Andrew LB

Well.... as mentioned by another poster while doing a search for central jack points, i found this diagram and also recalled that another member mentioned an idea about trimming out a section of the front-center under-panel so you don't have to spend tons of time in uncomfortable positions in order to get the 15 or so screws out to access the front central jack point.



Well.... its not the "cleanest" of jobs, but yesterday while changing my oil I decideded to McGeyver myself just that. I used a dremel with a kevlar disc cutter and trimmed square which could have looked a little nicer but oh well. But instead of leaving it off like i was considering, i went to the hardware store and bought two cabenet hinges, some screws with nuts, some new JB-Weld (basically the most insane two part glue i've ever seen), and some small steel bars with a hole on each side.

I trimmed the underside of the panel in the areas pictured below where the hinges would be mounted, lightly sanded the plastic, applied some prepared JB-Weld and in four minutes the glue had set.

Next was the task of mounting the access panel flap piece to the other side of the hinge so it swings freely down without obstruction. Once everything was lined up, i taped the door in position and applied another coat of JB-Weld to hinges contacting the access panel.

The last portion was securing the panel in the upward position but allowing for an easy removal of two screws so it will swing freely. I started by lining up the flat steel bars from the hardware store and marking holes. I drilled them out and used JB-Weld on the end of the bar attached to the main panel piece, NOT the hinged flap. To secure it extra tight, i ran a machine screw through from the underside of the panel and locked it tight with a nut on the inside of the panel. I also took the last two nuts and used some JB-Weld to perminantly glue them to the end of the bar where the two removable screws will hold the access door in place and added a little more glue to the other nuts which will never be removed to eliminate any risk of them backing out over time.

It worked out pretty well and i just tested it out to make sure the jack fit in the hole properly and didn't contact anything. It seems my time and effort paid off since this job only took me about an hour including a 15 minute round trip to the local hardware store for parts.

_________

In retrospect, i think i would have used the same steel bar design but on both sides and no hinges. So instead of two screws to remove to open the "door", i would remove 4 and drop out the panel with ease. This is because i had to adjust the hanging open door just before i got the car completly back to the ground in order from it hitting the ground and risk snapping it off.

All in all, it makes oil changes SUPER fast and now i don't have remove the whole center panel or jack up one side at a time and risk bending those thin folded steel rails that mitsubishi likes to call "jack points"....

Here are a couple shots. If anyone has any constructive criticism, feel free to throw it my way. Any suggestions on improving the design would be greatly appreciated. (yea.... a super thin cutting blade would have been ideal.... and a jig to keep the lines perfectly straight.... heh.)





And here it is installed and open. I have the car on jackstands once its airborne.

Ludikraut

iTrader: (17)

Interesting. That's different than the front jack point on my '03. Guess changed it on the IX...

l8r)

Andrew LB

Well.... there is another point in the center but its another probably two feet toward the rear. Its impossible to get to it with my jack since its so far back.

Once i lift the front, i then put stands on the sides, then move the jack to the other center jack point thats farther back for extra security in case of random and deadly accidents.

supersupra

iTrader: (8)

Nice idea!!! Thanks I'll try this

Ev0ikon

iTrader: (18)

I don't take my car rally-crossing so the tray has been off since 2003 :P

cij911

iTrader: (14)

Excellent...I talked about this a while ago and have the same issue again as I want to put on a TBE...I will see if my jack can reach the other point first. Thanks for the pictures.

Evo8yurAMG

iTrader: (10)

+1