[louis110]

Does anyone know where to hoist the car from?

I was trying to get my car up on the hoist last week and didn't know where to lift the car from. I usually use the frame rails to lift the car, but the entire undercarriage is covered with plastic. The regular jacking points are thin and will probably get crushed if you lift at those points.

 

[mzd]

 

[willdude]

Fwiw, I put my '14 hatch up on a frame lift yesterday for the first time, and just sorta positioned the arms of the lift approximately where the jack points are. There were maybe some small indentations in the frame, but it wasn't crushed.

Still, I'd be interested to hear if there's a better way to do it. But with that plastic shield on the bottom, there unfortunately doesn't seem to be one.

 

[J2S2M]

^ whs

 

[willdude]

I think this diagram from the service manual would be useful for the lift points. There's a good area around the jack points where they say the lift arm pads can go.

 

[Amplified]

dang, that center jack point is far, and I only have a trolley jack.

Does anyone know if I can jack up one side of the car, place the jack, then jack up the other side place jack again?

Primarily doing this for oil changes.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Dova]

dang, that center jack point is far, and I only have a trolley jack.

Does anyone know if I can jack up one side of the car, place the jack, then jack up the other side place jack again?

Primarily doing this for oil changes.

Thanks for the help!

If you're not lowered , I suggest buying a rhino ramp. Exactly what I'm primarily using it for , oil changes.

 

[Amplified]

If you're not lowered , I suggest buying a rhino ramp. Exactly what I'm primarily using it for , oil changes.

I could but, i already bought the trolley jack so i rather use what i have

 

[Tommytheduck]

I tried using my hydraulic jack when I first got the car. Put it at the side rail points (the kinked points meant for the trunk jack) and immediately deformed the rail around them. Now, when swapping out my winter tires, I simply use the horrible jack that's provided in the trunk of the car and fit it inside the kinked points on the rail. It's a giant PITA, using the trunk jack, but I suppose next time I could try the center jack points with jack stands. I just don't trust those rails not to deform on jack stands either.

 

[Amplified]

I'm trying to figure out if there's any other place to jack up the car so I can put my jack stands.

That pinch weld is for jack stands or the emergency jack provided. So.. anyone know of a spot to jack that's not so deep like the cross members?

 

[GerryB]

Honestly, I used to jack my old. 6 on the pinch welds and set the jack stands under them as well. Sure, they got a little bent but there was no reason not to support the car in those spots. There is a center jack point in the front, easily reached with a hydraulic floor jack. No such luck in back, I think. The marked jack points on the pinch welds are placed where the weight can be supported by the structure

 

[Amplified]

Honestly, I used to jack my old. 6 on the pinch welds and set the jack stands under them as well. Sure, they got a little bent but there was no reason not to support the car in those spots. There is a center jack point in the front, easily reached with a hydraulic floor jack. No such luck in back, I think. The marked jack points on the pinch welds are placed where the weight can be supported by the structure

Don't think a trolley jack would do much damage would it? I'm thinking since it's so small, I can probably jack and also put my jack stands within that pinch weld.

 

[mazdi]

I jack from the pinch welds all the time.. some people cut a slit in a hockey puck to protect it from a regular floor jack.. there's also a product out there for this purpose:

 

[Ivant]

Those side rails really are tinny, they always seem to bend on any car that needs to be jacked up these days. I'm forever having to bend them back into shape. Some people don't bother, and just leave them bend over. I don't like the look though. It's a pity the manufacturers don't strengthen them up a bit. But I suppose it's all about super thin bodywork these days.

 

[hofcat]

I too having been thinking about how to lift the car should when the day comes I need to remove the wheels. I use ramps for oil changes. I found this thread which is exactly what I was looking for but there are some good questions about just how exactly to lift the car and with and jack and get jacks stands under the pinch weld. As pointed out there is not enough space at the pinch weld for both the jack and a jack stand. In looking into this I also saw the debate about if the car is supposed to be lift on the pinch weld itself or on the flat space next to the pinch weld. Researching this on the internet and watching Y-Tube videos of experienced mechanics I learned you are supposed to support on the edge of the pinch weld itself and not the flat space next to the weld. There are products sold that provide a rubber or metal disc with a slot cut deep into them to put the pinch weld in so the car is not lifted on the weld itself for those who feel otherwise. But I also found plenty of people who have said that their pinch welds folded or bent over when lifted on, I believe them. The pinch weld does not seem like an ideal solution but it is what is it with a mono-body car. I measured the depth of the pinch weld and the depth of the slot on the jack that comes with the car and the slot on the jack is less than the height of the weld, so the stock jack would lift on the edge of the weld.

I believe I found a solution for lifting the Mazda three to get jack stands on the car, and an obvious solution is to use the other lift points under the center of the car. But the front one is so deep under the car I cannot see how a hydraulic for jack can reach it. I searched for long reach floor jacks I did not find one I thought could reach far enough under. If anybody finds one that can, please let us know.
I am looking at using a scissor jack but not the one or type that comes with the car. For one I do not see the handle being long enough to use without putting your body under the car and it would be really hard to crank in that position. But there are some jacks like the AC Delco 2-ton jack where the handle attachment point is a ¾ “nut with a hole in it where the handle is inserted. This jack also has a flat lift point. In this case I would not use the handle that comes with the jack. I would put a ¾ socket on the nut then use long ½ inch extension rods for the handle to reach out from under the car. I found extension rod kits that had pieces as long as 30 inches. Link them all together and you should be able to reach out over 4 feet out from under the car. Then attach an electric impact drive to the extension rods to drive the nut and lift the car, then put the jack stands under the pinch welds on each side of the car. Reverse the drill and lower the car. I saw Y-Tube videos where people did just this but with the drill attached directly to the ¾ handle nut on the jack to lift it on the pinch weld. In my case I will add the extension rods to lift from the center of the car without having to be under it. I do not necessarily really completely trust a scissor jack, the can fold over and collapse. I have not done this yet but I believe it should work.

The other thing I will do is the next time the car is up on ramps I am going to locate that center jack point and spray paint it a bright color so it will be easy to see and spot.

 

[pete_89t2]

I jack from the pinch welds all the time.. some people cut a slit in a hockey puck to protect it from a regular floor jack.. there's also a product out there for this purpose: Amazon.com: Universal Slotted Rubber Jack Pad Frame Rail Protector: Automotive

^This, I use the hockey puck trick often. I wouldn't waste my $ on the Amazon ones though; you can buy 4 hockey pucks at any Walmart for that price & cut the slits yourself easy enough. A finish router with a 3/16" or so bit cuts a perfect slot very quickly.

Those side rails really are tinny, they always seem to bend on any car that needs to be jacked up these days. I'm forever having to bend them back into shape. Some people don't bother, and just leave them bend over. I don't like the look though. It's a pity the manufacturers don't strengthen them up a bit. But I suppose it's all about super thin bodywork these days.

They pinch welds are very flimsy, and often smashed in. What I did on my RX7, after straightening out the smashed pinch welds (bought car used), was to build up "hard points" for jacking. Took short lengths of 1"x1" solid AL stock, cut a slit along its length just thick & deep enough to fit over the pinch weld, and then epoxied it to the pinch weld. Now I have 4 solid points to jack from, which are basically the stock ones, just beefed up (spreads the jack force over a larger area - pinch weld and surrounding structure) and easier to position a jack or stands under.

I believe I found a solution for lifting the Mazda three to get jack stands on the car, and an obvious solution is to use the other lift points under the center of the car. But the front one is so deep under the car I cannot see how a hydraulic for jack can reach it. I searched for long reach floor jacks I did not find one I thought could reach far enough under. If anybody finds one that can, please let us know.

I have this Harbor Freight jack, see link below. Works great on my RX7 (also a long reach) and my '3. Only catch is to get that reach, you'll have to start it with the lever almost horizontal to clear the front bodywork, laying on the ground to position it right & get it started. Once you position it, takes a few "baby pumps" till the handle will clear the bodywork, and then you can get off the ground and pump it up the rest of the way easy-peasy.

2 ton Low Profile/Long Reach Steel Heavy Duty Floor Jack with Rapid Pump®

The other thing I will do is the next time the car is up on ramps I am going to locate that center jack point and spray paint it a bright color so it will be easy to see and spot.

^I like that idea, would make the job a lot easier!

 

[MeteorGray]

I took a short piece of 2x4 lumber I had hanging around and sawed a slot in it to fit the flange under the side of the car where the jack points are. This 2x4 piece is sized to fit in the cup of my floor jack. It prevents folding the flange over when jacking up the car for tire rotations. I use the donut spare to provide support for the first tire being rotated instead of a jack stand. It gives me the opportunity to make sure the spare is still OK and aired up properly. Works for me.

For oil changes, driving onto a ramp is perfect. I was amazed the ramp cleared this low-slung car, but it did. Serendipity.

 

[paulff3]

I just got one of these pinch pucks. Good call. Ordered a similar one for my BMW.

 

[Amplified]

Forgive me for being clueless, but I looked at that picture of the jack points and wanted to find where that front cross member was.

The pink, is that the front cross member where I can jack the car up from?

 

[dradernh]

I have this Harbor Freight jack...

I went for the same kind of unit - found one used for a reasonable price:

Pelican Parts.com - Low Profile High-Lift Floor Jack

I just got one of these pinch pucks. Good call. Ordered a similar one for my BMW.

I got a metal unit that's made for the Miata - it fits our cars, too. To get started, I just drop it onto the lift plate of one of my hydraulic jacks.

https://www.flyinmiata.com/fm-jack-adapter.html