# Preventing Body Damage When Jacking Up Your Cruze



## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Also ensure you're using the designated jack points. The car is lifted by these points during assembly so we know they're strong enough to support the weight of the car without damage to the body.


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## Patman (May 7, 2011)

If I don't go under an A arm or back shock point I will jack just in front of the rear wheel(just about where the door closes about 3 inches in or right behind the front wheel about at the vertical door seam(hinge area about 3 inches in) never had a problem on any of my cars. My only body damage on the rocker panel was caused by landing on a boulder LOL. Never used a scissor jack


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## LiveTrash (May 24, 2015)

obermd said:


> Also ensure you're using the designated jack points. The car is lifted by these points during assembly so we know they're strong enough to support the weight of the car without damage to the body.


Even using the indicated points I found my jack still bent and damaged the pinch welds. I do the same thing as OP. I have a block of wood I use when jackin' her up.


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## Blancmange (Jan 9, 2013)

LiveTrash said:


> Even using the indicated points I found my jack still bent and damaged the pinch welds. I do the same thing as OP. I have a block of wood I use when jackin' her up.


Yup me too. Block of wood between the jack and pinch weld.


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## a2chris (Jan 13, 2017)

What is that gunk to the right of the pinch weld?


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## swedgemon (Jan 16, 2017)

That gunk, my friend, is Iowa gravel road when it rains or thaws...I used to call it mud, but since moving here 6 years ago, living a mile back a gravel road, I have learned to live with mud or heavy dust. There are only about 6 days a year when the road surface is neither. In the referenced photo, I had just pressure-washed most of the mud off my CTD...there was still plenty of mud sticking to everything beneath. Made changing the transmission fluid kinda nasty. 
When it's dry the prevailing winds take road dust right across my solar collectors (I'm off-grid)...when too much dust gathers I have to wash the panels...have to rake snow off them in the winter.


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## dhpnet (Mar 2, 2014)

Awesome idea. Thanks for sharing. I am on ebay now looking for a piece of channel iron. 

I got a rubber jack pad on ebay, but the rubber compresses too much and it seems unsafe to me. It's strange that GM didn't design a simple jack point under the car for standard floor jacks. It's impossible to find a floor jack that can work with the jack points on the seams. I think this is a huge safety issue.


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## dhpnet (Mar 2, 2014)

swedgemon said:


> Make a "jacking pad" from a 4" piece of 3 X 1 1/2 channel iron and a 4" piece of pine 2X3. Trim the sides of the pine to fit the channel, then glue the pine into the channel iron and cut (safely) a 3/8 X 1 1/4 groove in the pine.


Do you know how heavy the metal is? Most sellers on ebay list the metal thickness in pounds per foot. Also, what type of glue did you use?


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

obermd said:


> Also ensure you're using the designated jack points. The car is lifted by these points during assembly so we know they're strong enough to support the weight of the car without damage to the body.


Same for me but I quickly tossed jack stands under it. The ATS seems to be fragile at the jack points from the GM TechLink and few of the forum/dealer mishap posts.


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## swedgemon (Jan 16, 2017)

dhpnet, just stop by a local welding shop or metal fabricator...they will likely GIVE you a short section of channel. I'm a blacksmith on occasion, so I have several buckets of scrap from projects - they will, too. I don't know the weight of the pieces I used, but the web thickness is about 1/8". I used GorrillaGlue, clamped it in place overnite, then used 2-part epoxy to fill in along the edges of the 2X3...keep it simple.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

I carved a similar groove (perhaps narrower) out of a $3 hockey puck. Those things are borderline indestructible, and it works great (and is round, so it fits on the rubber jack pad on my jack perfectly).

The only time I had an issue was jacking up my brother's Buick - but considering the rocker itself began to collapse, that was not an issue with the jack pad, but rather, rust.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

I've mutilated something under my car by improperly jacking it up. It was underneath. It looked strong enough to support the weight of the car but it wasn't. I am not sure what component it was.


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## a2chris (Jan 13, 2017)

Just use this, it is universal.


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## Blasirl (Mar 31, 2015)

Just a few items I ran across...

Jacking a 2013 Cruze

Cruze Jack Point pictures


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## EricSmit (Dec 21, 2016)

a2chris said:


> Just use this, it is universal.
> View attachment 218322


That's amazing.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

a2chris said:


> Just use this, it is universal.
> View attachment 218322


 I could use one of those!


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## pandrad61 (Jul 8, 2015)

> I carved a similar groove (perhaps narrower) out of a $3 hockey puck. Those things are borderline indestructible, and it works great (and is round, so it fits on the rubber jack pad on my jack perfectly).
> 
> The only time I had an issue was jacking up my brother's Buick - but considering the rocker itself began to collapse, that was not an issue with the jack pad, but rather, rust.


they also make for great lift kit pucks on jeeps lol


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## dhpnet (Mar 2, 2014)

MP81 said:


> I carved a similar groove (perhaps narrower) out of a $3 hockey puck. Those things are borderline indestructible, and it works great (and is round, so it fits on the rubber jack pad on my jack perfectly).


I have a hockey puck too, but they are not thick enough to cover the entire weld flange. They work better on cars with smaller flanges.


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## dhpnet (Mar 2, 2014)

swedgemon said:


> dhpnet, just stop by a local welding shop or metal fabricator...they will likely GIVE you a short section of channel. I'm a blacksmith on occasion, so I have several buckets of scrap from projects - they will, too. I don't know the weight of the pieces I used, but the web thickness is about 1/8". I used GorrillaGlue, clamped it in place overnite, then used 2-part epoxy to fill in along the edges of the 2X3...keep it simple.


I wish I knew where to find a welding shop or metal fabricator. I will have to do some research. My guess is that I would probably have to drive to the East Bay, which would require paying a $6 bridge toll and gas -- and time researching. 

I messaged this eBay seller. He said he will cut it in half if I send him a message when I buy it, so it would only be $12.55 for two 6" pieces. Not a bad price and would save me the hassle of trying to find a shop. 
3" 4.1# per ft. Channel Iron, Mild Steel 1 pieces 12" A-36 UPS Shipping Alro | eBay


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

dhpnet said:


> I have a hockey puck too, but they are not thick enough to cover the entire weld flange. They work better on cars with smaller flanges.


Yup, works well on my Cav and the Cruze. The Cobalt, for whatever reason, has actual jack points under the car, not the pinch flange - which is amazing. The Camaro I just jack up on the subframe rail.


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## dhpnet (Mar 2, 2014)

This thread popped up again recently, and I thought I would comment again. I created 3 of the jack pads shown in the original post. They are each about 6-7 inches long. I have been using them for over a year now, and I have to say that they work great. I tried a bunch of different solutions before, but nothing ever felt completely stable and safe. With these, my car feels very safe and stable when I lift it. 

I use one with the jack, and then I use the second one for the jack stand. If I need to lift both sides, I can use the third one for the jack stand on the other side. 

Thank you @swedgemon for providing this solution.


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## cultx6 (Jan 17, 2019)

need help


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