jack pad that wont bend pinch welds

[sh40674]

looking for a jack pad that won't bend the pinch welds. i see they make them out of aluminum, steel, etc... but those may scratch the [censored] out of the rocker.

seached a little on ebay... i've heard of people making them out of hockey pucks.. what about something like this? anyone buy one like this? if so how did it do? tired of chancing bending a pinch weld.

slotted jack pad on ebay

 

[WillsYoda]

I use one and it works well. I have this one.. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019RKCQX2/

 

[Gasbuggy]

block of soft wood or thick rubber works well. I've seen people use hockey pucks.

 

[OneEyeJack]

Soft cover book.

 

[mjoekingz28]

Thanks for bringing this up. I purposely used the spare tire jack to lift the car the other day to service the brakes instead of using my floor jack because the factory jack is made for use on the pinch welds.


Anyone know if a parts house, home improvement store or a Fastenal (local shops) would carry these in order to prevent internet and shipping?

 

[dlundblad]

Folks here use hockey pucks with a slit down the middle.

 

[Olas]

Take the jack pad off your scissor jack and fix it to your proper jack.

 

[LeakySeals]

Yeah a few cuts through a cheap hockey puck from any local sports store works if you have to lift car from the designated scissor jack spot. But you don't, you can find someplace else underneath that works for your regular jack.

 

[RooflessVW]

I'm another one that runs hockey pucks across my table saw a few times. Your original link: that's a lot of money for an orange hockey puck.

Another option, as noted above, is to take your scissor jack pad off and use that.

 

[KrisZ]

Why lift by the pinch welds anyways? Most vehicles have plenty of structural support underneath for the task. I only use the pinch welds when I want all 4 corners lifted up and my usual jacking points are taken by the jack stands. And as noted, I also use a hockey puck, they works great.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: KrisZ
Why lift by the pinch welds anyways? Most vehicles have plenty of structural support underneath for the task. I only use the pinch welds when I want all 4 corners lifted up and my usual jacking points are taken by the jack stands. And as noted, I also use a hockey puck, they works great.


I've done just that the last two times I've lifted my cars. The pinch weld looks spindly--my reasoning is, in order to lift a car from that point, it must be pretty solid above the pinch weld, where the metal is parallel to the ground (instead of perpendicular like the pinch). So I've put my bottle jack behind the pinch and lifted--I haven't seen any sheet metal deformation, yet.

I don't like it, as there is nothing to prevent jack slippage; but then I can shove jack stands in the same area, or (preferably) cribbing under the unibody "frame" area--which is where I think a proper lift would lift the car from anyhow.

 

[NibbanaBanana]

I just put my floor jack under the area of the pinch weld. No hockey puck or pad. I never had a problem with anything bending.

 

[JamesBond]

Slightly off topic, but why heck can't manufacturers just put a few decent flat jack points/.stand points on a car!?

And why do so many jack stands have that stupid notched v top!?

 

[Donald]

Look at the factory jack and see exactly how it holds the pinch weld and where the lifting force is. On my Forester, it's on the inside edge next to the pinch weld.

However, a shop with a lift will just lift on the 4 pinch welds.

 

[Traction]

I use hockey pucks for lifting on a-arms, or something without a pinch weld, but find they are too soft and compress too much to use on most pinch welds. I simply cut a circle out of plywood and replace the rubber pad on the saddle of my floor jacks. Has just enough cushion for lifting on pinch welds. I have lifted thousands of vehicles that way for 15 years without damage. When the lift point is already bent, that makes it a little more of a challenge and I might lift from a heavy member or mount instead. The problem looks to be if the pad has a deep slot in it, it will end up lifting on the rocker panel on some cars.

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Folks here use hockey pucks with a slit down the middle.
This ^ I made slots in the pucks with a chainsaw because it was handy.

 

[DBMaster]

I know that bending anything isn't ideal, but I have never worried over bending the pinch welds a little. I've never had them bend enough not to be able to use the car's included jack and the bit of distortion isn't visible unless under the car.

 

[RooflessVW]

Originally Posted By: HerrStig
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Folks here use hockey pucks with a slit down the middle.
This ^ I made slots in the pucks with a chainsaw because it was handy.


"Handy," you say?

 

[bdcardinal]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00O72Y2CE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I use these on the pinch weld to jack and then have SnapOn jack stands that do not crush the specific spots.

 

[JHZR2]

Ive used wood, but I found on amazon some pads that look like a hockey puck with a dado cut into it.

I get them because they are softer than a hockey puck and for better or worse will squash as a result.

Ive also seen urethane ones on Ebay that look interesting, but may be too big/high for some applications.