Folks, please be careful while working under you vehicle

[X5only]

Take all the necessary safety precautions while working under your vehicle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYguPrktL4w

[andrewwynn]

Love the comment about "mechanic" being misspelled.

Clearly this guy thought nexuses he didn't jack up the car he didn't need to block the wheels.

Going under the car is more like chess than checkers, think a couple moves ahead.

[aureliusmax]

As a heavy equipment mechanic, we should know about the risks involved and how to work safely. I've worked since I started without any serious injuries. The worst was catching pneumonia on a cold floor working on my back, but that was kind of more unpredictable.
It's a mind set of setting your own safety interests first over your boss/company when they are pressuring you to do something.
My safety mindset goes something like 'It's not worth whatever the pay rate is to risk my life for someone else's company.'
Planning ahead for things you know could go sideways, is the key. Always assume the worst scenario in your mind and what you would do to mitigate those risks.

[grounch]

About that.
Blocking the wheels is a basic (how not to see the specific blockers right in the trunk..) , but where do you put the jack under the x5?
If you lift using one of the 4 designed holes, cannot put it there. Leaving only the point around the middle of the metal plate under the engine, or the diff at the rear.

[andrewwynn]

The e53 you can jack the front right in the middle of the axle to get both sides on the jack stands at the lift points, the rear diff is usually ok as a lift point though some chassis models it's said no-go.



From the TIS for my model.

I have seen both ways for different models of e53 ; there is a very solid part of the rear subframe that I've used to lift the back of both e53 and e70 from the center.

[Fifty150hs]

Originally Posted by andrewwynn

The e53 you can jack the front right in the middle of the axle to get both sides on the jack stands at the lift points, the rear diff is usually ok as a lift point though some chassis models it's said no-go.



From the TIS for my model.

I have seen both ways for different models of e53 ; there is a very solid part of the rear subframe that I've used to lift the back of both e53 and e70 from the center.

I wouldn't use the rear diff as a jacking point. I used to do it until one of the bolts for the diff bushings snapped. Now I place a block of wood on the jack pad and run it up against the rear subframe directly behind the diff.

[andrewwynn]

That's actually what I do also. The back weighs just over 3200# that is significant.

[grounch]

Do you manage to raise the car on point 1 and 3 with the widowmaker?
I tried with my hydraulic jack but it doesn't raise high enough to put jacks correctly, even with a piece of wood. Maybe i need a bigger wood block..

[andrewwynn]

I have the 2T aluminum Harbor Freight racing jack. It will lift the front high enough without a block but in the back I need a block of wood if I don't use the diff.

Careful of which direction the grain is when using wood; I've had a 4x4x4 cube *explode* lifting a truck before; Make sure the grain crosses the long axis of the lifting point.

[Fifty150hs]

Originally Posted by grounch

Do you manage to raise the car on point 1 and 3 with the widowmaker?
I tried with my hydraulic jack but it doesn't raise high enough to put jacks correctly, even with a piece of wood. Maybe i need a bigger wood block..

I use point 1, but for point 3 I use the subframe behind point 3. I snapped a bolt at one of the diff bushings after lifting at point 3 for years. I don't lift under the diff anymore. Getting the broken bolt out of the diff was a major PITA and I don't want to do it again. I don't need a block at point 1 unless I'm trying to get extra height. Usually, I will raise the front as high as possible, set it on jack stands, raise the rear and put it on stands, then using a block of wood on the jack raise the front further and set it back on the stands higher, then do the same at the rear. Makes it much easier to work under the truck that way and makes using a creeper much easier.