Where are you putting your jackstands?

Fixmy59bug

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2009
Location
Las Vegas, NV
TDI
2015 Passat TDI SE
Using this type of jack stand (Notice the notch cut out)



Put them under the pinch weld under the car like so:



VERY VERY IMPORTANT.......

Before you place the jack stand, look at the side rocker panel. You will notice a little dimple. This is optimal placement of the jack or jack stand as the pinch weld is reinforced at this area. You can see the dimple clearly here:



If you jack or jack stand some where not reinforced, you could crush in the sheet metal. Further, if you use a jack stand that is not specially designed for punch welds (such as pictured in the first pic) you run the risk of folding over the pinch welds making them unusable, like so:



The second picture is a perfect example of using the wrong jack stand on the pinch weld.
 
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jeffer

Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2004
Location
Colorado
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SE 6M
I've struggled with the same thing with multiple vehicles over the years. Then I got a set of these. http://www.jackpointjackstands.com/

They work great and are very secure. You need a fairly low profile jack to get the jack & cup under the vehicle for the initial lift (doesn't work very well with my long travel 3ton jack I have for lifted 4wd's). I have a smaller jack that works fine. The cup that it comes with is slotted for pinch welds, but can also be used for frame lift locations with the included pin and pad.

 

50pascals

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2013
Location
Rochester, NY
TDI
2014 A6 3.0 TDI Prestige, prior was a 2013 TDI Passat SEL Plus
If you have a jack that will slide under:

Front - Where the rearmost bolt for the lower A-arm bolts through the support plate that connects the two sides of the car
Rear - Where the lower control arm attaches to the unibody
 
Joined
Oct 13, 2013
Location
Austin, TX
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SE
Thanks, all.

Jeffer, I really like those fancy jackstands, but they are pretty pricey. Darn shame too, because they are an elegant solution.

This weekend, 50pascals, I'll figure out if I can get my jack on the locations you point out.
 

fauxToez

New member
Joined
Jul 24, 2019
Location
Los Angeles
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SEL
So, where in the end did everyone settle on as the best jack points so as to not be in the way of the jack stands I want to put in the designated notches/arrow area?
 

Fixmy59bug

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2009
Location
Las Vegas, NV
TDI
2015 Passat TDI SE
I usually use the rear bolt point (where the rear bushing is) of the front control arm.

Or the front pivot point of the rear trailing arm.
 
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BroncoAZ

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Location
Flagstaff, AZ
TDI
2015 Touareg Lux, 2015 Passat 6MT, 2009 Jetta (long gone), 2011 Touareg (bought back 02/18)

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
I have cheap amazon "SUV" stands without pinch weld cutouts. The recent rear rotor job, I jacked up the front support, (2x4 on the jack to protect the pince weld) then cranked it almost all the way up to slide the stand under the rear support. I tossed a piece of cardboard ontop of the jack stand as a little bit of protection. I did the work with the front still supported only by the 3T harbor freight floor jack but still felt safe enough.

I've also used the front control arm mounting point for jack stands.
 

roni024

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2007
Location
Syracuse, NY
TDI
2015 Passat TDI SEL DSG
As far as positioning, if I'm jacking one side at a time and not inserting a jack stand (when not working under the car - eg: swapping wheels) I'll just jack at the pinch weld as specified in the manual. If I need to support the car on stands, or perform work underneath, I'll jack at the front control arm's rear bushing then put the jack stand at the pinch weld, or jack at the center suspension pivot in the rear and then put the stands at both sides' pinch welds.

In any event, the jack or jack stand never touches my car. I always use a hockey puck (I have 5 of them) with a slit I routed out of them (3/8"W x 3/8"D) in between the car and the lifting/holding device.
 

gmenounos

Vendor
Joined
Jun 26, 2003
Location
Watertown, MA, USA
TDI
'99.5 Golf GLS, '01 Jetta GLX Wagon (TDI conversion)
What adapter are you using?
The universal pinch weld adapter that comes with it. I wish it was deeper but it works. They sell VW adapters but those are for the optional lift pads used with commercial lifts. I've heard that those can be "iffy" if you don't lift all 4 simultaneously so that's why I'm using the pinch welds.
 

LeeM

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2003
Location
Hagerstown,MD
TDI
2015 Passat SE, 2002 Jetta Reflex Silver
The universal pinch weld adapter looked shallow to me as well. That is why I asked.
 
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