Jack Point contact for Bottle Jack

[ribsandbbqbeef]

If I use a bottle jack that has a round contact point that fits into the recessed hole on the jack point, is there metal behind the hole that can hold the weight of the car? Or is the recessed hole purely for placement purposes so the weight of the car must be supported by the surrounding 2"X3" pad at the jack point?

Didn't want to risk puncturing the recessed hole by using the bottle jack if it was only backed by plastic.

Thanks.

 

[FlasherZ]

I don't believe there is plastic behind the pad, however I also believe that the design is such that weight needs to be distributed and shouldn't be concentrated on a single point of < 1" diameter. You may end up deforming the aluminum if you don't use a wood or steel block to spread the weight over the pad.

 

[ribsandbbqbeef]

Got it, so probably the aluminum is stamped with the recessed hole. I agree, probably the full weight should not completely rest on that small diameter. Hopefully the lip of the bottle jack also makes contact with the rest of the jack pad so the weight is distributed between the recessed area & pad. Too bad bottle jacks are so tall, otherwise, I would slip a hockey puck in between the jack & car.

 

[miimura]

I believe the hole is to locate the arm so that the car cannot fall off. For occasional use, you can get a floor jack from Harbor Freight for $30. Much better than punching a hole in you MS with a bottle jack.

 

[Doug_G]

Hockey pucks work great on a lift ($0.99 lift adapter!), but I think one would be unstable balancing on top of a bottle jack.

Like miimura says, get a floor jack.

 

[Kraken]

Bottles of jack and hockey pucks.... This is my kind of thread!

 

[ribsandbbqbeef]

Thanks, I use a hockey puck with my low profile floor jack at home. Bottle jack is for trips in case I get a flat for a quick change or plug. I called Tesla, said it's OK to use bottle jack in recessed hole. Said it's reinforced steel behind jack point, not aluminum. Said a lot of rangers use bottle jacks in the field. I will find the right bottle jack for my use and report back after I try it out.

 

[Doug_G]

Good to know!

 

[scaesare]

Indeed timely. I need to rotate my tires and given that getting jack stands on the pads while at the same time using them as jack points is difficult, I plan on using my floor jack and bottle jack to get both wheels on a side off the ground at the same time.

 

[ribsandbbqbeef]

It makes sense, since it is the jack point, the manufacture would expect one to use it to hold up the car's weight. They would logically not leave the recessed area bare & would use steel instead of soft aluminum in that area.

Edit:

@scaesare: same here. If the bottle jack works well, I will probably get a 2nd one to do tire rotations myself.

 

[howardc64]

For those wanting to do own rotations. I did this using 2 floor jacks. Just brought my floor jack to a buddy's house and used his floor jack along with air impact, it was pretty quick.

Some floor jacks that isn't ultra low profile, it just barely fit under Model S's lift pads with a hockey puck. On the rear, we had to lift up the car body a little to get it on the jack/hockey puck.

 

[scaesare]

@ribsandbbqbeef - Whichever one of us completes the task first sould report back here.

Given that the cost at the Service Center to get tires rotated is $75, doing it yourself (if one is so inclined) can pay for any jack investments pretty quickly.

Incidentally, for those inclined, this thread also discussed this, and made a recommendation for Jackpoint stands: Jack Stand Thread

Now to see if I can get the lug nuts off with my impact wrench without deforming them, as others have reported them to be rather soft...

 

[JohnQ]

Now to see if I can get the lug nuts off with my impact wrench without deforming them, as others have reported them to be rather soft...

Unfortunately my compressor doesn't supply enough air to the impact wrench given the high torque values. I have to loosen them by hand then use the impact wrench to quickly screw them off.

 

[ribsandbbqbeef]

@ribsandbbqbeef - Whichever one of us completes the task first sould report back here.

Given that the cost at the Service Center to get tires rotated is $75, doing it yourself (if one is so inclined) can pay for any jack investments pretty quickly.

Incidentally, for those inclined, this thread also discussed this, and made a recommendation for Jackpoint stands: Jack Stand Thread

Now to see if I can get the lug nuts off with my impact wrench without deforming them, as others have reported them to be rather soft...

Absolutely, you'll probably beat me to it as I've only just ordered the breaker bar & mini ramps today. Still deciding on the bottle jack. Will probably go with a 20 ton.

It's rediculous how much Tesla charges for tire rotations. It's just tire merry-go-round for pete's sake haha.

I sooo wanted to get the JackPoint jack stands, but just couldn't get myself to pay that much. The MS has made me too poor =P

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Unfortunately my compressor doesn't supply enough air to the impact wrench given the high torque values. I have to loosen them by hand then use the impact wrench to quickly screw them off.

Go old school & use a breaker bar man, cheaper & faster than hooking up a compressor & waiting for the PSI to come up. Costs ~$25.

 

[FlasherZ]

It makes sense, since it is the jack point, the manufacture would expect one to use it to hold up the car's weight. They would logically not leave the recessed area bare & would use steel instead of soft aluminum in that area.

Edit:

@scaesare: same here. If the bottle jack works well, I will probably get a 2nd one to do tire rotations myself.

That is good to know, although I'd probably still want to spread out the weight a bit more, I'm nervous about holding a good chunk of the car's weight on 2-4 square inches.

 

[ribsandbbqbeef]

That is good to know, although I'd probably still want to spread out the weight a bit more, I'm nervous about holding a good chunk of the car's weight on 2-4 square inches.

Spread the love right? =)

 

[scaesare]

Absolutely, you'll probably beat me to it as I've only just ordered the breaker bar & mini ramps today. Still deciding on the bottle jack. Will probably go with a 20 ton.

It's rediculous how much Tesla charges for tire rotations. It's just tire merry-go-round for pete's sake haha.

I sooo wanted to get the JackPoint jack stands, but just couldn't get myself to pay that much. The MS has made me too poor =P

- - - Updated - - -



Go old school & use a breaker bar man, cheaper & faster than hooking up a compressor & waiting for the PSI to come up. Costs ~$25.

"Merry go round"... Are you implying moving the tires to the opposite side of the car? I'm under the impression that most tires have the rotation direction specified, and this it's just a "front to back" operation.

As for the compressor... I just flip it on whilst raising the car with the jack. At that point it's ready to go for removing the lugs. As for tightening, I'll spin them on with the impact wrench, but do the final torque down to the correct value with a torque wrench.

Now to look up that value... I saw a thread on it around here somewhere where it was said that Tesla revised it... (unless somebdy here has it hand??)

 

[ribsandbbqbeef]

"Merry go round"... Are you implying moving the tires to the opposite side of the car? I'm under the impression that most tires have the rotation direction specified, and this it's just a "front to back" operation.

As for the compressor... I just flip it on whilst raising the car with the jack. At that point it's ready to go for removing the lugs. As for tightening, I'll spin them on with the impact wrench, but do the final torque down to the correct value with a torque wrench.

Now to look up that value... I saw a thread on it around here somewhere where it was said that Tesla revised it... (unless somebdy here has it hand??)

lol...just an expression ..... er is it? all kidding aside, yes, just front to back for directionals. My p85 came with Michelin Primac(ies) which are directional. Are the Good Year Eagles also directional? Or can we do cross rotations too to increase tire tread life even more?

Yeah, I have a pancake compressor, works great to do bulk of screwing & unscrewing the lugs, but like you, I also us a torque wrench to final torque it. Thank goodness for breaker bars too !

Is it not 129 lb-ft anymore?

 

[scaesare]

Is it not 129 lb-ft anymore?

Not sure... I dunno what it was initially or what it's purported to have changed to...

 

[ribsandbbqbeef]

If it's the original torque spec, then it's 129 lb-ft. If it has changed, then I don't know.