General Trolley jack

[fourbie]

I'm getting a bit like Jim, up in the highland, these days where I'm starting to realize I'm just not physically up to doing this sort of thing more than occasionally.

But that is exactly why I need these labour saving gadgets. I don't seem to ease up on the jobs.

 

[fourbie]

How about this £500 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234000476295?hash=item367b83e887:g:OxcAAOSwb7dfbwJv

The drawback with these types of thing is that mostly when I lift the car I slide under to get to the underside!!

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

The drawback with these types of thing is that mostly when I lift the car I slide under to get to the underside!!

That's my problem too. I hankered after a pit for quite some time. Even went as far as exploring the installation of one of those glass fibre liner kits. Then there's the considerations around these mobile ramps like the one you've featured here. Even simple ramps you drive up have these problems - Which are that with some, the pit and drive up ramps, the wheels are still on the vehicle and considerable tribulations have to be overcome to remove them and still have the vehicle suspended "wheel free". The bigger ramps pretty much all have the problems that the mechanism itself restricts access. For instance just try doing an exhaust system on one.

So, although they have their shortcomings, the humble and "cheap" old axle stands have much to recommend their use.

 

[chris3234]

That's my problem too. I hankered after a pit for quite some time. Even went as far as exploring the installation of one of those glass fibre liner kits. Then there's the considerations around these mobile ramps like the one you've featured here. Even simple ramps you drive up have these problems - Which are that with some, the pit and drive up ramps, the wheels are still on the vehicle and considerable tribulations have to be overcome to remove them and still have the vehicle suspended "wheel free". The bigger ramps pretty much all have the problems that the mechanism itself restricts access. For instance just try doing an exhaust system on one.

So, although they have their shortcomings, the humble and "cheap" old axle stands have much to recommend their use.

That's big advantage to those quick jack's I liked to the two lifting beam's in the kit sit entirely under thee sill areas and have nothing connecting them rather like. Garage scissor life but portable

 

[fourbie]

Even simple ramps you drive up have these problems

The solution is ramps which lie almost flat - maybe an inch or two off the ground - that can be made to rise. They mostly use a screw mechanism and you can use a power tool instead of the crank.

Not the ones with a scissor jack built in as they start too high anyway; I have a set of those and will only use them once the car is on them by other means. They are good in just one respect, the ramp part can be detached.

Not the ones with a hydraulic bottle type jack built in as they start off too high also.

I had a set many decades ago but as tyres got wider they became awkward so I sold them and now regret it.

There was a chap on eBay selling his own design not too long ago for a few hundred quid but at the time I could not justify the expenditure.

 

[DaveMcT]

The "Easy Rizer" fork-lift motorcycle lift is a handy tool. It's effectively a low rise pillar lift operating on one side only using a screw jack power by a 1000 watt hand drill. But when you look at the price of low-cost filler lifts you are back at the £1000 to £1500 range. That one I posted is a good compromise because it can lift one end at a time to tilt the car or it can go straight up.

 

[jrkitching]

For instance just try doing an exhaust system on one.

It's not exactly fun doing it on axle stands either.

But it's a breeze on a 4 post lift.

There are so many backstreet garages shutting up shop that these appear on the secondhand market for surprisingly little money, if you've the space for one.

 

[jimboy]

It's not exactly fun doing it on axle stands either.

But it's a breeze on a 4 post lift.

There are so many backstreet garages shutting up shop that these appear on the secondhand market for surprisingly little money, if you've the space for one.

Aye, indeed. Been a few recently advertised up here in my neck of the woods, but as you say, you do need room. I have a garage, there’s a bit of room to work on a small car if I emptied everything out from the sides, but still a bit awkward. Realistically I work outside on my cars.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

It's not exactly fun doing it on axle stands either.

But it's a breeze on a 4 post lift.

There are so many backstreet garages shutting up shop that these appear on the secondhand market for surprisingly little money, if you've the space for one.

Not that great on axle stands but definitely doable usually. However it's definitely "what 4 posters are made for". So I was very surprised when I moved sideways from Firestone Racing into the retail stores side to find that my store had 3 single pillar "in ground" hydraulic lifts and only one 4 poster - which was mostly reserved for MOT duties. The single pillar lifts had a single central hydraulic/pneumatic ram with an "H" shaped head and adjustable arms on the top of the ram which very effectively stopped you doing anything at all to the middle of the vehicle, excellent for doing tyres and sorting out stuff like track rod ends, bottom ball joints, brakes and shock absorbers etc but which I thought was a very strange thing for a workshop which took about a quarter of it's money doing exhausts?

 

[DaveMcT]

Back in the 1980s, I extended my house and while the digger was in had a pit dug out. It was more work, of course, and the foundations alongside were required to go to the same depth. It looked great and gave great access under the car. However forget a tool and you have to climb out and find it. Then when you want said tool up top, the problem repeats or you kick it down into the pit. Also the car can't be so easily jacked up (e.g. for brakes) as the pit boards wont support the jack, etc, etc.
Frankly, it was a dead loss. The same effort put into some steel box sections and hydraulic rams (to make a table type lift) would have been a far better use of time and effort.
My local garage has a pit (1) It's at least 2 x as long as any car, plus the flight of steps at one end. (2) It's only used for MOTs where the cars don't have to be taken apart. (3) It's used every day, so there's no back-breaking work fitting and removing cover boards. So that's why it's called an "Inspection Pit".

 

[fourbie]

Get a "2 x 6" timbers and some 4" (100mm) screws from Wickes. Cut the wood in half and screw the pieces together to make an L shape. You now have an idea "beam" to lift the back axle using a trolley jack under the car's centreline. To make it even easier to use, screw a wood block to each end that will butt against the axle beam inboard of the spring pans.

I have ordered one of these. Should be interesting.

Cross Beam Adapter 2 Ton Fits Floor Jack Lift 2T Extends Car Engine New | eBay

Fits trolley jacks with 1 1/8 hole when jack pad removed. 2 Ton Cross Beam Adapter. Professional heavy duty Cross Beam Adapter designed to provide extra safety on awkward jacking points. 2 Ton (4000 LB) Maximum Capacity.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[koalar]

I have ordered one of these. Should be interesting.

Cross Beam Adapter 2 Ton Fits Floor Jack Lift 2T Extends Car Engine New | eBay

Fits trolley jacks with 1 1/8 hole when jack pad removed. 2 Ton Cross Beam Adapter. Professional heavy duty Cross Beam Adapter designed to provide extra safety on awkward jacking points. 2 Ton (4000 LB) Maximum Capacity.

www.ebay.co.uk

watch the height

my trolley jack and a block off a pallet only just slides under. I suspect it would only fit if you have an extra low reach trolley jack.

there no real problem jacking the panda. I use the proper pads for axle stands and Jack near the suspension mounting bolts.

 

[fourbie]

there no real problem jacking the panda. I use the proper pads for axle stands and Jack near the suspension mounting bolts.

For me jacking the Panda is a total pain.

 

[koalar]

For me jacking the Panda is a total pain.

how you go about it depends on what your doing.

If I am not going underneath, which is most of the time. I just jack under the pads that are for a a four post ramp. Then wind up the factory factory jack until it just touches and take the wheel off and put it under the car.

If I am going under the car which is rare I always use an axle stand under the pads, It dose mean you have to plan where to place the trolley jack so its not in the way of the stands. Take the front. I jack under the lower suspension arms rear bolt. If you jack from the side the jack has to be tight to the tyre otherwise it gets in the way. Alternately you can jack from the front.

There's more than one way of doing this. Above is just one way. It my not be the best but works for me
Once you find a way that works for you, Then it a simple matter of doing the same thing next time

I don't stack loads of thing on top of the axle stand or jack. It is a recipe for it to all collapse like a house of cards

I do use a single piece wood to spread and even the load

 

[DaveMcT]

The front is (very) safely supported with axle stand under sub frame. Put the stand between rear mounting bolt and body of subframe where it cant slip.

For jacking, I use a piece 20mm plywood with two strips of 20mm x 30mm batten screwed to one side side**. These sit either side of the sill flange so the wood can't slip and the jack can't damage the sill. At the back, jack under the bottom tip of the swing arm and use the plywood support plates between axle stand and sill jacking point.

You "can" put the stands under the rear "four post" points BUT the car is being tilted, so there's a clear risk of an axle stand slipping. The sill jacking points are easier to see that it's all secure.

** I tried cutting a slot into a bigger timber but the wood grain split as soon as load was applied. NOT a good idea.

I tried to find some commercial jack pads but none had a deep enough slot for the Panda sill and polypropylene is too slippery for my liking. Note the Panda wheel change jack has a very deep slot and actually bears on the sill underside - not the flange.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

The front is (very) safely supported with axle stand under sub frame. Put the stand between rear mounting bolt and body of subframe where it cant slip.

For jacking, I use a piece 20mm plywood with two strips of 20mm x 30mm batten screwed to one side side**. These sit either side of the sill flange so the wood can't slip and the jack can't damage the sill. At the back, jack under the bottom tip of the swing arm and use the plywood support plates between axle stand and sill jacking point.

You "can" put the stands under the rear "four post" points BUT the car is being tilted, so there's a clear risk of an axle stand slipping. The sill jacking points are easier to see that it's all secure.

** I tried cutting a slot into a bigger timber but the wood grain split as soon as load was applied. NOT a good idea.

I tried to find some commercial jack pads but none had a deep enough slot for the Panda sill and polypropylene is too slippery for my liking. Note the Panda wheel change jack has a very deep slot and actually bears on the sill underside - not the flange.

Here's how I do it:

The rubber overlay is strips of old inner tube and I find it doesn't mark the paint at all. I jack at the reinforced jacking points on the sills and I do all the family cars this way - Astra, Jazz, Ibiza, Punto, Panda and, once, my older boys relatively new, so still in warranty, Kia Rio. Works great on them all. I wouldn't jack in the middle of the sill though where, of course, there's no reinforcement.

 

[koalar]

500 jacking/ lifting/ axle stand positioning | FIAT 500 (2007+)

Had a search seen about the mangled sills due to sloppy jacking but cant find a definitive where to place your jack thread bar on the silks With the Gp (corsas clone as maxxi calls it) the hand book only shows the sills however there are 4 other points under the car used in the workshop just...

www.fiatforum.com

 

[DaveMcT]

Mine is effectively the same. I have shorter wood battens because the 100HP side skirts have a limited gap. I used 20mm plywood (OSB actually) because my axle stands are too tall for thicker blocks. I don't want it held too high.

A slotted rubber puck will sit square to the jack and work perfectly when all four points lift vertically at the same time. However, when lifting one corner at a time (as a DIYer does), the edge of the puck will dig into the sill as the car lifts. The separate wood block stays flat to the sill and any digging from the jack goes into the wood. Unless you push it to silly angles, that makes slipping less likely as the wood grabs at the jack top.

 

[fourbie]

I have to confess I am struggling to picture this in my head.

Is it something like this?

 

[fourbie]

I have to confess I am struggling to picture this in my head.

Is it something like this?