jack points for tire rotation

truav8r · July 28th, 2003, 18:15

So I got a steal of a deal on a 2 ton jack at Advance Auto (the guy rang it up wrong at the register, I dunno?). Now, armed with the jack, a new pair of 2 ton jack stands, and a couple of hockey pucks (read about this on another thread) what is the best way for me to jack up the car for tire rotations??

Ideally, I'd like to use a single jack to raise one side of the car. Can I place the 2 ton jack on the pinch weld (using the puck technique) near the middle of the rail and raise the whole side of the car from there without bending or damaging anything? This would make my same-side tire rotations so much easier.

If this is not recommended, what is the best way to raise one side of the car so as to have free access to both tires? Should I use the lift points with a new set of the padded lift pads instead?

Any input is appreciated.
- Sean

TurbineTech · July 28th, 2003, 18:29

My thoughts were to reserve some time and just use the spare when swapping the tires from front to back

GotDiesel? · July 28th, 2003, 19:49

Somebody mentioned in another thread that if you just keep jacking up at the front jack point the rear tire will also come off the ground eventually, allowing you to change both without having to use the spare as a surrogate.

Old Navy · July 28th, 2003, 20:39

When you lift car, take off the plate that's on the end of jack and place a short piece of 2x4 and lift only on the rail toward the front. Otherwise you can bend the rails and floor pan if not careful and/or lucky.

You can order the TT lift pads from Impex, and they install where those 3" dia plugs are at by the large end of the rails on out board side.

’02 Jetta GLS, Silver Arrow Metallic, Automatic, Cold Weather Package, Turbo Diesel Badges, Audi TT Lift Pads, Euro Switch, Euro Brake Light’s, TDIHeater, XM Radio, OEM Steel Skid Plate, OEM Fuel Line Shield, Screenectomy, CCV Filter, CAT 2 Micron Fuel Filter, EGR Adapted, Vented, Mobil Delvac 1.

McBrew · July 28th, 2003, 21:13

I recommend the lift pads. Order them from Impex... worth every cent! To install them, jack the car up a bit with the VW jack. Then place the lift pad under the appropriate hole (after removing the plastic plug) and put a short (6-8") 2x4 or 4x4 under it so that when you let the car down, it pushed the lift pad into the hole. I found this a lot easier than trying to jack the lift pad into the hole.

To make tire rotation easier, install a lift in your garage

. Really, it works very well! But you need a high ceiling

.

POWERSTROKE · July 29th, 2003, 03:29

I am not sure about those lift pads. At the last NJ GTG someone caved in the area where the lift pad was installed. I think the pinch weld is the correct area.

dieseldorf · July 29th, 2003, 04:57

Quote:

POWERSTROKE said:
I am not sure about those lift pads. At the last NJ GTG someone caved in the area where the lift pad was installed. I think the pinch weld is the correct area.

Yeah, this can be bad news. I don't think it's the intended design to just lift up one corner of the car (very high), they are intended to lift the entire car up at once using a huge floor lift you'd see in a shop. I have noticed slight deformation on my Jetta from lifting there. I have the lift pads installed on both TDIs and am cautious about lifting too high.

I picked up one of these:

...and it works well. I do lift both wheels off the ground when rotating tires by lifting at the intended front jack point and have absolutely no deformation or damage to the pinch seam.

link

VelvetFoot · July 29th, 2003, 05:24

Good link. Going to measure jack head and order one.

oops... there is only one.

ordered...

Thanks.

truav8r · July 29th, 2003, 06:01

Quote:

dieseldorf said:
I do lift both wheels off the ground when rotating tires by lifting at the intended front jack point and have absolutely no deformation or damage on the pinch seam.

DD... just to clarify.. by "intended jack point" you mean the pinch weld, correct?? As oppose to the TT lift pad area?

dieseldorf · July 29th, 2003, 06:14

Quote:

DD... just to clarify.. by "intended jack point" you mean the pinch weld, correct??

truav8r, the "intended jack point" is indicated by indentations on the rocker panel and if you climb down and look at the point I am describing you will clearly see there is a short length where the pinch weld/seam is reinforced. Lifting anywhere else IS going to damage the car.

In addition, if you still do not understand where this indentation is, pull out your OM. I am quite certain there is a picture in there. It is the exact same spot where the factory wants you to lift the car. There are indentations ahead of the rear wheel and behind the front wheel...just have a look.

McBrew · July 29th, 2003, 07:44

Frank, thanks for the warning about the crunch! I do use a lift, so I don't think it will be much of an issue since I'm lifting at all four points evenly.

During my first oil change, there was a dead car on the lift (engine swap), so I couldn't use it. My rolling floor jack is nearly too big to slide under the Golf. I did manage to get it up, but I had to use some colorful words to coax the jack into place

.

When I installed the lift pads, as I described above, I used the VW jack... you know... the one in your trunk? I actually found it to be a nice tool. It has a gutter that lifts the car by the seam, as per the manual (of course). It was easy to use, especially in the crowded part of my garage where I can hardly roll the floor jack around the car. Does anyone else use that jack?

Personally I recommend the "special" kind of jack I had installed. It bolts to the floor and lifts the car in four places at once using hydraulic pistons and an electric hydraulic pump...

Only about $3k installed!

NussWag · July 29th, 2003, 08:03

Quote:

Personally I recommend the "special" kind of jack I had installed. It bolts to the floor and lifts the car in four places at once using hydraulic pistons and an electric hydraulic pump... Only about $3k installed!

LUCKY B@STARD!

VelvetFoot · July 29th, 2003, 08:19

Aren't the actual contact surfaces that are used for lifting on either side of the pinch weld? This seems to be where the VW-supplied jack contacts, as well as the notched plastic cover seen above?

dieseldorf · July 29th, 2003, 08:24

VF, I believe you are correct.

dieseldorf · July 29th, 2003, 08:52

here's the yellow lift pad. It's 3.5" dia.:

The depth of the groove is about 1.5":

here's a 4" X 4" I had made up to lift our FWD cars:

The "height" of the pinch weld seam on the VWs is about 1" so the yellow lift pad is set up just right.

The 4" X 4" wood support needs to be shave by about .75" to fit the Jetta due to lack of ground clearance and my jack isn't one of the new-fangled, lo profile rigs.

It works just fine of the Passat, though.