Ramps, axle stands or hydraulic jacks - help!

[Gasy]

^^^^^^^
Nice set up

I still would not want to be flat on me back under it tho

[mikeWalsall]

You can't get underneath .. I bought it off a self employed home mechanic .. he had a Shogun up on it when I went to see it ..!! .. he sold it, and bought one where the centre access was un resticted !!

The scissor action limits the space under neath ..it's even a strggle to remove things like the auto box sump .. or a front exhaust (not on my Bongo) .. but for sitting on a stool doing brakes waxoiling .. rear exhaust .. fitting a tow bar .. doing the grandkids quads, and the like, it's pretty good ..

My eldest lad changed the turbo cartridge on his Megane last week .. he admiited it would have been a lot harder without the ramp ..

Oh .. I have a proper five foot deep .. 10 foot long pit in the garage .. but .. you can't get a push bike in there with the lads motor bikes / clutter .. let alone a motor ..!!

[helen&tony]

Hi Brian
I thought it was you that had the same ramps...The guy I bought from was VERY helpful...Sticks in my mind as one of those who makes business a pleasure!
I couldn't remember where I put the sales blurb/ invoices. I think one or two members have the same kind of ramps...VERY useable!...AND they're wide enough to take the Jeep's wheels
Cheers
Helen

[mikeonb4c]

At a glance:

http://www.uni-max.co.uk/hydraulic-ramp ... -900-kg/d/

I've witnessed a 2 ton hydraulic jack fail when lifting a Bongo, so I bought a 3 ton one. Will these ramps be up to the job I wonder

I suspect the 2 ton jack was faulty Mike - never had any problem using mine

But that's my concern. It was newly bought and I'm concerned that over-rated items could be contaminating the market.

[Frediculous]

Thanks all - lots of views here!

The most obvious thing to say is that safety is the most important thing. If I can't afford an option that is safe I don't even try to raise the van - end of.

The safest option (other than a pit) seems to be hydraulic ramps but at about £400-£500 (eg at dj autos) I think that's out of the question.

I guess the kind of things I'm looking to do are change the oil, change oil filter, ATF fluid - that kind of basic stuff. I'm a long way off from getting to grips with the engine proper! It seems that for these jobs I'm looking for easier access rather than being under the van (I think).

For this kind of maintenance would I need more than car ramps? If i do it's back to the drawing board....

[roosmith]

Ramps would be fine for this type of work, just get the highest load rating to make sure, then just common sense making sure they are lined up, van is in park and handbrake on!

[helen&tony]

Hi
If you want reasonable hydraulic jacks, go for a long-reach Sealey jack...they are at the cheaper end of the good stuff, and should give years of service. Also a set of tall axle stands!
As Mikeon4bc says...cheap kills!
Cheers
Helen

[Simon Jones]

I use one of these rated at 3 tons: http://www.sgs-engineering.com/tj3-gara ... olley-jack as well as 4x 3 ton axle stands from Halfords as seen here when I replaced the intercooler on the Volvo:

[Dodgey]

This was yesterday.

The weight is on the yellow axle stand. The jack is just nipped up as a backup, and the red axle stand is also just touching the car as a second backup.

[mikeonb4c]

This was yesterday.

The weight is on the yellow axle stand. The jack is just nipped up as a backup, and the red axle stand is also just touching the car as a second backup.

Remember though your jack is on the unsprung body, the axle stands on the sprung section (as far as I can tell). If the jack is relieving the suspension and it lets go, the body will drop until the suspension takes up the load. In the worst case, the movement could displace the axle stands. Unless I've misunderstood what I'm looking at.

[Dodgey]

No, the jack isn't taking any weight. It's just there for extra security. The red stand isn't taking any weight either. They are both there as secondary and tertiary backups

(and I have a nice new middle exhaust section installed now )

[mikeonb4c]

No, the jack isn't taking any weight. It's just there for extra security. The red stand isn't taking any weight either. They are both there as secondary and tertiary backups

(and I have a nice new middle exhaust section installed now )

Ah, I get it now. I think I did my exhaust by driving into ramps and using axle stands for insurance. Interesting to see it tackled differently.

[Dodgey]

Was an easy job really. I'd have hated to do it without air tools though.