Where to support the body at rear suspension by using jack stand?
 

Hi all! I am planning to replace the both left and right air springs at rear of my X5 in coming days, but one problem that need you experts to give help. Where can I use jack stand to support my X at rear after jacking up my X? I only have the vehicle jack that come with my X, I do not have trolley jack or other workshop jack. Thanks for help!!!

you will need 2 jackstands at minimum. use the jack to lift the rear differential and place the 2 jackstands at the rear lift supports (right in front of each rear wheel you will see these rectangular hard plastic-like boxes). lower the car onto those jackstands and you are safe to work.

remember to break loose the lug nuts before you lift the car if not using an impact wrench ;)

Thanks for prompt reply! But how can I lift the rear differential by using the vehicle jack? I only have the BMW factory jack that came with my X. I do have two jack stands but the tips of the jack stand cannot support the car at the lift support because the shape is a claw like, not rectagular like.

woah.. using the supplied jack is gonna be alot of work... but can be done. Right next to the jack pad you can lift there with a jack, even the supplied scissor screw jack. just don't get too far away from the jack pad. also don't get so close that you can't slide the jackstand in correctly. about 4-5 inches away. also, most jackstands are triangular based, have one of the flat sides face the front of the car, not a point.

I had my main garage jack blow out its rubber seals on me and couldn't lift the car from the rear diff. i had to use a smaller jack with a bunch of 2x4's to lift near the jack pads to remove my car from the jackstands before.

i have the claw style jack stands as well and they will work just fine right there. just set the claw to be perpendicular to the rectangular pad... make them form a + sign...

I'm going to pick up some jack stands today. Based on your experience how tall do they need to be? I have a 330 also that I'd like to use the same stands for so I'm hoping to get the shortest stand I can get away with to use on both vehicles. I see a couple of 3 ton stands that are roughly 16.5" max height. Will they do the job?

I am also using 3-ton jack stands, they are tall enough to support X5, but no idea on other SUVs.

Just an FYI - I see on one of the brake pad DIY's the poster mentioned his stands are 16" max height. That's what we'll get and I'll hope it's tall enough for the X.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...7&blockType=G7

Will this kit work?

Good thread. Might also want to consider getting one of these:

Jack pad for BMW E39 E46 E53 E65 E82 E83 E90 E91 E92 Z4 : eBay Motors (item 330429024221 end time May-07-10 07:26:29 PDT)

A floor jack would be an extremely wise investment.