Hi Everyone!
I am planing to replace my rear brake pads & rotors. Since I've never lifted the rear of the truck, other than to change a tire or two, I had some safety concerns. If you all don't mind passing along your knowledge on the project, I'd certainly appreciate it.

Obstacle number one is that my driveway is not flat. it slopes slightly. To be precise, the angle is 1" for every 5 feet. This means the truck is about 4" lower than level in the front than the rear. (Or opposite if you folks think I should reverse it & point it up hill.) I have good, rubber chocks available. Is the slope OK?

My next question is placement of jack stands. I think I can lift the truck about under the rear shock bracket, leaving the space between the spring mount & shock bracket for the stand. That's where the manual wants the jack, but this leaves no place for the stand. Does that sound good?

Finally, and I think I may know the answer: Is it a bad idea to lift both sides, one at a time, supporting them on jack stands? My thought was that having both wheels off gives me something to look at when I get confused. (If I know myself, will get confused.)

Somehow lifting one side, then the other doesn't sound safe to me, but you would know better.

Thanks for any ideas or cautions you pass along!
Paul

 

I don't think being on an uneven area as you explained is a problem just make sure the front wheels are blocked and secure. I would put the chocks on the wheels and put the truck in neutral to roll against them then put it in Park. With the truck secure loosen the lug nuts and take 3 of the 6 off, every other one. Jack up the rear wheel as shown in the handbook and place the jack stand on the other side of the shock. Before taking the wheel off repeat the process on the other wheel. Then pull the wheels off. as an added safety thing I would put the jack on the side I'm working on and place the wheels under the frame on each side.

 

Thank you TMV
Your plan worked great. It's rock solid. The 2 extra safety measures are nice to have in place.

Now, if I could only figure out how to get the caliper slide bolts out. (The last guy rounded both torx heads. He must have gone Ape Crazy with a wrench or had the wrong torx bit. OY!)

 

I usually just take my jack and lift right from the bottom of the differential housing - careful that the teeth of the pad dont catch the cover and create a leak. Then when it's good and high, I'll squat by each wheel and stick a jack stand by each wheel making sure that the seat of the jackstand sets on the tube of the axle. Then release the jack and get to work! I have an impact gun I use to take my tires off, so I don't loosen any lugnuts before I lift the truck.

I've had my firebird on the highest height of my jack stands by using this method. The front and the rear of the car was fully lifted as high as my jack stands could support!

Also the incline should be fine, just make sure that your wheels are blocked well. Make sure you use the jack in a way that will let jack either pull the truck, or slide the jack. Because in a jack's range of travel, the pad sweeps and changes its position in relationship to the body of the jack. So if you jack from the side of the truck, the rear of the truck will start to hover over the jack more so than if you jacked with the jack straight on. Just be aware of that if you need to lift your truck high. It can affect your jack stands too when you lower the truck onto the stand. Lower the truck slowly, check your stands before the truck sets down, adjust as necessary.

 

Thank You, NullHead!
Your thoughts about the jack's position in relation to the truck are interesting.

I recently tried using my floor jack to lift my HHR from the only allowed point, which puts the jack perpendicular to the car. I could see the jack trying to tilt sideways.

For that one, I abandoned the floor jack & used the car's super slow scissor jack. On my truck, I did it with the jack parallel to the truck's frame, adding a chunk of conduit for a handle extension so I could reach from behind the rear bumper.

Like you said, parallel let the jack move with the truck. Much sturdier, indeed.

Next time I lift, I'll try the differential if I have to get both tires off.
Might even be today. I see brake fluid on the ground, darn it!

Thanks for the tip about watching the differential cover. Punching a hole in that would certainly mess up "I'll be done in an hour..."

Thanks Again TMV & NullHead. Great tips to keep everyone safe!
Paul