Technical Golf jack

[TonyM67]

I’ve just got a 15” space saver wheel for my Trekking and if came with (what Google image search) tells me is Golf MK4 jack.
Has anyone ever tried one on either a Trekking or 4x4 ?
The weight and height capacities appear to ok for our cars and it’s compact enough to fit in the spare wheel

 

[TonyM67]

I’ve tried it on the car and it lifted it high enough to be able to remove a wheel, it did it with much less effort than the Halfords scissor jack I bought before I realised the spare I brought came with a jack.

 

[KPat]

I’ve tried it on the car and it lifted it high enough to be able to remove a wheel, it did it with much less effort than the Halfords scissor jack I bought before I realised the spare I brought came with a jack.

I won't use any jack that fits on the sill. Too easy to cause damage.

 

[The Panda Nut]

I’ve just got a 15” space saver wheel for my Trekking and if came with (what Google image search) tells me is Golf MK4 jack.
Has anyone ever tried one on either a Trekking or 4x4 ?
The weight and height capacities appear to ok for our cars and it’s compact enough to fit in the spare wheel

I have a new Doblo jack I dont want. Ill ckeck its Ok. Its big and strong enough. Postage cost would be allIwant for it.
Dont use that Golf jack its unsuitable.

 

[TonyM67]

I have a new Doblo jack I dont want. Ill ckeck its Ok. Its big and strong enough. Postage cost would be allIwant for it.
Dont use that Golf jack its unsuitable.

Thanks for the offer, after reading up on the Golf jack (apparently it’s not deemed a good design) I’m going to keep my Halfords scissor jack in the car somewhere .

 

[Herts Hillhopper]

@TonyM67 I bought a ‘generic’ jack for one of my Pandas… but then realised the genuine Fiat one is slightly different. The Halfords and others have a slot the sill weld locates in, and an area to either side of that that’s the same size and height.
But, the genuine Fiat one has a deeper slot (so the sill weld seam doesn’t touch the bottom of the slot in the jack), and, crucially the flat areas to either side of the slot are slightly different heights. This means the large flat areas of the sill sit on the flat parts of the jack, spreading the weight better. Also, the slot is offset to actually take more weight on the wider, inner edge of the sill. This prevents any crushing of the weld seam. (eBay photo…)

 

[Foxjob]

Any chance you can send me a link where you got it, I'm after a recommended jack and do you think it will deal with a 4x4 with 15" wheels?

 

[Herts Hillhopper]

Any chance you can send me a link where you got it, I'm after a recommended jack and do you think it will deal with a 4x4 with 15" wheels?

The Jack in that listing was for a non 4x4 Panda. The 4x4 uses a bigger/taller jack because the body already sits 50mm higher. There is a specific 4x4 jack but which is also used by the Doblo/Qubo model. It won’t ifit in the spare wheel and so lives in a supplied bag that goes under the front seat. (See my other thread for more info -
Post in thread 'panda 4x4 toolkit'
https://www.fiatforum.com/threads/panda-4x4-toolkit.329490/post-4199685

 

[jrkitching]

I won't use any jack that fits on the sill. Too easy to cause damage.

That.

I wouldn't jack a Panda or 500 anywhere on the sills, with anything, not even an OEM Fiat jack. Even if it does no visible harm, you could crack the sealant behind a seam, leading to corrosion issues down the line. And if the sills are already weakened by hidden corrosion (perhaps because someone has jacked it there in the past), it could even collapse dangerously.

For roadside tyre changing in an emergency, just keep a compact scissor jack in the car somewhere and use it under one of the chassis hardpoints. For anything else, use a trolley jack in the same places.

Read this thread for more information.

 

[PuntoHowTo]

Looks the same as the Jack (albeit mine is black) that I have in the boot of my mk6 golf cabriolet which is quite a bit heavier than a normal golf.

What I’d say is it’s probably fine to lift the car to change a tire wheel but I would never use it for anything more than that.

It’s probably stronger or as strong as the Jack in any fiat, but it only lifts from one side and can be a little unstable

 

[Herts Hillhopper]

Looks the same as the Jack (albeit mine is black) that I have in the boot of my mk6 golf cabriolet which is quite a bit heavier than a normal golf.

What I’d say is it’s probably fine to lift the car to change a tire wheel but I would never use it for anything more than that.

It’s probably stronger or as strong as the Jack in any fiat, but it only lifts from one side and can be a little unstable

The VW jack may not avoid damage to the sill seam weld flange. Look back up to the photo of the Fiat jack (here: https://www.fiatforum.com/threads/golf-jack.523255/post-4869618) - it takes the weight on the sill 'beams' instead, which prevents damage to the weld seam. But for the 4x4 it's important to use the bigger (taller) jack for that model as the jack from a regular Panda can't lift it high enough.

 

[PuntoHowTo]

The VW jack may not avoid damage to the sill seam weld flange. Look back up to the photo of the Fiat jack (here: https://www.fiatforum.com/threads/golf-jack.523255/post-4869618) - it takes the weight on the sill 'beams' instead, which prevents damage to the weld seam. But for the 4x4 it's important to use the bigger (taller) jack for that model as the jack from a regular Panda can't lift it high enough.

This is the lifting point on the golf Jack taken from the picture above it is basically the same profile, might even be less likely to damage the sill as the width of the Jack is wider than the scissor Jack you linked to, the golf Jack will lift quite high but no idea how that compares to the oe fiat Jack

As I said before the golf Jack is not very stable because of the design so if there is the option of getting a better Jack I would but for the rare occasion you might need a Jack to change the spare on, then it would likely do the job

If the 4x4 Jack is higher then it doesn’t really matter if the golf Jack goes high enough to lift the wheel off the ground, I wouldn’t use either the golf or fiat Jack to lift a 4x4 in an off road situation

 

[Herts Hillhopper]

This is the lifting point on the golf Jack taken from the picture above it is basically the same profile, might even be less likely to damage the sill as the width of the Jack is wider than the scissor Jack you linked to, the golf Jack will lift quite high but no idea how that compares to the oe fiat Jack

As I said before the golf Jack is not very stable because of the design so if there is the option of getting a better Jack I would but for the rare occasion you might need a Jack to change the spare on, then it would likely do the job

If the 4x4 Jack is higher then it doesn’t really matter if the golf Jack goes high enough to lift the wheel off the ground, I wouldn’t use either the golf or fiat Jack to lift a 4x4 in an off road situation

My first car was a VW and it had that odd 'one sided' jack. I never did trust it -- it felt oddly 'bendy'
The Fiat jack is marginally less 'bendy' - but I always use a trolley jack and support stands if working on the car.

 

[PuntoHowTo]

but I always use a trolley jack and support stands if working on the car.

Well yeah but I presume we are talking about what to carry in the boot for that rare occasion you need to put the spare wheel on.

Not going to carry a trolly jack and axle stands everywhere for that.

What I would say is my golf is 1600kg on a good day and a lot more it loaded up and I’d never say the Jack is “bendy” it’s a wobbly because of the weird on leg arrangement but it doesn’t bend at all. In that respect I don’t think it would bend under the weight of any fiat car as no cars that fiat have made in the last 10-20 years probably come close to the weight of my golf.



Will the golf Jack work - yes.

Is the best option - almost certainly not.

Is it worth replacing for the odd occasion you might need it ? - Well that depends on the preference of the OP

 

[jrkitching]

Not going to carry a trolly jack and axle stands everywhere for that

You don't need to - a compact scissor jack, used on the chassis hardpoints, will do just fine for a roadside tyre change.

Axle stands are not necessary if just changing a tyre, so long as you're not getting under the car.

But without wanting to resurrect the 'should I lubricate the wheel bolts' argument, do give some thought as to how likely the bolts are going to be to remove easily at the roadside with the tools you have in the car. Don't risk pulling the car off whatever you have used to lift it; loosen them before raising the vehicle. And also think about where a potentially wet and dirty roadwheel is going to go afterwards (it might not fit the spare wheel well) - a plastic bag sufficient to contain it takes up little space, and could make your life easier in that sort of situation. I'd also chuck a couple of pairs of strong disposable gloves into the bag.

I generally keep the spare inflated to whatever the maximum pressure it's rated for on the sidewall; at the roadside, you can let air out more easily than you can put air in.

 

[Herts Hillhopper]

Well yeah but I presume we are talking about what to carry in the boot for that rare occasion you need to put the spare wheel on.

Yes, of course.

In the past ten years I’ve changed a wheel at the roadside twice. Both times it was dark and raining.

Bendy is the wrong word. Maybe ‘sway’ - a perception that it would rock from side to side. Not sure that it does but the absence of a wheel chock doesn’t help. (The 2CV I had many moons ago came with a perfectly shaped wooden chock as part of the toolkit, and the 2013 Defender has one too - mainly because the handbrake is on the propshaft and so the Landy can rock back and forward quite a way with the brake on).

And yes, as @jrkitching says, loosen the wheel bolts before raising anything. I have a telescopic wheel nut wrench that effortlessly loosens them. I check with a torque wrench after refitting too - so they’re not over tight to start with.

The only issue I had one time was that the corrosive reaction between the steel hub and alloy wheel had ‘welded’ the two together. With every car, when I first get it I remove the wheels and apply a light smear of copper grease to the hub-wheel mating surfaces which prevents this happening. The car the wheel stuck to was only three days into my ownership (it was 9 months old) and I hadn’t got round to doing it.

 

[WitleyPanda]

Yes, of course.

In the past ten years I’ve changed a wheel at the roadside twice. Both times it was dark and raining.

Bendy is the wrong word. Maybe ‘sway’ - a perception that it would rock from side to side. Not sure that it does but the absence of a wheel chock doesn’t help. (The 2CV I had many moons ago came with a perfectly shaped wooden chock as part of the toolkit, and the 2013 Defender has one too - mainly because the handbrake is on the propshaft and so the Landy can rock back and forward quite a way with the brake on).

And yes, as @jrkitching says, loosen the wheel bolts before raising anything. I have a telescopic wheel nut wrench that effortlessly loosens them. I check with a torque wrench after refitting too - so they’re not over tight to start with.

The only issue I had one time was that the corrosive reaction between the steel hub and alloy wheel had ‘welded’ the two together. With every car, when I first get it I remove the wheels and apply a light smear of copper grease to the hub-wheel mating surfaces which prevents this happening. The car the wheel stuck to was only three days into my ownership (it was 9 months old) and I hadn’t got round to doing it.

Thought the "kit" included a plastic chock? Changed to using aluminium grease on the alloy faces. The other pre-flight check is that any locking wheel nuts are actually extractable?

 

[Herts Hillhopper]

Thought the "kit" included a plastic chock? Changed to using aluminium grease on the alloy faces. The other pre-flight check is that any locking wheel nuts are actually extractable?

Never seen a chock with any of my four Pandas. The first (a 2005 4x4) came with a standard jack and a Fiat plastic block to go under the jack to add the extra height needed for the 4x4.

Also, as well as annually removing the wheels (to check they’re not stuck), I take out the screws in the inspection/access panels in each front wheelarch — the access to replace lightbulbs — and grease them too. Preventative maintenance is the best sort

 

[The Panda Nut]

My cars now all carry a Fiat wedge. They are supplied with the Doblo jacking kit. My kit is very neat holds all the stuff in a very slim polystyrene kit in a slimline zipped cover. The wedges fold flat and have 3 or 4 very strong spikes that hold the wedge upright and grip the road surface. The price of these jacking kits has got really silly recently. I have a spare Doblo jack knocking about somewhere I have not tried this one on a Panda yet. It has a fixed winding handle which I dont like / removed so a socket can be used to wind the jack up. Noop carried my Bravo jack which works nicely and is rated at 1500kgs. Why they cant just fit a spare wheel is beyond me. Yes Ive only needed on a dozen times or so in 50 years, but when you are late. its dark cold snowing and raining and you want to get home the extra cost required is completely irrelevant.

I had a company car with no spare and the silly gunge didnt work so I was absent from an important meeting where 30 odd managers ahd been summoned to be lectured to. By the time a garage was found and asked to attend and they had done so, there was no longer any point in continuing the journey so I went home. Funny how fast a spare wheel (no you cant have one you dont need one) can be obtained and delivered directly to your home when someone else thinks it might be a good idea for someone who was driving 60 to 100K a year to have one.LOL

I just changed yesterday to summer wheels and tyres and used my wheel locating bolt for changing the wheels. One of the best things Ive bought for a long time. Already doubled in price on ebay in just 6 months!