# Jacking points



## oldman2 (May 16, 2011)

Where do you place a floor jack on the Cruze to raise the car. I would also like to raise the entire car to rotate the tires. Is there a picture somewhere showing the jacking points.


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## Telcomfaust (Apr 26, 2011)

http://www.chevrolet.com/assets/pdf/owners/manuals/2011/2k11cruze.pdf

section 10-72 to 10-74


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## oldman2 (May 16, 2011)

Are there any other places on the frame or suspension to jack up the car. I hate to place a floor jack on the places the book shows because it will bend the metal. I was hoping there were places on the suspension to raise the car and place jack stands.


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## bartonmd (Jun 30, 2011)

Probably a no-go on real jacking points, if it's like most newer cars...

Does anybody know if you can put a regular floor jack right next to the weld seam (where the manual says to jack it up)?

Also, do your ramps really work? Mine are just the normal red steel ramps, and I haven't tried it yet, but my other car won't go up on them, and the wife's Neon wouldn't, in the past...

Mike


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## STUDLEE (Jul 6, 2011)

I always use a block of wood on my floor jacks to distribute the weight. Also, ramps work but can be tricky. If you're careful (and probably a bit stupid like me), you can have someone hold the ramps in place with their foot so they don't slide out from under the car...


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## getblended (Jun 15, 2011)

Ramps work for any car. The jacking points suck and after placing the jack where it makes sense to, I slowly lowered the car down and noticed that after I stopped it settles more. I checked and sure enough the place where I put my jack is now bent. No biggie though. The spots shown in the manual do work and the metal did not bend. 

Guess I should have checked the manual first


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## bartonmd (Jun 30, 2011)

getblended said:


> Ramps work for any car.


They don't work if they're too steep, and the facia gets bent before the wheels touch the ramps... That's all I'm concerned about, like happened with my wife's old Neon... I'll check my ramps this evening, and if not, I may have to get some that don't have quite the incline as mine...

Thanks,
Mike


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## Burtess (Apr 7, 2011)

bartonmd said:


> They don't work if they're too steep, and the facia gets bent before the wheels touch the ramps... That's all I'm concerned about, like happened with my wife's old Neon... I'll check my ramps this evening, and if not, I may have to get some that don't have quite the incline as mine...
> 
> Thanks,
> Mike


I throw a couple of 2X4 around 2 ft long partially up the ramp and drive up on those.... a ramp to get on the ramp.... had to do that with my LeSabre as well because of the long front end.

Burt


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## getblended (Jun 15, 2011)

Exactly right Burtess. You have to change the angle at which you begin your climb onto the ramp.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

Bump...

12k pound Rhino Ramps work nicely with an Eco MT. The angle is just enough to clear the Eco's air dam. There's enough room under the car to change oil, change motor mounts, etc. 

For jack points, I've jacked my other GM cars on front subframe mount points with no issues. In the rear, I'm planning on finding a flat area that's not the jack point, and jacking there. I already have a low-profile jack, so getting under the car is not an issue. Our other car is similarly low, and that jack was purchased with that car in mind.


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## TravsCruze (Aug 4, 2011)

For the rear, you can jack under the spring perch. Just throw a jack there, its flat enough to get the job done and it won't hurt anything. There is also a tiny little sweet spot where the trailing arm connects to the axle. Its not very big, but its there. Its relatively flat and has a small notch in it that will grab a floor jack nicely. I wouldn't under any circumstances jack up on the axle. Its pretty thin material and is definitely not stout enough to take it. 

for the spring perch you go in from behind, mostly parallel to the edge of the tire
for the other spot you go in from in front of tire at about a 45 degree angle.


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## dacruze (Jul 15, 2011)

No worries if you were to bend the pinch-welds. They are not very strong, and once they are bent, you can use them each time you need to jack it up. I've bent many in my day, and had no bad results from it. I have't raised mine yet, but i'll look in my owners man, and see what they say, but if i bend it, i bend it a little. I enjoy turning wrenches everyonce in a while, now that i don't do it for a living anymore .

And yes, the Rhino ramps should work great, i've never had an issue w/ them, with the exception of a rear-wheel drive vehicle like to push them forward. 

I'm not too sure i would try Studlee's method though, feet & legs are a necessity 
- Dan


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

dacruze said:


> No worries if you were to bend the pinch-welds. They are not very strong, and once they are bent, you can use them each time you need to jack it up. I've bent many in my day, and had no bad results from it. I have't raised mine yet, but i'll look in my owners man, and see what they say, but if i bend it, i bend it a little. I enjoy turning wrenches everyonce in a while, now that i don't do it for a living anymore .
> 
> And yes, the Rhino ramps should work great, i've never had an issue w/ them, with the exception of a rear-wheel drive vehicle like to push them forward.
> 
> ...


I only jack on pinch welds as a last resort since they love to rot out around me. They're also not usually compatible with floor jacks.


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## Vetterin (Mar 27, 2011)

I have 2 floor jacks and 2 jack stands that I use when I need to rotate the tires. I actually rotated mine 2 weeks ago and used the welds as jacking points. No bends encountered.
As far as ramps, I made a set years back out of 2x12's staggered to get a low and gradual (they are 6' long) rise for my vette and they work great on all cars.


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## justmike (Dec 6, 2010)

I just jacked mine up yesterday for the practice. Nothing worse than trying to figure stuff out in the dark in an emergency. Although I would probably call Onstar first I suppose.


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## gfxdave99 (Feb 26, 2011)

Well be gentle and maybe try some hand lotion... Oh wait.. you mean the car! 

:wub:


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## tehcor (Mar 30, 2011)

The spring perch is the perfect spot on the front. I jacked up the rear first and put two jack stands on the axles closest to the wheels. Its more than thick enough to hold the weight. I wouldn't use any spots GM recommends.


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## SkullCruzeRS (Nov 3, 2011)

I also used the welds on the sub-frame with my floor jack and had no issues. Used a 2x4 to disperse the weight better. Tried to use the spots GM recommended for jacking points for the jackstands once it was raised with the floor jack but when I lowered the vehicle on them it just crunched the pinch welds so won't use those again. Luckily was just the front left side I tried on first. So looks like rotating my tires gonna be more of a pain.


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## doc03 (May 18, 2011)

I have 2 2x8s about 8" long I place in front of the ramps and they raise the car enough so the fascia clears the ramps..


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