Proper way to work on a slammed car?

[Hinman]

Just a quick question that has been bugging me most of the way, but how do you guys work on your cars being so low? The reason I ask, my car is in the shop right now because my steering system decided to take a crap on me and my car seemed like it was barely able to get on the lift supports at stock height.

How do you guys do it? If you have to work on your car or get a job done at a shop, how do they get it up in the air? Do you have to jack the coils up enough to make it to the shop, or roll up on 2x4's in order the clear jack stands/ lifts? Just curiosity ;)

[Bimmerteck]

My lift would lift a car up with as little as 1 1/4" of ground clearance, I've seen centerpost lifts that were frush with the floor, If the shop isn't prepared to work on low cars they should at least be able to improvise with some 2x4"s. I would not touch my coils to go in for work, now to get on a trailer. . . that may be a different story depending on the trailer, but a shop that works on high end cars should not be afraid of a lowered car.

Erik

[LuckyBoyOne3]

I keep a few different lengths of 2x10 around and drive up on it, most shops have something similiar.

[slocar]

Drive it up on planks of wood. Just about every shop is gonna have a couple chunks of wood laying around.

[frink84]

i use 2x4's to get both my mustang and my e28 on my dad's 4-post lift.

[JSanders]

I keep 2x12's in my trunk, just in case of a car emergency. I travel a lot.

[LuckyBoyOne3]

I keep 2x12's in my trunk, just in case of a car emergency. I travel a lot.

Thats an awesome idea.

[1badg35]

build yourself some 2x10 ramps. simple, cost is low, and you can build them according to how low your car is. I built my own and it is perfectly suited for my car being 2" off of the ground. before i couldnt get any jack under the car, now i can drive up onto the third level and be 4.5" off of the ground. I will take some pictures of the setup. Mine goes up 1.5" every 14" of length for a total of 4.5" height. the full ramp is 4' long to accommodate a small step down from the top step so you dont go completely over it.

[Hinman]

build yourself some 2x10 ramps. simple, cost is low, and you can build them according to how low your car is. I built my own and it is perfectly suited for my car being 2" off of the ground. before i couldnt get any jack under the car, now i can drive up onto the third level and be 4.5" off of the ground. I will take some pictures of the setup. Mine goes up 1.5" every 14" of length for a total of 4.5" height. the full ramp is 4' long to accommodate a small step down from the top step so you dont go completely over it.

that'd be awesome to see some pictures :D

[1badg35]

here is a horrible picture of it standing on its side next to my car. camera phones suck when it is dark. old wheel setup btw. new wheels being made at the moment. the ramp has a handle for easy carrying too. total cost was 22$ (3) 10' 2x10s and two metal handles. and (8) 4.5" long 3/8" lag bolts and nuts. the rear wheels are 10.5 wide, but it doesnt matter if they hang over a little. i think it took me 45 min to cut the pieces, drill and bolt together.

For my car, it goes up 1.5" or the thickness of a 2x10 for every 14" of length. then i added about 12" at the end just in case i rolled over the top step. pretty simple, but do measurements for your car first. you could opt to cut the edges of the steps at an angle, but i like it better as you can feel exactly what step you are on when driving up it.

hope this helps

[codytheoutlaw]

i have those for my cobalt. its not low, but the front lip is too low for regular ramps, and i dont like using jacks if i dont have to since most of them crush the seam on the bottom. i put a big ass block in front of mine to keep me from driving to far off, but i like your idea better.

[LuckyBoyOne3]

Damn! those things are huge! Probably better then just stackin the wood every single time I need to use it, I'm gonna have to make a set if those.

[1badg35]

yep they are a little over 4' long, but well worth it. and the two stack together so you can get them out of the way. trust me, if they were any shorter, i would not be able to drive up onto them without scraping. best sub 25$ dollar mod, as i can actually work on the car now. so hard before. saves me about an hour each time as i can get a jack right under the Z now.

[timmy plastic]

i have a couple of bits of 2x4 in my boot cause i carnt even get the factory scissor jack under my sills

[slwrthnu]

i have the takata lds ramps and low pro jacks. i do all the work on my car in my garage, and when it gets inspected my guy doesn't put it on the lift.