will_warne Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 Last night I started stripping the axles ready to sort a dodgy bearing and some blown seals along with popping both ARBs out to send off to Ashcroft’s for pegging. Start on the back axle. No problems there; the diffs out in under an hour and I make a start on the front. I chock both rear wheels, jack the front up and pop a pair of axle stands under the hockey sticks before pulling off the swivels to extract the halfshafts from the diff. First minor annoyance is when I remove the brake callipers and place a tray under the vehicle to catch the drips of brake fluid. No matter where I put the tray the fluid dripped somewhere else. Ho hum. I shoved a load of kitchen roll down to soak it up and, after pulling the swivels called it a night. I went back to the job this afternoon. Now, I've got a track rod guard fitted. It’s basically a square section tube that runs between the hockey sticks. I thought I might've been able to pull the diff without removing it so I undo all the bolts holding the diff and give it a wiggle..... ....it moves about 2 mm so I give it another wiggle.... ....nothing. Ar$e. "Oh well, it won't take long" thinks "I have to move the axle stands, though, as I'll need to remove the rear hockey stick bolt to remove the guard". So, out comes the hi-lift and I start to jack the offside of the truck; Click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, nearly there, click, click, Euuuuur OH S**T rrrrrrrr CRAAAAAAAASHHHHHH One of the rear wheel chocks had slipped and the truck had fallen sideways off one of the axle stands and into the workbench. After a few seconds to breath I look under the truck. All OK; it missed all the tools, maglite, parts tray but has landed on one of the axle stands bending it 'slightly' and was just sitting on the diff. The workbench was OK although when it moved it knocked over a virtually full 20L drum of used oil. Bu**er! Now comes the interesting question: How do i move the truck???? Its sitting on the floor and's rotated 30* meaning I can't close the workshop doors. Hmm, could be interesting. I also can't get the hi-lift into the front as the angle's too steep and it won't go into the sides. Time to borrow a slim trolley jack, me thinks. I then spent 90 minutes jacking the vehicle back round straight and getting it back on axle stands. I then finally set about removing the trackrod guard (which now has an appointment with ebay for the hassle its caused and I'm going to use a Sumo bar in its place) and then get the diff out. A quick 1 hour job took 4 hours! Time for a beer, I think. The moral of the story......... ......use a 4 post lift! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evil90 Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 Thats easy enough done im sure your not the first and you definately wontbe the last at least you are alright a hoists aint much better a friend of mine had a vehicle on a 2 post hoist and one of the legs some how gave way and pinned him against the workshop wall luckily it was only a small car but just goes to show that we take our life in our hands whenever we go near our toys Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minivin Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 Opps I nearly dropped the rear end on mine when it was only supported on axle ramps and no wheels fitted, luckily I grabbed the bulkhead as I was stood by it and managed to hold the chassis still as both wheel ramps were cantered over at 45 degrees before I got to the back to refit the axle stands under the axle. Shouldn't have had the ramps on end under the rear crossmember, but lacking tools they did the job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will_warne Posted April 12, 2006 Author Share Posted April 12, 2006 Yeah, I made a vain attempt to push the top of the hi - lift back but I wasn't really in the right place and once it really started to move I decided to keep out of the way. I didn't really want to get in the way of the best part of 2.5 tonnes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon White Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 One of the main reasons why in my opinion you should never use a hi-lift in the workshop. In fact in my experience I try to avoid using them at all costs period casue they're dangerous for this very reason. I always use a decent trolley jack. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JST Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 unlucky Will, or you were lucky whichever way you look at it. its just the rover biting back to remind you whos boss! how much for the guard then? PS still got your tap, but not used it yet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will_warne Posted April 13, 2006 Author Share Posted April 13, 2006 unlucky Will, or you were lucky whichever way you look at it.its just the rover biting back to remind you whos boss! how much for the guard then? PS still got your tap, but not used it yet! No problem about the tap, James. How about £25 for the gaurd incliding a spare trackrod (small kink) with a pair of good ends. PM me if you want it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MogLite Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 Go and buy a 3-tonne trolley jack and stop taking risks with nasty hi-lifts. Hellfords ones are good but about £90, or machine mart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 I got a 3-tonner on offer from sealey, about £90 but they threw in a pair of chunky axle stands and a half decent socket set.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darthdicky Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 If James doesn't have the guard I'll have it Will Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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