Are there any central points for getting two wheels off the ground at the same time? I don't see that working for the front without taking off the under tray, but on the back and sides? I've used the pumpkin on my last car for jacking the rear.

 

Jack up, put on axle stand (jack stand), move to other side & repeat.

 

Wow, why didn't I think of jacking the car up four times to get all the wheels up in the air???? Just wondering if there's a way for jacking two wheels at a time with a floor jack (yes, I will use jack stands once the car is up).

 

That's how I've been doing it for 11 years!

The simple answer to your question is "no", there isn't, unless you have a lift. I have frequently jacked the front side high enough to get both wheels on one side up, and then used stands on that side at one time. But there is no place on the subframe strong enough to lift just one end.

 

For the record, the Dealer Training Manual specifically warns against doing this to avoid flexing the monocoque, which is constructed of aluminum panels joined together with adhesives (some joints are also riveted, but not all). IIRC, the manual says to use two jacks to raise both corners of an end or side simultaneously, which is the practice I've adopted.

Cheers,

Don

 

True.
Though in practice (when alone) you need to raise each side a little and change sides until the two jacks allow putting the stands.
Not a very practical way.
On older Jags, it was possible to lift the front end using a jack under the front frame...

 

This is correct Don. 2 jacks, one on either side, raised incrementally, then stands placed for safety.

 

First, good to see you posting again Don!

Ultimately I invested in a lift as I never felt safe under the X350 with jack stands, but prior to that I went with this using a low profile floor jack. It allowed me to lift one side, put it on stands, then the other without fear to twisting the frame. There are still risks of damaging the pinch welds using this method but that has more to do with using the correct jack stand for the car than anything

Weird that I felt that way. I could lift and stand my old 86 VDP's in under 5 minutes. I took 30 minutes with the SV8 and still....
Just me perhaps but the stand points are too puny for my comfort.

 

That's an awesome justification for a lift "Honey, need to buy a lift to rotate the tires on the car."


I guess for now I'll try to find a dual point adapter, like the one you have in the picture, to go on my floor jack.

 

Understood completely...but I have had the car in 3 accidents and also have been jacking this way for every tire rotation for the 11 years I've had the car. After each accident I made the insurance pay for a frame machine to check the body alignment. The results? My body is still spot on!

I have been told by several body shops that our XJ's are incredibly strong. Being the first all aluminum body, Jag went above and beyond to make sure it is strong and rigid. If it had had problems, it would have thrown aluminum body technology back decades.

If I had room for 2 floor jacks to sit around, I would pony up for a full lift. Until then...I'll continue to jack a side at a time!

 

ok a strange response to someone who's trying to help you. I'll assume you were just pulling my leg and not insulting me

You can find the tool @ harbor freight for under $50

 

I have in the past lifted at one point, trying to keep the lift as low as possible.
Having said that, in the more recent past I too have adopted the 2 jack method usually raising either the whole front or the whole rear of the car in tandem.


More often than not depending on what's being done, length of time required and availability, I'll pay Connor a visit at his work and use the lift
Jim

 

there are quite a few DIY service bays that are well equipped here in the States. Those can be an option too.

 

Hi cjd,

The Owners Manual does allow for jacking at one corner to change a flat tire, but specifically instructs to "Stop jacking the vehicle when the tyre
just clears the ground." (Section 6-10) Surely the Jaguar engineers expected emergency jacking to be a rare event, yet they still advised to raise the car only until the tire clears the ground.

The Dealer Training Manual states, "If the vehicle is to be lifted using floor jacks, two jacks must be used to raise either the front or rear of the vehicle. If one jack only is used, excessive body twist may occur." (Section 1 Page 7)

Of course the engineers at Jaguar designed the monocoque to be very strong, with the help of engineers at its aluminum component suppliers, which include Novelis (raw sheet & pressed panels), Alcoa (castings), Henrob (rivets), Alcan & Henkel (adhesives), SAPA (cantrails), Grupo Antolin (pillars), J L French (castings), Whitson Industries (tooling) and others. But the engineers were also aware of the limitations of the technology. Since an X350 doesn't have a frame, per se, Jaguar is not concerned that you are going to bend the monocoque out of alignment by jacking at one corner only.

Instead, Jaguar is probably concerned that seams or joints between aluminum pressings, castings and extrusions that are joined together with rivets and aerospace adhesives, or adhesives alone, may be stressed beyond their design limits. Many of these joints are concealed in places we will never see under normal circumstances, not even after our cars have been in three accidents...

Also, Jaguar must be concerned about bending due to the unique characteristics of aluminum. Steel is more resilient and has a "memory" to return to its original postion after it is bent. But when aluminum is bent, it does not naturally want to return all the way to its original position, and even more concerning, bending, even just from being formed at the factory, causes aluminum to become "work hardened," a condition that makes it more brittle and prone to cracking. And the body panels are "bake hardened" to reduce their vulnerability to low-force dents, but at an increased risk of cracking if bent.

I'd love to have a lift too, but there really is no comparison between the space occupied by even the smallest lift and two ordinary floor jacks. My main aluminum floor jack was $70 and the smaller one was $30, both from Harbor Freight. The small jack rolls completely under a bench, as does most of the length of the low-profile jack, so very little incremental floor space is required.

You have every right to jack your car any way you want (pun intended), but for owners like me who intend to keep their X350 for the long term, it seems prudent to trust the cautions of the Jaguar engineers rather than the musings of local body shop personnel or even my own fairly well-informed opinions.

My two cents!

Cheers,

Don

 

No insult or leg pulling intended at all. Just saying I'm going to use the XJ aluminum frame as another reason why I need a lift. I don't have the headroom for a full lift, but a short stroke lift that gets the doorsills about waist high would be great!

 

I never noticed that detail.
Your remarks on aluminum and bondings look very sound.
On my previous X350, I used to swap wheels (winter/summer) using only one floor jack. I discovered recently the recommendations to lift all the front (or the back) at the same time.
I have now purchased a second floor jack as well as a bar to put on my new low profile jack, but fixing it requires some adaptation of the pad.

 

yeah a few tough days in the office have me a bit thin skinned. my bad.

I bought the MR6K- 38 mid-rise lift. It can easily handle the x350.

 

Unless I need to do something with the wheel off on the front, I'll use drive on ramps for the front, then use a couple of smaller floor jacks to raise the rear and place stands. I picked up a replacement rubber mud-flap for a semi-trailer at the local truck stop and cut it in 6"x6" squares and use them for support pads. They work excellent.

 

That may be just for the obvious safety reasons. The higher you go the more likely it is to fall off the vehicle jack.

Besides, it's quite hard work so why would you keep raising it higher...

 

Good luck...I have not found drive ons that will clear the low air dam.

Don...I have kept my car for 11 years, and have no intention of selling it in the next 11. I assure you all my seams will be just fine! You will also note that the balance point for the jag is within inches of the front jack points, so there is very little twist placed on the body from that point. The manual was written by engineers who were developing a body using techniques that were new to the industry and they were really not sure if it was going to work long term. I know from experience that the design and bonds are working just fine.

Something to think about...when I jack from one point, the suspension floats the other 3 points of the car, so the twist is buffered. When you jack using 2 jacks, you are using 2 hard points, and since they cannot be jacked absolutely evenly, the hard point, uneven jacking puts as much stress on the body as my way. You see, I went through this thought process 11 years ago, and decided to jack the way I have been jacking that long ago. As I said...I have had the car on the frame machine multiple times, and taken multiple hits from jackasses running red lights...and my car is just fine.

Take it or leave it...I just provide the information to be used or ignored.