HowTo - modify Tesla Jack Lift Pads to protect MME battery rails

[ChasingCoral]

Oh, I see you too know of the ClearGlide trick.

What ClearGlide trick?

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[dtbaker61]

Oh man, I didn't even think of this - I have a bucket of pucks. I can just use one of those when jacking...

yup, you could even drill a hole thru, and put a plumbing 'expansion plug' in the rail hole and tighten expansion bolt for a semi-perm install. I was going to do that until I saw the Teslas with the pre-molded nub.

 

[dtbaker61]

What ClearGlide trick?

ClearGlide is slippery stuff electricians use when pulling wire thru conduit. works like cutting oil when cutting or drilling rubber. Dish Soap works too....

 

[Mauser]

yup, you could even drill a hole thru, and put a plumbing 'expansion plug' in the rail hole and tighten expansion bolt for a semi-perm install. I was going to do that until I saw the Teslas with the pre-molded nub.

Trying to understand the benefit of a "permanent" placement, instead of using them when I need to. I can imagine those things doing some damage if they fell out while driving..

 

[dtbaker61]

Trying to understand the benefit of a "permanent" placement, instead of using them when I need to. I can imagine those things doing some damage if they fell out while driving..

I wanted to have them in place when I take car to tire shop for mount/balance rather than bring four pucks in and hand them to the shop.

no worries on falling out, I've driven almost 20k miles including dirt roads with washboard bad enough to shake out your fillings....

 

[SilentD]

So I ended up utilizing these which are more for like a C7 Corvette (which I also happen to own - humblebrag). But I have different 'temporary' Al pucks for the Vette which I got off of eBay from China. They are also anodized red aluminum.

These worked pretty well I have to say! I did have to bend some of the plastic slightly to fit the circle in at the apex of the hole [ I have to say you will know what I am talking about once you install them ]. And maybe since I got them used I had to re-tap one of the 8 holes and Amazon gave me a refund of $6.

All in all ...... well worth it for the peace of mind of hopefully some other idiot noticing the bright red lifting point and not trying anything really stoopid.



https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0978J5BS...pY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU&th=1

 

[kennethjk]

The Tesla Pucks I used have not budged.... I did put a piece of red vynal tape over the holes to protect puck nub from sharp edge, cut an 'X', and pressed mine in with a little ClearGlide and the floorjack. I haven't tried to remove them, but can't imagine any need to. The Dealership did not have any problem dropping battery tray for my HVBJB replacement.

So obviously it didn’t interfere With dropping the battery. That’s good to hear

 

[SJP]

Since Ford does not provide Jack lift pads, and the average DIY mechanic and/or tire shop is quite likely to position their Lift pads on the battery rails with potentially disastrous results if the aluminum rails are crushed... I thought I'd look around for something more elegant than a piece of 2x4 that could be installed in CORRECT lift points.

I found nothing for the Mach-e online, but I did find lift pads for the Tesla x,y,etc $20 for a set of 4

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NRLZNRK?

turns out however that they interfere with the lower molding on Mach-e, and need a little trim to fit well. Here's the pix of the stock lift pads, how I trimmed them, and the end result.... which I hope is obvious if anyone by me lifts the car.

---- post install update ----

after initial 'install' when I lifted all 4 corners to swap all-season with winter snows, the lift pads are hanging in there with no additional expansion bolts or screw or anything. The rubber nubs on the pads apparently are soft enough to deform on install, and bulge a bit inside the rail after installed.

so..... works great, and makes it much easier to locate the jack correctly before lifting!

I just ordered some stickers (inspired by @JohnFoxeSheets )
to make it even more clear....
$11 -
https://www.amazon.com/ComplianceSigns-Lifting-English-Yellow-4-pack/dp/B00JETXSMU/ref=sr_1_3?

and as long as I was there, I added TOW stickers at the front locations.

If you have to come up with something quick- a short piece of 2x4 works great.
https://www.google.com/search?q=for...&ie=UTF-8#kpvalbx=_MVKcZIajCOqnptQPqduaqAQ_30

 

[mkhuffman]

If you have to come up with something quick- a short piece of 2x4 works great.
https://www.google.com/search?q=for...&ie=UTF-8#kpvalbx=_MVKcZIajCOqnptQPqduaqAQ_30

And if you glue it on with hot melt, you have a permanent pad.

 

[Mrn]

Since Ford does not provide Jack lift pads, and the average DIY mechanic and/or tire shop is quite likely to position their Lift pads on the battery rails with potentially disastrous results if the aluminum rails are crushed... I thought I'd look around for something more elegant than a piece of 2x4 that could be installed in CORRECT lift points.

I found nothing for the Mach-e online, but I did find lift pads for the Tesla x,y,etc $20 for a set of 4

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NRLZNRK?

turns out however that they interfere with the lower molding on Mach-e, and need a little trim to fit well. Here's the pix of the stock lift pads, how I trimmed them, and the end result.... which I hope is obvious if anyone by me lifts the car.

---- post install update ----

after initial 'install' when I lifted all 4 corners to swap all-season with winter snows, the lift pads are hanging in there with no additional expansion bolts or screw or anything. The rubber nubs on the pads apparently are soft enough to deform on install, and bulge a bit inside the rail after installed.

so..... works great, and makes it much easier to locate the jack correctly before lifting!

I just ordered some stickers (inspired by @JohnFoxeSheets )
to make it even more clear....
$11 -
https://www.amazon.com/ComplianceSigns-Lifting-English-Yellow-4-pack/dp/B00JETXSMU/ref=sr_1_3?

and as long as I was there, I added TOW stickers at the front locations.

Thanks! They cut like butter with a fine-toothed bandsaw, no lube required. The manufacturer is on to version 2, so they might have changed to a harder material.

 

[alexgorod]

@AOSK has the pads on Amazon! Unfortunately, they are not for permanent installation, but I bought a set anyway.

 

[dtbaker61]

@AOSK has the pads on Amazon! Unfortunately, they are not for permanent installation, but I bought a set anyway.

I think you'll find that the nubs fit tight enough that they are virtually permanent.

Especially if you :
- cover the holes with GorillaTape first,
- cut an X in the middle,
- put a dab of dish soap on,
.... and install with a floor jack.

 

[MyLittlePony2022]

If you want to make it permanent, you can always drill it through the center and install a expanding bolt (with a recessed head) in the middle to expend the rubber. I installed mine and it was very tight, doubt it will go anywhere.

 

[Mrn]

Are these lower than the body rails around the battery? The owner modified Tesla pads are a bit shorter than the rails so you need to be careful to hit the pads and not the rails.

 

[Fins160]

These seem worth is just for the sticker on the battery rail! Too bad I just made my own a few weeks back. Nice job @AOSK !

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