Jacking / Lifting points on your Prius

Easiest way for oil changes etc, is to just use ramps and raise the car, cheap and then have no issues with the locations

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dogfriend @ Jul 23 2007, 01:27 PM) [snapback]483638[/snapback]</div>

Where do you get a 4WD Prius?
[email protected]

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BethlehemPrius @ Jul 26 2007, 09:14 PM) [snapback]485947[/snapback]</div>

I have ramps too, but you can't remove the wheels when they are on ramps.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Steve Goldenberg @ Jul 27 2007, 06:09 AM) [snapback]486048[/snapback]</div>

Same place you get the 40 mpg Hummers.

 

I needed to lift the rear of the car to install some shims on the right rear wheel. So I looked for a substitute for the Toyota rubber blocks shown in the first post.

I found some rubber blocks at the surplus store (Blue Collar Supply in Sac, CA) that looked like they might work. They were only $ .39 each.


[attachmentid=10222]

I wasn't sure if they were going to be big enough, so I got a few, thinking that I would use two or more at each jack point. The blocks are approx 1 7/8 x 2 3/8 x 1 1/8. I figured that I would look at the jack that Toyota provides for lifting the car, and then make sure that I made the area of the block at least as big as the top of the jack where it contacts the lifting point. When I looked at the jack, I realized that one of the blocks is plenty big enough; the surface area of the Toyota jack is about 1 inch square where it contacts the car.

I cut a 3/8 inch slot in the center of the rubber block about 3/4 of an inch deep and then mounted it on top of my jackstand with a couple of screws.

[attachmentid=10223]

Here is a photo of the jack stand with the rubber block in place.

[attachmentid=10224]

Here is a photo showing the jack lifting the "pedestal". I left the jack in place while I had the wheel off, but the weight was lowered onto the jack stands. You can see in the photo why you shouldn't try to lift the car using the rear axle; the crossbeam is a "U" shape with the open side towards the rear. You would probably bend it if you tried to lift the car. On the other hand, the section of the rear axle out near the shock mount looks pretty stout.

[attachmentid=10225]

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(FloridaWen @ Jul 23 2007, 10:51 AM) [snapback]483570[/snapback]</div>

In defense of those of us on the repair side of dealer work, when we use the lift to raise the car, we place the adjustable arms under the body pinch welds, in the same place the jack should be placed if you need to change the tire. When properly placed, no damage is done to the car. Not all guys always do things properly. . .
Somewhere in our dealership, we have a slew of SST's (Service Special Tools), most are still in boxes, and are never used. Who knows, we may even have rack pads. In my years of working on cars, there is nothing more valuable than the correct SST at the precise time, but trying to track it down, can be a HUGE time wasting process, when with a little ingenuity, we'll get 'er done.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(stukid @ Jul 29 2007, 07:17 AM) [snapback]487027[/snapback]</div>

I know you were trying to defend what the dealers do, but your comments had the opposite effect for me. Apparently the manufacturer felt these SST's were important enough to go through the expense of designing and producing, but they don't get used because the dealer's shop can't figure out a system to locate them when they're needed.

That doesn't give me a warm fuzzy about wanting to take my car to the dealer for work.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(GeoDosch @ Jul 29 2007, 10:59 AM) [snapback]487057[/snapback]</div>

Next time you bring your car in for a job, please don't complain that it takes too long. We work under a flat rate system where speed is emphasized, and that starts at the mfr level with warranty times. Plus many engineers who design the SST's never have to use them, and when simple gets the job done, why complicate matters to please a non informed public.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BethlehemPrius @ Jul 26 2007, 11:14 PM) [snapback]485947[/snapback]</div>

Which ramps do you use; the ones I have are too tall to get to the front wheels
Thanks

 

I understand that in most cases direct lifting doesn't damage the
pinch welds, but a small amount of sideways pressure can start
spreading the flanges. Since this lifting technique is so common,
I really wish most techs would at *least* keep some kind of slot
blocks handy by the lift arms to contain the welds a little better
and/or reach past them to true subframe. But since the arguably
sloppy practice is so entrenched in the industry, just try to get
'em all to change long-standing habits.
.
How would one of the flat-raters react if a customer came back and
said "you spread my pinch-welds so far that my scissor jack won't
fit over the lift point anymore"??
.
I realize that the guys take a lot of shortcuts, but sometimes they
seem really arrogant about denying there's been any damage or
degredation. That's wrong.
.
BTW: http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/training/800/liftp.gif
At least I tried.
.
_H*

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(stukid @ Aug 1 2007, 04:55 PM) [snapback]488883[/snapback]</div>

While I can agree that many designers don't actually USE their own products, sometimes when they do call for something there can be non-obvious reasons for it.



1979. May 25. (My birthday).

An American Airlines DC-10 takes off from O'Hare. Suddenly the port engine falls off.
Unfortunately the rest of the story is sad...



McDonnell Douglass had a field manual for removing an engine with from the pylon. Unfortunately it was complicated for the field mechanics. It took too much time.

They found that by just using a forklift that they could do it a lot quicker. They were quite proud of their shortcut. Management was quite happy too.

Unfortunately this shortcut could crack pylons...


I don't blame anyone. But sometimes when a procedure seems strange there can be a reason. And don't worry, I agree - there are many times when an engineer does come up with STUPID designs.

 

And this is available where

 

That was a joke, Prius is FWD only.

The thumbnail pages attached at the beginning of the string have a typo where a rear differential carrier is mentioned. There is no such thing.

I'm more relaxed than some of the other contributors to this string, and use a piece of 2x4 on the saddle of my hydraulic floor jack to lift my vehicles.

 

But, if one is using jackstands, plus the jack needed to get the chassis up onto the stands, where do you put the jack? I put it behind the front jacking point where I was going to place the stands, and I bent the bottom member. There is now a bulge in the rocker panel beneath the driver's door.

 

I'm thinking of starting a poll thread to see how many people want to buy the 4wd Prius. :evil:

I lift the end of the car using the center jack point (either the front crossmember or the rear "pedestal") and then place the jackstands under the locations where you would use the jack along the flanges.

The only complication is that my hydraulic floor jack is too tall to fit under the front crossmember when the front wheels are on the ground. To get around this, I drive up on my ramps (which I use to change the oil) then lift the front with the floor jack so I can place the jackstands. I plan to make some short ramps out of 2x6 material to make this process easier (and safer) the next time.

 

Here are some really dumb questions. I tried to jack up the car today with a floor jack which I have never used one before. The car was off and parking brake engaged. I put a bag of sand behind each rear tire. I tried my best to position the jack under the front jack point (engine under cover) as shown in the figure:



Then I started pumping the handle and the front of the car moved up a little by a little. The force required to pump gradually increased and I had to push quite hard. Then I heard some noise, sounding like a sticky joint doing stick-slip, or some plastic grinding, or the sound of loose floor board when walking in an old house but not as high pitched. At this point the front tires were still on the ground but the front of the car has moved up quite a few inches I think. I did a few more pumps and the noise keeps coming. Then I looked across from the left front tire toward the right front tire and I saw the "X" shape of the engine under cover seemed to have a large bend near the right front tire. At this point I was afraid so I lowered the jack back down and no noise heard. I looked at the two rear tires and there were still gaps between the tires and sand bags so I don't think the rear tires slipped much if any at all.

So what is the noise? I hope I didn't damage anything.

And what is the apparent large bend? The suspension?

How high should the car be lifted up before the front tires leave the ground? The tires looked as if glued to the ground when I saw the huge gap between the tire and the top of the wheel well.

 

The suspension has several inches of travel, so you have to raise the car up quite a bit before the tires will start to leave the pavement. This is normal and you should not be concerned.

It might be easier for you to raise the car one side at a time, by placing a 1-ft. length of 2x4 wood on the saddle of your floor jack and jacking adjacent to the front side jack point. Once the car is up, place a jack stand at the jack point, then lower your jack, move to the other side of the car, and repeat.

Although the diagram in post #37 shows the front center jack point labeled "engine under cover", the front center jack point really is the suspension cross member. The under cover is a two-piece thin black plastic cover that is removed when you need to gain access to the underside of the engine and transaxle. That plastic cover will not withstand any weight.

Assuming that you are jacking on the suspension cross member, to avoid damage it is a good idea to put a piece of 2x4 wood on the saddle of the floor jack, to spread the load and avoid scratching the finish.

The suspension cross member should have a symmetrical shape. If you see that part of it is dented in (presumably from your jack) then maybe the part was damaged by your jack. If you take and post some photos then we can comment on that.

Regarding the noises that you heard, its hard to say what it was without hearing the noises. Maybe you did not set the parking brake tight, and you are hearing a rear brake shoe slipping against the brake drum?

Regarding the effort that you are exerting to raise the car, this really depends upon the jack you are using. If you are using a tiny floor jack with a short handle, then this offers less mechanical leverage so you have to exert more force on the handle to move the car vertically a given amount.

If you are using a full-size floor jack with a normal length handle then it should be easy to lift the Prius but the jack might not fit under the front center jack point at the suspension cross member.

 

Yes, the jack point is the suspension cross member, not the plastic under cover, and as I jokingly pointed out earlier, there is no rear differential on a Prius either.

My floor jack will not fit under the front suspension cross member when the tires are on the ground - my solution for this is to drive the front of the car on some blocks (I have some RV leveling blocks ) to raise it 2 - 3 inches so my jack will fit.

 

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-main-forum/35343-prius-tire-rotation-3.html

Post #28 Pinan has a great picture. I actually use the same point but back around 8 more inches so the jack is at the point of the weld for the frame piece coming off at a 90 degree angle toward the outside of the car. This point lifts the whole side for easy tire rotation.