I am trying to determine the process for using a floor jack on my W210 (97 E320) to put it on 4 jack stands. I would like to use the built in rubber pads as the jacking points for the floor jack so the placement of the jack stands is my primary concern. I have 4 of the AC flat top stands as shown here http://www.ultimategarage.com/acstands.html. I have searched this and other forums with no real good answer. I really do not want to use the factory "emergency" jack, I have in the past and is okay for lift half the car (front or back).

Is there possibly other safe jacking points so I could place jack stands on the pads? I do not see many places in the front and have read a lot of warnings to not jack on the rear differential.

The differential is suitable for lifting the car. I've used it for many, many years and never had a problem. At the front, the W210 has a jack pad on the front sub-frame, under the steering rack. It is a plastic pad about 1" high and 2" wide. Place the jack stands under the pads along the rocker panels.

putting a car on four stands scares me..... others will offer advice on where to put them.... i would add a piece of wood with a wider base to distribute the load a bit better....

i would also have a safety in each corner....like blocks, bricks, tires... i always fear that we may try to loosen over-torqued or over-tightened bolts and pull the car litteraly off its jacks.

Maybe I am being silly... 3 thousand pounds off the ground just scares me...

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1994 e320 Cabriolet 108k



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Scares me too. It's more like 4,000 pounds. What could be the possible reason for having all four corners up on jack stands at once?

Vince, I think I know what front jack point you are referring too. I just do not understand why I can not find any official MB information on this subject. I guess they just assume one will be using standard garage lift.

Lee & deanyel
As for the safety issue, I always have that in mind regardless of what I am doing, especially under the car, 2 or 4 wheels do not matter. That is why I purchased the best jack stands I could find, have you guys seen these before (check link in first post)? I would never trust the $10 variety from Walmart. Lee, where would you add a piece of wood? My jacks stands are already flat topped and are about 2x larger than the jack pads on the sides. I guess I could see using it on the rear differential but my jack has the same rubber pad as the stands.

I guess I am surprised to even hear the "shock" of putting the car on all 4 jack stands. If one has the right equipment, what is the harm? My intention is not to argue, just to understand. I appreciate the safety concern and for your comments.

It is always interesting to watch and see how World Rally Teams support their cars at pit stops - ususally you'll see the cars up on four jack stands and a garage jack or two under the diffs.
Also interesting to watch how manufacturers raise road cars when testing at the Nurburgring or winter tire testing. The Ring has garage lifts for raising. Pictures I've seen of Porsche doing winter tire test near the Artic Circle show one corner of the car raised with a hugh floor jack. I also saw pictures of a Ferrari Challenge cars lifted on one side at the center of the wheelbase by a hugh floor jack.

I have seen in Mercedes dealerships, on a garage lift, techs use inner structure inboard of the jack pads at the front below the front firewall to support a road car and in the back the rear jack pad points. tech said he did this for stability.

I've seen auto body repair shops use all kinds of items and methods for lifting and supporting cars while in storage.

I haven't seen any pictures of a manufacturer supporting a modern road car with four floor jack stands. And the most recent picture of a Ferrari F430 Challenge car seems to show an on board pneumatic three point lift system - but I have a feeling this may have been a special set-up for display.

I have been using stands for years. I have quality stands and I make sure they are placed properly. Two stands, or four stands, what is the difference?

As for the reason to have a car on four stands: 1) I had to pull the rear axle assembly on my 250SL, which meant I had to drop the exhaust system 2) for a full inspection of the undersides of the car 3) to rotate all four tires 4) to drain the transmission or rear axle - the car needs to be level for a full drain 5) to work on the driveshaft 6) to install a new exhaust 7) etc, etc.

Four stands is very handy if you don't have a lift, and you want to do brake work or anything that requires space underneath and a level car. I use a different method, though.

I have two flat-top stands and two floor jacks, and I put one end up on stands then lift the other on the jacks so it has four points of contact. The challenge is to raise the two jacks at one end together so the body doesn't try to twist or fall off the stands.

Most garage jacks are open frame in the middle, so to make it safe to work under the car with the jacks in place, I put a solid brace between the top of the jack arm and the floor. Once the jacks are up, I put a length of 2" steel pipe with a flange welded onto one end upright inside the jack frame between the floor and the mechanism at the end of the arm under the jacking point. Then I lower the jack a bit so the pipe is bearing the load. It's as or more safe than a jack stand - it can't drop, and the structure of the jack keeps it from tipping.

Cheers
JJ

I prefer to be very safe and when it warrants it I use a jack stand to jack up the rear or front end then then place my steel ramps under the wheels and lower the car, no chance of it falling, if I am working on the brakes or need to access the wheels I will jack up the area, put a jack stand under the rubber pad or frame and the put the floor jack under the car as a safety measure, I dont want the car falling on my chest, earthquake, idiot leaning on the car, or just leaning on a wrench and causing the car to slip.

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Jerry

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1994 Ford Van E150 399K Miles

NEVER trust a hydraulic jack with your LIFE!. A $0.25 O-ring is all that is keeping a jack 'up'. Always use a 'life saver' block of some kind just in case the stands lean over and the car falls. The wheels+tires (mounted on the hubs) are OK if you can slip underneath without any jacking (I can't--too 'thick) I use the wheels ( or spare) with 2x6 across it to increase height enough and provide assurance any stand failure will land on the wheel+timber block.

I use 4 ton rated stands made by AC Delco, not cheap no-name/house brand junk.

NEVER yank on a wrench hard enough to rock/sway the load on the jackstands or jack. Use an impact wrench. Brace yourself against the car (use your feet against something) if you are pulling hard to avoid stressing the stands with sideways loading--they are rated for Vertical loads, not side loads.

I thought I read somewhere a long time ago that you are not supposed to raise the rear of the vehicle by the differential. I need to replace the transmission mount and am seeking a safe place to lift the car. Trying to reduce the fuel in the tank as much as possible to reduce excess weight in the meantime.

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'97 E300
'99 E300

I've had to do this many many times on Mercedes. One circumstance was to send a set of wheels in to have them repaired (for scraped up rims on used cars for example).
I always did this: Lift up on one front corner, then the other front, you will see a section or frame just inboard from the jacking pads (round hockey-puck looking things). You can set the floor jack on the jacking pads then. After getting the front up in the air, then jack the rear by the center differential, and again set the jack stands on the rear jacking pads.
Just make sure you get jack stands with very large bases, to avoid any rocking.
When you are raising the rear it's important that the lift (hydraulic jack or floor jack)is able to roll.
Gilly

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you need redundancy...not only should jack stands be deployed but the 2 lift jacks you shall require to lift the car up initially should be actuated and stationed strategicaly to 'back up' the floor jacks, just in case. I typically station my lift jacks around 6-12 inches from the floor jacks and bring them up until they are just barely touching your chosen jack point.....then lean on whichever end you're working and rock it back forth laterally and see if it moves....always worked for me

When jacking up one corner of my 2002 C240 - I use a pad by reverselogic.us
which for me gives a very stable lift when using a Sears 1.5 ton racing style hydraulic jack.

The 2002 C240 pad point in the rocker panel is different then the style on W202 & W210 cars. The reverse logic pad adapter gives a very stable lift without damaging the three sided rocker panel rubber point on the car.

Exactly.

There is no "entitlement" or law for that matter that compels an auto manufacturer to facilitate shade tree mechanics.

That is, the car is not designed to be lifted this way.

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Kent Christensen
Albuquerque
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