Whoops bad mistake....

[BenjiBoy650]

I went to jack up the car for rotating the tires but I find that the jack points are only about 3 inches wide. So I can't fit a jack and a jack stand under there. Well I jack it up from the points and I put a jack stand underneath the 2 rails that run from the front to the middle of the car, closer to the center than the jack points. Well they kind of cracked open. What are these rails anyway?!

http://www.phatkokracing.com/albums/album33/IMG_5200.jpg

[Bean]

Hmmm..

Doesn't look cracked open to me. At least not from that picture.
Looks like you just scrapped off some of the underbody coating.
I'd make sure you get some more protection on that spot so you don't get any rust.

[princess]

that may qualify as "honda abuse"!!!:D

[Ex Max]

I agree with Bean, doesn't look too bad.

Since you have jack stands, maybe it is time to invest in a floor jack. You will be glad you bought one. The jack points for a floor jack are in the middle of car. Front is just behind the plastic cover under the front bumper. There is a arrow molded in the plastic cover pointing to the jack point. In the rear the jack point is the loop of bent wire rod just forward of the bumper.

[BenjiBoy650]

I have a floor jack but I didn't want to put it on the front or rear because my driveway is slanted, so it would roll easily since I needed to get all the wheels up. You can see a little gold on the left side of the rail, thats where I think it cracked. What should I cover it with?

[Bean]

I'd get some "underbody" or "undercarriage" spray paint at an auto parts store. It's made just for that purpose.

BTW... It looks to me that if you rotated that jack stand 90 degrees it would fit just fine on that rail.

[BenjiBoy650]

Well the edges of the stand were raised, so it would have been resting on even less surface area. And I wouldn't have trusted it, no grip and more potential to crack the whole underbody open.

[Inspector1]

I always put stands under jack flanges.....

Avoid floor pan rails *** I don't believe they are made to support weight of car.......

It appears that it bent rail slightly from your photo Benji....

Clean it off a little and check closer to see if cracked before undercoating.... If cracked you will need to have welded....PITA


Good Luck
I1:)

[BenjiBoy650]

After I got the jack in there I had no space to put a jack stand in the jack flange. I think it cracked open, but I don't think I'm going to weld it, just cover it with some coating. What would happen if I didn't weld it?

[Inspector1]

Probably nothing .... But check it when under car to make sure flex and vibration don't enlarge... You should be OK .... I jack from rear tow hook and front tow hooks.... I guess it's tough with Driveway slope.... ;)

I1:)

[BenjiBoy650]

Where is the front tow hook? I only see a stout bar running parallel to the engine right behind the radiator that has a little outlet on the bottom. Some suggested I jack it up there but a mechanic friend told me no.