Is there anywhere on the front end to place a floor jack to jack up the whole front end at one time?? I've been jacking up each wheel at a time to place a ramp under the wheel but it 's a pain to do one side at a time.. Is there any place in the middle to jack the entire front end at one time??? Thanks for your input...
It'll require you to lay flat on the floor/ground, but place the saddle centered under the engine crossmember, behind the oil pan. You need to be able to see it, so you don't accidentally damage the pan. Anyway, set the parking brake, or failing that, chock the rear wheels on both sides, to keep the car from moving. That will get your car high off the ground for underside work.
Thanks andy.. I guess the front cross member just in front of the radiator would bend if lifted with a floor jack???
All my unit body Fords had only a small round piece of tubing under the engine. Tried jacking there on a junk Torino and that tube folded like a cheap suit. I have never had a problem jacking a unit body using the front crossmember ( The one where the strut rod bushings are located ). Only exception was when that crossmember was excessively rusted. On a full frame Ranchero like Andy has the huge crossmember under the engine is a fine lift point.
Thanks for the info^^^ Hillbilly.. That's what I was hoping.. I'll try that carefully on my rust free front cross member...
Even on a unit body, the engine crossmember is supposed to have enough strength to allow jacking the car, but I can see where jacking one with a larger, more weighty, engine could cause problems. I do recall, shops used to have dual-forked bay lifts for lifting one end of a car, and some even had capacities exceeding twenty tons. But if you're worried about the strength of the engine crossmember, place a 2X6 or 2X8 block, 12" long, between the saddle and crossmember. That will spread the lifting force across the crossmember.
Assumes there IS a cross member - Some 6 cylinder unibody Fords of that era don't have a cross member under the engine.
I remember my old '73... Dad threw a rod in the Windsor and put the jack under the frame rail to investigate, and began pumping. It went through the frame, it was rusted so bad. Went off to the boneyard the next day. Oops, sorry for the drift.
My '65 V8 doesn't have the crossmember under the engine either, as it has the factory exhaust crossover pipe there.
Wow. No wonder why these Cheros and wagons had so much flex! The other solution would be ramps, either bought or built. If you need to work on the front suspension, use the side-to-side method. So check for that crossmember!
Manual says to jack on the bumper...... Not sure i would tho. My 6 cylinder ranchero doesnt have an engine crossmember, tho the PO did sell me one with the truck.
I would recommend using the unibody 'frame' sections as the jacking points. You can also use a jack under the center of the rear differential to raise the rear. Always use jack stands of course.
