<VV> Him joint is a rear strut rod/weight bias

[hallgrenn at aol.com]

Ernie,
 
For what it's worth I've advised my kids to be mindful where all the drivetrain metal is in their cars--in their cases it's in the front while in our cars it's in the rear--when jacking their cars and when placing jack stands.  With both FWD and our rear drivetrain cars there is a lot of steel and cast iron as well as aluminum hanging beyond the jack points approved for changing a tire.  As others have said give yourself some protection beyond the jack stands.  In addition to jack stands at the jacking points I use 2x6 blocks on the ground with 2x4 blocks on top built up under the differential and skid plate/oil pan (with a piece of 1/2 inch plywood on top) when I am shoving the lower suspension points back together. I also stick my spare tire under there.  I use the car jack with a block of wood on top under the lower shock bolt to raise the wheel and compress the spring watching for lifting at the drivetrain support points.  I have also lowered the rear of the engine/drivetrain a couple of times as Mike suggested, but usually I can get the four bolts started one at a time in the lower bracket to diff location by just compressing the lower shock bolt at the inside of the wheel and pulling in on the bottom of the wheel.  If the car shows any signs of shifting when I am trying to align the lower rod holes to the differential mounting threads I resecure the supports before I continue.  Nothing will get your adrenaline going faster than having a car shift and start to come off the jacks--and I'm nowhere near as fast scrambling as I was when our cars were new.
 
You did it before and you'll do it again.  But it is about the most frustrating job to do on our cars.
Bob