This is a pretty basic question, but where are safe locations for jackstands on the 850?

I want to look at the back brakes but my jackstands are not flat on the top of the
support post , they are "V" shaped. All of the recommended lift areas I have found
are flat. I don't want to puncture or damage the bottom of the car and I don't want
it slipping around on the jackstands.

Thanks, John

 

Here's a link to where the jack points are on the 850:

http://volvospeed.com/Repair/jackingpoints.php

I usually put my jack where you see the yellow lifts and my stands under the subframe in the front. I have had trouble trying to figure out a good place to put the jackstand in the back though. Sounds like you might want to get some different jackstands if they are really "V" shaped. Mine do have points that stick up on the outside, but they seem to work fine.

 

Hello John,

I too had difficulty finding a place to position jack stands on the rear, as 850 uses strange-shaped transverse-control arm.

When I work on the rear end of the car, I usually lift on the factory-recommended jack point, which is on the sides of the car, about amid the front & rear doors where you see a cylinder shaped hook for the factory jack (the cheapo in the truck). I use hydraulic floor jack to lift the car, enough to get the rear wheel off the ground. I then stick something big & soft (truck tyre with wheels, etc...) enough to keep the car from hitting the ground, should floor jack fail suddenly. But so far I haven't had any situation where I had to hit something violently (ex: rusted ball joint bolt on the front) on the rear components, so the floor jack has worked good, but you still shouldn't rely 100% on it.

This method takes a bit more time to work on the rear, as you cannot lift both rear wheels simultaneously. But as you, I did not want to damage anything so this is the method I've been using. But other experts might know something better. Refer to Mr. JimKW's method as well, it seems a better way than mine.

Lastly, when you lift the car with floor jack, put a piece of wood/rubber, etc on the jack pad to avoid direct contact with the car, in order to avoid scratching/warping something.

Good luck and safety first.


JPN

 

NEVER NEVER WORK UNDER A CAR SUPPORTED BY A JACK OF ANY KIND!!!

When I was a teenager, a friend of mine was found with the transmission sitting on his chest, and it was still in the car. He had been there for a couple hours before they found him. He probably died a slow death because it crushed his chest. About the only thing I will do w/o a jackstand is change the tires, because I am not uder the car. I have had my hydraulic jack tip over when using the factory recommended lift point on the side of the car.

 

Thanks Jim and Mr JPN for your suggestions.

I have looked for information on jack stand placement, and found information
for the front of the car, but nothing for the rear. The standard support points for
lifting the car seem like the best place, but every jack stand I have found (including
Sears and the auto parts chains) have the "V" shaped or cupped bracket at the top
of the support shaft.

This doesn't seem like the best or safest way to support the car with the car's
weight concentrated on the ends of two small metal projections.

It looks to me like these jack stands were designed to go under the ends of the
differential on an older rear wheel drive car rather than under a flat surface.

I was just wondering how others had approached this problem, it's pretty
fundamental to working on these cars, and I'm sure that many people have
this same question when they are starting out.

I agree completely with doing things safely, even if you are only working
beside the car, a collapse could mean the loss of a hand or foot if they were
in the wrong place at that moment.


Thanks, John

 

You could put a piece of wood in between the jack an the car to distribute the weight.

is your jack a true v as in \/ or as in \_/?

 

Hello again John,

Mr. JimKW is absolutely right. I always put something under the car that is big enough to keep the car from hitting me in case if the floor jack should slip or quits. I'm sorry if my method was misleading.

Top-notch technicians always prioritize safety, it's the mundane macho types that take safety for granted and regret afterwards.

Also, don't forget to use wheel chocks. Put the shifter in "P" or 1st, and apply parking brake fully, and use chocks.

Rear brakes on 850 is straightforward, but it's nice to have a pin punch & a hammer to drive out the retainer pins. If you want to change the rear pads/rotors, make sure to change the hardware (retainer spring & pins and caliper bolts) as well. Additionally, you'll need a big C-clamp or 10WR vise grip to push the piston back to get enough clearance to install new pads. Whatever you do on the brakes, it's a good idea to replace brake fluid. Also, have a can of brake cleaner spray and silicone-based brake-quiet grease or molybdenum-based grease such as cv-joint grease to put on every metal-to-metal contact areas EXCEPT the friction surfaces.

Good luck and safety first!


JPN

 

Hi Info2x and Mr JPN, thanks for your help.

My jack stands have a \/ shape at the top, not the \_/ shape. I could buy a set
with the second shape if I can find it. Most of the jack stands I have found
have a circular cupped casting at the top that looks like they are designed to hold a
cylindrical axle.
I think you are right, maybe a piece of 2x4 with holes drilled to accept the raised
ears on the jack stand would work. I'm just surprised that no one seems to make
an inexpensive jack stand with a flat support at the top for modern cars.

Also no one seems to know if there is a place on the rear axles where the cupped
type could be used safely.
I'm not being critical of the people on this forum when I say this. This is a
common question on other automotive forums as well. It looks like a kind of
gray area where everyone has to find their own solution and no one is really
quite sure what the best answer is.

Maybe I'm also making a big deal out of nothing. I just like to know that
when I'm supporting thousands of pounds (and thousands of dollars) on one
little bit of metal that I'm doing it safely.

And thanks Mr JPN for your helpful advice. When I get to the brakes I'm
sure I will have many questions for you.

Thanks, John

 

Jacking Stand Points

 

Hello John,

I agree with you that there seems to be no definite answer as to where to put the jack stands on the rear of 850. My jack stands are probably identical to yours, they're Craftsman Professional 3-1/2 ton/7,000 lb capacity (P/N: 950157). They were cheap ($20), as they were made in xxxxx. But so far they've been holding up ok, a similar Snap-on pairs are ridiculously overpriced. I decided to go with extra capacity, as Volvo's are heavy and the stands with less capacity looked small & fragile.

As a last resort, though not recommended, you could use the cheapo jack in the trunk to lift the car on the side hook, then use another floor jack just to let it touch wherever looks strong enough to hold the car. It is unlikely that 2 jacks fail at the same time, if you use 3, it would be even safer and like I do, you could put something big under the car to prevent the car from hitting you should jacks fail, and I always expect them to fail, though so far they haven't. I know it's a pain and takes more time, but when I do the rear end job, I do them one side at a time. After the car is jacked up, try to shake the car to see if there's any movement/looseness.

As to the brake job, before starting I have a few suggestions. As for the rotors & pads, as well as all other parts, try to go with OEM, you don't want to save money on parts for Volvo, as cheap parts may fail prematurely or don't give you the performance you'd expect. I installed Brembo rotors (disappointingly, they weren't made in Italy) and Roulands-Dan Block pads for the rear (Textar pads for the fronts). I also replaced the hardware with Scan-tech of Sweden. Haynes' manual says you must replace the caliper bolts whenever removed, so I did use new bolts but I am not sure if this is an absolute necessity, but since they're cheap, it is not a bad idea to put new bolts (the new bolts came with red paint on the threads, perhaps some sort of thread locker). Have a torque wrench handy too.

I gave up on replacing the flex hoses, as the access is extremely limited and the union nuts were absolutely frozen, they stripped even with flare-nut wrenches. If you see superficial cracks on the hoses, they should be good for another few years until they really fail and leak fluid. As for the fluid, I used ATE's Blue Racing DOT-4. I bought all these parts from FCP Groton and I also bought a pressure bleeder from them as well (Motive Products' European Bleeder, for $50). The bleeder is made in the USA and seems to work ok, and the blue-tinted fluid gives you a clear indication that the old fluid has been forced out of the system. Anyway, brake job on 850's is straightforward, please let me know if I can be of any help, and other experts should also be able to give you good hints & tricks I don't know about.

PS: To remove the rotors, remove the wheel locator pins with 10mm deep socket, and drive out the rotors with a soft-faced hammer.

Happy Holidays,


JPN

 

Sears typically has a good selection of jack stands, that's where I picked up mine. I'm sure with all of the Christmas sales and after Christmas sales you could get a nice set or two for a good price.

 

Hello Mr. Info2x,

I usually buy Craftsman tools for my 2nd sets and they are excellent tools for the price. However, I usually try to find Craftsman tools that are made in USA/Canada, rather than, well, you know. (Even though I am originally from Japan, I am a conservative redneck when it comes to industrial products).

FYI, before buying something big (floor jack, etc...) it may help to go on their web page and read customer review. I remember that there was a floor jack that had terrible reputation and it was indeed cheap and made in...... I just found it in the catalog, it's Craftsman Professional 3-ton Speedy-Lift Floor Jack (P/N: 0950143), for $70. I read the customer review and people were flabbergasted with its poor quality.

The jack stands I bought seem good enough, though. But if I were to buy a floor jack, I would spend more than just $70. I am interested in aluminum floor jack, and I wonder if anyone has tried it. If it's made of aircraft-type aluminum alloy, it should be robust but if not then....

Happy Holidays,


JPN

 

Oh I agree with you about buying American products instead of stuff from china (OMG I said it! ). I was actually kind of surprised that the jack and stands I bought from craftsman were made there. I considered going someplace else, but I needed a jack and stands ASAP to do my tie rods so I bought one of their combos for $50 (it was on sale I think).

Jack: 2 1/4 ton PN-50138
Stands: 2 1/4 ton PN-50176

The stands look kind of wimpy, but the calculations I ran check out with a safety zone so I'm happy. If I do plan on being under the vehicle for extended periods of time I do place a few chunks of wood for extra bracing.

 

Thank you Rob for the lift placement link, and hello Mr JPN and info2x.

I will have to go look underneath my car and identify the point shown in the
photo. Thanks for the information from all of you.

I've had good experiences with Craftsman products. All of the lower priced
consumer grade jackstands that I've seen are made in ***. That includes a
GM Goodwrench set at Wal Mart and all of the ones I've seen at the local auto
parts chains.
If I buy another set I will buy from a large company like Sears. At least I hope
a company like Sears will test some units from each shipment to prevent lawsuits
and loss of their reputation.

I usually also check Epinions before I buy things, but are there any other websites
that would give information on jacks and jackstands?


John

 

Hello again John,

For Craftsman products, go to their web page, click on each product and then click on "REVIEW". For example, the floor jack I mentioned earlier can be found at:

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...seBVCookie=Yes

Click on the "REVIEW" and you'll see people are frustrated with this cheapo. I don't think you'll find a decent floor jack for less than $150 or so. My Craftsman Professional jack stands are ok so far, but I would never use them at the max capacity (3.5 ton). I wouldn't even exceed 2.5 ton on these. By the way, a similar pair of Snap-on jack stands are about $120, and you don't want to look at the price on Snap-on's floor jacks, they exceed $600. Snap-on's are overpriced (though I still buy them once a while), and these days Craftsman tools made in North America are quickly catching up with Snap-on's quality, though durability still seems to be better on Snap-on. I only wish Sears at least designated Craftsman Professional series as strictly made in the USA.

It is a shame that many top-brand companies are moving manufacturing facilities to overseas only for cheap labour. I'm a strong believer of "You get what you pay for", and this applies to human resources as well. I work at O'Hare airport as aircraft mechanic, and the low-paid cargo handlers/fuellers are extremely reckless and careless, have no pride in their work but they make sure to blame everything on others, except for a very few of them with good workmanship.

Anyway, good luck on the rear brake job and be safe!


JPN

 

Hello JPN,

I went to look at the review that you listed. That is scary. I'm
surprised that Sears wasn't more careful on that product.
I wonder if the Consumer Product Safety Commission has any
complaints on jacks from various manufacturers.
There is another account of the dangers of some of the imported
floor jacks at this website
http://www.hyjacks.com/story/htm.
(I don't know anything about this company so this is not an endorsement of the company or it's products).
I agree with you completely. I have seen a lot of imported junk
including products where the claims and specifications are just
outright lies. There are a bunch of inexpensive imported computer power supplies that are outlawed in at least one country because
they present significant shock and fire hazards to the user.
When I am underneath a car I'm not sure that I want to trust my
life to some importers 2 ton safety specification. I followed your
example and bought the Sears 3.5 ton jackstands. I would have
purchased the 6 ton units, but I wasn't sure I could jack my car up
high enough to get them underneath.
You have a job that carries a lot of responsibility. No wonder you
are so conscious of safety. Do you work on jet aircraft?
I work as an electronic engineer for a company that designs
medical diagnostic equipment. Fortunately the people I work
with are very dedicated to the highest quality in their work.
I am a beginner when it comes to these cars so I'm gonna
have a lot of questions....

Sorry, the preview function is not working with my browser so
I hope the spacing on this doesn't come out too strange.

Best wishes, John

 

Hello John,

Yes, I work on transport category jet airplanes, such as 747-400, 747-200 freighter, 767, 777, A330 and A340. I work on the ramp, which is called line maintenance and this is not what I ultimately wanted to do, as this does not require much tools to use and there is not much technical tasks involved either, as I work for a very small company that does contract maintenance from major airlines.

Even though my tasks are mundane, such as adding oil, repairing minor defects on cabin items, adding hydraulic fluid,charging nitrogen to the tires, visually inspecting the exterior, Itake pride in every small job I do and take them seriously. A medical doctor can kill one person or two at most by mistake, but if we screw up big time, there goes 300 passengers or more. I am a safety phobia, and the last thing I want to see is the plane going down, or someone getting hurt during maintenance procedure.

However, we humans all make mistakes, and I do not believe in "being careful" alone. Of course, one must be careful, but some people still do make mistakes even when being careful, including myself, so instead of yelling at someone or getting yelled at, I personally feel that there should be more Murphy-proof designs on any type of transportation.

As to the jack stands, they seem ok to use on 850 or other passenger cars, but I wouldn't feel safe to use them on SUV's. On the other hand, I used them on 1994 Ford F-150 and they were ok with this truck too, but I always expect them to fail, so I use fail-safedevices such as wheel chocks, large objects to catch the vehicle from hitting me or the ground should those jack stands fail.

With your expertise in electronics/electronic control systems in medical diagnostic equipment, Volvo's control systemsshould not be nightmare.

I hope you make sure to read the instructions that came with the jack stands, and if you find even the smallest defects with them, return them to exchange with another pair.

Happy Holidays,


JPN

 

Hello JPN,

I tried the jack stands and they worked fine as far as I can
tell. I found a raised area on the "frame" in front of the rear
suspension. Nothing on the car seemed to crush so I guess
it was ok.
Yes we also worry about everything we do and I make sure
everything I've done is checked by at least one other person.
It's reassuring to know that people with your concerns for
safety are working on the critical areas of the aircraft.
Hydraulics,oil,and the aircraft exterior are critical also.
I don't know anything about the electronics in these cars,
that area is for people like tech. I have some questions about
the brakes and other things but I will start new posts for those
so they will show for others that may be searching for the same
answers.

Best holiday wishes, John

 

Hello John,

Glad you've found a jacking point for the rear.

I'm sure people on this board will help you with other questions. I'll be looking forward to your next question.

Best wishes,


JPN

 

Pictures would help for the ultimate noob for volvos.