Rear differential as jack location?

[bassmun]

This may be a stupid question, but I would rather ask it before I do unnecessary damage do my car. Is it okay to jack up the rear end of my '69 Plymouth using the differential as the jacking location? I just want to get it up high enough so that I can put jack stands under the frame.

 

[Budnicks]

on the housing center it's fine, won't hurt anything, I do it all the time....

 

[BeastlyBirdie]

Yes.

 

[MarPar]

absotutely

 

[moparmarks]

I'm guessing that your using a floor jack in which the answer is yes as stated above. A bottle or scissor jack then no. Do one side at a time.

 

[red 69 runner]

Be sure to chock the front wheels.car will roll on the floor jack casters. My garage is sloped from the front to the door,cant tell with the naked eye but my car will roll by just putting it in neutral.

 

[J5 GTX]

Many years ago, there was information from Chrysler that said: Do not use the center of the rear axle housing as a jack point. The reason being that your were causing a bending stress through the axle housing that is not there when the vehicle is on the ground. (There was "shop knowledge" not to use the k-member as a central jack point, also.)
However, I was reading the owners manual for a 1981 Mirada and it stated that using the center of the axle housing was o.k.
Me personally, I do not use the axle housing as jack point.
(o.k., now you have Point-Counterpoint).

 

[bm02tj]

I work on the point if it is loaded to rated capacity NO do not jack in center
if empty no loaded it is ok

I have had shops go to lift my work van from center and I stop them

so better safe than sorry if worried lift from sides

 

[tallhair]

99.9% of kagillions of car guys working at home have done this kazillions of times each, me included on a regular basis. It will be OK. BTW I've jacked the K frame probably 3 or 4 times as often as the rear. Be careful of slippage with that though and put the car in neutral when raising to keep it from pulling itself off the jack then back in park when done, and use jack stands if getting under it from either end, unload the weight so it's on the jackstands, with the jack backed off until it's not the primary lifting force, but still locked in as a back up.

If you are on a slope re-read 69 Red runners comment.

 

[440+6]

Done it from center of axle and center of k frame so many times over the last 34 years that if it was a problem I would know by now.
Probably do it again tomorrow.

 

[64BEL]

Yup - me too. I've even jacked up my Ram from the rear pumpkin. Never had a problem.

 

[satman72]

Nope.! I don't use it as a jack point. It wasn't designed for it. Can you do it?... Yes. Should you do it? No. Look at it this way, 99 times out of 100 it's fine. When is that one time it's not fine going to happen? Is it the first time, the fifth, the twentieth, the ninety ninth?