Are lifting pucks necessary?

[mswlogo]

I never hand the pucks to the tire shop guy. I put them on the car !!! That’s the whole reason they have the nipple that holds in place. You don’t put them on the jack or lift. Now it’s super obvious where the car should be lifted. And not fussy to target them with the jack or lift. You can see them without getting under the car.

Just don’t forget to take them off when you pickup the car

Even if I had a rubber padded jack at home I don’t have a tire remover. So you never know when you might need them.

 

[SteelClouds]

So I just put my M3 on an older lift. The shop had rubber pads cut from old tires. I put the pucks in place after I saw one my pads get knocked off and nobody but me saw it. Also shooed the guy out of the bay since I had rented it and didnt want his "help" anymore. The pucks snapped into place and stay exactly where they were supposed even as I moved the arms to fine tune the position. No mess.. no fuss. And like someone else said.. they are 20 bucks vs my 50K on the car.

 

[Flybyglass]

Lift pucks under $20. Damage to battery pack (like "oops") over $17,000. I know where the lift points are but a slip or a miss? Not worth it. If you can afford a Tesla you can afford the pucks.

 

[MaskedRacerX]

Speaking of ...

So I got some terrific pads, I used one several weeks ago, forgot, left it in - just noticed it this past week when we were up in Savannah (after ~180 miles of highway travel), still hanging tough I did pull it out, took some force, that's great that you __could__ almost leave them in, but clearly that's not the design intent.

 

[Outpost53]

So I just put my M3 on an older lift. The shop had rubber pads cut from old tires. I put the pucks in place after I saw one my pads get knocked off and nobody but me saw it. Also shooed the guy out of the bay since I had rented it and didnt want his "help" anymore. The pucks snapped into place and stay exactly where they were supposed even as I moved the arms to fine tune the position. No mess.. no fuss. And like someone else said.. they are 20 bucks vs my 50K on the car.

So I bought the pucks but discovered the lift pads on my lift hare too tall to fit under with the pucks installed. My lift has spin up round pads with a rubber cover and I found the pucks are not need with that type. Of coarse this is me lifting my car on my lift so I am super careful. It was really nice installing the splash guards standing up with the car at eye level.

 

[Shelburne]

I had some body work done on my M3 after a collision in October. It was only last month that I noticed that the collision center had forgotten to remove the 4 jack pucks they had used. They had managed to stay attached to the car for over 800 miles of driving, but needless to say, I removed them as soon as I noticed them. I would hate for one to come loose at 70mph. The damage could be significant.

 

[Jeremy3292]

Just bought these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YKK7LKH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[SteelClouds]

Yep. I think I got the same ones . but mine are in a Camo case.. which kinda of surprised. me when I opened up the box

 

[Jeremy3292]

Also thinking of doing tire rotations myself...can anyone recommend a good jack and torque wrench? Not trying to break the bank here.

 

[SteelClouds]

I bought my jack from Harbor freight. The torque wrench I have had for years.. But Project Farm on Youtube has a review of torque wrenches that was pretty good. Used both when I raised the front and removed tires to swap out the fog lights

I paid a Ranger 25 dollars to do mine . He used a single floor jack and lifted the entire side at once. Used the rear mount point. Takes some force to break the nuts loose.. 125flbs if I remember right.

3 Ton Floor Jack with RAPID PUMP, Red

Amazing deals on this 3T Steel, Red Floor Jack at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

 

[goin2drt]

Also thinking of doing tire rotations myself...can anyone recommend a good jack and torque wrench? Not trying to break the bank here.

Harbor Freight low profile floor jack and a Craftsmen torque wrench for me. No idea what I paid but they have lasted for years maybe even a decade and i do all my own tire rotations every 5k on three cars usually in the garage at any given point.

 

[Jeremy3292]

Harbor Freight low profile floor jack and a Craftsmen torque wrench for me. No idea what I paid but they have lasted for years maybe even a decade and i do all my own tire rotations every 5k on three cars usually in the garage at any given point.

Pretty easy to do, right? I assume the torque wrench works the same as the old school T wrench with some elbow grease.

It's $50 every time for Tesla to do it so I was thinking about just doing it myself every 5k miles also.

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

I use this flat-top jack with no puck and it works well. They're usually about $60-$70 with a coupon or sale:

1.5 Ton Low-Profile Aluminum Racing Floor Jack with RAPID PUMP

Amazing deals on this 1.5T Aluminum Racing Jack W/ Rapid Pump at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

The drawback is that it's hard to lift cars with these "rapid" jacks, you pretty much have to lean your whole body weight onto the end of that huge 4-foot arm. They are quite large and heavy and don't just come apart to fit easily in a toolbox drawer so you pretty much have to leave them sitting out.

By comparison, the cheap old-fashioned jacks can lift the car effortlessly, be carried with one finger, and fit in a small drawer. They just have useless flower-petal tops so you need a "jack pad".

2 ton Compact Trolley Jack

Amazing deals on this 2Ton Compact Trolley Jack at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

I recommend the cheap small jack with a universal jack pad and no slippery Tesla puck.

https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Trolley-Rubber-Adapter-2-Pack/dp/B07CKCH9JP

And a basic torque wrench like this is perfectly adequate:

1/2 in. Drive 10-150 ft. lb. Click Torque Wrench

Amazing deals on this 1/2In Dr Click Type Torque Wrench at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

And don't forget a 21mm deep socket:

https://www.amazon.com/Titan-Tools-21093-Non-Marring-Socket/dp/B008XMDSJC

 

[Jeremy3292]

I use this flat-top jack with no puck and it works well. They're usually about $60-$70 with a coupon or sale:

1.5 Ton Low-Profile Aluminum Racing Floor Jack with RAPID PUMP

Amazing deals on this 1.5T Aluminum Racing Jack W/ Rapid Pump at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

The drawback is that it's hard to lift cars with these "rapid" jacks, you pretty much have to lean your whole body weight onto the end of that huge 4-foot arm. They are quite large and heavy and don't just come apart to fit easily in a toolbox drawer so you pretty much have to leave them sitting out.

By comparison, the cheap old-fashioned jacks can lift the car effortlessly, be carried with one finger, and fit in a small drawer. They just have useless flower-petal tops so you need a "jack pad".

2 ton Compact Trolley Jack

Amazing deals on this 2Ton Compact Trolley Jack at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

I recommend the cheap small jack with a universal jack pad and no slippery Tesla puck.

https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Trolley-Rubber-Adapter-2-Pack/dp/B07CKCH9JP

And a basic torque wrench like this is perfectly adequate:

1/2 in. Drive 10-150 ft. lb. Click Torque Wrench

Amazing deals on this 1/2In Dr Click Type Torque Wrench at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

And don't forget a 21mm deep socket:

https://www.amazon.com/Titan-Tools-21093-Non-Marring-Socket/dp/B008XMDSJC

Thanks for the info! Tesla's weigh more than 2 tons though right? Wouldn't you need something like 3 tons?

 

[Ren.OG]

Harbor Freight low profile floor jack

Do the low pro's still fit after a 1.2" drop with puck installed?

 

[goin2drt]

Do the low pro's still fit after a 1.2" drop with puck installed?

Mine would no problem.

 

[goin2drt]

Pretty easy to do, right? I assume the torque wrench works the same as the old school T wrench with some elbow grease.

It's $50 every time for Tesla to do it so I was thinking about just doing it myself every 5k miles also.

I find is super easy. I use a Milwaukee impact wrench to take them off and put them on. Not needed but like I said I do all my own and have for years on all my cars except one that had centerlocks. I use the torque wrench to finish the job. The impact was a couple hundred and not needed unless you want even faster and easier. I can pull in one car and no joke probably do it in about 10 minutes and that includes turning on the music and storing all the tools back in their place.

 

[android04]

I use this flat-top jack with no puck and it works well. They're usually about $60-$70 with a coupon or sale:

1.5 Ton Low-Profile Aluminum Racing Floor Jack with RAPID PUMP

Amazing deals on this 1.5T Aluminum Racing Jack W/ Rapid Pump at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

The drawback is that it's hard to lift cars with these "rapid" jacks, you pretty much have to lean your whole body weight onto the end of that huge 4-foot arm. They are quite large and heavy and don't just come apart to fit easily in a toolbox drawer so you pretty much have to leave them sitting out.

By comparison, the cheap old-fashioned jacks can lift the car effortlessly, be carried with one finger, and fit in a small drawer. They just have useless flower-petal tops so you need a "jack pad".

2 ton Compact Trolley Jack

Amazing deals on this 2Ton Compact Trolley Jack at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

I recommend the cheap small jack with a universal jack pad and no slippery Tesla puck.

https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Trolley-Rubber-Adapter-2-Pack/dp/B07CKCH9JP

And a basic torque wrench like this is perfectly adequate:

1/2 in. Drive 10-150 ft. lb. Click Torque Wrench

Amazing deals on this 1/2In Dr Click Type Torque Wrench at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

And don't forget a 21mm deep socket:

https://www.amazon.com/Titan-Tools-21093-Non-Marring-Socket/dp/B008XMDSJC

Only problem with the cheaper jack is that it is probably not low profile enough to fit under the Tesla along with the jack pad.

Thanks for the info! Tesla's weigh more than 2 tons though right? Wouldn't you need something like 3 tons?

You are not lifting the whole car off the ground with 1 jack, so a 1.5 ton jack would be more than enough with enough safety margin. At most, the jack would support 1/2 of the car's weight and jacks are rated with a safety margin already built in.

Just remember that a hydraulic jack can lose pressure and drift down, so never put any part of your body under any part of the car that can smash it if this happens. I use only a type of hydraulic jack that has a built-in safety bar. It's like a jack and jack stand in one. I have 3 of these jacks (Amazon.com), but they have gone up in price a good amount since I bought mine.

 

[afadeev]

Lift pucks under $20. Damage to battery pack (like "oops") over $17,000. I know where the lift points are but a slip or a miss? Not worth it. If you can afford a Tesla you can afford the pucks.

There is only one problem with this logic - if you think your mechanic is too dumb or blind to find the proper lifting points on a Tesla, what makes you think they will notice the tiny lift pucks?

Conversely, since every lift operator in the world knows not to place lifting arms under the belly pan of ANY car (which would cause damage to any vehicle, not just EVs), what makes you think they will suddenly start making that mistake on a Tesla? Cause they are hopelessly dumb? In which case, see point #1 above.



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[Pricedm]

Also thinking of doing tire rotations myself...can anyone recommend a good jack and torque wrench? Not trying to break the bank here.

https://www.autozone.com/engine-and-vehicle-lift/jack/p/duralast-2-5-ton-aluminum-steel-garage-jack/979807_0_0

2.5 T capacity. just under $200. Put a hockey puck, etc. between floor jack and Tesla before lifting!

"Luxury item" I finally purchased a 1/2 drive impact driver. Makes wheel removal much faster. I got a Ridgid driver kit with 1 battery similar to this:
RIDGID 18V OCTANE Brushless Cordless 1/2 in. Impact Wrench w/Belt Clip, (2) 4.0 Ah Batteries, Charger, Bag R86011B-AC93044SBN

21mm impact socket
1/2 Inch Drive x 21 mm Deep 6-Point Impact Socket | TEKTON® | SID23121

Torque wrench - get something for the 80 - 130 foot/pound range. Craftsman 9314251 1/2 inch drive or similar (Home Depot Husky brand, etc.)