Have any of the shops that offer Prius accessories yet designed and offered for sale bushings to use between commercial roll-around floor jacks and Prius' frame? The ideal bushing would be a molded rubber product roughly the size and shape of a hockey puck. It would have a 3/4" deep groove through the middle of one face to accept the thin sheet metal flange on the bottom of Prius under its doors. I'm tired of marring the paint and bending the sheet metal flange each time I jack the car to change oil and rotate the tires. I assume that Toyota expected service shops to magnetically levitate the car rather than use something as pedestrian as a roll-around jack. I'd pay $25 each for a couple of these bushings...
You're looking for something like these: Protech jack pads I have both the side lift jack pads and some hard rubber tops for jackstands to support the car once it's lifted without having to scratch the rails with the metal jackstand top. They work great! They also have a good set of ramps for oil changing, although I'm going to have to see if they lift enough for a Gen III (previously I have a Gen II).
Thanks, Walter. Exactly what the doctor ordered. As the kids at my office say, "you da man". Protech's asking price is even what I wanted to pay.
I made 2 of these for my 2 floor jacks. I cut a metal plate the size of the jack's lifting cup, cut a hockey puck in half, and epoxied the puck halves to the plate. Works great. FWIW, I posted this with pictures in "Gen II Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting" under the title "jacking". Bill
You shouldn't be jacking under the rocker panels, the hand book describes the right place to put a floor jack. It is on page 242, Section 8-1, of my Australian owners manual under "Do it yourself maintenance"
Hi Pat, Are you objecting to using the four side jacking points made for the Toyota-supplied scissors jack? Why do you think that using a floor jack or jackstands at these points is any worse than the scissors jack? When you use a floor jack on the center front jacking point (like you suggest), where do you put jackstands, if not these points? Bill
Bill, I would imagine under the outboard ends of the front cross member but not sure about the back, I haven't been under the back of mine and I have put the hand book back in the car. I just got home from work, it's just after 5:00AM here and I need to get some sleep. Have a look in your hand book for the answer perhaps?
Jimolson, you said you were, "...tired of marring the paint and bending the sheet metal flange..." Obviously, then, you'd want to find a place to jack that doesn't bend your sheet metal. The sheet metal flange is for the scissors jack that comes with the car. If you're bending it with a floor jack then you need to use a flat, sturdy place inboard of the flanges. PatSparks gave you a fine starting point for looking for a flat, sturdy jacking point. Depending on what I'm doing with the car, I just find a place and start jacking. Where you would jack would depend on what you intend to do and what particular jack you have, but the same healthy places would work for many jacks. I use pieces of wood on my jack to keep from scratching the frame.
something like this? Browsing Store - Floor Jack Adapter Disclaimer: I haven't bought one of these yet, so I don't know if it fits or not.
I just bought a round universal floor jack pad at Harbor Freight for about $10. They also have pads for jack stands. I've always used wood, cardboard, or a rag depending on what would work the best for a safe lift, but these pads will be much nicer!
