[MJ-Sid]

I have been searching on Google for a while and have found some posts for lift points but none of them were accepted by all readers. I want to lift the front end using my hydraulic floor jack so that I can slide the jack stands on either side behind the front wheels. I have no idea where to put my floor jack to lift either the front or the rear of the car.
Since I have never been under the car or crawled under it before (got the car about a month ago) I would appreciate if someone can answer with pictures of these locations.
Thanks in advance.

 

[VStar650CL]

Lift points for Altimas

When I use my floor jack and jack stands, I typically jack the car up about 6 inches behind the lift point in order to make room for the jack stand to fit under the lift point. The problem is this bends the undercarriage (see pics). Is there somehwhere else I can jack the car up or put the jack...

www.nissanclub.com

See this post. It's for an '06 but your '11 won't be fundamentally different. Put the hydraulic jack under a subframe gusset (front or rear) and place the jackstand under the body flange once it's lifted. Anyplace along the flange is safe from wheel well to wheel well..

 

[CARiD]

Welcome aboard and congratulations on your purchase!

Hopefully, we can steer you in the right direction no matter what you choose, or don't choose, to do! There is a ton of info and helpful people here.

 

[MJ-Sid]

Lift points for Altimas

When I use my floor jack and jack stands, I typically jack the car up about 6 inches behind the lift point in order to make room for the jack stand to fit under the lift point. The problem is this bends the undercarriage (see pics). Is there somehwhere else I can jack the car up or put the jack...

www.nissanclub.com

See this post. It's for an '06 but your '11 won't be fundamentally different. Put the hydraulic jack under a subframe gusset (front or rear) and place the jackstand under the body flange once it's lifted. Anyplace along the flange is safe from wheel well to wheel well..

Thanks for the reply. Is the sub-frame gusset easy to spot while the car if flat on the ground? Last time I looked under, I couldn't see much (it was dusk time anyway, so light was not optimum)

 

[MJ-Sid]

Welcome aboard and congratulations on your purchase!

Hopefully, we can steer you in the right direction no matter what you choose, or don't choose, to do! There is a ton of info and helpful people here.

Thanks. I got this Altima with high miles but in very good shape. Hoping to make it last another couple of years at least. It's a 2011 with 302K miles.

 

[VStar650CL]

Thanks for the reply. Is the sub-frame gusset easy to spot while the car if flat on the ground? Last time I looked under, I couldn't see much (it was dusk time anyway, so light was not optimum)

You're most welcome. The gusset is just an angled piece of metal bolted between the rear subframe bushing and the body. It reinforces the subframe. If your jack is too high or too short to get at it comfortably, you can also jack the car on the flange about a foot back from the wheel well, then place the jackstand in front of it at the very front of the flange. The entire length of the flange is safe for jacking. You can also lift the car safely on the bottom of the lower ball joint or control arm, but remember the control arm is spring-loaded and can slip out if your jack placement is poor!

 

[MJ-Sid]

You're most welcome. The gusset is just an angled piece of metal bolted between the rear subframe bushing and the body. It reinforces the subframe. If your jack is too high or too short to get at it comfortably, you can also jack the car on the flange about a foot back from the wheel well, then place the jackstand in front of it at the very front of the flange. The entire length of the flange is safe for jacking. You can also lift the car safely on the bottom of the lower ball joint or control arm, but remember the control arm is spring-loaded and can slip out if your jack placement is poor!

^^ This is a picture that I found on the web of the underbody. So for the rear, it looks like a cross member or bar that is between the "Y" split for the exhaust pipes.
The front look like the subframe that you were talking about. I will have to crawl under and see what this actually looks like and if it has a ridge or a point that will ensure that the floor jack doesn't slip.

 

[VStar650CL]

The member in the rear is the rear subframe crossmember. You can see what looks like a tiny 2 or 3 inboard from the righthand front control arm in the diagram, the gusset will be right in that area. The flange runs the length of the car between the wheel wells, the circles showing "safety stand points" are at the front and rear of the flange. You can jack anyplace along that, so jacking a foot or so away from a wheel well will allow you to place a jackstand right where the circles are. It will be clearer once you take a look in daylight.