I was going to change to summer tires this evening. To save time i decided to jack both front wheels up at the same time, so i placed the jack under the oil pan. I've done this many times on my fathers 940. Started jacking and thought engine moved a bit much, but front wheels was almost off the ground so i jacked some more. What do you think happened? SNAP... both engine mounts ripped apart, guess that 22 year old rubber wasn't so strong.... had to go get some new mounts and replace the. Talk about time saving....

81 244 B19A 106K

So do you mean the snow tires were on the front? Its a rear driver. Maybe you use snowies on all four? If you have them on the front only, I understand now.

well it is not a joke just a very stupid mistake. I have done it a lot on my fathers 940. I thought the reason for nut using the oil pan was because danger of destructing it, not braking motor mounts. Anyway i've got to replace the motor mounts and they had seen better days. I usually dont make stupid mistake like this, should have known when engine was lifting 15 cm and car was still on ground....

Please don't try that again and especially on Dads 940. THOSE mounts are ALOT more expensive and yes, he'll be upset. The solid metal crossmember just before the oil pan (front of pan) works great but don't hoist up on the plastic protecting plate in front of that either as it'll break too.

As for your car, I'm sure it was overdue for new mounts anyway. Most don't last 22 yrs.

a LOT of things can go wrong with using the oil pan as your lift point, depending on what decides to break.
--
Kenric Tam
1990 Volvo 740 base sedan (B230F)
My Volvo 'Project'

did you get tires off

That's nothing compared to what this guy did.

-Greg

That one has been played over and over....justahoax.
--
http://www.fidalgo.net/~brook4/oilslubesfilters.html

This HAS to be a hoax... I mean, Honda guys are dumb, but I really wouldn't expect anyone who drives a $40,000+ car to take advice from one or be this stupid. This has to be a joke. A late April Fools Day gag, perhaps?

First lesson is to break the lugnuts with the wheels on the ground. Using the tires grip on the ground is a hell of a lot easier than trying to keep a wheel from turning when a wrench is applied to the lugnuts. Easier on the tranny and motor mounts as they will not be subject to forces for which they are not designed to take. But the 22 years of use didn't help the mounts either. Easier on the pawl in the transmission for park.
Second, it's easy to say something won't/can't happen if we can not see the situation first hand. It took a few minutes to get it straight myself and yes, it IS possible.
Third, as someone else suggested, a trip to the shop can sometimes be a better buy than doing the work yourself. Sometimes........

--
There are no stupid questions only those that are not asked.

...NEW engine mounts.

Bcrazy
You have heard a lot of what not to do here. The concept of lifting one end of your car to access two wheels at once is good. The car has jack points located on four corners of the vehicle. These points are attached to a frame ( of sorts).the frame also has a crossmember under the engine.

When at all possable use the jack points. If you cant use them, use the frame. If that doesent work use something attached to the frame whith solid mounts (ie not rubber) such as the crossmember under the engine. If that does not meet your requirement, you can jack the car on its suspension parts. (DISCLAIMER) The suspension parts on the car are strong support, after all the car rides on them. BUT THEY WILL MOVE making them an UNSTABLE point to put a jack. To jack the rear of the car up many put the jack under the differential ( pumpkin, big round thing, etc..)on the rear axle. If you lift the car here any movements it has on ground will still occure such as bouncing and leaning. Be verycarefull if you do this as INJURY or Death can happen. And ALLWAYS support the car on jackstands.
Do not jack car on anything that looks like sheetmetal such as oilpans (engine and transmission) or any of the body.
Good luck and be carefull.

Joe
P.S dont tell your dad you did this to his car;)

Come clean, bcrazy, made up story? If it isn't I thank you for giving us all this account of your foible.
I don't think I would try to lift the front of my car with 2 pieces of old rubber.
--
Al Hagenberger '84 245 309K, '87 744 171K

"I don't think I would try to lift the front of my car with 2 pieces of old rubber" Could happen to anybody. Takes a special type of person to share the experience. Thank you.

floor jack, 6" piece of 2x4, all placed under front cross member works real swell for me. If you need to jack up the engine, build a little cradle under the crank shaft to jack on, and don't try to lift the car with it. Just the engine for things like changing mounts or oil pan removal.
On the other hand, thanks for sharing one of your not to proud moments with us. Others do learn from things like this. So...sorry to hear about your misfortune, but hopefully this will re-enforce the concept for others. Contribution noted.

This is why, the Chevrolet Cavalier has a sign under the hood that reads:

"DANGER! Never jack car using oil pan."

(The verbiage might be slightly off but it has the warning sticker all the same).

Did ANYONE have to be told this? I bet the firewall on that 240 has a huge dent. Or maybe the hood has a nice 'outie' distortion.

I personally think this is a joke. This HAS TO BE a joke. Kind of funny. One guy ACTUALLY did this though, and it wasn't too funny. Remember the guy who was threatening to sue everyone involved because he dented the oil pan on his car?

Just look at this post. 22 year old engine mounts. Jacking the car under the oil pan. What's next? Probably blows away drag cars on the 1/4 mile and won Paris-Dakar three times...

THe next subject is: "Things that scare me about buying a used car."


--
Chris Herbst, near Chicago.

never, EVER jack up your car by the oil pan. and if you're replacing a tranny mount, don't ever jack it up by the tranny fluid pan either!
--
Kenric Tam
1990 Volvo 740 base sedan (B230F)
My Volvo 'Project'

You jacked your car up by the oil pan?

Please don't say that you read it here...as the ringleator says: Why not used the tried and true crossmember?

Please don't sue my ass. I never told you how to jack your car up, so my ass is covered. End of liability statement.
--
www.fidalgo.net/~brook4

If he had taken the battery out first, the car body would have been lighter and the mounts might have held.

Why not just use the front frame member for the jack support?