Jacking Up an Aztek

LittleGTO

New member
Joined
Jul 18, 2015
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
0
I am frustrated that I cannot find solid information on how to jack up my Pontiac. Growing up, dad always said, "You make sure you jack that thing up level and immediately place stands under the car and remove that jack before you get under that thing."

I've checked my owner's manual. It gives four locations that seem to work well with that OEM screw jack or with the above mentioned slotted board(s). Now, even if I do sacrifice the ease of use of my hydraulic floor jack, where do the stands go? According to the manual I only have one location per corner that are guaranteed to be used up by the jack. A simple diagram in the manual would potentially erase this entire thread. Since I can read about "How to Wear Safety Belt Properly" and pages on how to to remove the spare, it is ridiculous that "How to Properly use a Jack and Stands" is not in there.
 
They make adapters for hydraulic jacks made out of various materials that have a slot in them that are placed on the jack pad and the slot lines up with the weld seam of the uni-body. The jacks which also have the proper non-flat surface to compensate for the weld seam go right next to the jacking point.
 
How to Properly use a Jack and Stands (specific to a 2004 Pontiac Aztek)

I figured I'd help the world out there:

I needed to get the tires off so I decided to take few pictures as I went. The pictures that follow are how "I" jacked up the ol' Aztek - safely. Dimensions came straight out of the manual (in case you don't have one anymore). I still would be interested to know if where I placed the jack in the front and rear are rigid enough for this load

1) The Jack Stands - per Pontiac Aztek 2004 Owner Manual
Jack Stand Placement.jpg

2) Front Jack Point - Front chassis cross member with triangular cross section, dead center.
Front Jack Location.jpg

3) Rear Jack Point - Rear aluminum cross member, dead center. Aluminum will deform under the load so I used a 2x4.
Rear Jack Location.jpg
 
puzzled why you didnt jack the vehicle up at the points where you placed the jack stands. If the vehicle is placed on a four arm lift those are the locations the lift arms would be placed.
______________________________
 
I have to be misunderstanding here. If I lift the car from location A, then how can I put the stand at location A while the vehicle is lifted from that point?

I did notice just towards the inside of the car from the lift points a flat tubular member that looked pretty prime for a jack, or stand. However, I must have thought that the last time I jacked the thing up because that member is bowed/deformed in like the vehicle weight was supported there at one time. couple that with the fact that I have a recurring wheel bearing issue and I'm not comfortable with putting the chassis through the kind of torsion attributed to jacking the car up one corner at a time. Sheese...I just want to jack the thing up (repeatably).

I can say the method above showed no signs of permanent deformation when I was done.
 
just place the stand either in front or behind jack point A
 
Thank you. This is all I wanted know. It sure seems simple now, but in my experience one finds a solid chassis member to jack from, and stays away from sheet metal.
 
that works fine on separate frame vehicles but as you know most cars today are unibody.
______________________________
 
Back
Top