Way to get car on jack stands w/o floor jack

You should still get a decent hydraulic floor jack, or ramps.

The floor jack will be more versatile though, you can't use ramps if you have to do anything involving removal of the wheels.

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Yeah I’d concur, pick up a decent floor jack. The Pittsburg 3 ton at harbour freight has a good rep.

I’m using a $69 (CDN) Samona 3-ton, purchased on Boxing Day, 2005 IIRC. Still working great:

Recommended jack stands and floor jacks? | PriusChat

that said, to answer your question, in the above link, look at the third gen underside pic, with alternate jack stand locations. I got the idea for the front points in particular, from a member here (Hobbit?), and he was using these points on a second gen. So anyway, you “could” use a scissor jack at the proscribed location, and position the safety stands at those alternate points.

Still, I’d really recommend using a floor jack, at the front and rear floor jack support points (shown in owners manual).

 

I have gen 2 with standard lifting jack points like my Corolla al most exactly in same places . As pri is Corolla family. W stock tyres I roll right up my rhino stands . I can get on metal stands the plastic scrubs about a tenth of a second right on em. Course the gen2 is way old so scraping no bother do it with my Gen2 also which is in worse plastic shape than any of my 2.

 

Lots of places to place a scissors jack. Between the under covers are the frame rails outlined in yellow. Unless it's the Prius jack, rocker pinch welds outlined in red, is where you should be placing the scissors jack as in the manual for changing tires.

 

I would not place the small, flat lifting head of the scissor jack under the frame rails. Once you start lifting the side of the car, you will be creating an angle between the scissor jack head and the flat surface of the frame rail. The jack could easily slip off the jacking point and could be catastrophically bad.

The only safe place to use the scissor jack is at the reinforced places on the pinch welds described in the manual. The scissor jack head is slotted for a reason, which is to straddle the pinch weld, to prevent sliding off the head of the jack during the lifting operation.

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Trivia: it's not that knife-edge that bears on the scissor jack cradle. The slot in the cradle is deep enough that it's the sheet metal inside of the knife-edge that bears, and even raising the rear, it dimples in a bit in the process.

Yeah, you do not want to be raising the car with the scissor jack at any point further in than that outer edge, it's a good way to get crushed.

OP really should get over his floor jack aversion; scissor jack is for emergency road-side tire swaps only.

 

When I have to work on the front brakes on my Gen 2, I lift the car w/ a hydraulic floor jack (on the inner frame rail) & two scissor jacks on the rocker pinch welds (sitting on a thick piece of plywood because I'm working on gravel). The Toyota jack's base bent the first time I used it, so I had a 1/8" piece of steel welded onto its base. Then I place a safety stand under the inner frame rail, just in front of the floor jack's lifting pad... in case the floor jack relaxes.
But... when working on the back brakes, there's no inner frame rail that far back, and the only 'approved' jacking-point (aside from the rocker pinch welds) is in the center, under the spare tire well (which is only big enough for the floor jack's lifting pad). If I leave the car up on scissor jacks, or a safety stand next to one scissor jack on the rocker pinch welds -- and the floor jack under the wheel well relaxes and the back of the car lowers -- the scissor jacks and/or safety stand start leaning over. (Note: I can only work on one side at a time because of space inside my winter carport.)
Any suggestion on how to get an axle stand safely somewhere under the back when working on just one side, without having to rely on the floor jack under the wheel well?
Thanks!

 

Unfortunately to make all this easy peasy and all of that nonsense you need two floor jacks whether you have one big one and a small one so like a 3 ton red torin brand and the two and a half ton or even two ton aluminum single front roller to rear wheels type jack pretty lightweight decent lifting height between the two you can actually lift the whole car up I usually lift on the pinch weld in between the center post which is the post in between the two doors front and rear and then when I get the right spot the sweet spot there the big touring 3 ton or three and a half ton Jack will pick the whole side of the car up at one time so I can rotate the back to the front and vice versa on the one side drop the car when I'm done over there wheel over to the other side with that big jack put it in the same place do the same thing on the other side If I have two big red torin jacks three or four tons You can also stage the jacks in such a way where you can pick the whole car up that one time lift up the one side go over to the other side getting the stagger right is critical once you see it and you know what it is It's easy and permanent and know the car will not easily rock off those two jacks either You have to get on the corner of the car and push down on it pretty hard actually I do this quite a bit actually because I'm lazy and I don't want to be picking up the car a whole lot. And now the drive-on rails the plug into the wall that lift the car up to almost waist height those things are cheap as all get out now You can buy those as seriously for 150 bucks I've seen some for less but I don't trust the companies but very simple almost everybody should have one of those now even apartment dwellers you can just throw it out in the parking lot plug it into an outlet or extension cord then you can put the car up and down very quickly when the federal Ollie's or the HOA police come you just push a button cars down slide the thing out throw it in the back of your pickup smoke a cigarette whistle and look at the sky

 

I would jack up the whole back (with wheel chocks fore and aft on front wheels), using the Toyota proscribed rear/centre jack point, and if you look where the the oblong shipping pin holes are ( just inboard of the rear scissor jack point) you may see a hump of reinforced plate, suitable for jack stand cradle, if it’s sim to 3rd gen. That works for me on my ‘10.

 

I wouldn't bother with trying to place jack stands with the factory supplied scissors jack. It is absolutely too dangerous to raise more than one corner of the car with a scissors jack to do anything but to change a tire.

The least expensive two ton trolly jack can be had for around $33 plus tax at any Walmart.

Hyper Tough 2 Ton Trolley Jack Red/Black - T82011W - Walmart.com



The photo is of the previous model. The newer one is the same but painted black.

This jack will lift the both wheels of the front of the car to the desired level at the front center jacking point bit not enough at the rear jacking point without a riser block.

That is not a problem, however, because a square piece of 1/2-3/4 inch plywood placed under the front part of the rear lower spring mount on either wheel will allow the full lift need to raise the car to the height to place the jack stand. The spring mount bears the full weight of one rear corner of the car even in motion, so it is more than strong enough to bear the weight of the lift. You'd want to place the contact point at the front portion of the spring mount, since the plywood pad will slide backward as the corner of the car is raised.

 

Some jacks even come with or you can purchase saddle extensions very inexpensively some jacks have a threaded saddle already on them that can be screwed up three or four inches and screwed back down as needed You just have to look at the jack and see what features it has If you want an adjustable saddle I think they can be bought many places you just have to know what the diameter of the shaft is on your jack for the saddle to drop into It's a standard depending upon the tonnage of the jack I do believe.