When I did my first oil change, I realized the slight hassle that these square jack points can cause. Many people say to use a block of wood, but I just don't trust it as much since wood strength can be somewhat arbitrary, and arbitrary isn't good enough for me when I'm underneath a car that can crush me.

...plus I don't really like the idea of using a cheap block of wood on my AMG Mercedes

Online you can find flat adapters that will fit into the car's rubber blocks, but the adapters have flat bottoms, and I just don't like the idea of having the possibility of the car slide on me when lifting (regardless if you have the ebrake up, block the tires, etc).

So, being the mechanical engineer that I am, I decided to take matters into my own hands and make myself some new jack pads, that would not only would lift the car safely, but wouldn't let it slip off either. Some nicely machined lightweight aluminum should do the trick. Last would be to make it as height limited as possible, so they'd clear the front bumper and side skirts when pushing the jack under without needing to drive the car up on blocks.

I have my trusty Craftsman jack and jackstand set; this is probably the cheapest one you can buy at Sears. It might not be the nicest or most fancy lightweight low profile aluminum jack, but it's been damn reliable for me, the thing that's most important to me.

On with the pictures:

The culprit


The jack set


The adapters (only one of two jackstand adapters pictured here). The middle piece can permanently stay on the jack with the original jack's shaft and circlip. The left piece goes into the middle piece when lifting the side of the car. This way you don't have to uninstall your semi-permanent middle piece when lifting the side of the car.



Jackstand adapter (no slipoff left to right or front to back)


Jack adapter for front axle use, locked into the original jack cup


Jack underneath the front of the car (with front bumper clearance) and front/rear edges for extra safety


Jack adapter with additional side adapters, showing sideskirt clearance


Lifting the side of the car



I'm now satisfied that my next oil change (this weekend actually), I'll be able to do it confidently and more pain free. I hope you enjoyed the pix

 

wow, good job!
if you decide to make more of these, i would be interested in buying a set!

 

very nice, i would use these too if my car wasnt so low.

 

count me in for a set aswell if you make more

 

very cool.....

 

Looks good for those with a small lifting pad on the jack. The jack I use has a much larger lift point that completely covers the lifting points on the C32 so no worries about slipping off.

 

Thanks the kind words guys.

For those of you interested in a set, I have no clue what the price would be because I had these made at same time with other parts by a machine shop I use. If there's a few people interested, ordering a bunch of these would drive down the price. So I can ask the machine shop on Tuesday to get a starting point, and then you can decide if its reasonable.

And as you know, these are custom to fit my exact jack and jackstands. If Craftsman even slightly changed their design over the years, or if you have a different jack, they might not work or they might work, but in a different way than I originally designed. This is ok as well - it's your business however you deicde to use these

I will PM you two; others interested can PM me as well.

 

And zeppelin you're right about the small lifting pads. I've seen that many of the larger/flatter/aluminum jacks come with wide lifting pads.

 

Did you ever make these? What model car do they work with? 2011 E550 4Matic here.

 

Wow this thread is old lol I remember writing it...

Anyway, no sorry I did not make these (in a production sense); I also do not know if they would fit your 2011 E550.

Best of luck

 

Honestly these are amazing. I want a set for my c55. It wouldn't be able idea to contact a machinest and inquire for a small production run and see if you can get some members on here to preorder. You could count me in, I hate destroying the rubber mounts. And I've had my front jack point slip before which made me change my shorts.
Not sure if they would fit my 3ton jack though, would have to figure out how the stock pad is mounted

 

This is the same darn reason I have not changed my flex disc as yet. I had them inspected though and the man with the experience and lift told me they still good to go for another 50 or 100 thousand. He said he saw worse but mine only has cracks. None the less I have a bar of aluminium which I need to customize to make these. You still have them with you? Measurements of the parts if possible pls?
I have decided to remove the rubber cup under the sides of the car the measure what I need to make them. As for the front though I never even saw mine as yet

 

I have dimensioned prints I made for whoever wants them. Just send me your email via PM.

 

Pm sent, I'd like to see if I can get at least one or two of these made at my work.

 

Sent emails to both of you

 

How it is that we are supposed to jack the car up (rear) to that we can get jack stands in the lift point holes? Can you put the jack in the center of the frame - there is a flat spot in the center near the differential.

I have use some wood and the spot mentioned above... I have a vibration I am trying to figure out and not sure if this is a good spot to be lifting it so I can get the jack stands into the side rear lift points. Thoughts?

Love the aluminum jack stand adapters... can you post the plans or details we'd need to have some made? How much did it cost to have the machined? Thanks for the pics. Good stuff.

 

Thanks a lot Viper. I really appreciated it.
People use a piece or thick plank of wood under the differential cooler and jack the vehicle up.

 

I prefer to use a flat block of pressure treated wood under the Diff.
Using the diff is pretty common practice *for lighter cars. Just DO NOT do it if the car is on an uneven surface. Do so on flat level ground only

 

Hmm...I later made another adapter (not pictured) that's round and goes under the stamped spring perch post on the rear lower control arms (underneath the plastic shroud). I wasn't going to damage the diff cooler

 

 

Wow. Eleven bucks. I remember machining those out of Delrin back in 2004...