rear jack stands

I've searched around for various ideas here, looking under the car I'm unsure how to get the back up on jack stands. I see people mention using a craftsman thing from sears that called lift n secure but that isn't available anymore. I see mentions of ramps but there's no way I can back this thing up on my ramps with it's ultra wide tires and low stance. I've seen some various discussion about where you can jack the back up but lots of disagreements about whether it's safe or not and also it's hard to correlate between different generations as to what spots people are talking about. There are two places I can see to jack it up in the back... First on the left side of this shot is a metal u bracket coming down under the transmission. I swear I've seen youtube videos of people using this spot, but it doesn't look super safe to me. The next option on the right looks like it's directly under the suspension arm and seems like that would be safe as it already supports the weight of the rear wheel (well, part of it). Any suggestions?

I've always used this method - http://www.planet-9.com/reviews/service-items/p96-using-jack-stands.html , with the "Paul in WI" variation.

Yeah I've seen that, I'm just having a little bit of a hard time orienting that to what I see under my car. I think what I have circled on the right is the rear of the wishbone (I don't know if that's what it's called but it looks like one) and they are saying to jack it up under the front part of that instead, does that sound right?

I bought a pair of Jackpoints. There a little pricy, but so is an extended stay in the hospital if 3000 lbs. fall on your head. Google Jackpoints and check 'em out.

Yes, I believe that is correct, jack under the front arm of the "arched casting".

Has anyone tried or have an opinion about these Lift Bars? I found them at Liftbars.com

I am pretty paranoid about working under the car so I have considered the jackpoint stands, might pick them up someday for the rear at least (since that's usually where you are). That lift bar looks interesting too though google is not turning up anything about them.

The center red location is what you want to use. Fabspeed sells a mount for that point that simplifies it even further if you want to. http://markdouglasmotorworks.com/wp...works.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/987_Tiedowns_Jack_Point_Install__24642.jpg Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

^^I use the Fabspeed mount to jack up my CS, put two jack stands at the rear factory points and do my oil changes that way

I hadn't heard that before, but a rear center jacking point makes raising the car much easier, and I think safer. (The left side - right side method always makes me a little nervous.) Is there a center front area jack point?

I use jackpoints. You only need 2. Lift on the rear jack point and it will lift the front high enough to slide a regular stand under the front jack point. Slide the jackpoint under the rear.

I use the liftbars when I need to get the entire car in the air. They work very well. If I want to go full height on the jackstands, its been my practice to set up one side of the car on the liftbars and jackstands at a low height, bring the other side up to full height, then go back around and bring the first side up to full height, as depicted in the gif. You may need to initially drive up onto wood planks in order to get the proper clearance under the car to insert the liftbar and jack combination. That would depend on your jack profile and your ride height.

+1 on liftbars. In addition to what motherFNbrandon mentioned, since liftbars are custom made for the car, they fit the jacking points perfectly and have a rounded buttom that fits into the curved palm of a standard jack stand, making for a very sturdy setup.

Jackpoints and liftbars will run $300 for either And I already have jack stands. So after all this I see now how to get it all up on stands, the only problem is you can't get it very high. If I use the rear jack points to get a jackstand under the front jackpoint, I can only get the front high enough to get a jackstand under there if it's all the way down. Then to keep the car level I'd have to also get the jackstands under the back all the way down. Then at that point I have no way to jack it up any higher to extend the jack stands a bit. Short of the liftbars is there a way to get the car up higher?

There are some jack point stands for sale on PCA. Not affiliated. https://www.pca.org/classified-ad/321329

Before I got my lift, I used a piece of wood on my floor jack pad, and jacked from the rear center point (the left circle on your picture). The whole back end of the car lifted up nicely, and I slid the jack stands under their respective points ahead of the rear wheels and lowered the jack. If you don't need to remove the rear wheels, it's faster and more stable to lift the rear as described and then set the car back down on ramps under the rear tires .

After you've done that, is there a method to get the front up on jack stands? I currently use the left-side right-side method (post #2), but would love to replace it with a back then front method, but it seems you'd need a front center jack point.

I got the Liftbars. All other methods just seemed too sketchy to me when I need the whole car in the air. Well worth the money.

There is no approved center jack point in the front or the rear of these cars, no dealer does it this way and Porsche does not recommend that you do either, that rear location was not designed for lifting... And before somebody says "I always do it that way" or "I have never had a problem..." YMMV and you are taking a chance, at least be honest about that much. You should strongly consider Jackpoint stands or lifting bars if you don't have a lift/hoist.

So jackpoints are backordered, liftbars are made to order and take 3-4 weeks. I don't think I can justify $1340 for a quickjack for a yearly oil change and every other year brake fluid flush, etc. I had pretty much decided on going for the jackpoint stands for the best combination of safety and price but with them being backordered who knows how long it will take before I can finally change my oil. I'm also somewhat concerned that at a 12" lift they're not high enough to make it easy to work under there... Any other more readily available options?

FWIW I got my liftbars in more like 2 weeks. They're worth the wait.

Problem with the lift bars is that they are car specific, whereas the jackpoint stands could be used on my other cars as well. But the jackpoint stands don't go very high. Decisions decisions...

Let me be about the 3rd or 4rth poster to advise you to get the LiftBars from Ken. Let him know you need them soon & he'll work with you. He's a one man shop & he'll take care of you as well as he can. I have to say that LiftBars are by far the safest, most secure, stable lifting method you can get for our Porsches. I used to be a tech B4 & I feel safer under a Porsche with LiftBars than under a vehicle on any kind of a lift. The LiftBars securely lock into the jack point holes, and the jackstands securely lock into the LiftBars. Look closely at his site & you can see how they all lock together to make things rock solid. I think Ken told me that 1 type of LiftBar fits 928s, Boxsters, Caymans , 996s & 997s. He said that he designed them to fit the factory assembly line jig points and said that Porsche used the same spacing on those vehicles. Maybe share cost with some of your Porsche buddies? BTW, no afiliation with his business, just think the product is great. Bruce

I made my own real lift bar per the photos. Put the front end up on stands in the normal method and then lift the rear with this bar. Found the bar at the local scrap dealer and had a machinist add a few holes. Bern

Ok I caved and ordered the liftbars. Hate to go for a single purpose solution but my other cars seem have center jack points front and rear so I guess the boxster is the only car I really need to worry about. I still really like the idea of jackpoints but can't get over the fact that you're stuck at a 12" lift. The liftbars at least let you get it up as high as you want plus they don't flex the frame. Still not sure about feeling safe under them, jackstands always make me very nervous when I'm under the car but so do ramps and about anything else, I'm just paranoid...

Interesting... I saw they had the 3500 on sale for $999 which is almost tempting but I think I'd want the extra capacity. Wonder how much the new one will be... Honestly that seems like the best setup it's just hard to justify $1400 for a yearly oil change. On the plus side apparently shipping for the liftbars is cheaper than advertised and he refunded me $47 so they'll only cost me $250 instead of $300. Not as cool as the quickjack but a heck of a lot cheaper. If I did more serious work on cars regularly I would definitely get the quickjack though, looks pretty sweet. I'd be the envy of all my car friends

Gnarfle, you can't be more paranoid than I am. I've heard of so many techs over the years getting paralyzed or killed by vehicles falling off lifts and jackstands. The automotive repair trade journals run stories all the time about unfortunates that have been injured in these sorts of accidents. Actually, the most serious injuries are usually from vehicles falling off lifts. The tech is underneath, moves the vehicle, or shifts the center of gravity (e.g. removing an engine or tranny or fuel tank) wham, the vehicle comes down, trapping the tech and crushing or breaking the poor guys back. You have to make sure the vehicle will be properly balanced and secure no matter what service you perform. When you put a vehicle on jack stands, you have to make sure the floor and vehicle is level, the stands are strong with a wide stable base, not made of thin sheet metal, and have a deep depression or pocket on the top that will prevent the vehicle from sliding off sideways. Some jackstands have a flat top with tiny lips on the side. Not so good. When you buy jackstands for use with the lift bars, be aware that the bars are designed to fit perfectly into the deep half round cutout that come on many jackstands. Be sure the top pockets or saddles are the right curvature, and are deep enough to capture the lift bar. Bring the bars with you when you shop for the stands. You'll see what I mean when you try a few in the stores with the bars fitted in the proper shaped saddles. Higher capacity stands are usually beefier metal, taller, and have wider, more stable bases. If you want more safety, get at least 3 ton or higher capacity. If you have lift bars & good jackstands that fit the bars, your Porsche will be super stable. I'm installing Numerics as I write this, I just put it up on lift bars & stands this afternoon, and it is super stable. Basically it moves no more than it would if it were on all 4 wheels. Bruce

Would you share the website where you purchased the LiftBars?

My Porsche dealer service advisor recommended the Fabspeed and a silver level Porsche tech confirmed the rear center as a lift point. I couldn't justify 80 bucks for a piece of square tubing so I shaped a block of wood to fit with recessed holes for the factory bolts on the center support. Works great.

The problem I found with trying to lift it from the center rear is that you still can't get the front up very high. By using the rear jack point I could only get the front jack point up enough to slide a jackstand under it if my jackstand was all the way down. If you're doing something that requires the car level, then the best you can do is still pretty low to the ground. The liftbars are the only thing I've seen that lets you get the car up high and level, unless you try to find something solid enough to jack up the car from the front center as well.