Safely lifting a 03 Corolla

[Dave Osborne]

I have a 2003 Corolla. The first unibody vehicle I have ever needed to lift. The underneath of the car offers no obvious good lift points. Although there are 3 tow hooks up front, there are none on the back. I tried the center one and watch the mount start to flex. I immediately stopped.

So, where are some good points on a 03 Corolla? And, what about the sub-frame. There is what appears to be a subframe front just behind the front wheel to just ahead of the rear wheel, about a foot inside from the pinch welds. What about lifting at each end of it? As for jack stands… My jack stands contact on the pinch weld… Not the support above the pinch weld. What about making wooden blocks with a slit to put over the pinch weld to contact the actual support area and setting it on the jack stand? Or, is that too dangerous? That’s kindda my plan, at this point.

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[Daniel]

Do you have the owner’s manual? There should be instructions in there.
There should be a notch on the pinch weld, just below the door skirt. That is where you lift. Do not try that “wood trick” you mentioned. There will be no support there.

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[Lorrin Barth]

I’ve seen the wooden blocks tired before. They split and go flying.

There’s several good youtube videos showing how to lift vehicles including one Eric recently made.

[Dave Osborne]

I am familiar with the notches where the factory jack goes. There are two problems with those. 1. A jack stand and especially a floor jack will really screw those up. 2. There is not enough room to put the floor jack and the jack stand at that one notch. (Three of the four notches on this car are already bent where someone else tried).

[Lorrin Barth]

http://www.ericthecarguy.com/kunena/11-Tool-Talk/56913-how-to-safely-lift-and-support-your-vehicle#128691

[Dave Osborne]

I’ve seen his video. The bottom of the Corolla is different than the Vigor. Especially the back. No tow hooks, no nothing. And, if you try the center tow hook on the front, the first pump on the jack after contact produced that sound of metal flexing and you can visibly see it isn’t meant for vertical force. It’s only to be pulled on. These Corollas, as nice as they are, seem to lack points where there is significant strength. Thanks anyway, though.

[Chip]

Start with your feet shoulder-width apart. Lift with your legs, not your back. Grasp the fron.. nevermind, you were talking about using a jack.

But seriously though, the owner’s manual would definitely have points laid out – look under “changing the tire”

Or heck, check out the spare tire area – sometimes there’s a plastic instruction card tethered to the jack.

[Ryan Wofford]

Look for a good cross member on the sub frame that is fairly thick and put the jack there, It’s should be plenty strong enough for a jack, however a place for jack stands…. I’m not quite sure, these cars were designed for professional lifts and not the home repair so they make it as difficult as possible for the home repair to be done, once the average joe gives up trying to repair it they are hoping that they might take it to the dealership to make the company even more money. :dry:

[Ingvar]

What do you need to jack it for? I jacked trucks and cars off control arm. Get jack cup under the ball joint or, even on CA itself.
Honestly, I had in law’s Corolla jacked with my hydraulic jack, on the standard spots, many times, and never had an issue.

[Ingvar]

Funny, I was paging through a Consumer Report after I posted here and looked at a page picturing a vehicle up on a standard 4 arm lift. Came upon me that should you take your car to a shop – those re-enforced ridges on underbody will be exactly where the lift arms will go. I don’t think anything is wrong with Toyota. That someone messed something up before does not mean it’s an ill designed vehicle.

[Dave Osborne]

@1994FordF150

LOL! I couldn’t have said it better myself. New cars seemed to be designed to keep the shade tree mechanic from being able to do his/her own work. Then we have to go to a dealer that has endless money for lifts, computers, etc. I miss the days of body on frame cars, carburetors, etc.

[Lorrin Barth]

I remember when I bought my last new car and looked under it. It appeared there was no place for a jack or stands. Right now it is in the shop up on jack stands. It is a learning experience and may require new equipment, in particular I’m talking about jacks and jack stands that don’t flatten the pinch weld. Cars hold themselves up so the strength is there.

[Author]

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