Jack Stands

I recognize that username - yeah, those are legitimate jack points on both cars. He is a Toyota tech, so lots of his posts on TN are very useful.

The same points are indicated in your owner's manual for both cars - for future reference.

I am going to look into one of those new aluminum floor jacks you mentioned. I want to see the price and where they sell the.

Right now I do not have any jack.

Whatever you end up - be sure to post up a review.

 

I'm still thinking about an aluminum floor jack. Buddies of mine are trying to talk me into a Brunnhoelzl professional aluminum jack (same as the ones they use in NASCAR and circle track racing), extremely lightweight 20-25lbs weight, up to 23" lift, 1, 3, or 6 pump models, 2.5 ton capacity. But I have a hard time swallowing the close to $1500 price tag on the single pump model - the 3 and 6 pump models are over $800. Standard aluminum pit jacks are in the $400-$500 range. These are the ones that other companies are trying to copy - lots of knock offs in the market.

That sort of money - I could install a KwikLift in my garage and lift the whole car up.

Correct. pinch welds areas are for the factory supplied scissor jack, you can put jack stands there and lift up with a floor jack - just have to watch that you don't distort/damage the weld. Center positions on the front and rear axles are if you want to raise that whole end up - have to have the right jack and make sure to use two of the same jack stands.

Yup - combination of proper alloys and heat tempering. Harbor Freight sells them from under a $100 - which is tempting, but if the wrong alloy is used, that jack will collapse in a heartbeat. This is probably one of those pieces of equipment that you don't want to skimp on. Most of the better brands are made here in the US, to keep a better control on QC and material choice.

17.75" max lift height is OK for most situations, For basic maintenance - like fluid changes, brake work, suspension work, and tire rotations - this should be high enough.

Torin make pretty decent equipment. Floor jack looks pretty solid - low profile is nice, but likely unnecessary in your case (your cars are at stock ride heights). Jack stands are little suspect, but probably plenty strong. Its those bases that are the sticking point - looks to be barely wide enough for that specified load (6"-7" across). Aluminum is nice - lightweight and easy to handle/position. Keep in mind those types of stands can only be used on concrete, level floors - will potentially sink in asphalt, gravel, dirt ground.

Have to perfectly balance the load on them when you use them, otherwise they will tip. Have to preload them as well (put weight on them) - any shock load will likely shear the pin or collapse the jack stand. Not a issue - just a function of the material they are made of. A steel jack stand can handle some extreme shock loading, the weak point on those are usually the cast ratchet (brittle).

That one looks like their smaller trolley jack with steel jack stands. Both are probably OK for your setup.

If you have a really level garage, with concrete floors, and careful on setting up the jack stands - then the first set of Torins would be a good choice. If you don't feel comfortable with those aluminum jackstands - the second link would be better for you.

That OTC one is pretty tall - should be able to get it under your cars, but may require some wiggling, lifting up on the car to fit the jack (6" minimum) - I know that I could not fit that under my 2009 Matrix (5.3").

Jack stands are all about the same, aside from the aluminum ones. All the hydraulic jacks are plenty strong - just a matter of minimum height you need - you'll need to find out on your cars.

If used in the garage - all should work well. On blacktop - depends on the condition of the blacktop. Smaller bases tend to sink/shift on blacktop. The two steel jack stands, though having a wider base - are not capped on the bottom, so those corners tend to dig in, may not sit perfectly perpendicular to the surface. A flat bottom like the aluminum one is preferred in those cases, but since it has a small SA - might be more likely to tip over (designed to fit in tool drawers, that's why it is so small).

All of the sets you shown will work - just have to make sure the hydraulic jack slides under the car.

Mine looks like a bigger variant of those aluminum Torin jack stands - but made out of steel and with a square plate on the bottom. They don't make them like that anymore. Only way to get something like that is to make your own - which I've done as well, have a couple of homemade jack stands when I used to have a lifted GMC and Jeep.

As far as jacks that can be used on blacktop, basically any jack stands that won't dig into the ground when you put weight on the jacks. Once you see how they are put together, you'll understand. Also depends on your area - where I'm at, if it is really hot outside, the blacktop actually softens slightly. Anyone with a heavy motorcycle knows that you have to carry around a scrap piece of wood or similar to keep the kick stand digging into asphalt. Something with as wide a footprint as practical as well as flat areas to spread the load over, will work.

I have a low profile floor jack - but that was more of necessity than anything else. The ride height on the Corolla is only about 4.5", Matrix with the factory ground effects is about an inch higher. Used to have a project Honda that was a little less than 2.5" high - that one, I have to drive up on some stacked 1x12 to get it high enough for the low profile jack. Only drawback with the low profile one, is that for higher cars - I have to pump it up a fair amount before it can contact a jack point. On my Rav4 - pretty much useless - I can't jack up high to raise the wheels off the ground (~16" max height).

Like I said earlier - it is not the jack stand you should be concerned with - it is the placement and use. If the jack stand might sink into the ground, have to find some way to prevent that. Either do the work in the garage (concrete and level), or place something sufficiently sturdy to prevent the jack from digging in, like some thin plywood to dig into instead.

Trying to find one just like mine or one similar should not be your goal - as this post is turning into you spending too much time trying to duplicate my equipment. You need find equipment that you can readily try out yourself, local shops are perfect for this. Mine equipment was acquired over time and from trial and error, works great for me and my situation - it may not work for your case/situation.

No one ever buys something that works perfectly for all situations - it is something that is developed over time, eventually you get a sense of what you need and what will work. I think I mentioned it some time ago in this forum that trying to duplicate someone else's tools or tool setup is one of the worst things you can do. Might end up with equipment that is useless and a waste of money or worse, unsafe.

You have enough information listed here to get an awesome setup - just pick one and try it. If you don't like it - take it back / send it back and try something else.