Thanks, got some Ceratec on order. One more question, once I have jacked the car up, to change the front brakes, where is the best place for axle stands to go?
Close as possible to the jack pad, allowing for the width of the jack and axle stand. Just a bit further along the sill’s downward pointing seam, towards the B-pillar at either end. The sills, and the seam, are the strongest parts of the body frame, and are designed with this in mind. (Not true of all cars, but true for the Yeti). There are some strong, subframe mounting points slightly more inboard, at the front, but nothing else suitable anywhere near the back. Having the stands more outboard helps with stability too.
DO NOT be tempted to place a stand anywhere near or under any of the
rear suspension, particularly the main cross beam. (Risk of bending). Or diff itself, (not designed to take the weight, risk of damage). The rear spring cups, directly under the springs, are just about OK at a pinch. The angle of those means it is difficult to get a stand under safely when on full droop though. Even then, the sill is a far safer location. I normally try to place the dismounted wheel under the spring pans anyway, as a third line of defence, should the trolley jack, or axle stand fail. (Also makes a perfect place to stand the collection jar when bleeding brake fluid from the caliper during a pad swap or fluid replacement.)
What sort of jack are you using? Trolley jack or the car’s emergency jack? The car’s emergency jack has a lift pad specially shaped with a slot to hold firm on the sill seam. If using a trolley jack with a cup shaped lift pad, then a used ice hockey puck with a slot cut into it, across its diameter and around half its depth, makes an excellent method of engaging with the sill seam. Also works with jacks that have a flat platform lift pad. Depending on the shape of the the tops on your axle stands, a similar pad may or may not be highly useful? Search eBay for “VW rubber jack pad”. You’ll find plenty.
Since The Hood first found them advertised a few years ago, I’ve used one of these:
The jack pad is used with the flat top floor jack. If your jack is an old model, you may need to make a gasket (this pad is not suitable for conversion). The premium MagPad is made of solid aluminum with a rare earth magnet.
www.ebay.co.uk
A really excellent little adapter for jacks or stands with a flat lift pad. Not least because the built-in magnets hold the adaptor in place on the sill, while you get the jack or stand perfectly placed beneath it. (The magnetic hold onto the sill is good enough in fact, that when the Octavia’s owner and I were replacing it’s front springs, in 2021. When we had finished, we let the car back down onto its wheels, then took it for a five mile test drive, to check all was OK. Later, when packing all my tools away, I noticed the jack pad was not where I normally keep it, in the box with the electric rattle gun. On grounds I usually need them both at roughly the same times. Looked around for a while and eventually found the pad, still held to the car’s sill by the magnets! )