Wanted to rotate tires...

Then I realized what an ordeal it will be to even jack the car up to accomplish the task! First I put the car up on my Rhino Ramps to see if I could find the center jacking point. I could not.

It appears to me that all the plastic junk has to be removed to make this point accessible am I right?

Even on the ramps everything is so close to me that I can hardly move under there and I'm not overweight! lol

Then I decided to do a search for photos of where this elusive jack point is hiding. I cam up with 2 different sketches and they don't agree. One has the point behind centerline of the front wheels and the other shows it behind centerline of the front the wheels. They can't both be right so which one is it? Or are they for 2 different models/years? Mine is a 2011.

One of the 'other' web pages shows a hydraulic jack being placed on the sides/corners of the car with no hockey puck or anything to protect the flange that hangs down.

I really can't see the harm in putting a floor jack under the lower ball joint to get the wheel off the ground and no higher. What's the difference in doing that and running over a bump in the road? The suspension doesn't know why it's being moved up, it just moves, who cares about the method?

Guess I will have to wait to get to the stealer and let him do it but only because the car is still under warranty! Too bad Toyota didn't make this easy for us. <sigh>

Below we see the jack point behind the front axles.



This one shows it in front of the axles! Clear as mud eh?

 

Hi ursle,

Well of the two photos which one shows the correct location of the front one? Yes I see the back one easily but the front one not so much. I hope you agree with me that they two are NOT showing the same thing at least to my eyes.

Tnx

 

The color photo I attached shows the underside of the vehicle with NO panels on it. Mine as covers all over the place and there is nothing exposed that resembles a jacking point in the front. The back yes, the front no. I just don't want to put the floor jack under something it shouldn't be under that's all.

 

Thanks Spidey,

It is plain to see that the covers MUST be taken off to make the point accessible. Once I let the stealer change the oil I will paint that bloody thing with white paint so there is NO mistake where to put it.

I have discovered yet another photo that shows the jacking area at a 3rd point different from the other two! Never thought that it was moveable but apparently it is! lol

I'd love to use the side points but I don't want to bend that silly metal strip. It amazes me that some aftermarket group hasn't made a block with a slot in it to be placed on top of a floor jack pad to accept that flange. A lot easier to make one of them than to make taillights with LEDS in 'em!

If I still worked for Amtrak I'd have one made in short order, but I have no access to metal or a welder. Sad thing is it wouldn't take much to make one

Cheers

 

Hi David,

Thanks for all the info I may try the hockey puck idea sounds the easiest to me.

I remember in my early days at a dealership they hired a new kid who did odd jobs as needed in the shop. The service manager told him to put a car on the rack and rotate the wheels. Minutes later he was seen with the car on the lift standing next to it, using his hands to spin one wheel and then another! He said " well you told me to rotate the tires!" True story as lame as it sounds.

Regards

 

Yes GE did a great job with 'em. I see you shot the 8102 PRR.. I just got the Wabash yesterday.

Trust me the other than the side jack points the underside is all covered with plastic panels regardless of what others have said even with the car on ramps you can't see ANYTHING but plastic and retainers. The back yes the front NO.

 

f8l,

Too bad I just deleted the shots I had taken while the car was on ramps. That would seem to be the only way that anyone here will believe me. But I won't ramp it up just to take more to prove a point, there is no sense in pursuing this any further. You can see yours and I can't see mine, I agree to disagree.

About 5 posts up Spiderman says " The center jack points are exposed through the undercovers. They either had the undercovers off when they took the photo or it could have been a mode I(1) - no undercovers. "

Read more: http://priuschat.com/threads/wanted-to-rotate-tires.113362/#ixzz233rpwHN6​

Thanks​

 

I won't bore you with my work history, let's just say that I have worked on cars that you probably have never heard of or couldn't spell correctly. That is exactly the reason I asked the question, there's no sense putting a floor jack under an area that isn't CLEARLY a jacking point would be senseless. In spite of what everyone says mine has undercovers under the engine engine bay, I'm sure if I took them off I could see the dreaded "J" Spot.

This thread has turned into a sniping session more than an exchange of information... how sad