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Wed Nov 17, 2021 10:22 am

I am trying to figure out where to jack the entire rear end on my 1976 bug. I have searched and found the diagram of the jack points for the bug, which I will be using for my jack stand locations, but I am having a hard time determining where to place my hydraulic jack to lift of the entire back end to place the jacks. I have references that say to jack it under the transmission (NOT the engine) then lower onto the stands. But I am a newbie (have not done this before), and the rear tires are completely flat, will not hold air at all, so the rear end is SUPER low to the ground and I cannot visualize where the jack needs to be. Can someone help me out? I have pics below with my thoughts on where I should place the jack, but would love confirmation (or correction). Many thanks ahead of time!

Wed Nov 17, 2021 10:25 am

I like to get a piece of 4x4 wood and lift the rear under the crossmember that is at the back of the transaxle and front of the engine. (rear of your arrow) I like to put the jack stands under the rear torsion tube just inboard from the end casting.

Wed Nov 17, 2021 10:34 am

Matt Wilson wrote: I like to get a piece of 4x4 wood and lift the rear under the crossmember that is at the back of the transaxle and front of the engine. (rear of your arrow) I like to put the jack stands under the rear torsion tube just inboard from the end casting.

X2!
Do not jack up the tranny directly; you may break rubber mounts and screw with the shift rod coupler.

Wed Nov 17, 2021 11:48 am

KTPhil wrote: Matt Wilson wrote: I like to get a piece of 4x4 wood and lift the rear under the crossmember that is at the back of the transaxle and front of the engine. (rear of your arrow) I like to put the jack stands under the rear torsion tube just inboard from the end casting.

X2!
Do not jack up the tranny directly; you may break rubber mounts and screw with the shift rod coupler.

So are you taking about here? (red arrow)

Wed Nov 17, 2021 2:01 pm

My preferred location for jacking up entire back end of car is just forward of the front transmission mount, i.e. more-or-less in line with the rear suspension's torsion spring tubes. A short section of 4x4 placed on your jack pad can be used to bridge the frame forks at that location:

leeezrd wrote: Matt Wilson wrote: I like to get a piece of 4x4 wood and lift the rear under the crossmember that is at the back of the transaxle and front of the engine.
So are you taking about here? (red arrow)

If you decide to jack at that red arrow location, make sure you use a piece wood or similar (like Matt Wilson noted above) strong enough to support entire length of that cross member, otherwise likely you could bend it...

Wed Nov 17, 2021 2:20 pm

Yes, the red arrow. Also the method described above would work. You just don't really want to put a jack under the engine or transaxle, as it puts the mounts in tension and can damage them.

Wed Nov 17, 2021 6:38 pm

Jack & support on the frame horns or rear torsion tubes.
If you have only one bottle jack then putting a 4x4 across seems like a good idea although I'm not enough an expert on dead trees to say if that's strong enough. a steel 1.75 or 2x2 square tube would be fine if 12 gauge or heavier

The trans hanger is not really strong enough.
If you beef up the trans hanger to be about 2x stronger you can tho.
i do highly recommend that modification although it's getting off topic.

Wed Nov 17, 2021 8:20 pm

baldessariclan wrote: My preferred location for jacking up entire back end of car is just forward of the front transmission mount, i.e. more-or-less in line with the rear suspension's torsion spring tubes. A short section of 4x4 placed on your jack pad can be used to bridge the frame forks at that location:

X2

Wed Nov 17, 2021 10:25 pm

Buggeee wrote: baldessariclan wrote: My preferred location for jacking up entire back end of car is just forward of the front transmission mount, i.e. more-or-less in line with the rear suspension's torsion spring tubes. A short section of 4x4 placed on your jack pad can be used to bridge the frame forks at that location:

X2 X3 :D

Wed Nov 17, 2021 10:31 pm

I put the floor jack right at the center—and just before—where the transmission support arms are about to split. Right in the center of the “Y”, just before the two upper arms split off to form the upper arms of a “Y”. No block of wood required, except maybe a little thin one to keep the jack head off the metal of the Y.

Tim

Wed Nov 17, 2021 11:46 pm

I second what Tim said. I put the jack under the drain hole in the tunnel, right before it splits.

Thu Nov 18, 2021 5:50 am

It depends on what I'm doing...

If I'm just changing the tires, I use the torsion bar plate:

If I'm changing the oil, I use ramps and jack the front (to keep the car level, and easier access to the grease nipples):

The first time I dropped the engine I placed the stands on the torsion bar (not the best pic, the axle stands are behind the jack [which I used to lower the engine :) ]):

The second time I dropped the engine, I used a 2x4 on the floor pans just in front of the transmission horn (Y), supported by floor stands:

In both cases where I dropped the engine, I used two jacks [with blocks] on the torsion bar plate, to get the height I wanted. Also I always try to keep the car level, so I jack up the front and support with axle stands.

Thu Nov 18, 2021 5:52 am

minimeadow wrote: I second what Tim said. I put the jack under the drain hole in the tunnel, right before it splits.

That section of the tunnel with the drain hole looks all "jacked" up. Is it pushed up into the tunnel? If so, the drain hole isn't doing much draining. Maybe not the best location for the jack. You need to place it more rearward at the branch.

Thu Nov 18, 2021 6:06 am

After I have the car on jack stands or cripping to support the car I always shake the car to see how stable it actually is. No shake or movement safe to proceed.

Thu Nov 18, 2021 10:35 pm

I found a nice pic showing one of the rear transmission mounts up close.

You can see it is a piece of hard rubber with studs that extend up/down to keep it between the transmission and the support bracket that runs between the frame horn ends. The engine and transmission are bolted together and can be thought of as a single unit with all its mass pressing down on the two mounts bolted here.

Key point, these rubber mounts are designed to carry the weight of the engine/transmission compressing the mounts. When you jack the entire rear of the car from under the engine or under the transmission… the weight of the body is trying to pull these rubber mounts apart, away from the supported engine/transmission. This can result in them failing.

For myself, i usually jack one side of the car up using the jack point just rear of the door. This point is designed to be nearly at the center of mass (front to rear). When jacked at this point you create a stable 3-point support using the two opposite side tires as the other two points. Once you have the side of the car high enough, place a jack stand under the outer end of the rear torsion tube. Drop the side down on the stand and repeat for the other side.