Jacking up the C5

VantaR

VantaR

Busy user
Hi all,

I'm looking to jack the car up and sort out the corner lights, as it seems the easiest way to access these is from underneath. I've heard talk that lifting from the front cross member is a big no-no, however this video online suggests that it's actually the best way of doing things? Please could someone guide me, I really need to get the front end off the ground! Video in question:


Also, I do not own a jack, nor stands. Most of the recommendations online point towards stores in the US (Harbour Freight etc) and knowing how low our cars are, i'd like to know if any of you have any suggestions on the stands & trolley jack. (Low profile long reach I imagine)

Thank you all in advance, and have a wonderful weekend.
 
Stingray

Stingray

CCCUK Member
Best way to lift a C5 is IMO as pictured on the video image you posted. Make yourself some wooden ramps; they need to be long and gently sloped to cope with the front of the car.

As regards jacking I would strongly recommend using only the official jacking points and with suitable pucks. Get them from your local BMW dealership. You'll probably need to drive the car onto a block of wood or paving slab to get the jack under it, and you'll probably want the jack to be on a suitable wooden board.
 
teamzr1

teamzr1

Supporting vendor
I have jacked up the front of my 1999 C5 countless times using the cross member with no issues
Just set the floor jack pad close to center, so the car is balanced left/right when jacked up

You could get some cheap ramps such as these

to get the height needed so that a floor jack can be slid under and the pad under the cross member

This is easier than having to jack both sides up to get front up

All kinds of jack stands


Floor jacks, select one that sits low profile


If you want the pucks to allow using the slots that are used to trailer the Corvette


If need be, switch over to the Amazon for the UK
 
C5Steve

C5Steve

CCCUK Member
As above, jacking using the front cross member is actually fine and detailed in the manual. I've got a set of race ramps to drive up and sneak the jack under, then a piece of wood approx 2ft long I put between the jack and cross member to spread the load and ensure the jack is seated. Not needed but handy. Then a couple of axle stands and you're away.
 
BobbyV8

BobbyV8

CCCUK Member
C5Steve said:
As above, jacking using the front cross member is actually fine and detailed in the manual. I've got a set of race ramps to drive up and sneak the jack under, then a piece of wood approx 2ft long I put between the jack and cross member to spread the load and ensure the jack is seated. Not needed but handy. Then a couple of axle stands and you're away.
Click to expand...
Yes same here with me. Front and back 👍
 
teamzr1

teamzr1

Supporting vendor
Keep in mind the one listed above only maximum lift is just under 15 inches
where as example this one lifts to 20 inches height

 
VantaR

VantaR

Busy user
Cheers all, very useful advice here! I think i'll get myself some race ramps and a jack for the job. Final question is, is the positioning of the stands in the aforementioned video suitable? Looks fairly sturdy..
 
VantaR

VantaR

Busy user
C5Steve said:
As above, jacking using the front cross member is actually fine and detailed in the manual. I've got a set of race ramps to drive up and sneak the jack under, then a piece of wood approx 2ft long I put between the jack and cross member to spread the load and ensure the jack is seated. Not needed but handy. Then a couple of axle stands and you're away.
Click to expand...
Steve, do you have any recommendations on race ramps that are gentle enough for the c5?
 
C5Steve

C5Steve

CCCUK Member
VantaR said:
Steve, do you have any recommendations on race ramps that are gentle enough for the c5?
Click to expand...
I got a set of these, they're low enough to go under and get a bit of room but I'll be honest you have to sneak the jack under the front and start it very slowly as there's not a huge amount of room to begin with depending on how low your car is. The back is much easier.

However, at less than £50 they're a huge discount on actual Race Ramps!

 
VantaR

VantaR

Busy user
UKBeancounter said:
Steve,
www.halfords.com

Halfords 2 Tonne Low Profile Hydraulic Trolley Jack | Halfords UK

Shop the latest Halfords 2 Tonne Low Profile Hydraulic Trolley Jack at Halfords UK
www.halfords.com www.halfords.com
Machine Mart also sell a low profile jack. I think that is where mine came from.
Jason
Click to expand...
C5Steve said:
I've got that one as well
Click to expand...
teamzr1 said:
Keep in mind the one listed above only maximum lift is just under 15 inches
where as example this one lifts to 20 inches height

Click to expand...
Cheers on the recommendations all. I am now stuck between the Halfords one vs a £100+ lower profile alternative. I don't know if I necessarily need the extra height, is the difference really that noticeable?

Steve, I think I will go ahead and get those ramps you suggested, do you also use the Halfords jack? (Trying to gauge whether I need something lower considering I'll also be adding the plank of wood)

Appreciate all the help here guys..
 
C5Steve

C5Steve

CCCUK Member
VantaR said:
Cheers on the recommendations all. I am now stuck between the Halfords one vs a £100+ lower profile alternative. I don't know if I necessarily need the extra height, is the difference really that noticeable?

Steve, I think I will go ahead and get those ramps you suggested, do you also use the Halfords jack? (Trying to gauge whether I need something lower considering I'll also be adding the plank of wood)

Appreciate all the help here guys..
Click to expand...
I just use the ramps and the Halfords jack. No puck in the jack (as it goes straight on the wood). Couple of decent axel stands as well, all works well. For the amount I need to get under the car it serves me well, had them all since I bought it (around 8 years now).
 
teamzr1

teamzr1

Supporting vendor
VantaR said:
Cheers on the recommendations all. I am now stuck between the Halfords one vs a £100+ lower profile alternative. I don't know if I necessarily need the extra height, is the difference really that noticeable?

Steve, I think I will go ahead and get those ramps you suggested, do you also use the Halfords jack? (Trying to gauge whether I need something lower considering I'll also be adding the plank of wood)

Appreciate all the help here guys..
Click to expand...

Say you want to get under the car to take off the engine oil drain plug and also be able to reach and replace the oil filter ?
What is your waist line measurement :) ?
And only about 12 inches of the short arm type, leaving only about 1 foot of free space for it
where the 20-inch type gives you another 1/2 foot of height space

Also, the shorter the arm is means so is the jack frame, and you have to push the jack further downstream and now the
jack handle is also in further, and thus you cannot fully pump the handle as its hitting underside
Where a longer arm type would reach further downstream and handle is now outside the front of the car
 
C5Steve

C5Steve

CCCUK Member
teamzr1 said:
Say you want to get under the car to take off the engine oil drain plug and also be able to reach and replace the oil filter ?
What is your waist line measurement :) ?
And only about 12 inches of the short arm type, leaving only about 1 foot of free space for it
where the 20-inch type gives you another 1/2 foot of height space

Also, the shorter the arm is means so is the jack frame, and you have to push the jack further downstream and now the
jack handle is also in further, and thus you cannot fully pump the handle as its hitting underside
Where a longer arm type would reach further downstream and handle is now outside the front of the car
Click to expand...
Yeah you're not wrong, I tend to start the jack by hand onto the cross-member and then slowly slowly with the handle due to the lack of room (my car is lowered though). If you're able to get the car up and leveled there's enough space with this jack I'd say to do an oil change, 37.5cm max lift plus the thickness of whatever wood you're using so say 40cm (16 inches)? Certainly snug. Depends on how much you're looking to do under there I guess.
 
teamzr1

teamzr1

Supporting vendor
C5Steve said:
Yeah you're not wrong, I tend to start the jack by hand onto the cross-member and then slowly slowly with the handle due to the lack of room (my car is lowered though). If you're able to get the car up and leveled there's enough space with this jack I'd say to do an oil change, 37.5cm max lift plus the thickness of whatever wood you're using so say 40cm (16 inches)? Certainly snug. Depends on how much you're looking to do under there I guess.
Click to expand...

I know what your dealing with Steve as my 99 C5 is so low that I had to get race shocks that are shorter
Only about 3 inches from ground to bottom of rockers, so I learned the hard way as to low height floor jacks

Rebel99.jpg
 
VantaR

VantaR

Busy user
teamzr1 said:
Say you want to get under the car to take off the engine oil drain plug and also be able to reach and replace the oil filter ?
What is your waist line measurement :) ?
And only about 12 inches of the short arm type, leaving only about 1 foot of free space for it
where the 20-inch type gives you another 1/2 foot of height space

Also, the shorter the arm is means so is the jack frame, and you have to push the jack further downstream and now the
jack handle is also in further, and thus you cannot fully pump the handle as its hitting underside
Where a longer arm type would reach further downstream and handle is now outside the front of the car
Click to expand...
C5Steve said:
Yeah you're not wrong, I tend to start the jack by hand onto the cross-member and then slowly slowly with the handle due to the lack of room (my car is lowered though). If you're able to get the car up and leveled there's enough space with this jack I'd say to do an oil change, 37.5cm max lift plus the thickness of whatever wood you're using so say 40cm (16 inches)? Certainly snug. Depends on how much you're looking to do under there I guess.
Click to expand...
Great point. I'll be under there for the basics and replacing the corner lights. And although part of me believes i'll do the harmonic balancer change myself someday... I feel that's highly unlikely :LOL:. Any of you had to tackle that beast of a job yet?
 
teamzr1

teamzr1

Supporting vendor
VantaR said:
Great point. I'll be under there for the basics and replacing the corner lights. And although part of me believes i'll do the harmonic balancer change myself someday... I feel that's highly unlikely :LOL:. Any of you had to tackle that beast of a job yet?
Click to expand...

This attachment below sits on top of pad of floor jack is very handy, I had bought it from Harbor Freight and assume others sell like this one
You would not need like a 2x4 or any wood and the pads have long bolts, so the pads can be turned raised up 2–3 inches
give a higher lift of floor jack. It also swivels, and the arms ran to be moved inward or outward so handy to have

george.jpg




If you mean the one bolted to the crank
It is a hassle because

The bolt is a torque to yield, it stretches when it gets torqued down the first time
Because of that, you cannot reuse it and must get a new one
The bolt is long, and it would hit the steering rack before it could come out
So you have to loosen up the rack and take a few other parts off and slide the rack down some and to the left to
make room for that crank bolt clearance to get out and new one in

You need to take the starter out and either buy a tool that locks the flywheel to prevent the engine turning over
when torquing down the new crank bolt

First time I did this for a C5 I did not know I needed to lock engine down so did not have this tool you can buy
so I made one that uses the boltholes for starter and the teeth mate to flywheel teeth preventing engine turning over
rather than allowing proper torque for the crank bolt

lockflywheeltool.jpg
Here is one that can be bought but have to buy the right one depending on having a manual or auto tranny that has a flex plate rather
than a flywheel manual has


flywheeltool.jpg
 
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teamzr1

teamzr1

Supporting vendor
Can see on this C6 where I installed a supercharger for a customer how tight with little free space to take damper crank bolt out and in

pulley.jpgcpbolt.jpg
 
VantaR

VantaR

Busy user
teamzr1 said:
Can see on this C6 where I installed a supercharger for a customer how tight with little free space to take damper crank bolt out and in

View attachment 27803View attachment 27804
Click to expand...
yikes, looks like a nightmare job, one I fear I will get wrong. I'm happy to work the extra hours and have a professional handle something as advanced as that.. Not that I need to replace my harmonic balancer (dampener) just yet, but anticipating the job, do we know anybody London, UK based that could attend to this? Is this something any respectable shop could do?
 
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