0

My 08 Toyota Yaris is a very small car. Keep in mind Toyota specifically designed and marketed this to young females (I kid you not), and they must have assumed young females never work on cars so it's not garage-dad friendly to work on. Case in point:

It only has one lift point in front and rear, and only one jack stand placement in each corner. The rear lift point is located 4" in from the rear bumper, so I have to jack it up REALLY high in the air to get tires off ground. The front lift is in between front tires so don't have to lift as much to get tires off ground.

I need to work on rear brakes, so I need to use jack stands. Rear jackstand points are in about 4" in front of each rear tire, in the space between front and rear tires.

My problem is that to jack up the rear high enough for my 3-ton jack stands to fit under their designated spots, the rear end has to go up about 2.5-ish feet, and the tires are about 6" off the ground. Then the car is at a crazy high angle with it's butt way up in the air and isn't safe at all to work on.

I need jacks that are only about 6-9 inches high, enough to get tires off ground but not crazy dangerous high like it would be. I've researched a lot about this and most results are about raising jacks and jack stands up higher, or low profile jacks to fit under car; neither are my problem.

Ideas? Thanks ahead of time.

Improve this question
3
  • probably a terrible idea, but may spark better ones...improvised ramps - 2x4's doubled up and cut at a (30?)degree angle or some such - to get the car up on the jack? also, sounds like this would be "easier" if you could get it up on 4 stands/ramps...not sure about getting it back down though...
    – s1ns3nt
    Commented Sep 11, 2017 at 16:58
  • As light as that car is, I don't see why you couldn't use stacked cribbing blocks to get the height you need.
    – CharlieRB
    Commented Sep 12, 2017 at 20:25
  • What is the height of your jack stands? The generic chinese made ones (like mine) aren't even 12", they are like 10.5" They are Torin brand.
    – finleyarcher
    Commented Feb 28, 2018 at 3:01

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

Not sure where you are located, but a set of ramps may be the best solution for you. You can either make some (as described above) or there are generally some for purchase which are probably a little more safe to use.

I used to work on a Datsun Z with lowered suspension and I used some purchased ramps in front and some home-made ramps in back. It was a little tricky getting up on both sets of ramps at the same time, but it will probably be a little easier in a FWD car. I would lift it onto jack stands if I needed to take the wheels off.

Once you get it up on the ramps you can jack the car up from there. I would use a wood block when lifting by the rear jack point to get additional height. I also searched for a jack with the highest lift. A full size jack generally lifts in the 20" range. I found one that lifts to 30". And it had a low nose which was good.

The only way to make your jack lift higher is the get a jack that lifts higher or a block of wood to put on the saddle or make some sort of safe platform to raise the jack itself. Your tolerance for danger and possible death will be your guide.

If you are going to use two sets of ramps and then raise the car further on jackstands BE SURE to put the ramps back in place before you lower the car.

Good luck!

Improve this answer
1
  • On a very short car, I have found that driving the wheels that I won't be working on up onto the ramp, and then jacking up the opposite end works fine.
    – finleyarcher
    Commented Feb 28, 2018 at 3:03

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .