Raising the rear with floor jack under the rear diff
 

Do you guys raise the rear with a floor jack under the differential ? I do that on my e39 and was wondering if the diff for e53 is able to support it.

Pelicanparts show that it's okay but I don't trust the site..




https://www.facebook.com/Bmw-e53-2508322126058762/

I've done it I didn't feel it was pushing anything but it's 3200# and it was a little too much for a 1.5T jack. I would like to see what other people say. Usually I lift from the rear lower arm so I don't have to stretch out the spring before getting lift off. 1-2 pumps and I can change a tire


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I would use the jack pads, you can use the diff, I have, but if your jack isn't perfectly on there the way the cover sits on the diff you can "nudge" it out of alignment and it will drip and fry your ring and pinion... true story... and an expensive lesson.

Raising the rear with floor jack under the rear diff
 

That's some sage advice. I use a block of wood to even out pressure but I will check my pumpkin for leaks and make sure I didn't create a provlem

The Jack pads are not convenient when you want to lift both sides compared to a center lift.

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I would not use the rear differential to lift the X. The diff is made from aluminum with fins integrated into the design to help in cooling. You can break off the fins if you are not careful.

From BMW documentation...take note of the warning...it's the diff's COVER that should NOT be used...and I distinctly detect that care should be given as to some type of protection between the lift and vehicle's body since it says to check condition of "rubber" contact points:

I've used the rear subframe to jack the rear end. It is right behind the diff and very narrow..

I've always used the diff to lift the rear of my X5, E39 and E92. Never a problem. Of course, I'm always very careful not to place the jack anywhere near the diff cover, as QSilver has pointed out above. I also make sure it's centered on the diff. One has to be very careful in jack placement on the diff - I will keep inspecting and repositioning the jack until it's in a perfect position, and then only start lifting the vehicle when I'm satisfied.

The official word is "yes you can" thanks Q7 for finding that gem. I have a rubber pad on my jack but it is so flat i like to put a piece of wood on top that will crush into a perfect mate with the differential in this case. Also the lift point in the front is so flush I put a block of wood to go up inside so the Jack doesn't push on the aluminum plate. Using wood vs. metal allows it to conform to the angle and makes a very even pressure. I've been wanting to get a hockey puck and cut it down so I wouldn't have to find a fresh piece of wood.

I jack mine with the rear dif all the time. No problems. Use a rubber or wood pad to protect the aluminum fins.

I bought a couple of these; they work great.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Universal-F...4AAOSwceNZV3Av

I have jacked the rear using the differential case but always have a wood block to insulate from the metal jack pad.

I then place the metal jack pads on top of my jack stands and then support the weight on the jack stands at the jacking points on either side of the vehicle

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/5d8AA...EfQ/s-l400.jpg

These jack pads are also convenient for me in using the trolley jack at the pad locations when I need to jack up just one side of the vehicle quickly without having to dig out the factory jack from the vehicle.

Mike

I want a set of the jack pads. Does that fit into the jack point in the front center?


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No, they only fit the side factory jack positions.

Mike

- In the E39 (5-series) forum, we talked about it, see the thread below. Although I have done this before on the E39 5-series, my advice is don't do it!
If you crack the Rear Diff mount, you will regret.

- Alternative jacking points (subframe) were also discussed in that thread below...

Better jacking point than rear differential? - Bimmerfest - BMW Forums

I would say definelty not lift on the diff. On a solid axle car the mounts can easily support the weight of the vehicle because they need to. With an independant rear suspension the diff mountings are designed to only support the diff and I think it is asking a lot to lift the entire vehicle with them.

I think one should do what they feel comfortable with...but when BMW says that you can (see post #6 in this thread) as long as you lift from beneath the rear diff (making sure you're not putting weight on the diff's cover)...along with looking how the rear diff fits within the rear axle subframe assembly (see pics below). Plus once you lift the entire rear end...you can place jack stands below each rear (left & right) jack pads to rest the vehicle on while doing the work...which would relieve any stress on the rear diff/rear subframe assembly. If one uses common sense...lifting from beneath the diff seems doable. But again, only do what one feels comfortable in doing. :)

It wasn't safety that I am concerned about and lifting from the diff and placing stands is probably the fastest and safest method. It's overstressing the little rubber diff mounts that worries me more. I think it's the E46's that get all kinds of noise issues when those rubbers get even a little bit of wear or degradation. Those mounts are designed only to hold the diff in place as quietly as possible and lifting the whole weight of the car with them doesn't seem like a good idea. Not saying that anyone would ever notice the difference just my opinion.

thanks for the input guys, the diff spot for lifting seems a bit worrisome for the weight of this car but as long as BMW states in the service manual that it's the approved jacking points then it shouldn't be an issue.




https://www.facebook.com/Bmw-e53-2508322126058762/

Never had a problem on any of my BMW's, including the X. As mentioned, just be sure you are not on the diff cover itself. And an insulator on the lifting pad of the jack isn't a bad idea (wood, rubber, etc) though I rarely use one.

I don't use anything other than the rubber pad on the jack. Can't count the number of times I have lifted the rear with diff as jack point. As long as you push jack toward the front enough to be past the diff cover it won't be a problem. I think it is safer than jacking up one side and then the other.

I have the luxury of multiple jacks, so i can lift via the jack plates. still use hockey pucks in there too, I keep a pile of pucks in the shop for all these sort of jobs! I also dont lift the truck any higher than i have to to get the job at hand done! Ive used the diff to raise the truck in the past, Always used a puck or a small block of wood!

I lift the steel square beam to the rear of the differential. I built an adapter out of a 4x4 and a little bracket that holds it in place in that spot. So basically, the 4x4 adapter sits on the jack, and the top of the 4x4 contacts the square beam on the x5. Very secure, and the 4x4 gets me an extra 3.5 inches of lift.

I similarly built something for the front central jack point - with a M12 bolt going through the hole in the x5's central jacking point, to keep it centered.

It took a little effort when I built these things, but that has paid off many times with easy and secure central lifting. Yes, for simplicity and safety, I almost always lift centrally and use jack stands on both sides, front or rear, but not both at the same time.

I lift centrally, but I do use jack stands on 4 corners of my vehicles fairly frequently. I give the car a serious shoulder blocking though to verify ZERO movement before getting underneath it.

I'd love to not do that, but not sure how I would do some jobs without it. I sometimes put the front (or rear) on ramps while working on the opposite end if I don't need all the wheels off.

I jacked up the front the other day to change CV boots, so I took some pics of the adapters I made that I referred to two posts up.

These are custom fit to match with my floor jack (originally made with my previous jack, updated slightly for the newer one here). Generally used with the jack rubber pad removed so it is a very secure fit between the adapter and the jack. Then customized on the end that interfaces with the x5.

At the front, it interfaces at the central jacking point, with an M12 bolt going through the hole in that rectangular steel pad. No way this would slip off.

The 4x4 is a piece of 4x4. The plastic looking thing is a very hard structural scrap of plastic I happened to have. Maybe Delrin or similar. Hard, easy to cut/machine.

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I really like that! I have adopted the 2x12 between the rear diff and jack strategy myself (staying way clear of the rear cover of course) and, seeing your cool invention, am on the hunt for something to craft my front jack "adapter" out of now. I had been using a piece of a 6x6 machined to fit entirely around the front center jack point but I like yours better!


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Wish I could find the pic of it, buddy of mine crafted a piece of steel I-beam that went jack pad to jack pad across the rear that once you jacked it up, from the center, you simply put your jack stands under the I-beam (at the jack pad locations) and it was rock solid. Center section slid out once the jack stands were in place so everything was out of the way for easy access underneath.

He has since sold his X and the lift tool he made went with it...


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Now pics of the rear adapter.

Concerned about load on the differential, differential cover / seam, differential bushings. Also concerned about it slipping off.

I decided the steel cross-beam behind the differential looked sufficiently strong and wanted to lift at that point. The solution I came up with let me do that while keeping it pretty well locked in place with no load on the differential, and no chance of anything slipping off.

4x4 wood, like before. The circular cutout seen in the wood was done with my 10" table saw blade, to clear the protrusion on the differential.

The steel bracket screwed into the wood is for alignment. It does not take any load, but makes sure the thing is fit in properly and cannot slide out while jacking up.

So the light brown plastic thing sits on the floor-jack plate. The cutout section goes up against the differential, with enough clearance from the protruding fins on the differential so there is no contact. So that cutour is facing the front of the vehicle. The upward-turned flange on the bracket tucks in between the differential and the square bar - so it keeps this adapter from sliding too far backward, and off the bar. So when in place, the load goes from the jack, through the plastic thing at the bottom, through the 4x4, through the steel bracket, to the structural square beam on the x5. All of those in compression and secured from sliding out of place.

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And another thing ... the extra 3.5" of lift from the 4x4 always helps, even with a jack that goes to 24".

That is good looking and I LOVE the fact it takes the load off the diff. I learned the hard way that if you even nudge that blasted diff cover... that it drips just slow enough (and seemingly not on the garage floor where I would see it) to burn up the ring and pinion... and it never even made noise - just ground itself in to oblivion and was totally dry when I opened it...


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You have a handful of extra tall jackstands or did you build platforms for those too [emoji16]


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Not especially tall, and no, I have not built special adapters for those ... yet.

I did stacked 2x12s when I built my jack stand platforms but the crunching wood sounds they made scared me so I abandoned that solution. I may rebuild them but skin them with a 1/4" steel top plate with leg captures to keep them from crunching...


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oldskewel, I'm willing to pay you to make me the adaptor for the rear … no kidding.

I appreciate the endorsement. And I'm happy with the solutions I came up with there. But really, they were made with the scraps of materials and tools I happened to have around my garage.

Also, customizing the fit to the floor jack is best done with the jack right there. When I first made them 3 years ago when I got this x5, I had a different jack, so I had to do a little extra routing / chiseling to make them fit snugly with the new one.

If someone else wanted to make something like these, it would not make sense to make an exact copy. They'd want to make them based on their tools and materials at hand. For example, that bracket I use on the rear adapter has one flange sticking up, and the other one flattened. The flattened one serves no purpose at all, and would have been cut off if that was easy, but it was easier to just flatten it.

Oldskewel:
A for creativity.
A+ for recycling materials from your garage

I have the exact same floor jack as yours that I'd bought from harbor freight, hence the ask.

Now adding some photos I took recently when I used the rear adapter.

All the support force is upward, on the square beam that crosses the car from left to right. The 4x4 is in compression, sitting on the jack plate.

All the other cutouts and bracket (e.g., to interface with the jack plate, to avoid stressing the differential, or to keep it in place) are just for alignment purposes, keeping it in the exact right spot and stopping it from falling off.

As shown in the pics, the 4x4 fits with a little clearance in between the exhaust pipes (M54, stock everything).

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Yeah I'll be making I've of those.


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