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Where to put jack stands on '14 6?

53K views 23 replies 16 participants last post by  S100Y 
#1 ·
Ok, so forgive me if this is somewhere on the forum already, but I looked for a while and couldn't find anything on it. I am looking to paint my wheels tonight, however am not quite sure how to get it up on jack stands.

I know the pinch welds are the approved jacking points, however since that is where I am wanting the stands to go, where would I jack the car up from?
 
#4 ·
Hey, I guess no one got back to you on this? I'm eager to know this too as I'm painting calipers this weekend.
 
#6 ·
here's what I'm more curious about.. what's this crap about using only the mazda jack!? Who wants to use that thing anyway? There has to be a place to put a proper standard jack... and still space for jackstands. If it can go on a lift a normal jack and stands should be fine
 
#7 ·
Yea, for sure -- I'll have to do a better look under the car. I cringe when I see the points for the mazda jack. NEVER liked them to begin with.

Wish there was someone who's done it that can snap a photo and just say "HEY DUMMY, this is where you do it!"
 
#9 ·
If you need just the front up, then I would jack the rear high enough so the front jack point clears the jack stand, and place the stand there. This is all using just the stock jack points along the sides. You should also be able to jack it up on the front and rear subframes and if there are any, built in tow hooks under the bumpers.

This is what I do on all the cars I work on. And I wouldn't use the Mazda jack unless its an emergency, those are called widow makers for a reason.
 
#12 ·
So - I found this for anyone still wondering where to use a standard floor jack:
 

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#21 ·
This is also where I put my jack stands, I figured it was a strong component for suspension. The Pittsburgh jack I have fits under the car.
 
#16 ·
Sorry to hear that. The front of our cars is pretty low and that front jacking point is real far back, even with a long reach floor jack.

One solution which can be cheaper than buying a new floor jack is to use ramps to get the clearance you need to make larger pumps / throws for jacking the car up. Personally, I don't own ramps as I've never had a need for them so I can't recommend any brands, but if you do decide to go this route just make sure you do thorough research and be safe about it.

P.S. Although we are resurrecting an old thread here and for good reason I think I'm hoping someone very knowledgeable can help us / me out with the proper JACK STAND points for the REAR!! I haven't found places that I feel comfortable with leaving the rear on stands so I haven't done much back there but any help would be greatly appreciated!
 
#17 ·
I just rotated my tires this past weekend.
I can concur with tickerguy that the front jack point is too far back for most low-profile jacks. What I ended up doing probably wasn't the safest solution - but it worked and I was careful.

I used my hydraulic jack directly on the pinch-weld jack point behind the front passenger wheel. I raised it up enough to get a jack stand in that same area. I then used the crappy screw-drive jack that came from the car to raise the rear passenger wheel off the ground. It was at this point I noticed that the jack doesn't actually hold the car up by the pinch weld itself - the notch in the jack just straddles the pinch weld; The car's weight is supported on a flat surface on the inside of the pinch weld. Oops on the front jack point. I didn't end up damaging it or bending it - but just so you know...

I basically worked my way around the car until I had 4 jack stands near each wheel. I worked quickly to minimize the time the car was in the air without wheels on, trying to get one side done first. I used the cross pattern since we have non-directional tires.

All in all, it took about 30 minutes. I really hate that screw jack... I've had to use it before to change a flat. Fortunately for me, I was in a flat area to work.
 
#18 ·
I rotated my tires a couple of weeks ago. I have a regular floor jack, nit a low profile. I was able to slide it under the car far enough to reach the recommended jacking point but I then had no clearance at all to actually start jacking.
So what I did was to take the supplied Mazda jack and lift one of the front corners (using the recommended location) and lift it just high enough to be able to continue with the floor jack.
It was a little bit of a pain to have to use two jacks but I was able to safely raise the front of the car this way.
 
#19 ·
For tire rotation I lift from the pinch using a hockey-puck style cradle and then block with a stand on the lower control arm rear mounting boss with a rubber cover on the jackstand top. That's a VERY solid location for a stand and not going anywhere.

I then use TWO jacks on the rear for the time required to rotate that side front-to-back.

Is this ideal? No. And if I have to do suspension or work that requires that I get to that control arm mounting point (e.g. bushing replacement) then that obviously doesn't work for the front, but for tire rotation it does, and is safe as you both never get under the car and are doubly-redundant. It would also be ok for brake work or similar as the lower control arm mounting point is not necessary to access for that.

For anything more involved I will do the two-stage lift setup so I can get a proper jack under the center point on the subframe in the front, and will place stands on the pinches with proper load spreaders so the load is taken as designed. The rear has no access problems and again, there is no issue with placing stands there either.

This car is a bit of a bitch to lift properly; supporting it is not very hard, but getting it up in the first place with the front lift point being that far under the front bumper is another matter.
 
#20 ·
Has no one just tried driving the front tires up on some 2x4's and then lifting from the front jack point?

I was barely able to get enough movement in the handle to raise the front with a low profile jack when I installed Tanabe springs. I plan on using 2x4's to get enough space under the front next time.

I also noticed what Ryan Dinan did about the trunk jack not actually lifting anywhere but on the inside of the pinch weld. With that in mind, I just set my jack stands just to the inside of the pinch, flat on the mount point.
 
#23 ·
Hey guys, I ran across this thread while trying to figure out how to jack my '15 6 up. I borrowed a pair of Jack Point jack stands from a buddy, and they were a breeze. You just put the cap of the jack stand on the floor jack, lift the car, and then lower the cap onto the jack stand (it fits right around the jack). Super easy. I'll probably pick up a pair of these at some point.

http://www.jackpointjackstands.com
 
#24 · (Edited)
Reviving this old thread for folks like me who don't have a low profile long handle jack and want to lift the rear. You can do it with a short handle hydraulic jack and jackstands all at the pinch weld and a little beyond. You have to place the jack and jackstand close almost touching, the jackstand goes a little out of the pinch weld area but don't worry the pinch weld does not deform as the third picture shows after I removed both the jack and stand.

I would have ideally liked to jack it from the Mazda specified lift points but the short handle jack does not allow. The next option was the rear trailing arm or the rear cross member (pics 4 and 5) but I chickened out not sure if it could damage something more expensive (like that frail looking 3 pin linkage at the end of the arm) so I went with the pinch weld damage to which is no big deal. If someone lifted it safely from the rear trailing arm or the rear cross member please chime in.
 

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