Jacking up the car - to a good height ???

[grinder]

i will start by saying " i have no idea where this thread should go "

so now thats out of the way :)

im looking at changing the clutch on the drive way and i need to get the car pretty high up - i suppose the higher the better - as that give me more room to play under the car

i have the white cab on ramps at the mo - so off i trundle outside and to be honest - it looks really high at the front ( but then the angle of the car makes it like that )

so i got an axle stand out - and at full stance it sits just under the front swinging arm thingy

so ..... the questions are

1 - its higher on ramps - so how do i get all 4 wheels on ramps - bearing in mind that i cant jack it up and that stick ramps under as suspension travel would mean i need to jack it up MILES
2 - will axle stands be enough ( there isnt much in it to be honest )
3 - the hight of the ramps are just over 9 inch

any ideas ??

the only thing i can think of is to get something thats 9 inch tall and a good 10 inch wide and very solid

make a wall of these on 2 sides

make a ramp up to them

drive the car on - then remove whats left between the wheels

the idea of this is that is VERY quick to do

i have been thinking about breeze blocks or even railway sleeper ( the sleepers would be a pain to manhandle and store )

any ideas chaps ????

Stu / Grinder

[kev-yorks]

Not very often i jack mine up on the drive Stu but last time i put the front on ramps, jacked under one rear wishbone couple af short scaf boards under the wheel went to the other side did the same, then couple of boards under the jack and the same again. Took about 30mins to get it high enough in three stages.
Kevin

[grinder]

ahhh i like it - so did you end up with the front on ramps and the back on stands ???

and i have emailed the clutch place - nice one matey !! :D

[kev-yorks]

Left the timbers under the wheels and front on ramps Stu with stands under the back end just in case. Not sugesting for a minute you go and help yourself but if there's any building sites near you the offcuts from the boards are ideal. Easy to handle and store out of the way for another time.
Kevin

[alban1973]

The way to do it is in stages, blocks of wood on the axlestands under the front cross member as it is sturdy and on the jack when you run out of jack height, if you have a decent trolley jack it is a lot easier, Also get some decent strong and high axle stands. the back will not have to be so high as it is the bell housing st the front that will need the most clearance. you will also need a good trolley jack for that when you put it back in to make life easier. I do not know how far away from me you are, if you need any gear or assistance i would be happy to help..... or you could always bring the car to me one day and i would help you if that would be of any help

[kev-yorks]

or you could always bring the car to me one day and i would help you if that would be of any help Thats a dangerous quote alban you'd better get a bed made up when Stu see's that! :2eek
Kevin

[alban1973]

Ha well he has a good choice of beds, either with 15 guinipigs in one of the stables, or with the the 8 chickens. the choice is all his,,Not sure changing A RWD clutch would be more than 10 minutes?????????? would it???

[kev-yorks]

Normally work on two or three hours but as you know it only takes one stud!
Kevin

[grinder]

now now chaps !!

thanks for the offer alban - prob is , we need to finish it in one day or im stuck :(

i like the ideas that you have come up with so far - sounding good !

when i last tried to jack the back up with the front on ramps i was scared of it rolling off the ramps .. can this happen ????

[kev-yorks]

What type of ramp have you got Stu if its the normal open type and your paranoid you can always put a chock behind the front wheel and g clamp in place
Kevin

[shaunwil]

I could pop round so we have two jacks, could possibly speed the job up and jack both sides up at an even rate then put blocks under. We used to have sleepers when the landrover was being put back together but they became all manky.

The syspension travel is usually an issue too, you need quite a stroke just to get anywhere under the wheels.

I may have some high blocks i can lend you while we get that clutch sorted.

Have you got a spare boost gauge, may need a passenger to help with me setting my boost back up !! And maybe persuade you towards an fd !

Shaun

[shaunwil]

I think you need to lift both the front and the back to an even level to get anywhere close to the clutch ???

Shaun

[grinder]

cunning plan - i like it :D

or drop something thru the gaps to lock it in place

[kev-yorks]

If not Stu wait until i've helped Jase out with his then i'll give you a hand.
Kevin

[noyzboy100db]

Grinder

When I saw this thread I had a flashback to an accident that could have killed me or badly injured me. I've tried to follow what you're up to with some difficulty, and I don't know how relevant it is to Rex's but my advice is

NEVER JACK UP A CAR THAT YOU'VE ALREADY GOT ON RAMPS OR AXLE STANDS.

My story is:
I was working on a Triumph Herald (not mine). Crap car with dreadful swing axle rear suspension.
I have backed the rear wheels onto ramps. Forget why.
I needed it higher so I got under it, got a bottle jack under the diff and started jacking it higher. As I did, the swing axles came down and with their geometry they started to tip the ramps inwards onto their inner edges. (helps if you know what a swing axle is). I suppose i've now got most of the weight of the car on the bottle jack under the diff

Jacked a bit more, spotted the ramps were tipping in and stopped. Then I decided the situation was dodgy and I should back off. I'm still under the car.
So I let the bottle jack down.
Instead of returning to how I started, the bottle jack came free and the car is now swaying about on the tipped in ramps with me under it.
I had to hold the car on my back and holler for help .My folks came out and held the car from toppling off the ramps while I got out from under it. If they hadn't been around the car could have fallen on me and killed me.
Hope you can follow the story

Hence my advice.
1. NEVER JACK UP A CAR THAT YOU'VE ALREADY GOT ON RAMPS OR AXLE STANDS.
2. NEVER BE UNDER A CAR WHILE JACKING IT

Be lucky, but mostly be careful.

Noyzboy

[stuart wizy]

get the front wheels on your ramp an get yourself 8 solid concrete breeze block. 1 block is 200mm thick keep jacking the back end up and place 1 block at a time under back wheels, let car down and jack back up again using jack sat on 2 breeze block lengthways, keep jacking til u get how high you want, make sure ground is flat where your blocks are sat.
dont lie under car whilst jacking.
i lifted a nissan cabstar 2 feet of the ground using this method to weld chasis up once!
you could alway put 2 axle stands under back end for extra safety
DONT use thermalite block or hollow block !

[grinder]

i like the advice so far chaps :D

i know about not being under a car when jacking it up - im always over careful when doing it these day

so that plan so far is

1 - get front on ramps ( easy )
2 - jam the front wheels so they dont move
3 - see if i can get a jack under the diff
4 - jack up
5 - block it up
6 - jack up
7 - block it up

the only real prob here - is that the diff is really low down when the front end is really high ...

and i see your point about putting stands under the back aswell - thats a good idea

if i could get it to a nice level height - then im tempted to get it so high and see if i can stand the back on ramps - as they are nice and wide

like i said - not sorted a clutch yet - this is just real forward planning

keep up the ideas though :D

[kev-yorks]

I would advise not to jack under the diff Stu as when the weight comes of the suspension thats when the wheel will try to slide inwards see a couple of posts back. if you jack under the wishbones your keeping a more or less constant load on the suspension and won't encounter this problem.
Kevin