I’ve used the automotive lift many times on my other car, but tonight I wanted to put my 07 Camry on the lift to have a look at the exhaust system. It became clear quite quickly that the lift points are much further apart than the automotive lift accommodates and I wasn’t sure what to do - so I decided to err on the side of caution and never tried to raise the vehicle.
So here’s the problem/question:
The lift points on the the uni-body are indicated by notches in the seam by they are 83 inches center to center. The span of the lift is 52.5 inches (from the outermost edges of the rubber pad). How do I safely lift this vehicle? Here are some pictures for clarification.
I use the little rubber bricks because my van has a pinch weld also. Raise the lift to within 3 inches of making contact with your car. Place the bricks on the lift palet where you want to make contact with the car. Visually ensure that will give clearance for the pinch seam. Make sure to use the bricks symmetrically around the lift so that they don’t affect the level balance. Now, raising the lift with the bricks in place will bridge the gap you need to protect you car’s weld.
This was taught to me at my DMS lift training because the trainer saw the pinch weld on my vehicle. Since this is a different vehicle than you were trained to use the lift with, there could be other additional precautions necessary for that vehicle as well.
Assuming there’s nothing hanging lower than the pinch welds, you should be able to safely lift your vehicle up from any location. Please check for gas tanks, fuel lines, brake lines, etc that may be lower than the pinch welds.
The purpose of the “lift points” is an extra solid chunk of metal for a floor jack, which focuses the weight of the vehicle on one point. When you use our sled lift, with it’s built in rubber mats (no external pads), it disperses the weight of the vehicle across the entire pinch weld.
