Jacking up the Yeti

[Upsidedown]

I fully agree with Vwyetinym, the usually very helpful manual is not good at describing where the jacking points are.

 

I have a Monte Carlo which has the additional side mouldings to the sills. I had assumed that these were covering up the (mythical?) jacking point location arrows. I also have the Rough Road package fitted which extends across the underside of the vehicle as far as the sill lip. Consequently until I picked up on this thread I thought that the jacking points were the reinforced parts of the sill lips / drain holes as there is know way I would want to lift the car on the plastic parts.

 

I have had several Hondas and Toyotas in the past and the jacking points have always been the reinforced part of the sill lip. Have I been risking life and limb using these points on the Yeti?

 

It would be very helpful therefore if a forum member could post photos showing the arrows and the correct position for lifting the vehicle.

[Ryeman]

The more designers engineer in lightness the less obvious the strong points it seems.

under the A and C pillars is guaranteed though with a bit of soft pine as a pad.

[b1ackb1rd]

Has anyone fitted Audi TT style pucks to the body instead of using the villa?

[Dale_Stevens]

Seems to be some doubt over where the jacking points are, can anyone help with locating them please?

[Yety]

On 21/07/2016 at 13:44, x19 said:

Can't help with the centre jacking point, I wasn't aware of it when I had my Yeti.

What I would urge you to do however before you use a trolley jack is to fit the supplied scissor jack to one of the jacking points and lightly tighten it until it is holding in position, then look under the car and you will note that the load is taken on the strengthened area of the floor pan inboard of the plastic trim with the seam. It is not in any way taken where the "u" shaped part of the supplied jack fits over the seam. It appears to me that the "u" shaped section is just to fit the jack snugly over the seam.

I mention this because you may see references to using a hockey puck or similar, to merely fit over the seam and into the cup on the trolley jack. If you do this the weight of the car will not be taken where it is designed to do so. I made up a fitting from strengthened rubber that mirrored the shape of the supplied jack, fitted the cup of the trolley jack and ensured the car weight was taken correctly.

 

You can't see the jacking point location marker moulded into the plastic sill cover just by standing at the side of the car. You have to get down on your knees, or lie flat, to see the rear marking. It is a little triangle, raised, and just in front of the second from the rear of the plastic cover holding self tappers on the horizontal part of the plastic sill cover. It is not on the sill drain hole.

 

There are 4 components to the welded seam: a central thicker part of the body, an inner 90* bent part of the floor pan. another thinner metal panel which is really the outer sill panel, with some swaged holes, which completes the traditional sill structure. There is then a cosmetic plastic sill cover for styling/decorative effect which doubles up as protection to keep gravel rash etc damage away from the potential rust prone area of the welded sill area. To further this protection, there is a thick layer of seam sealer on both side of the welded seam, merging into the floor pan.

 

The post above from X19 is spot on, but seems to have been ignored. The weight of the car is indeed taken on the floor pan pressing, but only at the 90* bend where it is welded together with the other bits. If you rammed a jack under the floor pan anywhere else, you distort the floor pan and get into big trouble.

To understand this you have to lie on the floor and look along the line of the sill to see the profiles involved.

 

The owners manual is correct and quiet clear, and yes they are very specific in their reasoning.

 

I've spent some hours in recent times scraping off damaged areas of seam sealer and chasing down the first signs of surface rusting under the sealant. This has been caused by my Skoda dealer raising the car on lifts directly on the sills, even worse, tyre dealers. One tyre dealer tried lifting in the middle of the sill until I stopped him. The areas were rust treated, painted and seam sealed again. My Skoda dealer just raises his eyebrows when I mention this, so now I only use them for "big" things like cam belt changes etc.

 

There is a specific polyurethane "puck" made by Powerflex: VAG JACK PAD PF3-1661 https://www.powerflex.co.uk/product-details/VAG+Jack+Pad+Adpator/13324.html  which is exactly the right profile if you want to try and protect the seamsealer.

 

If you want to keep the car as a keeper, these things matter if you are mechanically minded. If not, carry on as normal !!

    

[Dale_Stevens]

24 minutes ago, Yety said:

 

There is a specific polyurethane "puck" made by Powerflex: VAG JACK PAD PF3-1661 https://www.powerflex.co.uk/product-details/VAG+Jack+Pad+Adpator/13324.html  which is exactly the right profile if you want to try and protect the seamsealer.   

 

Thanks Yety, when I collect my Yeti from the dealer at the end of the month I might ask them to put it up on their ramps so I can see the jacking points and photograph them.

When you refer to that VAG Jacl Pad, is that one different to the type that x19 referred to which he doesn't recommend, or is it a different type?

 

On 21/07/2016 at 13:44, x19 said:

I mention this because you may see references to using a hockey puck or similar, to merely fit over the seam and into the cup on the trolley jack. If you do this the weight of the car will not be taken where it is designed to do so. I made up a fitting from strengthened rubber that mirrored the shape of the supplied jack, fitted the cup of the trolley jack and ensured the car weight was taken correctly.

 

 

Edited 11 October, 2020 by Dale_Stevens

[Dale_Stevens]

This video at 3m 24secs shows the guy jacking the Yeti...

 

 

[Yety]

The Powerflex VAG pad I mentioned above is a good fit and is easy to use. The pad mentioned in the earlier post by X19 is the wrong sort, that's why he posted.

I guess the reason for taking the weight of the car on the angle of the floor pan is because the seam sealer is not disturbed - break/crush the seam sealer and let the risk of sill metal corrosion breed under the cover of what might appear to be ok. Only VAG could verify - or possibly not 

 

You can't see the jacking point, only the positional triangle on the plastic cover - the "jacking" area just looks like any bit of sill. Lie on the ground and feel for it.

 

Good video, right jack, wrong position on the drain hole and obviously not read the owners manual - perhaps he had it upsidedown!

 

Interwebby stuff can be a force for good or bad - you make your mind up. 

[Dale_Stevens]

41 minutes ago, Yety said:

Good video, right jack, wrong position on the drain hole and obviously not read the owners manual - perhaps he had it upsidedown!

 

Not doubting you (as I haven't even got my Yeti yet!!) but do you think where he felt for the thicker seem he should instead have looked for the triangle and got his head underneath? Is there a chance he got it in the right position purely by luck, or did he definitely get it wrong?

 

I've added that pad to my shopping list for when I've collected ny Yeti, thanks for the tip.

Edited 11 October, 2020 by Dale_Stevens

[Dale_Stevens]

Anyone any experience of using this jack that claims to be Yeti specific?...

 

 

 

[Yety]

1 hour ago, Dale_Stevens said:

 

 but do you think where he felt for the thicker seem he should instead have looked for the triangle and got his head underneath? Is there a chance he got it in the right position purely by luck, or did he definitely get it wrong?

 

 

No - he specifically mentioned the thicker part of the sill as a drain hole, he felt for it and located the jack there. It was in the wrong place. It looked in the wrong place as well. I wasn't there with a ruler!

 

The problem in using the drain hole is the possible squeezing together to close it off - it is a drain point so that would be no good! If not squeezing tight shut, the seam sealer is squidgy (technical term) and could move and effectively close the drain hole same result.

 

That's why, I guess, VAG chose a point not near the drain hole.

 

1 hour ago, Dale_Stevens said:

Anyone any experience of using this jack that claims to be Yeti specific?...

 

 

 

 That's a good find - never seen one of those before. It has a nice flat area to butt up against the corner of the floor panel as intended and would probably spread the load more than the OEM VAG jack.

 

I don't need one, as I use the urethane support in the link above.

[Dale_Stevens]

Point taken Yety, thanks.

 

A couple of pictures I found on another forum with markings indicating the jacking points as being 5 1/2" back from the front wheel arch edge, and 7" forwards from the rear wheel arch...

 

 

[Yety]

Aaaargh.

 

You can see the triangle mark in the lower picture, only just in shot on the right.

 

That drain hole is suffering from jack attack   The seam sealer has broken it's surface, so it's not sealing and letting moisture in, the opposite action you are trying to prevent - metal showing - typical of what I was on about in above.

Not a pleasant sight, but I guess not many care where/how they jack it up. That's why I'm keeping my car as long as I can, because I know it's strengths and weaknesses.

 

 

[Dale_Stevens]

15 minutes ago, Yety said:

Aaaargh.

 

You can see the triangle mark in the lower picture, only just in shot on the right.

 

That drain hole is suffering from jack attack   The seam sealer has broken it's surface, so it's not sealing and letting moisture in, the opposite action you are trying to prevent - metal showing - typical of what I was on about in above.

Not a pleasant sight, but I guess not many care where/how they jack it up. That's why I'm keeping my car as long as I can, because I know it's strengths and weaknesses.

 

 

 

So he needed to move the markings over to the right, so the triangle would be central to the jack?

Too late to edit that post now to remove the measurement, if they are wrong then i don't really want anyone to think they are correct and copy them.

 

By the way, on non sunroof models are those drain holes still there? If so what area of the car do they drain collected water from?

 

Edited 11 October, 2020 by Dale_Stevens

[Llanigraham]

10 minutes ago, Dale_Stevens said:

 

So he needed to move the markings over to the right, so the triangle would be central to the jack?

Too late to edit that post now to remove the measurement, if they are wrong then i don't really want anyone to think they are correct and copy them.

 

By the way, on non sunroof models are those drain holes still there? If so what area of the car do they drain collected water from?

 

 

Yes, he needed to move the markings over so the triangle is central to the jack, and yes those drain holes are there on all models. They drain the cill area of any water that gets inside, be that spray or even condensation.

[Dale_Stevens]

Just now, Llanigraham said:

 

Yes, he needed to move the markings over so the triangle is central to the jack, and yes those drain holes are there on all models. They drain the cill area of any water that gets inside, be that spray or even condensation.

 

Thanks, i'm certainly going to get the dealer to show me underneath the vehicle (if they are allowed to?) when I collect it later this month. Will give me a chance to give the underneath a once over, and identify the jacking point triangles.

[J.R.]

On 20/08/2020 at 19:32, b1ackb1rd said:

Has anyone fitted Audi TT style pucks to the body instead of using the villa?

 

I am intending doing so very soon, its a lot of money but I would rather be lifting the car on a strong and secure point than on the sill structure.

 

My only concern is having to remove the plastic cover plates to fit the front ones may leave some of the floorpan exposed, I am hoping that I can trepan them and refit them around the lifting pucks.

[Expatman]

Dear G**, how hard is it to find the jacking points! Just use your eyes and look!

I really despair of peoples inability to cope with simple tasks.

[Dale_Stevens]

14 minutes ago, Expatman said:

Dear G**, how hard is it to find the jacking points! Just use your eyes and look!

I really despair of peoples inability to cope with simple tasks.

 

Well I can't look as I don't get my Yeti until 30th October, which makes looking a bit difficult for me at the moment.

Edited 11 October, 2020 by Dale_Stevens

[rarrar]

Its easier to feel for the triangles once you are in right area.

Once found a dab of light paint or marker is useful for when you need to use them by the roadside !!

[Dale_Stevens]

18 minutes ago, rarrar said:

Its easier to feel for the triangles once you are in right area.

Once found a dab of light paint or marker is useful for when you need to use them by the roadside !!

 

Exactly, especially at the roadside on a freezing cold and dark rainy winter night you do need to know exactly where they are.

[Kenny R]

8 minutes ago, Dale_Stevens said:

 

Exactly, especially at the roadside on a freezing cold and dark rainy winter night you do need to know exactly where they are.

Has the yeti your buying even got a spare wheel or jack as they are not standard items.

[Dale_Stevens]

8 minutes ago, Kenny R said:

Has the yeti your buying even got a spare wheel or jack as they are not standard items.

 

Well if it hasn't I'll be looking at getting one.

Going back to look at it again soon, so I'll check. Do the models without spare wheels still have the wheel well to store one, or do they have the adjustable floor instead?

[RickT]

Spare wheels were only fitted as a factory fitted option or if the previous owner bought the after market kit. None of the Yeti have a wheel well, the well is formed by fitting the raised boot floor kit.

[Expatman]

33 minutes ago, RickT said:

Spare wheels were only fitted as a factory fitted option or if the previous owner bought the after market kit. None of the Yeti have a wheel well, the well is formed by fitting the raised boot floor kit.

And reducing the boot space by 1/3rd or 1/4 (depending on which way you calculate)!!!