How to lift a car using only pinch welds
Vehicles without central front and rear jack points leave owners with only side pinch welds, making it confusing to figure out a safe order for getting all four tires onto jack stands. Without a clear procedure, people trying to do maintenance like changing transmission oil are left guessing how to lift the car without unsafe side-to-side methods or damaged pinch welds.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Using a pinch weld pad on the jack to prevent folding
- 2Lifting one side at a time (passenger side then driver side)
- 3Asking online forums for advice
- 4Searching for alternative frame or structural lift points
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“The rear pinchweld is very rusted and flaking. Are these pictured locations OK for lifting and jack stand placement?”source ↗
“I have to get 4 tires off the ground and have always previously owned a vehicle that has front and rear central jack sites. This vehicle doesn't have that, and only has pinch welds along the side. I suck at identifying true frame components, and I've been told not to jack side to side.”source ↗
“I'm getting 4 jack stands under the car so I can change my manual transmission oil. Just need a safe order of lifting the whole car up.”source ↗
“It was easy when I had central front and rear jack points. I was gonna put stands under one side, passenger front and rear, and then do the driver side - but someone told me that's not a good idea.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 2How to fix a car part dragging behind the gas tank
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- 6Why did my car battery die again right after a jump start?
- 23How to remove a snapped bolt in a tight space?
- 2How do you lift a car battery with no handle?
- 4Mechanic refused to fix rusted control arm and subframe