Where are the jack points?

[Aimez]

Which of these you reckon would do the job not looking for anything too mental but one that will last, the last one is a new budget one but the other one comes with axel stands for another £10 or is it not worth paying another tenner, not really bothered about axle stand but would be handy I guess.

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Image of CTJ2L 2-Tonne Long DIY Trolley Jack
product: 020110275

CTJ2L 2-Tonne Long DIY Trolley Jack
Clarke trolley jacks raise the standards of vehicle lifting for DIY and professional users alike. This more substantial model with it's longer, broader chassis and increased lifting range will appeal to enthusiasts and those more regular users.



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Image of CTJ2ZA 2-Tonne DIY Trolley Jack & Stands
product: 020110295

CTJ2ZA 2-Tonne DIY Trolley Jack & Stands
A popular 3 piece hydraulic vehicle lifting and support kit for the home mechanic. The special 2 tonne trolley jack complete with a matching pair of ratchet style axle stands. Tough, robust and exceptional value for money.

Please contact our Mail Order department on 0844 880 1250 (local rate call) for availability.


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Image of Clarke CTJ2B 2 Tonne DIY Trolley Jack
product: 020113035

Clarke CTJ2B 2 Tonne DIY Trolley Jack
Clarke trolley jacks raise the standard of vehicle lifting for DIY and professional users alike. This exceptional budget priced model for the home mechanic has a lightweight yet strong construction making it ideal for use with the vast majority of ..

Please contact our Mail Order department on 0844 880 1250 (local rate call) for availability.

 

[RUM4MO]

I just don't believe it - I go and give you general advice on what trolley jack to buy - and when I look in my Machine Mart catalogue - that model has gone!!!! What is that all about then? Anyway, the one I was refering to was CTJ2LR - I can't say I can work what the "R" bit means - it does not mean "rapid" - like quick initial lift to contact. This jack lifts from 110mm up to 405mm and measures 635mm X 250mm - so you can see that it is slightly longer than the replacement longer one and can lift from 15mm lower to 15mm higher, which gives it a useful extra 30mm lifting range. All these differences might not look too useful - but they really are when you start to use it. From these "specs" that I have given you, maybe you should look at the online Jack Sealey catalogues - or the sites of tool places that sell them. Remember it seems that you can't buy Jack Sealey tools directly from Jack Sealey - only through their outlets. It could be that they still sell their Viking badged version of this jack. The other thing could be that the trolley jack factory in China has stopped building them and has just removed that model from their range and tarted up the smaller DIY one to take its place - if I were you I'd go the extra mile and check up what the Jack Sealey range has, you might get lucky. I seems that I was a bit lucky when I replaced my Jack Sealey one with a Clarke Strong-Arm one less than a year ago. Good luck! Finally, the listed weight for my one is 19.5Kg whereas the one you have found (that seems to have replaced it as the biggest DIY one) is 12.5Kg - so you can see that they are completely different animals. The differance between them is like night and day - my mate bought the even heavier duty semi-pro one and its awesome in use but a bit excessive for use with smaller cars (he is a serious SAAB fan!).

Update, axle stands are great if you can make up using wood a soft surface to rest your car on - wheel chocks are great too. I'd stick with getting the right trolley jack first, use bits of wood to chock the wheels while using it if you don't want to buy wheel chocks - you can get tough plastic ones "somewhere". These "all in one" jack-stands-chocks" kits are a great idea for a present or if storage is limited - if its not then stick to the initial plan (right jack first) as your jack could last quite a long time.

 

[Aimez]

Thanks for all your advice you are brimming with it! I will not be buying one yet as need to spend funds on tyres first but this is something I have considered buying for some time now and as something to keep for the future. What I will do is copy and paste the bits you've said and keep for when I come to buy. Thanks again RUM4MO and hopefully this advice willl help others too.

 

[RUM4MO]

Just another thing about these jacks, the Jack Sealey version of this jack (that I was referring to), is still available from outlets like "justoffbase" - an on-line tool supplier, its model name is 1150CX and I think that the min and max quoted heights are wrong and maybe even wrong on the Jack Sealey UK site (unless they have changed things and it does not look like it) so that means its identical to the Machine Mart one I quoted that is no longer available. Halfords - was in there today, are doing a special deal on a 3Tonne jack - it comes with a pair of 3Tonne ratcheting axle stands free - and they sell wheel chocks for £4.99 a pair. The only thing with this jack is that its minimum height is 150mm (I think) - other than that it has reasonable max lift and a "rocket" feature. As always, just another bit of info on the "jack" topic - that 150mm min height might be a bit high with small cars.

 

[FR3000]

kriso, thanks for the diagram. I'll put a copy in the manual for reference! I think I spotted these points when looking under it (they have black caps, right?) but I'm not sure they're appropriate for the supplied jack in the spare kit.

These are specifically for trolley jack or similar that have circular cup on the head of the jack - this stops you bending the sill lip.

 

[RUM4MO]

These are specifically for trolley jack or similar that have circular cup on the head of the jack - this stops you bending the sill lip.

No I don't agree, these four points are the locations at which you can remove hardish plastic plugs and replace with the Audi TT jacking point protectors - which just happens to be of a size that conveniently fits in the cup of most DIY trolley jacks. The roadside rescue/recovery services locate their (padded) trolley jacks on the sills at the four strong points that the owner jack is meant to locate on. On different VAG generic models these points (identified on the diagram) can be located in recessed points which would stop a proper professional workshop trolley jack reaching that point, so it looks like the original intended use for these points - and all VAG cars have them, would have been in the factory during original build, its just that on the smaller cars - and the Audi TT - they can be used by owners to locate the trolley jacks. In the factory they could have been used on assembly tracks to secure the car while it was being inverted or rotated to ease assembly.

 

[Aimez]

Great so event though we have all paid thousands for our cars we have to buy these jack plates things cos the morons at SEat didn't build/finish the car so it can be lifted by a jack!

 

[RUM4MO]

Ah, I think that you have just discovered what car selling is all about - its not to give you pleasure and convenience, its to let the dealers (and the government) make a fortune out of you. I remember having the view that main dealers existed just to sell new and used cars - and they made a bit of extra cash by servicing/repairing them - then the truth kind of hit home - who was the most important person in the dealership? - it was of course the guy that handled the credit arrangements!! In fact round about that time (1984) there was a lot of "main dealer owner group"s rationalisations - like AFG etc - "F" stands for finance, so now you can see that these groups are mainly owned by finance houses who just sell cars as a means to generate money from loans - they are not interested in you or your car in general, its just your wallet and bank account they need - and to just stay legal. I might be lucky in that I've never needed to have a manufacturer's car loan - except once when Ford would have charged me more to buy the car with cash or a bank loan - so I gave in - but I hated that loan period with its hire-purchase overtones/get outs. I've just scrimped and saved until I could afford to change cars - nothing wrong with driving around in an old post office van (well maybe there was!). VAG might not be so finance centered as the UK mainstream players - but who are they now? - I must be meaning VAG! That was probably why I went abroad for my last two cars - you get treated like a customer - but I suppose the EUR has put paid to that, although I might look to mainland Europe again for my next two - whenever that will be! Sorry for topic diversion - rant over.

 

[Aimez]

Yes I know a fair bit I wokr for a Volvo truck and bus dealership and parts department if what they need to survive, although service still brings in more money overall. The parts guys were showing me the retail prices of the stuff they buy and laughing!

 

[FR3000]

No I don't agree, these four points are the locations at which you can remove hardish plastic plugs and replace with the Audi TT jacking point protectors - which just happens to be of a size that conveniently fits in the cup of most DIY trolley jacks. The roadside rescue/recovery services locate their (padded) trolley jacks on the sills at the four strong points that the owner jack is meant to locate on. On different VAG generic models these points (identified on the diagram) can be located in recessed points which would stop a proper professional workshop trolley jack reaching that point, so it looks like the original intended use for these points - and all VAG cars have them, would have been in the factory during original build, its just that on the smaller cars - and the Audi TT - they can be used by owners to locate the trolley jacks. In the factory they could have been used on assembly tracks to secure the car while it was being inverted or rotated to ease assembly.

It's in the manual I got with the car - I'll double check to make sure we're on about the same lift point.

[A while later......]
Ok so checked the manual, apparently the rear should be jacked on the re-inforced bit of the sill, the same point where the OEM jack goes. Front is inboard of that point around the location I was on about. However it does say in both cases you should use a rubber pad that you can get with most trolley jacks or as an extra, as you noted in your comments.

 

[RUM4MO]

It's in the manual I got with the car - I'll double check to make sure we're on about the same lift point.

[A while later......]
Ok so checked the manual, apparently the rear should be jacked on the re-inforced bit of the sill, the same point where the OEM jack goes. Front is inboard of that point around the location I was on about. However it does say in both cases you should use a rubber pad that you can get with most trolley jacks or as an extra, as you noted in your comments.

The four points where the Audi jacking point protectors fit are where the thin hardish caps are fitted - as opposed to the softer rubber bungs that tend to fill the chassis rail apertures. I've used these four points for a few years now on a Polo 9N without causing any body distorsion, some people have also fitted them to the Golf and Passat B5 - but in extreme circumstances body distorsion can occur, because of that I have not chosen to add these jacking point protectors to my Passat B5. I've even had a look at the big VW thing and its parts list and the bigger Audi's parts list, but none of these bigger cars use a larger version of these pads - so no luck there! On the Polo they are brilliant as you just look under the car, place the trolley jack at the right point without any need to add shaped bits of wood etc, and raise the jack.

 

[calin1980]

jacking points

front is the rear mount on the subframe , look under the car , round silver coloured jobbie with a big bush in it ,

rear , try using the mount where the rear axle mounts too,


alwaya use axle stands fella , better safe than sorry ,

Hi there

Is this a good place to jack the car up before I put it on axle stands or not?

dropbox.com/s/f6oebtueezh7dk0/SAM_5232.JPG

If it is a "yes" than I guess that everybody else could know where exactly a good jacking point would be.

Or.. ooor... could it be this one?

dropbox.com/s/cl7f9llx2ffjr59/SAM_5234ed.jpg

Thanks.

 

[RUM4MO]

I'd suggest that you use the area you highlighted in red, and use a bit of wood between the "head" of that jack and the underside of the car - to protect the underside of the car and to spread the load. Something like 1" thick and 4" X 4".

 

[calin1980]

.

Right... Thank you for the confirmation!