OEM Jack - not tall enough !!

[TheIcemanCometh]

This am I had the pleasure of my first real flat tire in ages. The tire went flat in a matter of minutes with no decreeable damage.

A bit of a comedy finding the damn hole to lower the spare for the first time. Actually had to RTFM. That comedy aside what I found very surprising is that when jacking the front up that even on flat level road that I could not jack the rig high enough to get the the spare on. The rig is currently stock. Had to stick a 2x6 under it to get enough height.

I recall reading a few threads about the jack lacking height off road, which is not a surprise. But on damn neighborhood road that a granny could skip down on a Sunday was a surprise.

Have others found the same????

 

[bloc]

Where were you putting the jack on the frame?

My suspension allows for more down travel, and I'm on larger than stock tires, and still the stock jack in the correct location can get the front tires 2" in the air, though it takes forever. By my back of the napkin math stock tires should be 5" or more up.

 

[TeCKis300]

I've never used the stock bottle jack so can't really offer much help there. Some suggest that it is tall enough depending on the lifting point. It would be cool to know exactly where to lift from.

I'm am concerned as I'm quite a bit taller with larger tires. I do keep a couple things in my car to help based on input from this thread

Jacking Solution for Lifted Rigs?

I was reminded by a friend that's looking at hi-lifts, that I don't have a solution for lifting my own rig. With 35s, if I were to get in a situation, I don't believe the stock onboard jack would have enough lift height to even change a tire. Guess I could flatten the tire to bring down the...

forum.ih8mud.com

Amazon product ASIN B07TYCFM6T

Jack Adapters - Land Cruiser Products - LCP

Land Cruiser Products

sites.google.com

 

[TheIcemanCometh]

Where were you putting the jack on the frame?

I am going to describe it as being behind the front tire but as far forward before the frame has an upward slant. I'll try to get a picture of it in am. I was thinking the location was my problem but at the time and in looking I was not seeing another location that made sense.

 

[bloc]

I am going to describe it as being behind the front tire but as far forward before the frame has an upward slant. I'll try to get a picture of it in am. I was thinking the location was my problem but at the time and in looking I was not seeing another location that made sense.

That may be the problem, though to me it seems like it should still work.

The correct spot is under the front doors, at the spot where the frame first bends inward from its widest point. Go much further forward and you'll be under the body mount bracket. That is too far forward. Going even more forward closer to the upward bend is bringing it pretty far inboard.

I wonder whether your placement put the jack too much to the center (right to left center) of the truck and it tried to lift the whole front, vs tilt it to the other side?

The jack physically stopped turning?

 

[CharlieS]

For reference:

Land Cruiser Phil's jack adapter might open up other options:

Factory jacking points

Any thoughts on why Toyota recommends lifting the vehicle by the frame on the front end, while using the axle for the rear? When using a floor jack, it seems to me like you would have more stability and spread the weight of the jacking point better on the frame than on the smaller footprint of...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[TheIcemanCometh]

Thanks for all replies. Middle picture of Step 5 is exactly where I placed the jack. Just before the frame goes in board and also has slight up ward slant. Still too dark for a picture. Will add in later.

 

[luke27617]

I have used the bottle that comes with truck many times. What you may have experienced is that you think that you are fully extended but actually you are not. Keep rotating. The extending part has at least 2-3 layers of pipe. I had concerns at the first use as well.

 

[TheIcemanCometh]

I have used the bottle that comes with truck many times. What you may have experienced is that you think that you are fully extended but actually you are not. Keep rotating. The extending part has at least 2-3 layers of pipe. I had concerns at the first use as well.

At least with my jack there are two extendors, as best I could tell both were fully extended. That is I did keep cranking and neither continued to extend further. In fact, I could feel a "click" as though the mechanism had reached its end point.

 

[Sandroad]

Are you certain it’s an OEM jack? If it is and it’s working correctly and you placed it correctly, it will get a front tire off the ground. Something is not right if you had to add a 2x6. When you get a chance, extend yours all the way and measure the height. I’ll get mine out and do the same.

 

[Angelo1]

You can get it on Amazon a bit cheaper Hi-Lift HLORB Offroad Jack Base Plate - https://www.alldogsoffroad.com/hi-lift-hlorb-offroad-jack-base

 

[TheIcemanCometh]

I dropped the tire off this morning. Looked again at where I placed the jack and confirmed it was in the right place. When I get the tire back I'll need to swap it with the spare. I will pull out the kit so will attempt to jack it up again and see what happens.

 

[TeCKis300]

For reference:
View attachment 2600031

Land Cruiser Phil's jack adapter might open up other options:

Factory jacking points

Any thoughts on why Toyota recommends lifting the vehicle by the frame on the front end, while using the axle for the rear? When using a floor jack, it seems to me like you would have more stability and spread the weight of the jacking point better on the frame than on the smaller footprint of...

forum.ih8mud.com

Thanks for this. I was trying to picture where the jack would go and this leave no question. I lift from the same points with a floor jack, but impressed at how high the bottle jack and go.

Still concerned on soft or uneven ground which is why I added a couple tools to the arsenal. Mods like the OEM front spacer that add to suspension droop and taller tires can made this harder in difficult situations. Maybe I should try it out at home at least once.

 

[linuxgod]

If the ground is even the bottle jack will lift when using those points in the manual. I have 34s and a 2" lift and I could raise the tires off my old driveway.

 

[bloc]

 

[TeCKis300]

Impressive. That's more lifting height than some floor jacks. Thanks @bloc !

Nice drill. I have the same and it's one of my favorites.

 

[bloc]

Nice drill. I have the same and it's one of my favorites.

It's siblings (3/8" impact is brother, 1/4" impact is sister) get more of a workout but the three have totally changed how I do work in the garage. Just using the drill to do the above took what would probably be a few minutes each direction of turning the crank down to maybe 8 seconds each way.

 

[TeCKis300]

It's siblings (3/8" impact is brother, 1/4" impact is sister) get more of a workout but the three have totally changed how I do work in the garage. Just using the drill to do the above took what would probably be a few minutes each direction of turning the crank down to maybe 8 seconds each way.

Collect them all. The siblings all had a hand in converting the HF utility trailer into an off-road trailer yesterday. Sorry to the OP for the threadjack.

 

[afgman786]

You could also use the bottle jack on the LCA. It takes a lot less cranking to get the tire off the ground and I haven't had any issues with it moving or feeling unsafe yet.

 

[bloc]

You could also use the bottle jack on the LCA. It takes a lot less cranking to get the tire off the ground and I haven't had any issues with it moving or feeling unsafe yet.

The angle of my LCAs and the round edge on the top of the jack would prevent this working in my case, though as mentioned I’m not at stock ride height.

Either way as long as it can get the tire in the air, for the front the frame is a MUCH safer way to go, since it isn’t lifting a moving part of the suspension.

edit: last paragraph for clarity