Jack points and tire rotation

[SparkevBlogspot]

Is there a photo of jack points? I'm trying to use 3 ton jack so I can lift the front / back for tire rotation, but there doesn't seem to be a single place to lift both wheels with one jack. Even using 2 jacks, there doesn't seem to be a "notch" along the seam to indicate where to jack.

After tire rotation, how do you reset the pressure gauge sensor?

Thanks in advance.

 

[NORTON]

Good question.
Normally the answer is RTFM.
But since this car doesn't come with a jack, it's not explained in TFM, I think...

There are dips in the spot welded seam just inboard of the plastic rocker panels, front and rear. Put your face next to the ground and have a look.
That's where shops place the rubber car lift pads. Hopefully you home floor jack has rubber pads and makes contact on that seam without touching anything else.

But then, the tire rotation is only left to right. The wheels have different 'offsets'. You can't put a rear wheel on the front, it hits the caliper carrier.
So you need both front wheels in the air at the same time, then the rears. This means finding a good place to put a jack stand while you jack the other side.

And unless it's obvious that your left front tire is wearing way faster than your right front tire,,,, why bother with tire rotations?
If you enjoy taking it to the slide on cloverleafs all the time, this might be an issue!!! Good for you!

I have directional tires on mine, so No Tire Rotations for me! Lots of high performance cars are like this.

So if you do press on with this scheduled 'busy work', don't forget to use a torque wrench.

The 'TPMS reset' requires the use of a TPMS Relearn Tool. The dealer or any tire store can do this. The going rate is a dozen donuts,,, or free
When I had a Volt the Service Writer would grab the tool and do it quickly in the drive-thru sign-in garage, for free. But I usually brought donuts too !

 

[elpwr]

Rotating tires left to right reverses the direction of rotation and reduces feathering and cupping. The tires will last longer and be much quieter.

 

[SparkevBlogspot]

Normally the answer is RTFM.

Manual is extremely lacking. I mean, it doesn't even show you how to change the oil! :lol:

There are dips in the spot welded seam just inboard of the plastic rocker panels, front and rear.

I did not see obvious indents on the side seam like other cars. Also, the seams are much longer than other cars. I use hockey puck cut out in the middle as spacer, and I will need to glue two pucks to fit. But once it's jacked up, how do I place jack stands so I can jack up the other side?

Far better would be a central location where I can put the jack and lift both front tires off the ground. Then I can put jack stands on both sides, swap tires, etc. But all I see are sea of plastics, nothing "solid" in middle. Is there a central jack points (front and rear) where I can lift both tires with one jack?

why bother with tire rotations?

One reason is for better wear. The other, which I should've mentioned, is to turn off nagging in my monthly report. I guess TPMS can be reset any tire shop, but how do you tell Chevy that you've done the rotation so that it doesn't nag without going to the dealer?

 

[NORTON]

..., but how do you tell Chevy that you've done the rotation so that it doesn't nag without going to the dealer?

Good question !

One way would be to have your dealer perform the tire rotation and ask them to make sure to tell the mother ship that is was performed.
But then that cost will be WAY more than any perceived tire life savings you may get by swapping tires left to right.
Some old timers say that is not good for the tires 'because the tire takes a set on rotation direction' or some such theory. :roll:

As said, a lot of performance cars can't do tire rotations. Do they have any wear problems?
I know my 'performance' tires on my Spark EV show no signs of wearing unusually. But that is only at ~10k miles. Mine are 'install and forget' !

If you do the rotation on your own maybe a dozen quality* donuts might get a Chevy Service Writer to do the TPMS Relearn and tell the Mother Ship to stop nagging you.


*These guys know the difference ! You gots to be their favorite customer that day !

 

[SparkevBlogspot]

One way would be to have your dealer perform the tire rotation...

Well, I'm trying to avoid going to the dealer. They said it'd be about $40 for tire rotation if not included in free service. But far worse is my time. It'd take me 1 hour (or 2 hours in traffic) to drive to/from dealer. Then there's waiting at the dealer, another 1 or 2 hours. Total is anywhere from 2 hours to 4 hours.

If I do it myself, it'd be 15 min to 30 min if I know the jack point to lift both wheels. Saving time is worth doing it myself, and getting rid of nagging message + correct TPMS setting would be bonus. But as you write, maybe I'll just ignore it, as annoying as it is.

Still, it'd be nice to know how to do it (ie, jack point to lift both wheels).

 

[suparukuibi]

Subscribed because I got a leak in my tire.... and because of no jack points (I don't have a 4 point lift in my home) I couldn't pull the wheel off to easily inspect the tire.

Instead I had to keep rolling the car, get out, check the tire, repeat until I found the *$&#% bolt jammed into the tread.

Dealer wanted $60 to patch it. New, the tire costs $75.

There's gotta be a way to jack from a center point... can't find the info anywhere.

 

[MrDRMorgan]

..., but how do you tell Chevy that you've done the rotation so that it doesn't nag without going to the dealer?

Good question !

One way would be to have your dealer perform the tire rotation and ask them to make sure to tell the mother ship that is was performed.
But then that cost will be WAY more than any perceived tire life savings you may get by swapping tires left to right.
Some old timers say that is not good for the tires 'because the tire takes a set on rotation direction' or some such theory. :roll:

As said, a lot of performance cars can't do tire rotations. Do they have any wear problems?
I know my 'performance' tires on my Spark EV show no signs of wearing unusually. But that is only at ~10k miles. Mine are 'install and forget' !

If you do the rotation on your own maybe a dozen quality* donuts might get a Chevy Service Writer to do the TPMS Relearn and tell the Mother Ship to stop nagging you.

*These guys know the difference ! You gots to be their favorite customer that day !

 

[Sparkler]

Are you saying that tire rotation is not included with the included free maintenance?

 

[SparkevBlogspot]

Tire rotation is included in that 2 years of free maintenance that comes with new SparkEV. I took it in, and they did it for free. However, "expensive" stuff like brake flush falls just outside of that 2 year window.

I'd like to find out about jack points for knowledge sake, as well as being able to do the rotation myself. It could take hours to drive to dealer, wait around, and drive back. I can do it in under 30 minutes in my drive way, or even under 15 min now that I have impact wrench. I need to know jack points to lift both front and both rear to be able to do that. I might have to bite the bullet and get this thing plus ramp to fit my jack under the car plus hockey pucks to protect the seams if all else fail.

http://www.harborfreight.com/steel-floor-jack-cross-beam-60762.html

Still, that won't allow me to put jack stand when I want to work under the car.

 

[Arktctr]

Just had mine rotated for free as well as part of first service. Of course the advisor also told me they will be changing the oil in the generator as well...think that might be my last time at that dealer if they don't know their own cars.

 

[MrDRMorgan]

One way would be to have your dealer perform the tire rotation...

Well, I'm trying to avoid going to the dealer. They said it'd be about $40 for tire rotation if not included in free service. But far worse is my time. It'd take me 1 hour (or 2 hours in traffic) to drive to/from dealer. Then there's waiting at the dealer, another 1 or 2 hours. Total is anywhere from 2 hours to 4 hours.

If I do it myself, it'd be 15 min to 30 min if I know the jack point to lift both wheels. Saving time is worth doing it myself, and getting rid of nagging message + correct TPMS setting would be bonus. But as you write, maybe I'll just ignore it, as annoying as it is.

Still, it'd be nice to know how to do it (ie, jack point to lift both wheels).

Had a flat rear tire yesterday - sheetrock screw in the tread. Tried to find where to place a jack so I could remove the tire and rim to take in for repair. Manual that came with the car was no help. Gave up! Moved car to place valve stem on the flat tire at its lowest point with respect to the ground. Followed manual instructions for using the sealant kit / pump. It worked and the tire held its pressure. Drove to tire repair shop today to get tire repaired. Tire is now repaired. What I did learn is this: (1) there are four jack points on the car (see above comments). You will need a scissors jack with a notch to fit over the body metal. (2) using the tire sealant can cause the tire pressure sensor, located inside the tire, to fail if the sealant plugs up the sensor. Be sure the valve stem is at its lowest point with respect to the ground. This sensor is expensive. A replacement container of GM tire sealant costs $40.00. Cost to get the tire fixed - $17.50 to fix the tire and $43.05 for a new container of GM tire sealant. Detroit may have saved money by eliminating the spare tire and jack but car owners missing these parts will foot the bill including, possibly, towing costs. Now it is off to find a nice scissors jack to keep on hand.

 

[SparkevBlogspot]

Scissor jack is fine for occasional cumbersome use for flat tire. But to rotate the tires, you'd need two jacks. What I'm looking for is single point where you can lift both front or both rear tires that's not notched jack points on the sides. Once both wheels are lifted, I can place jack stands at jack points. Using the notched jack points to jack up the car prevents using jack stands, a safety hazard IMO.

But as of yet, I don't know how to lift both wheels and use jack stands for tire rotation.

 

[blb760]

Here is my experience with tire rotation on the spark.

On the front tires, placed floor jack just to rear of tires--there is bare
metal frame with hole in center of it. On the rear tires, I used the shock/strut
assembly as the lift point.

Now, as far as jack placement: under wheel control arm which attaches
with bolts to frame for the front wheels, and as far as the rear was concerned,
used jack only with jack stand adjacent to jack (for catastrophic failure of jack).

By the way, these were directional tires which are so irritating. Before I get
new tires and rims and furthermore as a temporary fix for front tire clearance,
I shimmed the front wheels with large, 1/8 washers. As noted, this is only temporary
and I'm checking the lug nut torque religiously.

 

[SparkevBlogspot]

So you lift one wheel, put a jack stand, then lift other wheel?

For the front, that metal with hole seems awfully thin, so I'm afraid to try it. When the jack is under there, jackstand cannot be placed under "notch"; it prevents jack handle pumping. May need to get a smaller jack. :-(

 

[Nashco]

I've had my car up on jack stands many, many times. I use the largest jacks and jack stands I can fit. This is the type of equipment I use:

A. A large hydraulic jack (2-3 ton) with a large pad like this style:

B. Jack stands (2-3 ton) with a large footprint and "V" pocket up top like this:

C. Urethane protectors for the jack and stands will reduce the likelihood of marking up the chassis, like these:

I've found this to be the quickest, safest way for me:

1. Jack up under a rear corner of the suspension, immediately under the spring there is a large area to jack under which I find to work well. Jack this up until you can get a jack stand under the pinch rail on the same side of the chassis, just forward of the rear tire.

2. Place one jack stand under the pinch rail and let the chassis down onto the jack stand. The chassis should be just high enough to get one jack stand under it.

3. Jack under the other corner of the rear suspension until you can get the jack stand under the pinch rail of the chassis on this side. If you are going to jack up the front, you may wish to go a bit higher on this side, but this depends on the size of your jack stands.

4. Let the body onto the second jack stand. If you went higher this time, make sure to jack up the first corner you jacked up and make the two jack stands the same height. The rear of the car should now be stable and on two stands, one on each side under the rear pinch rail.

5. Place your jack under the rear-most chassis mounting point of the front control arm. This is when you'll be glad to have the urethane jack pad, as the pad compliance will help from marring the chassis and spreads the load. Jack the front up until you can get a jack stand under the forward pinch rails. If your jack is in the way, start over with the jack at another angle. If this isn't possible, you can also let the front wheels down on solid wood blocks or drive-on style ramps to let the car down and reposition your jack out of the way of the pinch rails.

6. Let the front down until the front pinch rails are supported by the jack stands. All that work just to do more work now!

As a note, if you have a second set of wheels you're installing, or if you have aftermarket wheels that allow front to rear rotation (NOT POSSIBLE WITH STOCK WHEELS!!!), only step 1 and 2 are necessary. The car will settle with both front and rear wheels in the air on one side, easily allowing a jack stand to be slid under the front for a quick tire swap. This is how I install my race tires and wheels, which allows a complete tire and wheel swap in about 10 minutes.

Of course, the BEST method is to use a 2 post lift, which is quicker and safer...but I know that most people won't ever have access to this. That's how the dealer does it!

Stay safe out there and be careful. Cars are heavy!

Bryce

 

[SmokeyPete]

I saw the post by blb760 mentioning the "bare metal frame with hole in center of it" and by process of elimination figured that must be a reasonable jack point. I placed a Hockey Puck over that hole and found upon release of the floor jack 60 seconds later that this piece will indeed bend.
I am guessing no functional damage was done but I certainly don't want to see anyone repeat my mistake.
I've owned a Jetta and a Camry since getting my floor jack five years ago and have found those cars much easier to get in the air via a clearly marked pinch weld or via the frame of the car. I'm looking at the pinch weld of the Spark EV and I see no notches.
I guess the only left over option is the method Nashco recommended by lifting under the suspension spring..

Here is my experience with tire rotation on the spark.

On the front tires, placed floor jack just to rear of tires--there is bare
metal frame with hole in center of it. On the rear tires, I used the shock/strut
assembly as the lift point.

Now, as far as jack placement: under wheel control arm which attaches
with bolts to frame for the front wheels, and as far as the rear was concerned,
used jack only with jack stand adjacent to jack (for catastrophic failure of jack).

By the way, these were directional tires which are so irritating. Before I get
new tires and rims and furthermore as a temporary fix for front tire clearance,
I shimmed the front wheels with large, 1/8 washers. As noted, this is only temporary
and I'm checking the lug nut torque religiously.

 

[an7mal]

You can lift two wheels on the same side at one time with one jack:
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMHF88ERLm-1e8UGCBfYY77pOhp8bsXxiQFWg7y
Jacking from the front, both the front and rear wheel will come up and allow you to place jack stands.

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipNE6URfX_CZ84eGQCuogYAyFfW4rz8Kp8OAB2hS
Front Jack point, thick sheet metal with hole (just inside the crimped seam).

WIth 2x4 pad on jack in the front:
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipNC55njW9GAlhR4CLuPNJJ5GUvea2FYVZxnSRwx.

You can then put jack stands under the a-arm pivot or under the plastic shield near where the a-arms attach (use pads for the latter).

Rear jack point is also just inside the body seam crimp:
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipPXSdOqa6z98M6wDcZXMhzGjdwFXugdtIUlv5ij
You can see the jack stand in the same photo under the axle. Alternative place for a rear jack stand would be under the trailing arm pivot or the jack pad.

 

[didget69]

No rotation on original 2015 tires. New OEM tires installed on front at 21k miles, still on original rears... You guys must abuse tires... We do maintain the cars with tire balancing and alignment checked yearly.

Bryan

 

[NORTON]

No rotation on original 2015 tires. .... You guys must abuse tires... ...

Yes, I don't rotate the tires left to right. Sounds like busy work to me.

Yes, I abuse the tires!!!!

Tires and electrons are cheap. Car is fun ! :!: