I have an 87 190E 16v and I am having trouble figuring out where I can use a hydraulic floor jack to lift the back of my car. I heard one person on here say that he puts the jack on the differential, but i was not sure if that was safe.

I hae jacked up many of my vehicles via the differential, as it is the most robust central point in the rear of the car that can handle the weight of the rear chassis.

As far as safety is concerned, the footprint of the rear differential varies from one car to another, but its small area makes it likely to slip off the jack if you're not careful when raising the car.

As with any work being done on a car, use the jack to raise the car, then put jackstands underneath for extended work. A car on the jack on the differential alone is likely to teeter and topple off, espcially if you rock the vehicle while trying to dislodge a stubborn part...

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

I would not jack up a car with independent rear suspension by the differential. Unlike rigid rear suspensions the differential is not attached to stuff that primarally supports the weight of the car. All the differential has to support is itself. I jack up the back of mine from as close as I can get to the side jack lift points. I think there's a rubber thing there that fits into the top of my jack.

[Edited by Jim Anderson on 06-29-2001 at 02:03 PM]

Tom16v

Well now you've got replies that say lift via the diff and lift via the jack points. Ha! I lift vie the diff and then put jack stands under the jack points, then remove the jack fro under the diff.

Robby