Almost all repairs on my E39, till now, I could do with the car on ramps (don't know if this is smart or not, but jack stands make me sweat bullets). Now with it aging, and a fresh new E28 in the stable, I guess I do need to get the jack stands eventually - with one caveat, I really hate the thought of putting the common saddle shaped stand into E39 sockets (and E28 sockets, too). I have a woodworking workshop, so I guess manufacturing right custom pads won't be a problem, but there are still two outsanding issues - - What material can I use for the pad so I can be sure it won't crack under pressure? Exact spec would be appreciated; - What jack stand offers a flat top that pads can be mounted on top of? So far, the only one (or just about the only one) I found is this: http://www.alltiresupply.com/p-3000NFP.html Kinda expensive for a jack stand, and I'm not even sure if anything can be mounted to that flat top, other than laid over... I'd rather have something I could bolt a pad to. Thanks in advance, --vt PS: Oh, and has there been consensus on how to jack the rear of E39, eventually - is the diff still the jacking point? PPS: while doing homework on this, found threads about jacks, saw "Torin", remembered my experience with it, decided to chip in my $0.02: http://tinyurl.com/d26ld6
My solution I cut a small block of hardwood (oak) that fits inside the hollow of the jacking points that works okay with the jack stands. I also do worry about them however. I'm also looking for the rear jacking point. I've been told that the diff is not a safe jacking point???
