What did you do to your Lexus today.

[Boomer54]

1 hour ago, Lmafudd said:

Could you enquire through something like 'Nextdoor' if anyone has a suitable Garage or workshop that you could rent for a day or two? There are many car enthusiasts about who may love to share their experiences etc.

I have no idea what 'nextdoor' is ,but I will find out. Heck I might be able to do a video and people can take bets on which day of the work I will end up in A & E for a cortisone shot to keep me going.

[Boomer54]

8 minutes ago, Bluemarlin said:

I was going to say that it might end up cheaper paying someone to do it,  but I see you've already reached that possible conclusion.

An alternative though, if you're keen to do it yourself is to wait, as you say until spring, but in the meantime give the underside a good spray of ACF 50, to keep any worsening at bay over winter. With a big bottle of ACF 50 (£25), and a garden sprayer with a lance, like the one linked below, you could  probably cover most (if not all) of the underside without having to raise the car. Not perfect, but will hold you over until spring. Would take less than £40 and about 30-60 minutes, but put down some plastic sheeting or cardboard to catch the drips,  and leave it to dry for a day or two.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Defenders-Sprayer-2L-Multi-Colour-Purpose-Pressure/dp/B08N58758Y/ref=sr_1_5?crid=DEVZXIHXHHY7&keywords=garden+sprayers+2+litre+pressure&qid=1698842736&sprefix=garden+spayer%2Caps%2C448&sr=8-5

I will look up ACF50. I already have spraying equipment because I have to Hypochlorite my driveway every year  to keep the moss away.

[Malc1]

2 hours ago, Boomer54 said:

Hoping to use a creeper board on top of 1/4" base ply platform cut to size and located under the car. Yes, they are cobbles (used to be in Rochdale town centre until 1995), love 'em ,but boy they make life difficult sometimes.

For heavens sake see sense and just get your Indy to let you “borrow” his ramp/lift for a couple of hours 

You can then get up and under and do your worst with a degree of comfort ……. he’ll make u a cuppa too I’m sure ! 

Malc 

[Boomer54]

2 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

For heavens sake see sense and just get your Indy to let you “borrow” his ramp/lift for a couple of hours 

You can then get up and under and do your worst with a degree of comfort ……. he’ll make u a cuppa too I’m sure ! 

Malc 

"see sense" Stephen ,quick genetic search, nope can confirm I did not get any at the counter before exiting the womb.

[BigBoomer]

1 hour ago, Bluemarlin said:

An alternative though, if you're keen to do it yourself is to wait, as you say until spring, but in the meantime give the underside a good spray of ACF 50, to keep any worsening at bay over winter.

If you do go down the ACF50 route, make certain that absolutely none of it gets on your brake disks/pads.
You can clean it off the disks with spray brake cleaner, but once on a pad, the only fix is to replace the pad.
It is good stuff though. I used to use it on my motorcycles but these days I simply don't ride in the winter.

[plastic orange]

Do not let ACF50 drop onto your driveway if you have monoblock. I've mentioned this before, but worth repeating.

Pete

[Boomer54]

2 hours ago, plastic orange said:

Do not let ACF50 drop onto your driveway if you have monoblock. I've mentioned this before, but worth repeating.

Pete

I have granite cobbles ,but what agent is in the ACF50 that creates staining ? Do we know? In fact what does it do, stain, 'eat' into the stone ?

[Lmafudd]

The more I read the more I think - pay someone! Let them do the work and you can sit back and enjoy your cobbles!

[Tinonline]

I got underneath and brushed on Kurust with a 1.5 inch brush. Delighted with results I let it cure for a day before spraying over with a hammerite type spray. 

Kurust coverage is excellent.

Worked a treat. 

[GMB]

I had a Rover P6 V8 which had Ziebart  rust prevention. The great bit was that when all the metal had rusted away the black ziebart stuff held the car together. The final death throes of the car were when the "de dion" rear axle parted company with the body as the mounting bolts had rusted away. Now that was an interesting drive.

As the axle was departing, at first, I thought " it seems icy, the car is skidding a bit" then all hell broke loose. Sold it to a mate for £500, he just wanted the engine for a project.

[Malc1]

and there's mine at 247k miles and 28 years young and living next the sea for much of it's life .........  never been treated to any underside " rust prevention " treatment  ( yet ) and never received any MOT warnings about underside rust either !

Malc

[Boomer54]

27 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

and there's mine at 247k miles and 28 years young and living next the sea for much of it's life .........  never been treated to any underside " rust prevention " treatment  ( yet ) and never received any MOT warnings about underside rust either !

Malc

Admit it, it's like a Lego set in about 50 different pieces. You don't drive it, you assemble it.

[Boomer54]

So what is the safest way to raise my car to work underneath it.

Should I hydraulic jack it up on to two axel stands at one end chocking the other end and then work the raised underside after which reverse and do the other. Alternatively, should I raise one end on to stands and then raise the other so it all raised so I can work the whole car. Actually not sure how you would do that without risking damaging the skirt.

Turns out I can hire for a week some kit to get the car jacked up for at least long enough to use the ACF50. Whether that will be an ongoing solution to protecting the car I don't know, but for the cost involved I am willing to give it a try.

I suppose alternatively i could just park the car on Malc's magical driveway where mother earth transmits invisible rays that elminate all rust known to man.😏

[eightk]

An entertaining read! I’d be tempted to do one end at a time with axle stands - I’ve never trusted a car on four stands, it never looks very stable although you’re not spannering, just spraying I suppose.

I may have dinitrol’d a Landcruiser on the road outside our house rather than risk my drive getting damaged. Nearly 5 years later and the stains have almost gone…

[BigBoomer]

To get the car fully off the ground I have always used Ramps for the rear wheels (jack up the rear and put the ramps under each rear tyre) and then jacks and axle stands at the front.
With the handbrake on and in Park she isn't going to move unless you get really violent with her.
For what you are doing, maybe use 4 ramps or else some solid blocks of wood.
With 4 ramps you can orient them such that the car cannot move at all.

DO NOT use piles of bricks. I have seen the damage that they do when a car collapses onto them.
My mate was underneath at the time and all that saved him is that he had left the jack in place and was working near it.
He needed a tranquiliser and new trousers after that 

[Boomer54]

26 minutes ago, eightk said:

An entertaining read! I’d be tempted to do one end at a time with axle stands - I’ve never trusted a car on four stands, it never looks very stable although you’re not spannering, just spraying I suppose.

I may have dinitrol’d a Landcruiser on the road outside our house rather than risk my drive getting damaged. Nearly 5 years later and the stains have almost gone…

Thanks, yes I am sensitive to the potential staining of my driveway so you can take it has read I will double down on making sure it is covered against any overspray ,or drips.

[Boomer54]

1 minute ago, BigBoomer said:

To get the car fully off the ground I have always used Ramps for the rear wheels (jack up the rear and put the ramps under each rear tyre) and then jacks and axle stands at the front.
With the handbrake on and in Park she isn't going to move unless you get really violent with her.
For what you are doing, maybe use 4 ramps or else some solid blocks of wood.
With 4 ramps you can orient them such that the car cannot move at all.

DO NOT use piles of bricks. I have seen the damage that they do when a car collapses onto them.
My mate was underneath at the time and all that saved him is that he had left the jack in place and was working near it.
He needed a tranquiliser and new trousers after that 

Thanks, now that makes sense to me. Two ramps and two stands ,or even 4 ramps and I can do the whole car at once. I prefer that because it will be easier to ensure the cobbles are adequately covered end to end and side to side. I am only going to use bricks to hold down the edges of the ground coverage I am using. A layer of plastic sheeting with a couple of full sized decorating sheets on top that can just be bagged and taken to the dump after use. I do have some log offcuts I can just insert for extra safety, but I don't envisage they will be needed for the spraying work I will be doing.

Also decided I am going to do that now rain ,or no rain. Getting wet never killed anybody unless you were onboard the Titanic or similar. Trekking kit head to toe sorts that out anyway.

[LenT]

36 minutes ago, BigBoomer said:

To get the car fully off the ground I have always used Ramps for the rear wheels (jack up the rear and put the ramps under each rear tyre) and then jacks and axle stands at the front.
With the handbrake on and in Park she isn't going to move unless you get really violent with her.
For what you are doing, maybe use 4 ramps or else some solid blocks of wood.
With 4 ramps you can orient them such that the car cannot move at all.

DO NOT use piles of bricks. I have seen the damage that they do when a car collapses onto them.
My mate was underneath at the time and all that saved him is that he had left the jack in place and was working near it.
He needed a tranquiliser and new trousers after that 

Point well made George!

When I had occasion to work under a car, I had four ramps to drive up on - or lower the car down on as appropriate.  The ramps themselves could then be further wound up if necessary.  I never trusted any form of jack without axle stands.

It’s not so surprising that DIYers have to be constantly reminded of the dangers of working under badly supported vehicles.  But it appears that some of those in the Motor Trade learn the hard way too.

According to the Health & Safety Executive, in the last five years 12  mechanics have died under vehicles that dropped down on to them.  And over 2,300 suffered non-fatal injuries.

It’s possibly another instance in which familiarity breeds contempt!

[Malc1]

1 hour ago, Boomer54 said:

So what is the safest way to raise my car to work underneath it.

Should I hydraulic jack it up on to two axel stands at one end chocking the other end and then work the raised underside after which reverse and do the other. Alternatively, should I raise one end on to stands and then raise the other so it all raised so I can work the whole car. Actually not sure how you would do that without risking damaging the skirt.

Turns out I can hire for a week some kit to get the car jacked up for at least long enough to use the ACF50. Whether that will be an ongoing solution to protecting the car I don't know, but for the cost involved I am willing to give it a try.

I suppose alternatively i could just park the car on Malc's magical driveway where mother earth transmits invisible rays that elminate all rust known to man.😏

She gets parked kerbside I’m afraid ….. no driveway for years anyway ! 
Just chat to your local friendly tiny garage with a hydraulic ramp and rent a little time on it 

Solution is there without putting your life at risk nor being a drain on the inevitable 999 call for an ambulance to take you to A&E ….. or worse, the hearse owner 😰

Malc

[Rabbers]

This thread has taken an interesting turn insofar as I am left wondering if, back in the 1980s when he conceived the Lexus marque, it even remotely crossed Mr Eiji Toyoda’s mind that any customers would one day be debating how best to raise their car off the ground. 

[Malc1]

5 minutes ago, Rabbers said:

mind that any customers would one day be debating how best to raise their car off the ground. 

in those days I'm sure he had just conceived a very Premium Luxury car and a chauffeur possibly to attend ......... and a Main Dealer to do all necessaries

Not future owners grubbing around in the oil and muck ...... vide  Wesley in Last of the Summer Wine territory 🤩

Malc

[Boomer54]

5 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

in those days I'm sure he had just conceived a very Premium Luxury car and a chauffeur possibly to attend ......... and a Main Dealer to do all necessaries

Not future owners grubbing around in the oil and muck ...... vide  Wesley in Last of the Summer Wine territory 🤩

Malc

Think he would chuffed that 40 years or so on owners were still talking his about creations with real passion. What a legacy !

If they talk about me in 40 years it will be more like 'how could he eat so much apple crumble and custard and still weigh 12 stone ? Lacks a  certain level of achievement.

[Malc1]

1 minute ago, Boomer54 said:

Think he would chuffed that 40 years or so on owners were still talking his about creations with real passion. What a legacy !

and some of us are still happily driving his early creations too ........... in my 4th decade with this 1991 car and me a qtr. century driving one too

Malc

[Jon Evans]

Today I picked up my spare wheel with new tyre. When I got the car there was one wheel in particular that needed refinishing, so I bought 4 new tyres and sent other wheel to be sorted. I dropped off the finished wheel for its tyre yesterday, and collected it this morning. For a glorious 5 minutes I was finally driving the car with no warning lights on the dash after getting used to TPMS errors, until I cleaned the screen and the light came on again to tell me I was out of washer fluid.

[plastic orange]

On 11/1/2023 at 5:31 PM, Boomer54 said:

I have granite cobbles ,but what agent is in the ACF50 that creates staining ? Do we know? In fact what does it do, stain, 'eat' into the stone ?

In my case it dripped onto my monoblock and it seemed to seep into the block surface and I couldn't wash it off. Eventually I took a brass wire brush to buff off the stain, but this didn't really get it all off. Prior to this I used brake cleaner, thinners,  power washing, jizer etc, in fact anything I could think of. I wasn't really impressed with it, so have never used it again. It may not affect granite cobbles though, but not worth the risk, put down a sheet before working I'd suggest.

 

Pete