Jacking Wooooos

skyway · December 8, 2015

Hi again guys,

this one might be a little silly (i did try searching the forum before just in case so as not to waste peoples time)

I needed to jack the car up today to give the brakes some love n lube and found to my utter dismay that my normally trolley jack was not up to the job of reaching the subframe as i believe the jacking point is far far away under the beast.

I was able to get it onto the rear subframe however it would not jack high enough, not wanting to drag planks of wood around with me i was wondering if any of you wonderful people had a jack suitable for the job at hand.(I didnt want to trust the scissor jack)

thanks in advance as always:)

God after rereading this it is a very stoopid question.

Titch LS · December 9, 2015

The differential is designed to take the weight of the car at the rear. It can be used as your jacking point.

Malc · December 9, 2015

..... ever since I saw the car supplied jack buckling under the strain of changing a wheel on my Mk1 many years ago I leave wheel changing to the RAC or the garage !

Malc

ambermarine · December 9, 2015

Titch

The earlier marks did have serrated platforms on the diff for the hydraulic telescopic jack but that disappeared on the Mark4 and I think it unwise to jack up on the diff as they changed the diff suspension in the subframe on the mark 3 and 4 which could be the reason for dropping the jacking platform.

Titch LS · December 9, 2015

Ambermarine, you're right about the change in diff design for the later models. However, I did check my 2000 workshop manual and it does show the diff as one of the safe jacking points on the car. The only proviso it gave was for the car not to be carrying any extra weight when lifting.

Colin M · December 9, 2015

I use the jacking points on the back of the sills where the scissor jack that comes with the car goes.

I use a thick block of wood on my trolley jack and the block has a section cut out on the top deep enough for the sill and sill cover flange to fit in. This allows wood either side of the flanges to take the weight when lifting, in much the same way as the metal on the scissor jack does. I normally only want to jack up one side at a time and have found this a lot easier than using the jack on the differential.

I can post a picture of the block of wood if that will be helpful, along with the dimensions, although these will depend in part on what size the jack saddle is.

cleverdick · December 9, 2015

It's true that the supplied scissor jack is not really up to the job. I've had the threads sieze on me, which means that irrepairable damage is done. I carry a compact trolley jack with me now (try Aldi or Lidl for the sort of thing), which really does take the effort out of it. (A wooden block is essential though.) Using a regular scissor jack, just inside the seam, will likely deform the sill or floorpan - or - if on the seam will mangle it - just as the previous owner of my car has done!

The fins on the diff may be useful for a jack, but I suspect that their primary function is cooling.

Verbout · December 10, 2015

I use the jacking points on the back of the sills where the scissor jack that comes with the car goes.

I use a thick block of wood on my trolley jack and the block has a section cut out on the top deep enough for the sill and sill cover flange to fit in. This allows wood either side of the flanges to take the weight when lifting, in much the same way as the metal on the scissor jack does. I normally only want to jack up one side at a time and have found this a lot easier than using the jack on the differential.

I can post a picture of the block of wood if that will be helpful, along with the dimensions, although these will depend in part on what size the jack saddle is.

I do exactly this^^^^^^. Simples. Isn't that what the sill jacking point is for? Or is it a design accident?

ambermarine · December 11, 2015

I have a small runabout truck which I constantly have to jack up as it as classic mini running gear which needs regular attention,one issue I have noticed when using trolley jacks is the lateral inertia put on the jacking point as the angles change between the telescopic arm and the ground.If the wheels on the trolley jack are not moving in and out the forces on the jacking point are extreme.I have actually dragged the truck sideways when the jack wheels have not moved as I jack up the truck.The chassis is robust and as a steel web welded to the base so it is well able to take the sideway forces so I am not to worried by this. I run the trolley jack on a peice of 9X2 timber so the wheels can turn easily.

The point I am trying to make in the preamble is that the jacking points on the Lexus are not designed to take sideway loading so make sure if you are using a trolley jack the jack can traverse in and out when lifting the car.

SH20 · December 11, 2015

You need a set of these which I made and have adapted them to suit my last 3 cars incl my LS460. I don't like scissor jacks so I carry a small mini trolley jack in it's own case should I need to swap a wheel.

Steve

Verbout · December 12, 2015

I like it, but it seems a bit overkill.

Can't you have just one "thing" attached to your trolley jack?

But thinking about it, its a good thing if you take you're car to a garage.

But thinking about it again, if you can make and fit these "things" you maybe do-it-yourself and don't bother with garages.

I'll shut up now. :shutit:

skyway · December 12, 2015

Hi guys thanks for all your time and help on this one.

I'm loving your attachments there Steve amazing what we do to solve a problem when we need to:).

I think it is best to use the sills, the idea of climbing under the car to get to the subframe or diff on the side of the m1 does not sound much fun.

The reason i went for the subframe to start with is that i didn't have an owners manual and the sills seem to have a plastic shielding on of some kind which confused me a great deal ( in fact had me kicking things tbh but not the car).

I will get back out on sunday and have a go on my brakes. I'm going to copy Colin's idea of the wooden block (thanks mate).

But hey Steve if your making em I will buy em :)

SH20 · December 12, 2015

Hi Guys yes Verbout is right, my round steel jacking plates were for my benefit mainly but it's true, the monkeys who call themselves technicians have previously damaged my Bentley Arnage and my Jaguar XK when they have mis aligned the two poster swing arms and hadn't located the lift's pads on the sill flanges thereby causing sill flange damage (bent) and damage to my plastic sill cover panels.

I decided once and for all that when my car goes into the main dealer I was going to insist how and where to raise my car thus guaranteeing no more damage because they couldn't be bothered to raise the car correctly in the first place. Didn't have any issues with the Bentley dealer or the Jaguar dealer ever again.

I do take my wheels off every week for cleaning and the speed of wheel removal is very quick because I'm not struggling to locate my trolley jack on the sill flanges. I spent half a day when I bought this LS460 repairing the sill flanges which were basically flattened by incompetent garage staff.

Titch LS · December 12, 2015

Steve , I can sympathise with your opinion of some garage 'technicians'. Many moons ago I left my car, (not a Lexus), in the hands of a local garage for the day. About a week later I noticed some extreme wear on the edge of one of the front (newish) tyres. When I looked underneath to inspect the car 'someone' i.e. a so-called mechanic had obviously raised the front of the car using a trackrod as a jacking point! It was bent into the shape of a banana. Never took my car there again. You can't be too careful.

Colin M · December 12, 2015

If Allan is going down the route of using a wooden block, here is some info on approximate measurements and some pictures of the one I use.

The block wood is 3 and five-eighths inches x 2 and three quarter inches. The cut out in the top section is about 1 inch deep and 1 inch wide. The cut out is not centrally placed - there is a longer section on the top on the right hand side (1 and three-eighths of an inch) and a shorter section on the top on the left hand side (three-quarters of an inch). The left hand side is also cut away at an angle at the end. The longer section goes behind the sill and the shorter section in front of it. The purpose of the cut away is to stop the edge of the wood from catching on the sill.

Hope this helps.

The photos are a bit on the large side but if you click on them they open up so that you can see the whole picture.

Verbout · December 12, 2015

Mine aren't as tall as yours Colin, they are made of two pieces of 19 mm marine ply screwed together, but basically the same idea, spreading the load without crushing the welded seam.

SH20 · December 13, 2015

Like it and much less involved. I guess you have the wood grain at right angles to the sill flange otherwise I guess the sill flange wood be like a log splitter.

I have my set up permanently fixed for speed and for on the road use. You use the same trolley jack as mine for garage use but the mini trolley jack I have in the boot is much smaller but does the same job if I'm on the road. In my view any car over 2 ton needs more than a scissor jack or variation of a scissor jack.

Colin M · December 13, 2015

Yes, Steve, I do have the wood grain at right angles.

Given that the wood blocks are not difficult to make, I would make a second block and try it with your mini trolley jack.

The small bits on the top of the saddle should dig into the wood enough so that the wood rests all around the edge on the top of the saddle. This should be sufficient for jacking purposes.

I have used a large block of wood on top of a relatively small saddle before and have jacked up a large car (my Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire) without any problems.