I need some advice on how to jack up the front of my mini with a standard floor jack. I need to take off the front wheels to install front mudflaps. Where are the proper jack points? Are there any jack points other than the rubber ones right behind the tires?

 

I'm pretty sure those are the front jack points, they look like squares about an inch tall and they are pretty hard. They will also pick up the rear tire if you jack far enough.

 

you do not need to jack up the front end. just turn the steering wheel full lock in each direction. that should give you enough room for the install.

 

Wheels need to come off. Much easier to install if you do. You need to drill 2 holes (02 and 06 mm) for each mud flap. You can't get a drill in there and drill straight without taking the tire off.

 

Ditto the 4 jack points! There one on each end of the bottom side of the side sills. Hopefully all 4 hard rubber blocks are still there; if you scrape things or hit debris they can be ripped off.

If you need to get the car up on jackstands however, I use a small plate of plywood between my jack and the floorboard "frame rail". The rearmost position of this location allows the whole side of the car to be jacked up, freeing up the jack points for jack-stands.

 

I use a 2x4 between the jack points and center the jack on the 2x4. that will lift both wheels on that side and than put jack stands on one or both jack points depending on what wheel your going to work on. Works for me.

 

I use a 2X4 as well, centered between the jack points, but I don't use the flimsy emergency jack in the kit -- I use a 2-ton floor jack (avaliable at Walmart or any auto parts store for about $25). If you have the angled cross-supports in the rear, be sure to NOT put the 2X4 on the attachment bolt. Put the jack in the center of the board and lift - the wood will spread out the lifting force along the underside of the sill. You can change both tires this way with a single lift, which is nice...

Any time you jack it, you really should put the car on jack stands (2-ton ones are usually only about $20 new for a a pair), ESPECIALLY if you plan to get underneath it - jacks can fail, sometimes without warning, and you do NOt want a car that sits as low as the MINI dropping down on you! If you have a bit of extra money, get 4 - easy tire rotation!

 

yes there are 2 jack points on each side of the car, if you have a decent jack, just place it at the front jack points(just behind the front wheels. You can raise the car up enough to take the whole side off the ground. If you are looking for a jack point to raise only the two front tires off the ground, Im not sure where that would be yet, I just got my mini so I'm learning this stuff as i go. Im sure there is a motormount somewhere in the center that you can use as a point. (like most cars)

 

Save the jack points for jack stands. This picture is from a post on bleeding brakes and shows an alternate point to jack up the car. This area is behind the front wheel and in front of the front jack point. I've used this with no problem. I have a hard rubber pad that I put on top of the jack as to not scratch the paint in that area.

 

ever heard of a reamer?

 

Or a right angle drill?

 

Retired tool and die man here so yes I have heard of a reamer. Most DIYers don't have reamers in their tool box.

 

Here's a link of my belly using jack points if this helps.
http://www.chadhoc.com/MiniBelly/MiniBelly.html

 

As is the case 97% of the time I have a question about my car, BlimeyCabrio seems to have addressed the issue for me -- I found this very useful in jacking up my car:

http://blimey.gomotoring.com/?p=76

 

That's how I do it. The balance point is closer to the front so lifting about 6 inches behind the front jacking point brings the front and rear off about the same rate. I have found that while jacking the other side up, the MINI tends to start slipping across the jackstands. If you let it go too much, it'll fall off. Lately, I've been using two jacks (one for each side) and doing them both at the same time.

 

+1 I found the same thing