Jack Pad Adapter

[Glee217]

Before getting too concerned about the adapter 'groove' being not deep enough to prevent the edge of the pinch seam bottoming out, feel on the back side of the pinch seam. I feel 2 raised bumps that will take the load first and they are 1/2" or less from the thin bottom edge of the pinch seam. So, the groove doesn't have to be too deep. I wish my explanation could be a little less clumsy, but take a look and feel to see what's there. This is the reinforced area for lifting.

Oh so your saying the inner underbody (felt covered) of the pinch weld makes contact first since it is raised with two bumps and they are located ~ 1/2” from the pinch weld, correct?

So the outer underbody of the pinch weld does not make contact with the jack/jack stand pad?

 

[MyFirstMazda]

What I interpret from what he wrote is that the space between the two welds (raised bumps) is lower than the rest of the pinch weld that runs front to back than the welded area. The area inside of the pinch weld (the side opposite of the door jam) goes way up, the pad won't hit anything on the inside. The felt sort of floats there and will move out of the way. The outside of the pinch weld (door jam side) has some flat plastic near it and some is cut away between the two weld dots. That is where my jack stand pads contact the plastic a little bit. There is strong metal underneath that plastic, the metal they used for the pinch weld. You have to look at it for it to be clear.
In my opinion it is best to have a shallower V in the pad so the pinch weld contacts first at the bottom of the V and there is little load on the top of the pad, like you were saying, not having the top of the pad holding the car's weight. Having a pad with a slot or V in it makes it so the pinch weld won't get messed up even if the slot is shorter than the width of the pinch weld.

 

[MyFirstMazda]

My post above sounds as clear as mud lol. You have to get on your hands and knees and look at it with a flash light for it to be clear

 

[yrwei52]

What I interpret from what he wrote is that the space between the two welds (raised bumps) is lower than the rest of the pinch weld that runs front to back than the welded area. The area inside of the pinch weld (the side opposite of the door jam) goes way up, the pad won't hit anything on the inside. The felt sort of floats there and will move out of the way. The outside of the pinch weld (door jam side) has some flat plastic near it and some is cut away between the two weld dots. That is where my jack stand pads contact the plastic a little bit. There is strong metal underneath that plastic, the metal they used for the pinch weld. You have to look at it for it to be clear.
In my opinion it is best to have a shallower V in the pad so the pinch weld contacts first at the bottom of the V and there is little load on the top of the pad, like you were saying, not having the top of the pad holding the car's weight. Having a pad with a slot or V in it makes it so the pinch weld won't get messed up even if the slot is shorter than the width of the pinch weld.

Your description is as clear as it can be (to me anyway), and thanks for the explanation.

But I have been using a piece of 2x4 as a pad for the floor jack cradle, and positioned it right under pinch weld with some cut away between the two dots, the jack point suggested in owner’s manual. Never have any problems, or damage to the pinch weld and the paint on it.

 

[Glee217]

Your description is as clear as it can be (to me anyway), and thanks for the explanation.

But I have been using a piece of 2x4 as a pad for the floor jack cradle, and positioned it right under pinch weld with some cut away between the two dots, the jack point suggested in owner’s manual. Never have any problems, or damage to the pinch weld and the paint on it.

I have heard some people said the wood cracked on them so do you know which kind wound not crack? And the wood would fit and not slide on the jack stands?

 

[yrwei52]

I have heard some people said the wood cracked on them so do you know which kind wound not crack? And the wood would fit and not slide on the jack stands?

Use common sense and you want to look at the grain of the wood. If you place the piece of 2x4 with the grain 90° against the pinch weld, it’ll never split. The wood is soft comparing to metal. The pinch weld will press the wood a line, but won’t cut it. The floor jack cradle is a circle, and it’ll only bite into the soft wood with the cradle shape, in the mean time the wood won’t split since it’s a circle.

Of course if you’re in doubt, you should always spend some $$ getting a thick rubber jack pad like Conrad 16.5 had got:

Yes, use the "odd looking jack point extension". I've done this many times and it worked perfectly. I used a scrap piece of 2x4 on the floor jack cradle in the past and it works fine. I now have a thick rubber jack pad for the jack cradle but the 2x4 will be fine.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)

Don’t worry too much about putting too much weigh on the pinch weld as long as you position the jack on the dedicated area within 2 marks for lifting. And the crappy factory tire jack is also lifting on the pinch weld. Just don’t do metal-to-metal contact which may damage the paint of the pinch weld.

I actually believe we should put the weight on the pinch weld itself. It’s designed that way with the reinforcement on that pinch weld section within 2 marks. The cut on the rubber jack pad simply is used to position the pad properly, not for preventing lifting weight on the pinch weld.

 

[Glee217]

Not being rude but the 2021 owners manual page 7-8 says otherwise :

 

[yrwei52]

Not being rude but the 2021 owners manual page 7-8 says otherwise :

View attachment 302717

I can see your concerns after I read the 2021 Mazda CX-5 owner’s manual.

My 2016 CX-5 (Gen-1) owner’s manual:

2018 CX-5 (Gen-2) owner’s manual:

2021 CX-5 (Gen-2) owner’s manual:

We can clearly see the 2021 factory tire jack head looks diffrtent from my 2016 gen-1 CX-5 and 2018 Gen-2 CX-5. The note of the rail not touching the bottom of the jack groove has appeared, and all illustrations have also changed so that they show the jack head touching the car body.

I personally wouldn’t be too concerned as the owner’s manual has also said you have to use the crappy Mazda provided jack to lift at designated jack-up position and you can’t place any objects on or under the jack. This means the floor jack and pjack pad aren’t supposed to be used on the weld pinch rail area. Further, you’re not going to be able to find a deep-groove jack pad to meet such requirement like some had suggested.

 

[Glee217]

I can see your concerns after I read the 2021 Mazda CX-5 owner’s manual.

My 2016 CX-5 (Gen-1) owner’s manual:
View attachment 302719
View attachment 302720
View attachment 302721
View attachment 302722

2018 CX-5 (Gen-2) owner’s manual:
View attachment 302731
View attachment 302732
View attachment 302733

2021 CX-5 (Gen-2) owner’s manual:
View attachment 302734
View attachment 302735
View attachment 302736

We can clearly see the 2021 factory tire jack head looks diffrtent from my 2016 gen-1 CX-5 and 2018 Gen-2 CX-5. The note of the rail not touching the bottom of the jack groove has appeared, and all illustrations have also changed so that they show the jack head touching the car body.

I personally wouldn’t be too concerned as the owner’s manual has also said you have to use the crappy Mazda provided jack to lift at designated jack-up position and you can’t place any objects on or under the jack. This means the floor jack and pjack pad aren’t supposed to be used on the weld pinch rail area. Further, you’re not going to be able to find a deep-groove jack pad to meet such requirement like some had suggested.

Yeah great eye btw, the 2021 mentioned contacts only on the underbody and not the rail (pinch welds) but I ordered the jack stand pads for the rails and ordered a round rubber pad for the hydraulic jack ONLY to jack the front cross member (dimples) and rear differential. The hydraulic jack will not be used on the rails. Sorry for being so paranoid as I am a fresh Mech Engr. Thanks to all the great info and stay safe!

 

[MyFirstMazda]

Your description is as clear as it can be (to me anyway), and thanks for the explanation.

But I have been using a piece of 2x4 as a pad for the floor jack cradle, and positioned it right under pinch weld with some cut away between the two dots, the jack point suggested in owner’s manual. Never have any problems, or damage to the pinch weld and the paint on it.

The pinch weld is very strong on these cars, I don't think they would bend very easily. For jack stands it is just easier to have the pads stuck on the jack stand cradle instead of placing cardboard or wood on top of them. Probably the bare metal cradle wouldn't even mark up the pinch welds.

 

[MyFirstMazda]

They probably changed the scissor jack and have it touch the body above the pinch weld because they suck so bad. If the car is not perfectly level or not on hard ground the scissor jack is easy to fall over and drop the car. I think the man who got crushed to death trying to steal a CC used a factory supplied scissor jack.

 

[CX5_Driver]

..... I think the man who got crushed to death trying to steal a CC used a factory supplied scissor jack.

yeah here is one example:

Police say a man trying to steal a catalytic converter was crushed to death when the car fell on top of him | Blaze Media

A witness saw a scissor jack and a power cutting tool next to the crushed man

www.theblaze.com

I think @Glee217 has gotten the answer requested. I hope follow-up pictures with the solution in place is posted.