Do you jack from the pumpkin?

ttocs

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I know I have seen people do it and I can't help but think that its a hell of a lot of stress on the joints there in the middle as the force goes out to the end of the axles. Is it safe to do this?
 

apsmith49921

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I do it. Being cast it's fairly strong as is. Make sure you use your jack properly. Mine has cut outs on the spinny thing to allow a space to place the diff cover with out crushing it.

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RAU03MACH

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I have jack them up by the center diff for years , even my pickups ,
when I was at ford and hertz rental , we would jack them up by the center diff ,
our new shop did not have the car lifts in for a while and jack stands and jacks all we had
 
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ttocs

ttocs

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when I was at ford and hertz rental , we would jack them up by the center diff ,
our new shop did not have the car lifts in for a while and jack stands and jacks all we had
lol am I really supposed to base a good idea on how a rental was treated by either an employee or the renter? I get it that they are strong but I can't help but wonder if they were designed to really do this. If there was a way to do from either side of the axle then I would see no problem but again from the center that is a lot of force being exerted right there at the pumpkin.
 

RAU03MACH

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if your on the center your picking up the whole axel every thing else just fallows
 
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ttocs

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if your on the center your picking up the whole axel every thing else just fallows
it sounds that simple but but now remember that you are lifting it 2.5 ft away from where that load is transfered on each side. Imagine if you had a stick 2.5 ft long and tried to life the car with it with no fulcrum to make a lever with it. You are going to need one hell of a grip and a very strong wrist and I just can't think they designed the pumpkin with this idea in mind or it seems to me they would have included instructions on how to do it. I can't help but think that it would only need to be out of true a little bit before there could be issues if there were. I know its become acceptable but I am curious if anyone has ever had any axle issues after they have been doing it.
 

Werecow

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There's no issues with jacking one up by the diff, just be careful if where you place the jack. You don't wanna catch the lip of the diff cover and bend/warp it possibly causing leaks that can be a pita to try and stop after said cover is bent/warped and would need replacement...
 

dwcopple

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Exactly ^^^. Just jack and get stands on the torque boxes or axle tubes and drop it gently
 

Connie

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I do the Differential jack up, and use a small piece of Pre-treated 2x4 on it. For more lift and to keep from damaging anything. Then I use Jack Stands for safety, and different support options, if I wish to go and raise or lower the suspension for different reasons.
 

evilcw311

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For the irs guys a lot of times it’s the best way to get the rear off the ground. Plus we don’t have to worry about stress on the u joints being put under stress.

But I know, this wasn’t a question about the irs cars. [emoji38]


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95opal

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If your axles are going to bend from jacking the pumpkin then i suggest not launching it on the street causee you may break one of them flimsy axles or bend the tubes.....which is actually very common to see on a stang thats been driven hard. Id say a good amount of peeps are running around with bent tubes and don't even realize it. Lol
 

Daryl

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Yes, pumpkin lift. Same combo as the rest: slots of the jack cradle aligned so don’t crush the cover and sets firmly; jack stands on axle tubes to support; with microfiber towel at each of the three touch points. Been doing it that way for 40 years. Never a problem with the pumpkin whatsoever.
 

mcglsr2

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Yep, sure works better with a GT500 diff cover, not the stamped steel one that bends from jacking up on it......

I just recent replaced my stock cover - you can totes jack up on the pumpkin with the stock cover. That's what the hockey pucks are for. It allows the jack to be placed on the actual pumpkin housing and not touch that bottom dangly bit on the cover. If you use something larger like the jack pad itself or a piece of wood, guaranteed you will bend the bottom of the cover.

The hockey pucks allow for precise jack placement :)
 

RAU03MACH

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Believe it or not that stock cover is pretty tough try straighten one out
I have had many jacks on the cover and diff no problems
it really is hard to fuck one up
 

MustangChris

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No I don't. Duffy told me that it could cause damage to the diffy cover. I blew him off (no pun intended) and ignored his advise. I bought the Ford Service Manual and it clearly backed up his claims (page 00-02-2) and I stopped using the diffy moving forward.
 

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