 

Uhhhh....No.

You don't jack the car up on the differential. You would use the brace like AndreBXP stated.

On lowered cars or even ones with the Mtech II bumpers, if you are using the ramps to lift the front end up, it is hard to get a jack under the rear bumper. The solution to that is to get the front up on ramps, then jack one rear corner at the jacking pad, slip a 2x10 under that wheel and set it back down. Repeat with the other side. Once you do that you should have enough room under the rear bumper to get the jack to the bracket near the differential and finish jacking the car up until you can get your jacks under the jacking points on the sides.

Slowly and carefully lower the car on the jack stands. Be careful here as one side always tends to make contact quicker than the other so just watch for sliding.

 

Right next to the differential there is a brace that is safe to jack up.

*Not my image*

 

And this applies to an xi model, right? Just want to make sure, since jacking from the middle can be risky / damage things with the right mistakes made

 

Jacking up on the Diff is fine. Jacking up on the brace is also fine. I usually just drive my rear wheels up on some 2x4s or a brick or something to get it high enough off the ground to fit a jack under there. Applies to xi models as well.

Good luck.

 

Jacking up on the rubber bushing supported diff seems like a bad idea when there is a solid brace right there next to it. Do you think the diff bushings were ever designed to take 50% of the weight of the car plus the torsion load of the diff bending up? I really don't care who says it's cool.

 

Easiest way is to jack at the jack pad behind the front wheel and place the stand under the pad in front of the rear wheel. Repeat on the other side.

 

I was told once by a BMW master tech that using the diff as a jack point is fine, but I err on the side of caution and use the brace instead.

 

No matter what brand or how sturdy jack stands are it's always a nervous feeling when I'm working under my car and having to untorque/torque things by hand while the car is supported on jack stands and the jack is used as a safety net without bearing any load. :bawling:

I wish I had a lift. Life would be so much easier.

But going back to topic I use the brace and haven't had any issues. I also drive onto blocks of wood to get some ground clearance for the jack.

 

drive the rear up on 2x4s to gain clearance
put car in gear
chock the front wheels
jack from rear under the cross brace (by the diff)
place jack stands at the rear side rail jack points

Done :thumbup:

 

this is what I do. But it's a 2 x 10 I cut into pads. Gets the rear end just high enough to get my 3 ton jack under there.

 

It's probably fine. I just don't see why on an E46 you'd use the diff when that solid piece is right there.

 

I always jack it up on the differential. :thumbup:

The cupped piece on my floor jack fits really well on the bottom of the differential, it never slips because of this.

 

This is what I want.

http://m.summitracing.com/parts/bpi-5175728

Anyone else want to lend me 1700?

Only thing that concerns me are the lifts frame in the middle area where you would be under the car.

They have an open version for a little more but it is used if you have a pit in the floor.

 

You can get two post lifts for not much more than that. Need a 12 ft garage tho.

 

Yeah that is the problem the ceiling height. The alternate would be their other model like a $100-200 cheaper, but then you need to dig a pit in the floor. A log time ago my neighbor did just that in his garage floor, only the pit part and it was like 6' deep. Little too deep as he had to use a crate to stand on. He dug it out and lined it in CMU, and poured a concrete floor. The top of the block was like about 2" shorter than the finished garage floor and then he used some heavy 2" planks like 12" wide to close off the top when not in use.

I have searched this out one other time and someone actually makes a mini post that is connected to a pump and maybe only lifts the car like 3' max or something. The lifting arms didn't swing out like a two post but you drove over the lifting plate like the one above. Still have to lay on your back to work under it but gives you enough room to say drop a tranny yet lifts the car safely.

The design I saw for that one actually looked really simple to maybe build on your own or at least have fabed up for you for not as much.