[unmesh]

I will look into that approach.

Thanks

 

[OnTheRoadAgain]

I've done double jacks with hockey pucks to do tire rotations on my sienna and my Subaru ascent.

Same technique. Works fine if you just take 10 minutes to do it.

 

[unmesh]

I've done double jacks with hockey pucks to do tire rotations on my sienna and my Subaru ascent.

Same technique. Works fine if you just take 10 minutes to do it.

By double jacks, do you mean two hydraulic jacks, one at each jack point?

 

[OnTheRoadAgain]

By double jacks, do you mean two hydraulic jacks, one at each jack point?

Two hydraulic on a single side, one at the rear and one at the front. Vehicle lifted one side. I do front to rear rotation.

 

[Are Vee]

There are "Quick Jacks" that lift up the whole vehicle or one side at a time.
I have been under a GMC motorhome when the leveling jacks failed. The wheels on the creeper I was on, went through the creeper with me pinned between the bottom of the motorhome and the now, non-rolling creeper. Lived to tell you to be careful when you have any vehicle off the ground...
RV

 

[jseyfert3]

You should NEVER go under a vehicle lifted by hydraulic jacks. Always place jack stands under the appropriate corners and lower the vehicle back onto the jackstands, ensuring it’s stable, before going under.

 

[tackdriver56]

So while the pinch weld is strong enough to be used directly as a lift point, if you look at most emergency jacks, there is a notch cut out on them and the emergency jack actually lifts the vehicle by contacting the metal on either side of the weld, not the weld itself.

Over time, lifting directly in the pinch weld will cause the weld to delaminate and rust more easily, eventually causing it to collapse / fold flat when being used.

If you look at Honda civics, you'll see that they actually have a metal flap specifically as a jack point. It's near the pinch weld and it's solid like a piece of angle iron...I wish all cars had something like that.

Can confirm. I have to lift my Sienna rear end from the hitch frame now. USE A PINCH WELD ADAPTER!

 

[creichle]

I use these magnetic aluminum adapters for the pinch welds. I also have the grey poly ones mentioned earlier. Nice thing with the aluminum is you place it on the weld where you want it and it sticks. Then you can raise it with the jack. I usually use a hockey puck as a base for it on the jack.

POTAUTO Universal Aluminum Grooved Magnetic Jack Pad Jacking Puck Pinch Weld (Slot Width 0.39 Inch) Frame Rail Adapter for Vehicles (Qty 1, Red)

Buy POTAUTO Universal Aluminum Grooved Magnetic Jack Pad Jacking Puck Pinch Weld (Slot Width 0.39 Inch) Frame Rail Adapter for Vehicles (Qty 1, Red) at Amazon. Customer reviews and photos may be available to help you make the right purchase decision!

www.amazon.com

 

[bikermiker]

I'm not sure why anyone with a floor jack is jacking at the pinch welds. Have I been doing it wrong for the last 30 years?

 

[unmesh]

Here is a photo of my two adapters ...

 

[BenG]

So shiny!

 

[unmesh]

So shiny!

I'm guessing not for long

 

[namantm]

Here's an alternative rubber adapter to the aluminum adapter from Amazon to use with a floor jack on the pinch welds:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06WRMSHP2?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

 

[jseyfert3]

I'm not sure why anyone with a floor jack is jacking at the pinch welds. Have I been doing it wrong for the last 30 years?

No, you've likely been doing it "right". It took my until my Sienna to realize the Sienna had dedicated front and rear floor jack lifting points designed in, and that made me realize most if not all of my previous vehicles probably had that as well.

Link to Tsienna lifting and jacking points page. The 3rd gen has floor jack locations in the same front and rear locations as the 2nd gen listed in the link. Lifts the entire front of the vehicle, at which point you can slip jackstands under both front pinch welds and lower the jack to securely rest the vehicle on the jackstands. On prior vehicles I would usually jack one corner on the pinch weld near the jackstand points, then put a jackstand under the jackstand point and lower onto it. The vehicle never seemed "happy" about this and neither was I, but I didn't realize there may have (probably were) points designed to put a floor jack to raise an entire axle at a time. Doh!

Here's a picture of my 2014 being jacked up by a floor jack at the factory specified front floor jack location. It's hard to see, but the front tires are actually off the ground here. I used this method for the first time when changing my water pump this summer because I needed to remove the passenger front tire to gain access to bolts and the belt. I'm never going back to jacking a corner except for spare tire changes on the side of the road.

Note the FSM jacking page says you can use this method to jack all 4 tires off the ground, with a set of 4 jack stands. Just chock the set of wheels you are not lifting first, put the first pair of jackstands, then move the jack to the other end of the vehicle, lift that, and place the second pair of jackstands. Something like a tire rotation would then be a piece of cake with all 4 wheels off the ground at the same time, and much less jacking overall. Simply ensure you're on a level surface (which you should be for any jacking operation), and break all lug nuts loose before you jack the vehicle up.

If you really want to jack just a corner at a time, or you have a vehicle that unlike the Sienna actually does not have front and rear floor jack lift points, I once found a clever but expensive floor jack. The jack had a slot cut out of the lift plate, and no front axle. The mating jackstands would slip inside the jack while the vehicle was lifted, allowing you to jack the vehicle up at the exact point you place the jackstand. I can't remember what brand they were, but a quick search found a similar idea, though it seemed less useful as the stand is not adjustable height. This is yet another similar idea. But again, since I know the Sienna has dedicated front and rear floor jack points, a simple jackstand and set of jacks allows easy and safe jacking and jackstand positioning without jacking on the pinch welds.

 

[unmesh]

So I got my 3-ton capacity Arcan hybrid floor jack today and the pinch adapter worked very well. Thanks again @BenG

My problem is that the jack is large and heavy and will be difficult to move around my garage and I'm going to return it.

Any recommendations for a 2-ish ton trolley jack with a 15" lift height? The few I've found at the online stores have unhappy customer reviews.

 

[Are Vee]

go to Summit Racing, make your choice of material, lift height, capacity, price...
You will spend some money, I am sure.

RV

 

[Therbi]

Heavy sort of comes with the territory but unless your picking it up all the time is it going to be that big of a deal? It has wheels right?
You can get whatever you need but I would always try and get one with max lift height. Getting one with a lower lift height might limit what you want to use it for so something you might want to consider.

 

[BenG]

So I got my 3-ton capacity Arcan hybrid floor jack today and the pinch adapter worked very well. Thanks again @BenG

My problem is that the jack is large and heavy and will be difficult to move around my garage and I'm going to return it.

Any recommendations for a 2-ish ton trolley jack with a 15" lift height? The few I've found at the online stores have unhappy customer reviews.

I'm with the others here....you're jacking up pretty large vehicle... my jack looks an awful lot like this, and while it's heavy, it's not that hard to move around.

Arcan 3 Ton (6,000 lbs.) Hybrid Heavy Duty Aluminum and Steel Low Profile Floor Jack with Dual Pistons Reinforced Lifting Arm (A20001) : Amazon.ca: Automotive

Arcan 3 Ton (6,000 lbs.) Hybrid Heavy Duty Aluminum and Steel Low Profile Floor Jack with Dual Pistons Reinforced Lifting Arm (A20001) : Amazon.ca: Automotive

www.amazon.ca

 

[unmesh]

That's the jack I have that I'm thinking of returning! It's predecessor was 20lbs and I suppose I'm accustomed to carrying it rather than rolling it around. Also, it stays in its blow moded case on a shelf most of the time instead of on the garage floor

Here's one that has lower lifting capacity but only 33lbs. Would it work for changing brake pads and rotating tires whch is all that I do?

1.5 Ton Low-Profile Aluminum Racing Floor Jack with RAPID PUMP

Amazing deals on this 1.5T Aluminum Rapid Pump Racing Jack at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

 

[BenG]

That's the jack I have that I'm thinking of returning! It's predecessor was 20lbs and I suppose I'm accustomed to carrying it rather than rolling it around. Also, it stays in its blow moded case on a shelf most of the time instead of on the garage floor

Here's one that has lower lifting capacity but only 33lbs. Would it work for changing brake pads and rotating tires whch is all that I do?

1.5 Ton Low-Profile Aluminum Racing Floor Jack with RAPID PUMP

Amazing deals on this 1.5T Aluminum Rapid Pump Racing Jack at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

Would a 1.5t jack work? Probably, and at the end of the day, it's up to you. I've had lower capacity jacks that worked perfectly well..... but if you want to lift the car by the central front/rear jack points, I would not use a 1.5t unit.

If your priority is portability, why not use a scissor jack like the one that comes with a spare tire? I've certainly used a scissor jack many time to do my winter/summer tire swap.... but definitely wouldn't recommend it.

For me (and I think many people here), a jack is expected to live on the floor, should be rated higher than necessary, and used in conjunction with jack stands whenever possible.