according to the lexus manual (at least for the sc), the location of the jack stand support is the pinch weld welds (although this is the same place to place the stock jack) at the front and back notched areas.

the lift locations is the front crossmember or rear diff (i maybe wrong here but that's what it looks like from the image).

my question how do you use the jack stand without damaging the pinch weld or the body? do you use a different location to support? use a special jack stand instand of the normal U shape craddle?

 

I use a block of a 2x4 between the pinchweld and the jack or jack stand. That pinch weld is so sharp that if I put the block with the grain parallel to the weld, it will split after a few uses!

So far, no distortion of the pinch area.

 

excellent suggestion.

I smushed the guides on my Bonneville so bad once that the scissors jack wasn't stable anymore.

sj

 

I have seen many smashed/bent sections of chassis from this cause. I have tried using a slotted 2x4 but I worry about stability/safety - ie the wood block splitting ! The Lexus and Toyota manuals show jackstands with a slotted top. JC Witney offers slotted nylon blocks for floor jacks which their tech rep said would work - I ordered them but they have not arrived yet. (they are in the Jack-Lift-etc section of their on line catalog)

Would really like to hear what others do for this problem !

 

did you order this one?

http://www.jcwhitney.com/product.jht...D=4856&BQ=jcw2

i'm not sure if it would work on a jackstand though.

some great feedback though... i thought i was the only one wondering about this.

maybe i'll have to go to a machine shop to have some custom made to my jack stands. i could just have them fit an upside down U to go over the jack stand craddle, then have them weld a pinch adapter (cutting off the pin of course) ontop of it.

pinch weld adapter can be seen at:
http://www.eastwoodco.com/

type in 43042 in the search field.

another option is jack stand covers:
http://www.protechproducts.net/images/JACKSTAND.asp

but i think it could still bend the weld...

 

Yes - that is the item I ordered. But- the Eastwood item you mentioned looks much better ! I was not aware of it. Perhaps it can be adapted to Jackstands (drilling a receiving hole in the Jackstand perhaps - if there is enough structure in the jackstand, or a U adaptor as you suggested ? ) - I am going to order it and look it over. Thanks for the excellent info !

 

Now that miter saws (also known as chop saws) are more common, it's easy to cut a groove into a 4" piece of 2x4 to make a perfect "jack block".
It's a little hard to see, but the groove is slightly more than halfway through the block, leaving plenty of wood underneath to keep the block from splitting.
If you're still worried about the block splitting, just place another piece of wood or metal under the grooved jack block.

The one pictured below makes plenty of contact to the SC400's lift area, yet clears the pinch welds.
It doesn't fit my LS430 as well, so for that I'll have to make a slightly different-sized block, but the approach is the same - take a good look at your pinch weld area and start sawing.

Be careful with those powerful chop saws - they can sometimes grab your work and send it flying, possibly towards your face, in a fraction of a second.
Hang onto the 2x4 and don't cut off the ~4" piece until after you cut the slit, then chop off a ~4" section.
It's safer to work on a big piece of wood than a small one.