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SO what' the real need for jacking pucks? I've had C4,C5, and (currently) c6 corvettes and never really understood the need. I can see if i wanted to use a cup type of end on my floor jack (so the weight is all on the rim of the cup) but most of my jacks have flat pads. DO you think I still need to put a block or hockey puck in between the jack and the frame? Any pics of damage from NOT using them?
I've installed mine just to be sure I hit the right spot as do the guys at the tire store using floor jacks. Great piece of mind for very small cost, and they take up little room in the cubbies. I have the hockey pucks.
As long as the pad to your jack fits into the fiberglass cutout, they're not necessary. If the pads were larger diameter than the cutout then, yes, the pucks would be necessary.
I bought some aluminum pucks and they are way to thick to get them in and the jack under them.....they were no good at the repair and tire store I occasionally frequent.....car barely fits over the floor joist as it is.......I found some rubber puck like things that are supposed to go under a washing machine to keep it from tearing up the vinyl floor. They are thin enough to work most of the time.
If you are careful with placement I am not that concerned with damage to the car......if you are careful......
If you put your jack into the small spot between the body panel , and while jacking your jack slides or slips sideways even one inch , you will crack the fiberglass body of your car..The puck is to get you down away from the body and it has a screw hook on top to stop the puck from sliding sideways...So yes , you do need the puck to stop potential damage from happening...You can get generic pucks with the metal top hook on Ebay for $19.95 which includes shipping , that's where I got mine.....WW
If you put your jack into the small spot between the body panel , and while jacking your jack slides or slips sideways even one inch , you will crack the fiberglass body of your car..The puck is to get you down away from the body and it has a screw hook on top to stop the puck from sliding sideways...So yes , you do need the puck to stop potential damage from happening...You can get generic pucks with the metal top hook on Ebay for $19.95 which includes shipping , that's where I got mine.....WW
This is a photo of snap in pucks. The pucks protect the frame and any plastic. In this photo, the car was lifted from the front and rear cross members and the jack stands placed under the pucks.
There have been many threads where the rocker panels were damaged due to lack of jacking inserts. Not too many, recently, probably due to the widespread preaching to use them.
I always keep a set in each car. You never know when you might need to have the car lifted.
Yes, needed since the rocker panel is plastic, and if you don't get the pressure point to the frame of the jack, but to the the plastic rocker panel insead, your going to damage the plastic rocker panel.
And to add, the rocker panel is one of the hardest things to replace on the vet, since it glued in place, and not just held on with screws like the fenders isntead.
This is the rocker panel piece, after the front and rear fenders have been removed. Hence you pull the fenders, then break out the chisel to remove the old damaged one, then you have to glue and clamp the new one in place.
I have never used them, I am very careful when jacking up my car so have never had a problem. The theory that at the tire shop you need them is fine but my thoughts are if the guy jacking the car can't find the correct location to put the jacks he might not even know what the pucks are for and would just put the jack next to them.
As a professional in the auto service industry I'm going to say YES YOU NEED JACKING PUCKS!!!! If You even think somebody else may ever have to lift your Corvette keep a set in the car. Make sure everybody involved knows how to put a lift under YOUR Corvette using the pucks. Its OK to be a jerk about it, its your car. Most of the 2 post lifts in this country cannot be placed under a C5 or C6 without using pucks or god forbid a section of 2X4. Most vehicles have plastic rocker extensions that pop back in place if compressed, Corvettes have fiberglass, it WILL break. Never assume that everybody has experience with Corvettes, they aren't that common. I can't stress to you the amount of techs who will lift your car any way they can!
Yes they are needed! and you have to make sure the shop uses them!
I just had my tires replaced at Conrads Tire shop and even though I said "Use the pucks on the passenger seat" They didn't - and they ended up causing a lot of damage to the rocker panels. Chunks, chips, and scratches all over the rockers. So now I am currently going up the management chain to get this damage fixed - quoted $1,100 to fix.
Lesson learned I guess. Luckily the pictures they took when they lifted my car (claiming they didn't do the damage) show that the lift pads are overlapped onto the rocker panels right where the drive side cracked!
On reflection, when I made a recommendation, I was relating to my own personal situation. I am the only one to lift or jack up my Corvette. I wasn't thinking about the occasional grease monkey who might not even be able to correctly spell Corvette lifting someone's car. Therefore, I'll respectfully rescind my comments since I don't have a dog in this race.
I use them. In fact, when I take my car in for any service which requires jacking, I do two things: I install them myself, and I speak directly to the technician who will be working on my car.
07-24-2016, 01:31 PM
Jacking pucks... really needed?
..WW
$19.95 well spent for peace of mind. 
