[9iron]

Im going to replace my water pump using jack stands, and am questioning the safest way to do it. I jacked up the car yesterday to look for anything odd before i got under it. I put it up on four ESCO jack stands (and it seemed stable), and then lowered the rear to the ground and chocked the back wheels.

It seemed safe either way, but maybe a little safer with only the front end on stands(?). I used a third stand under the middle of the car when the back end was on the ground as a fail safe.

Any insight on the safest way to do this? Is there a reason i NEED it to be on four stands aside from draining the coolant? The jack has to be almost fully extended to get it as high as id like.

Thanks in advance.

[zoppp]

I used all four because it felt less cramped under the car when the whole car is level. No real difference in safety though if the rear is chocked.

[Three_thirty_I]

I used two jack stands (well, sort of) on the front, and to gain extra space underneath and to keep the car a bit more level, I had the rear up on some planks. So I started by getting the car up onto the planks by jacking the rear up and then lowering the wheels onto the planks. After that, got the front jacked up. But either way, make sure you are comfortable with the way the car is standing on the jacks so that it is safe!

[PichaDis11]

The safest way is on four stands. With all wheels off the ground (and stable) you negate the possibility of the car rolling/ moving. Even a slight movement could mean slippage off the jack stands. And you don't need that while you are under the car hustling away.

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by 9iron

Im going to replace my water pump using jack stands, and am questioning the safest way to do it. I jacked up the car yesterday to look for anything odd before i got under it. I put it up on four ESCO jack stands (and it seemed stable), and then lowered the rear to the ground and chocked the back wheels.

It seemed safe either way, but maybe a little safer with only the front end on stands(?). I used a third stand under the middle of the car when the back end was on the ground as a fail safe.

Any insight on the safest way to do this? Is there a reason i NEED it to be on four stands aside from draining the coolant? The jack has to be almost fully extended to get it as high as id like.

Thanks in advance.

I did it with 4 jack stands. I have 4 three ton jack stands that have saftey bars you put in the top so the jack cant slip. I have the Bilstein B-12 lowering kit on my car. So, I lift the front first, put the two jack stands in place and then lift the rear. The front is really low the ground. I have a racing jack (low profile jack) and it still rubs the belly pan, as I move it into place to lift the front end up.

When you do this DIY. do yourself a favor. Take the fan and FMIC out before you do anything else. You will clear out a whole bunch of space.

There is a great DIY by BAV Auto; only thing is that its done under a lift, which 90% of us DIYers dont have.

[Efthreeoh]

When a BMW is on a lift it sits on the four (4) lifting blocks built into the rocker panels. It'll sit there on the lifting pads until a hurricane comes and knocks the building over. Assuming a level, hard surface (i.e. concrete garage floor), being on four (4) stands is no different; especially the ESCO stands you are using.

[9iron]

OK, four stands it is. Thanks for the responses.

[floydarogers]

Although 4 is quite safe, IMO it's even safer to use two ramps and two stands. The ramps have a wider base and if they have a concave surface to hold the tire, rolling fore/aft is not an issue.

[Efthreeoh]

It's a 3,500 pound car. It's not going to fall off the stands. You couldn't even push it off if you tried. Nothing you'll be doing with the WP would cause any force strong enough to overcome the static force of the car sitting on the stands.

[Meeni]

Four stands with the car level is safer, it removes the risk of the car rolling off the stands. It's a low probability accident for a raised front, however never work on the rear without lifting the front first, the car WILL roll out of the stands and crash land on anything that's under.

[Efthreeoh]

I have a car lift to service my car with. So when it's lifted it is sitting on just the four lifting blocks. The most violent thing I've done as far as service is remove the rear brake rotors using a wooden dowel and a 3 lb sledge hammer. The car doesn't even move. I'd never ever get under a car on ramps.

[mlifxs]

my experience with 4 stands has been good, very stable. when I changed my oil pan gasket, my car was on 4 for almost five days.

for some reason though, some jack stand retailers say absolutely never stands on more than one axle.

I've tried ramps plus stands. I am somewhat wary of this setup. imo ramps do not truly chock the wheels as the ramp bottoms could slide might slide on the garage floor?

[floydarogers]

Originally Posted by mlifxs

I've tried ramps plus stands. I am somewhat wary of this setup. imo ramps do not truly chock the wheels as the ramp bottoms could slide might slide on the garage floor?

My ramps have cutouts for the tires that prevent rolling both backwards and forwards. As long as you're on a flat surface, they won't skid because there is no fore/aft force component.

[Meeni]

There are multiple stories for ramps failing (from poor manufacturing, or other reasons). Stand failing without improper use is very rare.