Jack Points for the car
 

I took my car to a tire shop recently and noticed they jacked up the rear using the rear differential with a floor jack. I wonder if that would cause any damage to the differential, although I noticed they do that to other cars as well.

Jack points are in the Owner's Manual.

It is perfectly fine to lift the car by the diff, not to worry

The diff is designed to be rear jack point on the z. Don't worry.

perfectly fine

This car requires a pad/hockey puck that you can slip over the pinch weld to properly jack with a floor jack.

Yep, something like this comes in handy ;)

http://www.the370z.com/members/felix...-35-09-957.jpg

thanks guys...

So where do you get something like this? Is that a special type of hockey puck?

http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-g...key-pucks.html

Jack Pads

Thanks again Felix 808

I just used a plain old hockey puck. This being Minnesota, they're readily available. I ran each puck through a radial arm saw to cut a slot for the pinch weld. I even drilled a 1/2 in hole and glued in a neodymium magnet so that the puck would stay put. Not a huge problem at home, but I always give them to the oil change places so that they can use them when going up on a 4-point lift.

Interesting... what kind of pucks should I buy and how deep is the cut for the slot? Thanks.

While hockey pucks will work, the picture posted above compares the lift pad with a hockey puck. as you can see there is quite a bit of difference between the two ;)

I just lift at the pinch welds, never a problem, I do have 5/16 rubber pads on my hoist though...

Hockey puck. Most sporting goods stores will have them, although perhaps less likely in some parts of the country. Amazon sells them, of course...

http://www.amazon.com/Sports-Classic...ds=hockey+puck

I don't remember how deep the cut was...maybe 2/3 of the way through the puck. It took a couple of passes to get it wide enough since the blade's kerf is narrower than the width of the pinch weld rail.

Here's the link for the magnets I used. They were easy to install...a 1/2 inch hole drilled and some gorilla glue

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

True but the hockey puck works great for about $4 each. My buddy bought a set of four for his Audi and paid $18 buck each. Price lift pads...you'll buy some hockey pucks, I predict.

Pinchweld Jack Adapter

I used one of these.

If you buy official NHL (6 oz/170 g) hockey pucks, they are all the same (NHL standardized pucks in the early-1990s).

All you're looking for is something that is hard enough to hold the weight of the car but has a little give to it - specs aren't critical. Hockey pucks are just a cheap and readily available option to the higher-priced jack discs.

Also pucks are thinner. Most pinch weld adapters are very tall and don't leave much room to squeeze it and the jack under the car. Pucks are less than $1 each here.