Bottle Jack

[barreti]

Can anyone who uses a bottle jack to raise their Griffith let me know one which fits nicely under the car and raises it enough to get the wheels off the floor.
Although I've got a couple of trolley jacks, if I just want to jack up a corner to pull off a wheel they seem a bit overkill, so I thought a small bottle jack would be easier to lug around in the tight confines of a winter garage.
I saw a small one at the weekend but I wasn't convinced its max of 314mm would be enough to get a wheel off the ground.

Ta
IanB

Oh, it goes without saying I won't be working on the car whilst it is only supported on the jack. No siree Bob.

Edited by barreti on Monday 30th October 09:53

[steve-v8s]

If you find one low enough to fit under any of the obvious jacking points then please let us know, it would be a very useful find. I use a low entry trolley jack when working at home and even then drive the car onto a couple of bits of wood to lift it an inch or so before the jack will fit.

For roadside jobs the original scissor one seems to be fine provided it is kept lubricated.

[Nigel Lewis]

Machine Mart do one that ranges from 155 mm up to 295mm (2 Tonne)and is only £6-59 + Vat, and also one that goes from 190mm to 385mm (4 Tonne) for 9-98 + Vat.
Don`t know whether these would do the job.

[barreti]

Thanks Nigel, I'll roll underneath it tomorrow and measure it on the ground and raised on the trolley jack until its wheels are off the ground then see what I need.

[Nigel Lewis]

Went and got one today from Machine Mart in Colchester. Min height is 155 mm, just tried putting under the car and is about 5mm to high to get it under the chassis rail

[Ballistic Banana]

Nigel Lewis said:

Went and got one today from Machine Mart in Colchester. Min height is 155 mm, just tried putting under the car and is about 5mm to high to get it under the chassis rail

I'm sure you could lift the car 5mm to get it under?

[Nigel Lewis]

Ballistic Banana said:

Nigel Lewis said:

Went and got one today from Machine Mart in Colchester. Min height is 155 mm, just tried putting under the car and is about 5mm to high to get it under the chassis rail

I'm sure you could lift the car 5mm to get it under?

Yeap, normally run the wheels onto a bit of wood before jacking up anyway to give a little extra clearance, so will have the desired effect.
First time that i had been into a machine mart store, their stuff seems very reasonably priced. Jack was only £7-74 including vat.

[barreti]

Remember this?

Well I bought this from machine mart for £7.74..


Which fits under the back end by about 5mm but at the front - well ..


So the only way I could get it under the front is ..


and hey presto ..



Not quite what I was after, and I won't bother using it in the garage because parking the car on those planks lifts it up just enough to get my trolley jack under it, but it will be OK to keep in the boot 'just in case'

[burriana]

barreti said:

Pray tell what is that interesting wheel on in the background? Is it a Fiat Spider/Barchetta type thingy or something even more unusual?

[steve-v8s]

I wondered that, it must be a bit more special that the Griff as it seems to be parked on carpet.

[barreti]

If I told you they are BFG MT 245/75/16 would it give the game away.
And its 20years old and still a very common sight.

[steve-v8s]

Ah yes but is it the 4 pot or the V8 ?

[barreti]

4pot Diesel. Only the best

[steve-v8s]

Yes seem to remember that engine did tend to run on a bit after switching off the sparks.