[Barry A. Waters]

I'm new to BMW and have searched the forum for the subject above and have not found any definitive information for my 2021 430i Coupe. What I DID find were several debates on whether or not there's a central point up front between the front wheels and another at the differential with some even stating that BMW specifically says these work for previous generations (Fnn series and such) but NOT the 'all new / redesigned' chassis of the G22. Does anyone know for sure?

I was hoping to find info like this in a sticky FAQ article under general maintenance but that has not happened. If anyone could point me in the right direction I would very much appreciate it. My first project requires I get the nose of the car in the air with both front wheels removed so I'm stalled until I find out how to elevate & support it safely with a floor jack and jack stands.

There's a video out there of a guy looking for a Darwin Award using a hydraulic floor jack on each of the front factory jack points with both front wheels removed with NO jack stands at all. He's under the car working and just a seal failure away from death or WORSE (What's worse? A lifetime as a vegetable, that's what's worse.). I can't understand it... :-(

Barry

[Delighted_Jester]

On my G20, i was able to drive the car on ramps, then raise the rear by putting a 2 inch rubber puck OR 4x4 pressure treated between the rear diff subframe and jack. Then crawl under the front, remove the undersheilding which reveals a metal subframe. I put a big rubber puck between the jack and subframe and then lifted the front of the car. At that point its on 4 stands. This is how i did it when i serviced my transmission.The puck left a beauty mark but did not indent the subframes at all. These cars are very heavy. I dont like doing it.

[Barry A. Waters]

Originally Posted by Delighted_Jester

On my G20, i was able to drive the car on ramps...

That's one way to do it! I finally found a post that shows the G22 DOES support central lifting from a front location AND the rear differential. Check out the info from Opie55 near the end of the post. Some good manual page & photos there BUT NOTE that the front location is slightly different between the all wheel drive cars and the rear wheel drive cars:

https://g20.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1976547

The downside is that you need a really LONG low profile jack to reach the front spot. I don't know about the rear differential spot but will check that soon.

I have a couple of low profile jacks but they are just not long enough for the front spot so it's either ramps like you did OR 6x6 blocks (via jacking at the factory front side points first) temporarily under the front wheels to be able to get my jack in the correct position. I can work with that.

Barry

[Delighted_Jester]

Originally Posted by Barry A. Waters

I finally found a post that shows the G22 DOES support central lifting from a front location AND the rear differential. the front location is slightly different between the all wheel drive cars and the rear wheel drive cars.
The downside is that you need a really LONG low profile jack to reach the front spot. I have a couple of low profile jacks but they are just not long enough for the front spot

don't know about the rear differential spot but will check that soon.

Barry

I was going to say im pretty sure ive seen official BMW docs showing the front and rear jack point. While ive also seen it stating to use a 2 post inward arm lift. And yes, front is different for x-drive im sure due to subframe differences. About the jack clearance; my issue is even a low-profile jack is too tall still for the fronts. So driving it on ramps allows access to also remove the undershielding so you dont jack on top of it and crush/break it. As for the rear differential, ive done it on other cars but my M340i has an M-Sport differential and it has cooling fins on the bottom which im sure would be flattened and ruined. Thusly, the rear subframe was the best alternative. Like i said my jack was creaking and groaning so in a few years i will be investing in a bonafide lift.

[prostcfc]

I broke down and got a Quickjack.

[Sandpiper]

Originally Posted by prostcfc

I broke down and got a Quickjack.

Quickjack is good. The only problem is the factory jack points are very wide so I had to get the 6000ELX model which is very heavy. It's about 110lbs per frame. Even rolling it was difficult. The 5000TL was perfect, but it doesn't have a wide jack point spread. For the G20 the difference between the front and rear jack point is around 68".

So which model did you get and are you using the factory jackpoints or using any spot parallel to the jackpoints?

[prostcfc]

Originally Posted by Sandpiper

Quickjack is good. The only problem is the factory jack points are very wide so I had to get the 6000ELX model which is very heavy. It's about 110lbs per frame. Even rolling it was difficult. The 5000TL was perfect, but it doesn't have a wide jack point spread. For the G20 the difference between the front and rear jack point is around 68".

So which model did you get and are you using the factory jackpoints or using any spot parallel to the jackpoints?

I have the 6000ELX and I'm using the factory jack points. Yes, it's quite heavy. It also works on my wife's van, so that's why I ultimately went with it.