Yup. I'm not concerned about a stand collapsing, I'm concerned about the car falling off a stand. Maybe it's because I live in earthquake country that I want some springiness between the car and whatever's holding it up.

How about pick-n-pull stands?



Sixto
83 300SD
98 E320 wagon

Clarifying question for the jack stand majority - the OP said he puts stands under the jack points. I assume that's the rubber buffers just inboard of the holes for the roadside jack. Is that the preferred contact point for a 6-ton stand or do you look for something more structural such as by a suspension hard point?

Sixto
83 300SD
98 E320 wagon

I had HarborFreight ramps for a while, tried them on a few jobs, and then promptly got rid of them. They did not seem anywhere near as safe as they needed to be.

I'm pretty paranoid about getting under the car. If I only need to jack up one side, I will only do one side and sometimes put a pair of jacks on that side. If I have a wheel off, I will place the wheel so it can support the weight of the car. I will also use the floor jack to "spot" the jack stands in case one fails. On some jobs like oil changes, I don't even bother jacking the car up if it is not necessary.

I also highly recommend the old school style jack stands where a bolt holds the lift in place. I have a set similar to this:

https://www.amazon.com/Torin-T43004-Aluminum-Jack-Stands/dp/B0007XTGCI/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1483312479&sr=8-15&keywords=car+jack+stands

I have heard a few nightmare stories about people accidently kicking the adjuster on the newer style jack stands and killing or injuring themself in the process.

Dkr.

I still want to know how that happens. I've seen demonstrations that the pin holding the arm to the ratcheting part will break before you can put enough force on it to lift it up with a car's weight on it.

-Rog

Rog - From what I can tell the real issue is that the ratchets in the stands sometimes don't get fully engaged especially if they're cheaper stands or if they haven't been lubricated from time to time. So the ratchets kind of bind and then as the car gets shaken as the work progresses the ratchet lets go and the stand drops to it's base. This is really bad with short stands and scary as H&!! with the taller stands. That's why I recommended that you pay attention to the stands when you shove them under there instead of doing that unthinkingly - it's understandable that your mind might be on the task ahead of you and not be seeing putting the car up as the task at hand.

A good point was raised vis-a-vis the state of rust in some of the older Benzes. I would NOT rely on the jack pockets which probably were fine when the car was rust-free but as time goes along it's better to find a hunk of structure. When I raised the old Mercedes' on the hoist I looked for structural bits though I don't recall exactly what I used. Even on the hoist I'll raise the car until the tires are just off the floor and shake the car as hard as I can. I had a car shift on the hoist once and I needed fresh undies - not going there again. Be sure that the hard structure that you use is not too close to the centerline of the vehicle such that the car can rotate around it's longitudinal axis. Seems obvious but easy to miss in the heat of trying to get a job done.

Whoever was saying that the ramps ought to be better than stands - as I said, I know 2 guys who died under ramps. I know NO ONE nor have I ever heard of anyone who died under stands as long as they're decent stand. Stands CAN be dangerous if used on an unstable footing but I'm assuming that none of us are fools. In a pinch I've used a 3/4" sheet of plywood as the stable base (and it worked OK) but the point is to assure that you'll come back out from under that car you're crawling under.

Stay Safe!

Dan

I just jack my car up from the rubber mounts and put the stand on the control arm. These rockers tend to rust like the w124s on the w210 and you can't always see the rust. I learned that from my 98. It fell off the stand on the drivers side. I ended up welding in new rocker rails on both sides because I found so much rust.

__________________
Only diesels in this driveway.
2005 E320 CDI 243k Black/Black
2008 Chevy 3500HD Duramax 340k
2004 Chevy 2500HD Duramax 220k

If the ramps and jack stands are both quality made and the car is raised to the same height in both cases, ramps are always more stable and harder to topple over because ramps has approximately 6 x the footprint of the jack stand on the ground side. On the side it contacts the car, jack stands has a few square inches of contact, whereas ramps has close to a square foot between tire and ramp.

If you use the less safe jack stand, use plywood between jack stand and car for a non slip surface and to increase the contact area. Plywood is a lot stronger than 2 x 4 which may split on you.

__________________
85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

So supporting car at control arm is perfectly safe, both for me and the car? Somehow that seems safer than 20 year old jack points.

__________________
14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 157k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 175k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 144k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 70k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

The lower control arms are a safe bet. Of course you'll have to rethink that if the task involves working on the suspension but most of the times the control arms are safe and stout.

As I think back on it I'm pretty sure I found the "frame" structure (the hat section making more or less the frame of the Mercedes unibody) and put the hoist pads there. The jack pockets come off that section so you'll find it maybe 6 or 8 inches inboard from the rocker. It's a little closer to the centerline than would be ideal but offers an alternative if you're working on the suspension.

Dan

Forget about all of these dangerous solutions. You live near Warwick, RI
Go here

Gearhead Systems International – DIY Auto Repair Center 401-739-0090

DIY shop. Pay small fee, use their lift. Do your needed work. Go home.
No collapsing ramps, jack stands.. what not. Small price to pay to avoid a forum posting of "Shertex found dead under car"

I despise lying on my back to do work, and dont unless I have too. Too much to go wrong.

__________________
2011 Mercedes ML350

2002 Cadillac Deville

1976 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow

"Is this perfectly safe? Any suggestions to make it safer?"

That's a loaded question.

Answer: Do not get under the car to make it safer.

__________________
85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

Agreed 100% Funola.

If this work you want to do is frightening you, take it to a pro. Let them do it all. You can increase safety on auto repair, but it will never be "perfectly" safe.
All the years Ive been repairing cars, Ive never had an accident, but in the back of my mind, I know, it very well can happen.

__________________
2011 Mercedes ML350

2002 Cadillac Deville

1976 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow

Not all our Benzes are the same. I presume Shertex was talking about HIS cars. Look like W124, W210 and W211. Jacking points are likely in the manual, at least for the last two. If not, they are on WIS.

In any event, on the W210 and likely the other two, there are four lift points that can be used for jack stands. On the W210 there are rubber pads that make these easy to find. The jack stands don't always have a suitable top (mine are fork shaped), so some type of home made adapter may be needed to spread and stabilize load. Then there is another lift point on car's centerline just behind engine and at the rear we have the diff. We use the floor jack on those two. Again we need to make sure the jack pad and the lift points provide for a stable lift.

So block rear wheels and using a low profile floor jack lift front of car using front crossbeam lift point. Insert jack stands at front lift point locations. Lower jack so stands take load. Rock car to make sure they are secure. If you have two jacks, leave that one so it just not taking any load. Then lift rear using diff as lift point. Once up slip jack stands under rear side lift points. Check everything is stable. Then if you have to, remove floor jack to gain access.

This is a very general forum. Going to car specific ones such as those on Benzworld and doing a search, might garner more model specific info and experience.

This is a post re W210 lifting: http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w210-e-class/1426262-front-rear-lift-point.html#post3321875

__________________
Graham
85 300D,72 350SL, 98 E320, Outback 2.5

Wish we had one of those near us!

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Graham
85 300D,72 350SL, 98 E320, Outback 2.5

Those who thinks a lift is safer are kidding themselves. I'd think statistically, a lift has a higher failure rate than ramps or jack stands given that they were all used correctly. A lift is much more complex than a ramp and jack stand, thus more potential failure points. I know of one shop where their lift failed and car fell off the lift and hit a car next to it. Personnel got out of the way in time so one got hurt. Insurance paid for it. I do not have details of exactly what happened. The service manager told me of the incident when I went there to buy parts a week after it happened.

__________________
85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked