I'm thinking of purchasing a trolley/bottle jack to assist in maintenece andwheel changes. Which points can you use to jack on? Lower control arms?

I've been using the factory jacking points with the supplied scissor jack which is painfully slow, probably not great for the longevity of the emergency use equipment, and one of the jacking points has distorted enough to require a mallet to get the jack in.

 

I use the 4 regular jacking points but go inboard a few inches....a bit stronger there and the openings of the square tubes won't get crushed.

Two of the tubes on my car are partially crushed from the PO.....won;t be able to use the emergency jack if the need arises. Something I've always meant to address.....


Cheers
DD

 

The scissor jack found in the trunk is really not great for routine work. Certainly not for any work that involves any human parts being at risk.

The hyraulic trolley jack is better than a bottle jack for most work as the lifting saddle is larger and can be padded to avoid damaging the lifting points. It is also inherently more stable than a bottle jack. If you were in snow country, a hockey puck makes a dandy pad when dropped in the lifting saddle.

Same rule applies to *all* jacks - it cannot be the sole means of support if you are getting underneath the vehicle. Those who ignore this tend to eventually prove that Darwin was correct.

 

Same issue with my car, but only one of the square tubes is partially crushed. I've arrived at the same solution of moving the jacking point a few inches inward. Has worked well.

 

I second the hydraulic trolley jack. works well and is stable. I also use floor jack stands and keep the jack in place as additional support.

Hockey puck, huh? sound like a good idea but a rare find here in Florida.

 

I always carry a trolley jack in the boot + a lump of wood as a pad.

Your other investment should be a good quality cross wrench and the correct size socket for your nuts, makes spinning on and off much quicker.

A bottle jack whilst very effective is also good for punching holes in the floor and has an increased risk of falling over.

 

Yep. Very hard vulcanized rubber, but won't mar paint. Also good as a general purpose basher. The cheaper, non-logo ones are about a dollar on sale after the snow melts.

If you have a relative in the North, maybe Santa Clause will be kind to you if you invite them down for the holidays

Shoving the tire and rim that just came off the car under the chassis is also good as a safety measure.

 

i use two 3 tonne trolley jacks when working on old girl just put them in a bit so partly on chassis and they work fine and "safe"

 

Memories of a bottle jack disappearing into the chassis my old Triumph Spitfire...

I hope you use stands too - even two jacks is definitely not safe enough for me to be getting under the car!

 

sorry for late reply. work away all week, yes i have 4 stands and 2 ramps wich i had made fitter at a place i used to work at made them for me 18 inche high, so yes well safe