I have found using the notch in the OEM jack, a padded floor jack, and notched or padded jack stands has left the pinch-welds in decent shape. Use caution and if you don't just smash them they should be fine.

 

That’s one of the Subaru-recommended jacking points. I always raise my vehicles at those points, or the middle crossmember. The welds show no sign of deformation after 10 years of using these points.

 

I use ZL1 mag pads when lifting from pinch welds. There are cheaper alternatives available on Amazon. Some are similar design to ZL1, some are rubber pads with a slot in them.

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Since I use QuickJacks, that's how I must lift - that's what the QuickJack design is all about. And while the rubber blocks that they provide are grooved, given the depth of the pinched portion that sticks down on my Outback, it is still pretty much supporting the car only at the edge of the pinch.

Some people in the rust belt say don't do his, though. I don't worry since I'm in Oregon.

 

I made an adapter for the floor jack to use on the jack points with pinch welds. It’s simply a piece of 2x4 with a groove cut through it for the body seam to fit into and a smaller board attached to the bottom so it sits in the floor jack cradle. Been using it for years.

 

Buy one of these from Amazon for $4.00 - https://www.amazon.com/SILATU-Floor...ck+rubber+pad&qid=1683467429&sprefix=floor+jack+rubber+pad,aps,142&sr=8-30&th=1

 

I got this rennstand attachment for my floor jack. The lift point is just inside the pinch weld. And got these jack pads for the jack stands. If I'm picking the whole car up I lift at the rear differential and under front crossmember about 3 feet behind the front bumper.

 

I used a piece of old tire that I glued to the top of the jack to hold better and pad the contact points.

 

I've been using a floorjack with just the rubber pad that comes with the jack for years on my Subarus and never bent that metal. Recently, I bought one of those plastic things with the slot cut in and used it on the OBW.

 

I bought these on Amazon. They’re really tough and they fit perfectly on the pinch welds without touching the plastic cladding. I spent 10 minutes trimming a little off the bottoms, so they fit the cup on my one of my jacks.