Technical Jacking

[Sweex]

Nope the mk2 / 2b is a solid rear beam axle

Never had problems jacking on it

Ziggy

Haha sorry, i just panicked! On my grande its hollow

 

[dave]

Are either of those spots where I highlighted (if it is, I'd guess I referred to B)

How do I identify these points A and B?
(my knowledge of terminology and under-car geography lets me down!)

A is your number 1

 

[atom0007]

Actually, might try with something like a thin book/paperback in between? More "give" than timber, but still protecting the metal surfaces

post #9

I think it's a poor idea using axle stands as they are, with the car sitting on a thin metal sill edge, it's not exactly the best for stability, regardless of whether the sill edge bends or not. And it can pop the front wing out of alignment.

 

[Ziggy122]

Haha sorry, i just panicked! On my grande its hollow

in that case - since its designed to twist, you would need to jack each side up
So under the rear suspension possibly is where i'd tackle
But i'd need to look first

Ziggy

 

[Sweex]

Yeah i jack on the rear jacking point then put stands under either the spring seats/cups or on the beam swing arm.

 

[Col Max Pyatnitski]

A is your number 1

Where would I find B?
"B - where the subframe and wishbone meet"

Also, jacking at point-1 would you try to load the bolt (e.g. with a flat piece of timber) or the metal around it (as the "cup" of the trolley jack will). It feels more secure to center the bolt in the cup and lift, but the metal doesn't look so thick...

And again, thanks (everyone) for the quick replies and great site/community

 

[Col Max Pyatnitski]

post number-9

I think it's a poor idea using axle stands as they are, with the car sitting on a thin metal sill edge, it's not exactly the best for stability, regardless of whether the sill edge bends or not. And it can pop the front wing out of alignment.

Cheers,
actually I meant to use the book to protect the car from the trolley jack cup, not to protect the sill from the axle stand.

That said, I had a go at making a protector from timber and while it worked ok, under light use the (cheap) timber split (one of the bits beside my slot broke off), so I'll need to look into it a bit more before trusting the car to it.

 

[atom0007]

Hardwood, slot cut cross grain.


If I was doing it again, I would use a bit of 41x41 unistrut, steel

 

[Col Max Pyatnitski]

Hardwood, slot cut cross grain.


If I was doing it again, I would use a bit of 41x41 unistrut, steel

How would you use the steel?

 

[atom0007]

How would you use the steel?

I'd drill holes in the top of my axle stands and bolt the unistrut to that, if you've got a welder that would be even better.

 

[dave]

dont use wood on a trolley jack to jack the car it will slip off, if you must use some thing then use a bit of rubber mat and make a pad ( some jacks come with this as standard)

the area of sill marked with triangle in reinforced it wont bend if you put a stand there and is a long way from the wing so i can not see how it could bend wing out of place.

 

[atom0007]

Depends how you do it

 

[s and b]

stop messing about now boys and see post 6

theres 2 people ive known in my life that didnt heed safe car support and they are now DEAD

 

[atom0007]

Spot on, that's why I always put the car ramps under the car as a fail safe.

 

[Col Max Pyatnitski]

stop messing about now boys and see post 6

theres 2 people ive known in my life that didnt heed safe car support and they are now DEAD

Would you jack from the spot I highlighted on pg 2 of the thread?

 

[dave]

Would you jack from the spot I highlighted on pg 2 of the thread?

post 6 says he will jack from your number 1 spot, the same as most other people have said

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

Would you jack from the spot I highlighted on pg 2 of the thread?

Thats where I'd jack from, if you jack is like mine it can't slip with the bolt there

 

[Col Max Pyatnitski]

Thanks again to everyone for the pointers and reassurance (especially the reassurance, sorry for being a pest!).

I bit the bullet yesterday and got car up and changed my brake pads and discs on both sides. Might be back to it today since I didn't have time to bleed the brake fluid afterwards (and the wear was so uneven on the left front pads that I'm wondering if something is more generally amiss, so I'll be keeping an eye). Anyway, very satisfying to have the job done, especially after my mates were so sceptical about whether that could be a DIY job.

At least I can now say that I'm confident to jack the car up, and also having done it I have a better appreciation of the risks: I thought in advance that since I was only working on the brakes and not lying under the car, that I would be "safe enough" with just the trolley jack, but when removing the caliper I spent a lot of time with my head in the wheel-arch, so if the car did fall it'd do me serious damage... and because the tyre and wheel are off it would fall much further than I'd lifted it (thanks, S and B for reiterating the safety mantra).

 

[atom0007]

I like something solid underneath just incase. Especially when heaving at something stuck.


I'd be checking for a stuck caliper on the side that has little wear. Do the discs look in equal condition both sides?

 

[Col Max Pyatnitski]

I like something solid underneath just incase. Especially when heaving at something stuck.


I'd be checking for a stuck caliper on the side that has little wear. Do the discs look in equal condition both sides?

Overall, everything very very worn.
Driver side, balanced wear, pads not quite down to backing, but almost (maybe a mm or two left) Disc very indented.

Passenger side, one pad was now a wedge. One end several mm, other end down to steel and in fact bent. Second pad was "normal", but very worn. Disc seemed same on both sides.

My plan is to leave it a week and take pads out on passenger side, see how they're wearing. Car is stopping well, even though stuff is just fitted.