Jacking points...?

[jj_work]

Anyone have ideas, on safe places to use a trolley jack (small one brought from demon tweeks) on a chimp. The manual just says 'the jack should be placed under one of the chassis tubes'.

The only chassis tube I can really get to is the one which runs around the edge of the passenger compartment. Except this doesn't seem very think, and not sure if this is really a good idea to hold half the car in the air, whilst doing brakes, tyres etc...

I can see a main one under the car, which runs along the side of the transmission housing, but can't get the jack under there due to clearance...?

Is it safe on the corner of the passenger compartment (I know the difference between flooring, and chassis, by the way)


jj

[MATHEW]

Hi I have a griff 500 and I jack it up under the main rails that run the full length of the car (front to back). You should also find some info in your owners handbook that came with the car Mine is in a black leather filofax.
As the tubes are not round in shape I would put a small length of 2" x 1" timber between the steel rail and your trolley jack this will help protect your rails.
Hope this has been of some help to you.
Mathew

[beljames]

Whilst I'm sure its perfectly safe, I wouldn't feel comfortable using the outriggers (the tubes you refer to). I agree with Mathew that the chassis beams are a better bet, and there are nice accesible bits at the back and front of the car. However, depending on your jack it can be a bit of a bugger getting clearance, so you may have to use the standard jack just to get enough clearance for the trolley. Alternatively, see if you can get to the thick tubes at the back and front of the outriggers (behind the front and in front of the rear wheels, just inside from the corner). These should be hefty enough. The corner itself would likewise probably do, but you may damage the body nut and the pressure on this welded joint would be quite high (its a long way from the centre of gravity). Try to get a bit deeper to the tubes I mention above.

Regardless of the work being done I always use an axle stand to brace the car (usually using the tubes mentioned above). Even if you are not under the car, you don't really want suspension assembly slamming down onto the ground as the jack collapses. When you find out how much it could cost to repair, you may wish you were under it...

JB

[HarryW]

Just to pass on a tip I was given, if you can't get the trolley jack under the centre beams, just lightly jack up the car on the strongest point available on the chassis, so as to raise the car up on it's suspension. Then let the jack down gently, you will see the car is now 2/3" higher because the suspension hasn't settled. Now place the jack under the main centre beam and jack away (don't forget to use axle stands). When you come to let the car down do it gently again. Hey presto! remove trolley jack, job done. Use soft wood pads with the jack and rags/foam pads with the axle stands to stop damaging the chassis and its paintwork, if you don’t want to jack it up again to repair the damage!

Harry


>> Edited by HarryW on Thursday 14th March 00:30

[RCA]

Another idea is to place a couple of bits of wood under the front wheels and drive up on to them, this will then give you (hopefully) the extra bit of clearance to get to the main chassis