Trolley jack - knackered sills...?

[WOO5IE]

plenty said:

Anyone got a solution for axle stands? Putting the stands directly on the car rips off the underseal, but I wouldn't feel comfortable balancing the car with a piece of wood or a rubber puck on top of the stands.

For the stands you can stick a piece of rubber such as a strip of tyre from the side wall or something similar

For the trolley jack how about using half a cricket ball or the like

[plenty]

Roop said:

plenty said:

Anyone got a solution for axle stands? Putting the stands directly on the car rips off the underseal, but I wouldn't feel comfortable balancing the car with a piece of wood or a rubber puck on top of the stands.

Ooh. Me. I know this one. I cut squares off an old rubber car mat. Works great.

I knew there'd be a simple answer! Have got lots of jacking action (!) planned for the w/end so timely top tip.

[pimpin gimp]

I use blocks of wood on top of my axle stands when supporting the car, i think it's pine, never split on me yet!

I do use new bits each time, but it's only block of 2x2. I like the ide of using a piece with the slot cut in it to lift at the sills though. very clever.

[Munter]

WorAl said:

ExPat2B said:

Common lifting points are the diff on RWD cars

Why the surprise. It's a jacking point on the MX5. Bottom of the diff casing is flat and assuming the cars reasonably balanced left/right at the rear it allows you to lift the car up with one jack and place both axle stands under the sill hard points.

[maser_spyder]

Munter said:

WorAl said:

ExPat2B said:

Common lifting points are the diff on RWD cars

Why the surprise. It's a jacking point on the MX5. Bottom of the diff casing is flat and assuming the cars reasonably balanced left/right at the rear it allows you to lift the car up with one jack and place both axle stands under the sill hard points.

Corflippinblimey.


1) I never knew that, and we have 2 MX-5's

2)

3) I won't be trying this on the Maser, all the same....

[WorAl]

Munter said:

WorAl said:

ExPat2B said:

Common lifting points are the diff on RWD cars

Why the surprise. It's a jacking point on the MX5. Bottom of the diff casing is flat and assuming the cars reasonably balanced left/right at the rear it allows you to lift the car up with one jack and place both axle stands under the sill hard points.

Would never use the diff to jack from, too many stresses on the drive and prop shafts for me.

Edited by WorAl on Thursday 29th October 16:54

[ExPat2B]

maser_spyder said:

Munter said:

WorAl said:

ExPat2B said:

Common lifting points are the diff on RWD cars

Why the surprise. It's a jacking point on the MX5. Bottom of the diff casing is flat and assuming the cars reasonably balanced left/right at the rear it allows you to lift the car up with one jack and place both axle stands under the sill hard points.

Corflippinblimey.


1) I never knew that, and we have 2 MX-5's

2)

3) I won't be trying this on the Maser, all the same....

I know : first time I saw this in the pukka workshop manual I was a bit shocked too. My chocolate starfish was twitching like a rabbits nose the first time I did this on my 1700kg GS430, but you know what, it works like a charm. Those diff cases are very strong indeed.

Edited by ExPat2B on Thursday 29th October 16:57

[havoc]

Munter said:

You can also get trolley jacks that have a rubber pad rather than the usual ...err... metal "dish". But I suspect a piece of 'ard wood may be cheaper.

I've got a thick rubber 'pad' (about 4-5in x 6-7in, and 4-5mm thick) which I use for the purpose. Got it from a mate who'd made a couple up for him / his dad and had spare material lying around.

Works perfectly - sits on the 'circle' of the jack and then gets deformed into (sort-of) the right shape as load is applied. Been using it for ~4-5 years and it's hardly changed.

[mackie1]

Suspension mounting points can be good jacking points. I use a cut up old polyurethane exhaust hanger as the "cushion".

[Munter]

WorAl said:

Would never use the diff to jack from, too many stresses on the drive and prop shafts for me.

Now I'm no car mechanic. But the prop and drive shafts go into the Diff. But the Diff is then bolted by some bloomin great bits of metal to the underside of the car. So it's those that take the weight and the prop/drive shafts "hang" off it as usual no?

Heres a pic of it in action from someone else:

[mgrays]

For pads use plywood or Sterling board = no grain to split.

Works well on axle stands and jacks (use a couple of wide ones on jack to get it above the teeth).

[gradeAfailure]

I'll second the bit-of-wood-with-a-notch-for-the-sill method - worked fine for me for years. Wishbone or rear arm mount also a good alternative.

And yes, diff casing on rwd cars - that's the recommended front and rear jack point on my Jeep and that weighs 2 tons!

[SLacKer]

Hi

Depends on the jack you have but for me I use this rubber block



from here

I have a 3 tonne jack with the larger cup on it and it fits perfectly.

[thinfourth2]

To those that worry about using wood if you put the pressure across the grain it won't split

At work we regularly use blocks of wood to support units and they weigh up to 15tons

[p1esk]

Ponk said:

Negative Creep said:

Trolley jack on the wishbone or suspension mount. Sorted.

+1

Agreed again.

I think cars are designed to be jacked up using the sills, but this is usually at designated points near the ends, and these are suitably reinforced for that purpose. I certainly wouldn't try jacking a car up at points other than the intended locations; and again you have to be wary on old cars where the structure may have suffered corrosion and thus be weakened. A suspension point is still the best spot to use.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

[CDP]

thinfourth2 said:

To those that worry about using wood if you put the pressure across the grain it won't split

At work we regularly use blocks of wood to support units and they weigh up to 15tons

Agreed.

I frequently use blocks of wood in this way.

Edited by CDP on Saturday 21st November 12:15

[davepoth]

WorAl said:

Munter said:

WorAl said:

ExPat2B said:

Common lifting points are the diff on RWD cars

Why the surprise. It's a jacking point on the MX5. Bottom of the diff casing is flat and assuming the cars reasonably balanced left/right at the rear it allows you to lift the car up with one jack and place both axle stands under the sill hard points.

Would never use the diff to jack from, too many stresses on the drive and prop shafts for me.

Edited by WorAl on Thursday 29th October 16:54

I don't understand this - if you want to get a wheel off you need to jack the car up past the point of maximum suspension deflection anyway (the wheel wouldn't be off the ground otherwise)

[kambites]

I've never had a problem with jacking cars up by the diff housing. As someone said above, it's just a bloody great lump of metal bolted to the chassis. Or on a live axle car, it's part of the assembly which is taking the weight of the car anyway.

I can't imagine what stress it puts on the drive shafts that you wont get regardless of what you use to jack the car up.

Edited by kambites on Saturday 21st November 12:31

[Taffer]

thinfourth2 said:

To those that worry about using wood if you put the pressure across the grain it won't split

At work we regularly use blocks of wood to support units and they weigh up to 15tons

+1. If wood can be used for this, then I see no problem with jacking a car up:

[p1esk]

WorAl said:

Munter said:

WorAl said:

ExPat2B said:

Common lifting points are the diff on RWD cars

Why the surprise. It's a jacking point on the MX5. Bottom of the diff casing is flat and assuming the cars reasonably balanced left/right at the rear it allows you to lift the car up with one jack and place both axle stands under the sill hard points.

Would never use the diff to jack from, too many stresses on the drive and prop shafts for me.

Edited by WorAl on Thursday 29th October 16:54

Maybe so, I'd seek advice from the vehicle manufacturer. The old style live axle arrangement we used to have wouldn't have suffered that sort of problem, but these newfangled independent rear suspensions do seem to be more fragile, whatever their other merits may be.

Best wishes all,
Dave.