Jacked back of car up using Rein. Plate Support instead of Rear Axle Support--Damage?
 

Yesterday I jacked up the entire rear of by 99 Boxster to replace the rear mud flaps just in front of the rear wheels. (not sure what the correct name is).

I looked in the Bentley Service Manual for a place to raise the entire rear end at once. I thought I found the area listed on the manual, but today I questioned myself and looked again.

Apparently I used the area closet to the rear bumper, which was where the reinforcement plate is bolted with two bolts. The Porsche Catalog says this is a strut.

Apparently I should have gone back towards the center of the car and used the point under the Rear Axle Support.

Everything seemed to go well, and I got the job finished and back on the road.

My question: Is the Rein. Plate Support strong enough to use as a jacking point, or should I use the Rear Axle Support area? Is there any chance I may have damaged something using this strut to jack the entire rear of the car? What do the ends of this strut attach to? I can see it bolts to something behind the rear fenders, but that's about it.

as you can see from this picture (muffler and plate removed), the diagonal plate is connected to this bar. the bar is connected via 2 bolts to the chassis.
this is definitely not a good spot to lift the car, but if the bar is not deformed, no damage is done.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1362960543.jpg

Thanks for the info. What do the two ends of this bar attach to?

to the chassis/body of the car.
so worst case scenario, the bar is bent.

Whew! I thought I may have damaged something.

I did the replacement of the flaps in front of the rear wheels, and gave her a nice wash job, as well as really cleaned the wheels.

I went for a two-hour cruise today, and maybe it was just me, but it seemed like the brakes, (maybe just the rear) seemed to make a noise, kind of like when they clamp down.

Could this be from getting a lot of water on them, or should I get the pads checked? I had a 75,000 mile service done 2,000 miles ago, and they checked out okay.

It is quite common for the brake rotors to get a coat of surface rust on them right after washing the car. It happens fast. The first few applications of the brakes will remove the surface rust but the pads might make a scraping sound during this time (for a few stops). After that, everything should be back to normal. If the brakes continue to make a noise after this, you might want to have them checked.