I'm sick of being scared of being under the Range Rover so I want to get a decent jack and some decent stands. The stands I have at the moment are only 2ton but they'll do for holding up axles, props etc.
Does anyone have any recommendations for a jack that would lift a P38 high enough for a fat bloke to get underneath? I'm looking to keep costs down as far as possible, I've got a lot of parts to buy :(
Thanks!
I have the machinemart Clarke 3 tonne jack with the long handle, and a few pairs of 3 tonne axle stands - both the ratchet type you can just lift up until they are the height you want, and the pin type. Both seem fine - I've never been worried about the ratchet ones dropping once they have weight on them.
The jack is bloody heavy though, and the nose of it won't go under my E60 (doubt it would have the E39 either) unless I've driven it up on some bits of wood first. Something to note if you want to use it easily on lower vehicles. At some point this year I think I'll buy one of the lower profile aluminium ones for those jobs - shorter at the nose and a lot lighter! But they don't raise as high as a downside.
Same here, this one https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/ctj3000g-3-tonne-professional-garage-j/ and a pair of these https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/cax-3tbc-3-ton-axle-stands/
When I first got my P38 last year, I did quite a bit of crawling around underneath. I found that with some old lengths of 3" x 8" timbers I had kicking around, I could create a couple of 'staircases' that I drove the vehicle on to. With 2 lengths screwed together (one shorter one on top but aligned at one end) gave an easy 6" of lift. I made the ramps about 3ft long overall and as they were 8" wide, the tyres fit comfortably width-wise. I could add another level and get 9" if necessary. I found this worked really well and totally removed the need for jacking but this would obviously not work as well if you need to remove wheels (which at the time I didn't).
What I should really do is have a chat with my petrol head neighbour (whose track car has been on axle stands outside his house since summer) and we could remove the 2ft wide "flower bed" between our two driveways and replace it with a pit. I could even cover it with plywood and scatter woodchips back over it and no-one would know!
That machine mart jack looks ideal. thanks!
Go and check the weight first, as nick says, some of them are a hernia job to pick up ( I know, I have one ) mine is a 3 tonne, but still twisted when I jacked up my old dse on a slight incline, strengthened now to make even heavier, lol
I have a 3T Halfords one and I think that's describing the jack itself rather than its lifting capacity! I hated lifting it when I was 20 and it makes my back hurt at 30. It's awkward to pick up too, so it's not always easy to lift it "properly".
Lifts the P38 great though. Doesn't fit under regular cars unless you lift them a little using the wheel arch :P
I have got a pair of Machine Mart 6 tonne axle stands https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/cax-6tbc-6-ton-axle-stands/
They are very solid and support the chassis very firmly. Had them 15 years+ and I would recommend them. You need to over specify lifting gear.
I have also got a couple of 2 tonne stands from the year dot, Halfords I think. Made of angle iron. Only for supporting one end of axle. I hardly use them.
I have a 3 tonne 4x4 trolley jack which is rapid action and high lift. I thought I got it from Machine Mart but can't see it listed. Given good service 15 years+, although it had new seals and an oil change about 2 years ago.
I gave up on the usual flimsy stuff a while back and bought an ex-garage trolley jack instead; Even then I don't trust axle stands much either with our two-ton beasts and I use stacks of high-density breeze blocks with paving slabs plus wooden planking atop instead. Takes a while yes, but 'the more the merrier', particularly if I am under there heaving on a 3-foot breaker bar or some such... !
I've seen full size trucks stood up in the air on axle stands at work.
The stands were a bit bigger than my 3T ones but not as big as I would have expected.
I'm happy enough going under the Range Rover held up with a 3T set at the front and the jack for back up.
I am probably more cautious than most: Had a friend trapped by his Metro twisting off stands on his drive, fortunately spotted by a passer-by in time; It all depends what your stands are standing on, ie. if it is not sold/flat concrete ....
That's true, you do need to set it up safely. Flat, level, solid ground, same height all around etc.
I don't own any level ground but there's a nice concrete pad about 20 yards away that I used for my suspension calibration - just the ticket.
I'll put the 2 ton stands at the end I'm not working on... and wheels under the sills.
Dave - I'm going with a pair of those 6 ton stands. They look great. Thanks!
You won't go far wrong with those Morat.
I have had my current p38, and previously an old classic, twist and come off the axle stands. It is due to the way the handbrake works.
With the handbrake on, it still allows one wheel to rotate relative to the other one on the same axle. Hence the importance of chocking the wheels.
I have also got Arnott Gen III's which give an extra +2" lift on high. This allows me to crawl underneath for a lot of jobs without the need for jacks.
I got the Wolf version of those Machine Mart ones dave likes https://www.ukhs.tv/Wolf-6-Ton-Axle-Stand primarily because of the safety pin which ensures that it stays put. Looks like no stock of the Wolf ones in the UK at the moment so issue is academic right now.
Jury is out on the shape and depth of the fork on top. My Wolf ones are shallower on top and, possibly, a little wider than the Machine Mart ones but I was able to get rubber caps from SGS giving better grip to offset the shallower recess.
Bought the Northern Tools version of the 2 ton long reach jack https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clarke-ctj2gls-2-tonne-long-reach-trolley-jack/ many years ago after getting fed up putting planks under my smallest size Weber to lift the Lancia HPE I had then. I'm well pleased with the performance. Big, heavy, noisy as heck to pull around but safe and solid. Release knob can be frustrating tho'. Grip for oily hands is poor and the UJ at the pivot end needs the handle at least half way down before it will turn. Not a great issue as you need to lift the car to drop the axle stands but the handle can catch you a right wallop across the shins if you temporarily forget its down and sticking well out when running round to shift the axle stand on t'other side of the car. Garage language practice time!
I don't trust the little short high lift trolley jacks as the lift arm gets too close to vertical for my tastes so the mechanical advantage of the smaller stay that keeps the lift cup more or less level becomes small. Years ago the job got ahead of my brain when using my small Weber as a secondary lift under the Bristol axle at full extension. The stay couldn't take the strain letting the cup slip spitting the jack out. Damn lucky not to do some seriously expensive damage to both car and me. Bristol chassis stops just in front of the rear axle so only alloy body to take the strain! Fortunately just bruised pride and a, probably overdue, reminder that "usually being careful" isn't good enough.
This sort of thing https://www.sgs-engineering.com/tj25-4x4-trolley-jack?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgbGBjJqd4AIVFyjTCh0_7Q-mEAQYAiABEgJn2fD_BwE with the extension dooby perched on top should come with a pre-printed suicide note! The leverage of car weight on the sticky up thing should the jack slip back a little so the car weight is forward of dead vertical is unreal and will spit the jack out really easily. If a decent quality Weber jack can go that way when the users desire to get on with the job pulls ahead of his brain whats the odds of cheapy Chinee import from "what colour and what sticker on this batch" factory won't also suffer. Especially with the pole on top.
Clive
I did wonder about the extension rod things - they look like a bad idea to me too! I think the Clarke recommended above will be mine next month. If both Sloth and Richard are happy with it, I'll go with it too.