If the jack stand arms are wide enough, the frame. I feel like the frame is too center line so it is liable to fall if too much with is put on one side so I do the pinch welds. My pinch welds are screwed up now but I still feel better there.

I do plan on repairing them and getting a different jack stand with inserts for the pinch welds. Or maybe I will get wider ones and use the frame even though that scares me. 🤷‍♂️

 

Well, one of the things I learned from working on another marque is that the use of wood blocks to rest on top of the jack stand heads is a great idea, provided they're made of wood that's not really, really soft. The weight of the vehicle puts enough of a "dent" in the underside to make the jack stand placement clear after the first use, and you cut them, with grooves if necessary, so that what you don't want crushed doesn't get crushed and that the weight is spread out more than it would be with a jack stand head alone.

This works beautifully on one vehicle (hint, see my avatar) that weighs as much for one as several of our cars put together do.

 

Forty years ago I made an insert for the cradle of my floor jack from a piece of oak that came from a floor pallet. Still going strong with no cracking. Jack is performing as designed with no repair. Changed jack oil every three or so years with ISO-32 hydraulic oil.

 

I'm following up with a couple of photos and a question. I intend to document the whole "lifting of the car with a floor jack" process later, but I need to clean up and edit the photos I took first.

But here are two photos of my '04 Solara SLE up on jack stands with sill blocks of my own making:

Whenever I'm using a jack stand on asphalt I always place a plywood square beneath the legs. Once when I had a vehicle up on these particular jackstands for a number of days at the height of summer, the asphalt softened and one or two of the legs on one side started sinking in while the others didn't, destablilizing the vehicle. Luckily, I always recheck my jack stands, and give the car a good shove while it's on them, before I ever get under it. But with the plywood platforms I have never had an issue with the jack stand shifting when in use on asphalt.

Here is the sill block in place on top of the jack stand, bearing the weight of the car. It works perfectly and the pinch weld is entirely unharmed. I'll end up giving the dimensions I used at a later point.

It turns out that the part I have received as the plastic wheel well liner is incorrect, so I can't complete the job today. Since I have another car I could leave her up on jack stands until the new one arrives in a few days, but I don't know how fussy these cars may be in terms of a several-day stay in the air, so I'm asking. Some you can leave up on jackstands for as long as you like, others (and since this is a convertible, it might be one of them) start to deform somewhat under their own weight over time, which I don't want.

Has anyone kept a 2nd generation Solara convertible up on jack stands for a period of days or weeks? If so, what was the outcome after you'd lowered it again?

 

If it was on a hoist, I'd leave it. It's also a given that if it was on a hoist I'd likely be using the front frame rails and the rear pinch welds with flat metal plates instead of adaptors. In terms of jack stands, I personally don't like to leave my car hanging up for long.

If you have to question it, then you may as well put it down and wait.

 

Well, I will end up putting it down in all probability, but there's nothing like the "experience of the cohort" to get some indication of the necessity/advisability of a given plan of action.

I guess it's outside, put the wheel back on, then put her down and let her sit until the correct part arrives. Slop would get absolutely everywhere with that entire wheel well insert not in place.

As an aside, I don't care if I'm using a lift versus using jack stands, in almost all cases I favor wooden sill blocks, correctly constructed for the given vehicle, if the manufacturer shows its jacking lift points along the sills, and Toyota does. Once I've made 'em it makes it easy to either put the car up on jack stands or use 4 sill blocks to lift the whole thing on a lift.

 

All depends on the shops in terms of the hoist and the hoist adaptors. Every time I put it on the hoist, the arms were not short enough or angled enough to reach pinch welds so it is always easier to just go on the frame. Rather, all that matters is safety so using the designated lift points are a recommendation if possible.

 

If you're using the dedicated lift points, have at least two stands for the front or rear, the stands are level, and the ground is level (and not asphalt as you found out that one time) it should be fine. Any car will start to deform if you have one corner in the air for an extended period of time. But Vangm is also correct, if you don't feel comfortable doing that, no point in leaving it hanging when you can put your mind completely at ease by sitting the car back down until the part arrives.

 

If you're using the dedicated lift points, have at least two stands for the front or rear, the stands are level, and the ground is level (and not asphalt as you found out that one time) it should be fine.

Thanks. The 2-stands part is one of those "goes without saying" things for me. I have even had the rare occasion (not with this car) where a one-side lift was needed, and it's still a front and rear jack stand for that circumstance regardless of which end you may be working on first.

Many of us, myself included, don't have a choice about the asphalt. It's my driveway, it's not going anywhere, and it's the only level ground I have. Hence the reason I endorsed the consistent use of plywood pads for the jack stands, and that's regardless of where I'm working, really. They can mark things so easily, but the plywood takes the beating.

The car went back down to the ground. I intend to start posting about the little adventure I've undertaken to repair that left front fender liner, with photos. I have called every salvage yard I've ever done business with, several of which are just huge, and no one has the part. I cannot find it new, either, other than in the "fits multiple vehicles" type, which is what I had initially acquired (and turned out to be a Volvo part on very close inspection). I have no doubt the fix will work just fine and last years. Had I known that there were no OEM ones to be found and that the aftermarket doesn't seem to make many "model dedicated" replacements I would have gone this route from the outset.