trolley jack and axle stands

[Alpine]

I'm thinking about getting a trolley jack so i can get under the car easier for maintenance etc. Is there any advice on what sort/brand to get - how much does a 944 weigh as you can get them to lift different loads?

I am right to think that you shouldn't work under a car with just a trolley jack and that it is best to get axle stands - where would they fit under the car and do i need to get any particular ones?

thanks for any guidence you can offer

 

[Michael Downing]

Answers to some questions are on my old thread:

http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=148629

 

[Guest]

You won't need anything particularly heavy duty to lift your 944. They don't weigh an awful lot, and you only ever lift half of the car with a trolley jack anyway. Halfords do a few which are a good price, and perfectly adequate for the amount of use you are likely to get out of them.

The one thing to check though is that it isn't oo high to fit under the car. The 944 isn't a particularly low car (unless you have fitted lowered suspension), but it's still a bit lower than average. Check out the ground clearance, and then measure any jack that you are thinking of buying.

As for axle stands. You should NEVER work under a car if it is only supported on a jack. A seal could decide to leak, or the car could be rocked off it and you'd be dead. ALWAYS support the car with axle stands and chock the wheels that are left on the ground. Also, always make sure that the ground you are working on is level. If you have the car on a slope, it can even drop off axle stands. There are a couple of different styles, but there isn't any particular type that is better than another. Just make sure that you buy decent heavy duty ones.

I hope that this helps.

James

 

[Michael Downing]

FYI, Halfrauds's 2.5 tonne jack fits under a 996 C4S, which has -10mm suspension and side skirts.

 

[Michael Downing]

ORIGINAL: Michael Downing
FYI, Halfrauds's 2.5 tonne jack ...

Just measured it - 11.5 cm clearance required.

 

[944psi]

I bought 2 pairs of axle stands from halfords - £10 a pair - yellow with the locking pin rather than the ratchet rated at 2 tons per pair - a 944 S2 is somewhere around 1.2 - 1.4 tonnes. Perfectly adequate I'd say.

Where you put them is another matter. I had the car up on 4 stands (not that I'm recommending doing that!) and had the front two under the chassis rails (in the floor where your feet go) with a block of wood to protect the underseal (don't know why as I'm scrapping the shell once it is stripped) and two at the back under the rearmost jacking points. Not sure if there is a better place to put them at the rear of the car? Anyone?

Also, I always leave the jack in position as a backup to the stands...just in case!

Phil

 

[Fen]

I tend to use the suspension mounts front and rear for mine - castor mounts front and the longitudinal rear arm mount at the rear. I have the Halfords yellow stands also (plus an older pair of blue ones from there) and even they are bit tall - you need the car up a long way before you can get the stand under.

 

[Alpine]

Thanks very much chaps - very useful stuff. I shall let you know if I have any problems.

 

[Hilux]

E-bay

 

[Guest]

Very nice. Very shiny.

However, this:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10151&storeId=10001&productId=217059&categoryId=33938&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=33938&crumb=31562-33938&varient=&CarSelectorCatalogId=

for £21.99 will do just as nicely as one of those posh ones costing over £100 more.

But then it isn't nearly as shiny. []

[Homer Simpson mode]
Hmmmmmmm shiny.....
[/Homer Simpson mode]

 

[Fen]

I haven't looked at the eBay ones but that Halfords one doesn't look like it would fit under my car - it's pretty high when it's at its lowest isn't it?

 

[Guest]

It's the same one that I have, and I didn't have any trouble getting it under my car.

If your car is lower than standard, then that might give you an excuse to buy one of those lovely shiny expensive ones from eBay.

Perhaps I should lower my car...[]

 

[Fen]

It's a little bit lower.[] I have one that fits under it, I just fancied a more compact one to carry to track days. Mine is a Viking 2.5 tonner I've had for a good 12 years.

 

[Guest]

That isn't a bit lower. Somebody nicked your springs []

 

[sawood12]

Anyone know if you can jack the whole of the front end up in one go by using the structural cross member that all the suspension hangs off? I'd guess it's a pretty strong peice of structure and the cars only weigh around 1500 KG which in the grand scheme of things isn't very heavy.

In my Uni days I saw a tensile test of a 10mm thick peice of mild steel resist a force of 2 tonnes so i'm sure the sturdy box section forged aluminium alloy member should be able to take the load????

 

[944psi]

You should be able to do this. The cross member is alloy but is effectively already carrying / transmitting the load of the engine and supporting the suspension through the wishbone mounts. It bolts into the chassis rails at each side so is well connected to the car.

Having not done this myself, I'd be concerned though about the jack slipping off the x-member.[&:]

Phil

 

[Diver944]

ORIGINAL: MoC2S

but purchased an AC Hydraulics 2 Tonne jack for < £200 which gives me absolute confidence in lifting my car

Yes but is it Shineeeeeeey Maurice []

 

[Guest]

If you want to jack up the whole front of the car, that's the place to do it.

I once saw a Ford Escort where the rocket scientist owner decided that the sump was a good jacking point. The really good bit was that he didn't wonder why he was jacking and jacking and the car wasn't going up []

 

[Guest]

ORIGINAL: sawood12

Anyone know if you can jack the whole of the front end up in one go by using the structural cross member that all the suspension hangs off?

yep. been there, done that..... pad it with a wooden block though to not damage the ally.

 

[Guest]

ORIGINAL: MoC2S
I have experienced what I lovingly described as my Halfords 'Yellow Peril' doing its best to drop my car from a decent height when one of the cheap circlips popped off, so I personally have adopted a crash helmet type of logic when looking at garage equipment. I wrote up my experience in PP, but purchased an AC Hydraulics 2 Tonne jack for < £200 which gives me absolute confidence in lifting my car and placing on jackstands. Low entry (80mm), very stable, quick lift, good control on descent. I won't belabour the point, but crash helmet logic says 'cheap helmets are for cheap heads' ... 'nuff said ?

cheers, Maurice [8|]

I've used loads of different trolley jacks over the years, of varying prices, and the only one that I even had a problem like this with a circlip coming off was actually a pretty expensive bit of kit.

The moral of the story is to always check your workshop equipment regularly. I didn't have a problem with the car dropping off the jack, because I noticed it before I tried to use it. Regular servicing applies to tools as well as cars.

James