Need a Trolly Jack or other for the drive. How High?

[tweetyduck]

Whats the correct lift height for my defender. The ones i've seen only go up to 330mm. Is that enough. A linky to one with a couple of axle stands for under £50 would be nice so i can see what i need to order. Is a bottle jack better?

[western]

Trolley jack with a minimum of 2 tonne capacity, same for axle stands.

[tweetyduck]

Thanks Western. It doesn't seem like 330mm lift would be enough though. Thats only a foot? The 3 tonne ones go up to 450mm ish. Whats the standard bottle jacks spec for lift height? I get the feeling i'll pump it up and it won't even get to the underneath.

[western]

Don't try lifting direct on the chassis rails,

on the rear use the axle or axle to trailing arm mounts this will keep the suspension compressed instead of letting it extend as the wheel is lifted.

on the front use the axle to radius arm mounts again for the same reason.

LR bottle jacks can be found on ebay these are ex-Discovery or RR items, these will happily lift one corner of a 110.

This is my trolley jack

some more trolley jacks here

hydraulic bottle jacks on this page & next page

Draper tools have been around for tens of years, so can be relied on to work.

[crwoody]

I'm not sure what mine goes to but 330mm lift should normally be plenty, just depends what you want to access

I always jack under the axles and then support it with a stand to do anything with wheels, axles, brakes, steering, greasing props etc.

If I want to access the suspension to remove/change springs, dampers etc. then I use a Farm jack under the the appropriate corner under the winch bumper or rock sliders and then put an extended stand under it for stability.

[LandyManLuke]

A normal trolley jack will do, but by no means will it be the ideal tool for the job.

Something like this will allow you to do things like lift the back end up by the rear crossmember etc.

As with most things, it comes down to price, choice, experience and compromise.

[Bowie69]

 

Is a bottle jack better?

Yup, I would say so, and way cheaper, should be able to get one from your local breaker for a tenner, hell, get two, then you can can jack up each side at the same time, it's all I've ever used or needed.

For things like spring removal I just jack under the axle, then shove some old wheels/tyres (you could of course use axle stands..... but I feel safer with wheels, much wider footprint) under the chassis/rear tank guard and let the jacks down -instant spring dislocation, and if not, jam the jack between radius/trailing arm and jack it until it does

[reb78]

Get a Hi Lift - You can jack it up nice and tall and then and rest the chassis rails on a decent set of tractor axle stands. If you need to raise the axle on one side, you can do this with a bottle jack as Ralph suggests. If i want to releive the tension in the springs, i will often jack up with the hi lift and get axle stands under the chassis first and then use my disco bottle jack under the axle. You can never have too many axle stands under there IMO! I find my trolley jack has a tendancy to slip if placed under the axle if the wheels cannot move freely so i need a perfectly smooth surface to use it safely. Jacking under the diff doesnt really work as, although the jack wont slip off of there, the diffs are so far to one side to lift the whole end in one go and the landy ends up on a slant.

[tweetyduck]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I've been to Machine Mart to check out the options and now know what i need. I'll see what i can get off Ebay although the 15 Tonne bottle is only £14 or something. Don't need it right now so i'll order one or pop in the scrappers (if its still there! Long time since i've been to that side of town).

[reb78]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I've been to Machine Mart to check out the options and now know what i need. I'll see what i can get off Ebay although the 15 Tonne bottle is only £14 or something. Don't need it right now so i'll order one or pop in the scrappers (if its still there! Long time since i've been to that side of town).

Nice thing with the disco\RR bottle jacks is that they have a little C shaped section at the top of the bottle which connects neatly with the axle. With other bottle jacks, you cant jack under the axle tube without a risk of the slightest movement causing it to slip off of the top if the jack.

[tweetyduck]

@Reb.

Thanks. yes Mike mentioned that so it sounds like thats what i need. Now i just need to find one!

[tweetyduck]

couldn't find a LR jack so got a bottle jack for £14 with a 4 tonne rating.

It not high enough to raise the car so back to the origional question. How high does it need to be? How high does the standard one go?

I'm trying to jack as per westons advice (and using common sense) the radius arm is ~400mm in the air and most jacks only go up to 380mm ish

(lets skip the block of wood advice shall we)

[M&S]

Noting wrong with a couple of pads of 18mm ply under the jack.

Anyway, here you go: Halfords 4x4 Jack

[Bowie69]

I'm guesstimating, but the RR jacks are probably ~17-18" (450mm ish) fully extended, they are able to lift on the axle tube to lift the wheel an inch or two off the ground, and I have 33" tyres.

As said above, nowt wrong with a couple of bits of wood, I use a couple of bits of 4"x4"x24" (ironic!) timber under mine pretty regularly when lifting on the chassis, propping a gearbox etc

[tweetyduck]

Thanks everyone.

@M&S That 4x4 trolly looks just the ticket. It might not last long but its also not that expensive. Plus i have a credit note for halfords to use! Except the local Halfords doesn't stock it. The next nearest does and its not far. Off to the store.