Pls clarify the "garage" jack points for Leaf -

Hi,

Sorry for the long post.

I want to send my Leaf over to Wheelworks to rotate my wheels for me. Since Wheelworks isn't a place that is knowledgeable about the Leaf, naturally, I have decided to read up a bit on the Jack Points or "garage lift points" or "garage jack points" information so that I can explain to the wheel/tire technicians how to hoist the car up properly.

I suspect that the Jack Points http://nissanleafwiki.com/images/2/2f/P5033631.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; isn't the main location for a commercial place such as Wheelworks to hoist up the car.

At places like Wheelworks, they don't typically hoist the vehicle up at the usual "jack points" that the customer would use to jack the car up to replace a flat tire. The shops have these hydraulic jacks with 4 circular "cups" at each end of an "X" beam where they position at the 4 corners of the vehicle. If they are indeed using the Jack Points location, should they still use some form of a "wooden block" that Andy Nguyen (aka: aqn) talks about? I can just see if not using these wooden blocks, that they will surely damage the metal "pinch weld" at the Jack Points.

Furthermore, I continued to research "garage lift points" or "garage jack points" information but found conflicting information. Andy Nguyen (aka: aqn) has good pictures and the links....

What I have found so far:

1) A picture that is apparently in-accurate for lift points. Picture shows exhaust pipes, probably a misprint of another vehicle other than the Leaf.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_0onPGgcA_pcUxTRDVBTXpOQUk/edit?pli=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

2) There is a discussion thread here: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=174658#p174658" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, but still very confusing.

3) Wiki http://mynissanleaf.com/wiki/index.php?title=Jacking_up_a_LEAF" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; does not explain what to do if you are sending your Leaf to a commercial wheel/tire shop who doesn't know about these cars and the Owners Manual with wrong information of garage lift points is useless.

Any advice is most appreciated!

Auto shops will simply lift the car using those pads under the seam lift points. No blocks or anything. As long as they are lined up OK, everything will be fine.

you have nothing to worry about. using those big round cups as jack points reduces the pressure on the jack points. regular home jacks put the entire weight of the car into a very small area (btw; a single pinch point is strong enough to support the ENTIRE car so crushing the point will NEVER happen) but still well within tolerances.

mxp said:

I want to send my Leaf over to Wheelworks to rotate my wheels for me. Since Wheelworks isn't a place that is knowledgeable about the Leaf, naturally, I have decided to read up a bit on the Jack Points or "garage lift points" or "garage jack points" information so that I can explain to the wheel/tire technicians how to hoist the car up properly.
[...]
Any advice is most appreciated!

Click to expand...

Since shops lift cars at four points simultaneously, each location bears less weight than when one jacks the car up at a single point. The car will be fine. Shops lift all cars this way.

DaveinOlyWA said:

you have nothing to worry about. using those big round cups as jack points reduces the pressure on the jack points. regular home jacks put the entire weight of the car into a very small area (btw; a single pinch point is strong enough to support the ENTIRE car so crushing the point will NEVER happen) but still well within tolerances.

Click to expand...

Not exactly the entire weight of the car; more like (some fraction more than) half the weight, and then only if you jack the car up high enough to get both wheels on one side off the ground.

If you jack the car up at home once or twice every few years, you should be OK, but NEVER is a long time . Jack a car up enough times without a proper interface to the door sill and the door sill WILL be deformed.

aqn said:

mxp said:

I want to send my Leaf over to Wheelworks to rotate my wheels for me. Since Wheelworks isn't a place that is knowledgeable about the Leaf, naturally, I have decided to read up a bit on the Jack Points or "garage lift points" or "garage jack points" information so that I can explain to the wheel/tire technicians how to hoist the car up properly.
[...]
Any advice is most appreciated!

Click to expand...

Since shops lift cars at four points simultaneously, each location bears less weight than when one jacks the car up at a single point. The car will be fine. Shops lift all car this way.

DaveinOlyWA said:

you have nothing to worry about. using those big round cups as jack points reduces the pressure on the jack points. regular home jacks put the entire weight of the car into a very small area (btw; a single pinch point is strong enough to support the ENTIRE car so crushing the point will NEVER happen) but still well within tolerances.

Click to expand...

Not exactly the entire weight of the car; more like (some fraction more than) half the weight, and then only if you jack the car up high enough to get both wheels on one side off the ground.

If you jack the car up at home once or twice every few years, you should be OK, but NEVER is a long time . Jack a car up enough times without a proper interface to the door sill and the door sill WILL be deformed.

Click to expand...

Many thanks to drees, Dave and Andy for your replies.

I managed to get the wheels rotated today and they did use the pinch weld Jack Point positions. They had a circular pad with thick rubber which absorbed some of the pinch weld. All's good now!

Some considerations why I decided to go this route instead of D-I-Y: Wheelworks has a coupon for $39 lifetime- unlimited wheel balancing, unlimited rotations and tire repairs. This was the most optimal option for me since they are just located 2 minutes from home.

Incidently, the cost of purchasing both jacks needed for D-I-Y cost more than paying for the service.

Whilst they had the car up, I managed to also get a good look around under the car and inside the wheel wells.

For those looking to jack up their Leaf, I suggest getting hockey pucks and cutting slots in them. I used 4 hockey pucks with slots cut in them to lift my Leaf on a hoist using the jacking points. For the best fit, the slots are different widths between the front and rear (I am traveling and cannot remember which are wider). I keep one set with the hoist and I am planning to make another set to carry in the car to use with a floor jack or to offer to a tire shop.

Gerry

GerryAZ said:

For those looking to jack up their Leaf, I suggest getting hockey pucks and cutting slots in them. I used 4 hockey pucks with slots cut in them to lift my Leaf on a hoist using the jacking points. For the best fit, the slots are different widths between the front and rear (I am traveling and cannot remember which are wider). I keep one set with the hoist and I am planning to make another set to carry in the car to use with a floor jack or to offer to a tire shop.

Gerry

Click to expand...

That's a good idea as well because I have seen some folks in other car forums make them out of ice hockey pucks.

A company that sells a similar item is http://www.purems.com/product.php?II=833" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
but at $22 a piece.... Ouch!!!

mxp said:

GerryAZ said:

For those looking to jack up their Leaf, I suggest getting hockey pucks and cutting slots in them. I used 4 hockey pucks with slots cut in them to lift my Leaf on a hoist using the jacking points. For the best fit, the slots are different widths between the front and rear (I am traveling and cannot remember which are wider). I keep one set with the hoist and I am planning to make another set to carry in the car to use with a floor jack or to offer to a tire shop.

Gerry

Click to expand...

That's a good idea as well because I have seen some folks in other car forums make them out of ice hockey pucks.

A company that sells a similar item is http://www.purems.com/product.php?II=833" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
but at $22 a piece.... Ouch!!!

Click to expand...

I found a local hockey sport shop and bought 10 for $1 each after not finding them in stock at department store sport shops which listed them for something like $5 each on line.

Gerry

I 3D printed a set at home. Has cut-outs on the bottom for the top of the lift and my jack stands. Work great!

harrier said:

I 3D printed a set at home. Has cut-outs on the bottom for the top of the lift and my jack stands. Work great!

Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing that. It's very interesting that 3D-printed material is sturdy enough for supporting 900+ pounds...

mxp said:

Incidently, the cost of purchasing both jacks needed for D-I-Y cost more than paying for the service.

Click to expand...

Just today I rotated the tires on the LEAF using two Prius jacks, lifting at the correct points on the same side of course. At 3375 lbs, so half is 1688 lbs supported on two Prius jacks, which are rated for 800 kg each, so even just one jack would still be within the safety margin, although not by a huge amount.

I have two Prius jacks because we have one Prius and my mom has a Prius too. And Prius jacks should be pretty cheap to find if somebody was looking for them, I doubt if I would pay more than $5 or $10 each from a junk yard.

And, as aqn stated, it is a good idea to leave the doors and hatchback shut while the car is on jacks. With a sedan it probably isn't as critical as if it was a convertible, but it is always better to be safe. Also, slamming the door shut while up on jacks could be a problem.

Whenever I rotate my tires, I like to get all four wheels off the ground so I can do it in one shot (front goes straight back, rear cross and goes forward). I use a hydraulic jack and four jack stands. Unfortunately, I can't seem to figure out how to jack up the car and then get the stand underneath it. It seems like there is only one small reinforced point in each corner. Am I missing something? Or is this car just not capable of being jacked up and placed on stands?

GetOffYourGas said:

Whenever I rotate my tires, I like to get all four wheels off the ground so I can do it in one shot (front goes straight back, rear cross and goes forward). I use a hydraulic jack and four jack stands. Unfortunately, I can't seem to figure out how to jack up the car and then get the stand underneath it. It seems like there is only one small reinforced point in each corner. Am I missing something? Or is this car just not capable of being jacked up and placed on stands?

Click to expand...

If I need to get two or four wheels off the ground and supported, I usually use the suspension pick up points. For a front MacPherson strut suspension as on the LEAF, I place stands under the A arms, towards the inboard end, at the white arrows in this pic. I usually don't put the stands under the outboard end because the wheel is in the way until I remove it, and because the strut's spring pushing the outboard end down and the wheel's weight would make the outboard end droop too far to fit a stand under it.

For rear torsion beam suspension, also as on the LEAF, I place the stands under crosswise beam, where it meets the trailing arms, at the left side in this pic.

FWIW, I have never bothered with swapping sides when rotating tires. I always just swap front & rear on the same side. I jack the car up (at the front jack point) high enough to get both wheels on one side off the ground at once.

aqn said:

GetOffYourGas said:

Whenever I rotate my tires, I like to get all four wheels off the ground so I can do it in one shot (front goes straight back, rear cross and goes forward). I use a hydraulic jack and four jack stands. Unfortunately, I can't seem to figure out how to jack up the car and then get the stand underneath it. It seems like there is only one small reinforced point in each corner. Am I missing something? Or is this car just not capable of being jacked up and placed on stands?

Click to expand...

If I need to get two or four wheels off the ground and supported, I usually use the suspension pick up points. For a front MacPherson strut suspension as on the LEAF, I place stands under the A arms, towards the inboard end, at the white arrows in this pic. I usually don't put the stands under the outboard end because the wheel is in the way until I remove it, and because the strut's spring pushing the outboard end down and the wheel's weight would make the outboard end droop too far to fit a stand under it.

For rear torsion beam suspension, also as on the LEAF, I place the stands under crosswise beam, where it meets the trailing arms, at the left side in this pic.

FWIW, I have never bothered with swapping sides when rotating tires. I always just swap front & rear on the same side. I jack the car up (at the front jack point) high enough to get both wheels on one side off the ground at once.

Click to expand...

Awesome! Thanks for the advice and the pics.

I know it's easier to just swap front-to-back, but it's generally recommended that you cross them as well. Is this recommendation simply outdated? Or is the benefit just really small compared to back-to-front?

GetOffYourGas said:

I know it's easier to just swap front-to-back, but it's generally recommended that you cross them as well. Is this recommendation simply outdated? Or is the benefit just really small compared to back-to-front?

Click to expand...

I have no idea! I've always just done it front-to-back because it's easier than also doing side-to-side. AFAICT, most of the wear is on the front tires so I figure front-to-back is sufficient to even out the wear.

It has been on the blocks all week, and I have shaken the car to try to induce a fault.

If you are interested, my jack blocks:


The tabs that stick out on the bottom are to accommodate a floor jack with a disk on the top.

You can jack the entire rear end of the Leaf using a floor jack beneath the rear suspension beam, then put jack stands at the jack points. My car has been on these for two weeks while I wait interminably for parts from Nissan.

GerryAZ said:

For those looking to jack up their Leaf, I suggest getting hockey pucks and cutting slots in them. I used 4 hockey pucks with slots cut in them to lift my Leaf on a hoist using the jacking points. For the best fit, the slots are different widths between the front and rear (I am traveling and cannot remember which are wider). I keep one set with the hoist and I am planning to make another set to carry in the car to use with a floor jack or to offer to a tire shop.

Gerry

Click to expand...

Hi Gerry,

I have heard of the hockey puck adapter version as well. Could you supply the dimensions of the slots you cut?

Thanks, Paul

RPaulThomas said:

GerryAZ said:

For those looking to jack up their Leaf, I suggest getting hockey pucks and cutting slots in them. I used 4 hockey pucks with slots cut in them to lift my Leaf on a hoist using the jacking points. For the best fit, the slots are different widths between the front and rear (I am traveling and cannot remember which are wider). I keep one set with the hoist and I am planning to make another set to carry in the car to use with a floor jack or to offer to a tire shop.

Gerry

Click to expand...

Hi Gerry,

I have heard of the hockey puck adapter version as well. Could you supply the dimensions of the slots you cut?

Thanks, Paul

Click to expand...

Hi Paul,

I am not going to publish dimensions because they are different front/back and not the same for different years. I made my sets to fit perfectly on the 2011 and they work on the 2015, but the slots are not the correct widths or depths. Therefore, I suggest you measure your car and cut the slots accordingly. I used a router table to cut the slots.