I need to get my 105 up on safety stands for a week or so and want to do so without risk to myself or damage to the car.
From reading some earlier posts it seems that using a trolley jack under the front crossmember is not recommended without spreading the load with some wood. Correct?
Second, is there anywhere else other than the front jacking points to safely position the stands without causing any damage?
Is it safe to use two jacks on either side of the rear to lift the car up to position the rear safety stands?
Excuse my ignorance - I haven't tried something like this before - but it's better to be safe than sorry!
Yes. You can raise the front of the car by placing a piece of wood between the floor jack pad and the crossmember under the sump. Ideally you want the wood to be thick enough so that it won't bend, and wide and long enough to span the limits of the crossmember. That distributes the stress over the entire surface.
For the rear end I use a rectangular piece of plywood with a hole cut in the middle that I place between the floor jack pad and the differential base plate. The hole in the wood piece is just big enough (1-3/4"?) to fit around the drain plug flange so that the wood is only contacting the fins of the pumpkin base plate.
After raising either end, I place jack stands under the jack points on the chassis and then I can lower and remove the floor jack.
And whether I plan to lift the front or the rear end first, I ALWAYS make sure to adequately block or otherwise lock the wheels on the other end before I start. You don't want the car rolling while you have one end up in the air!
Finally, before you go underneath, give a good push on one of the fenders, to make sure everything is solid.
If you don't feel comfortable using jack stands, and the work you're doing doesn't require the wheels to rotate or be removed, wheel cribs are a good substitute.