Crushed Chassis Leg

[V6BOY]

Hey guys, just a bit of a rant I have been jacking up vehicles for over 20years always jack on solid points subframe,rear axle beam, chassis rails, never jack on sill ect.
Jacked up my partner van on the chassis legs and low and behold when I removed the jack I could see where it has been crushed. I was also using a rubber pad on the jack kind of gobsmacked really I wouldn't like to be involved in a major accident in it just seems like the whole thing is made with very thin gauge!

 

[Dieselman 63]

Yeah, isn't that the idea these days with crashes though, to absorb the blow , since the 60s/70s philosophy of 'build it all out of steel to smash other cars put the way' in a crash wasn't a success? :P

 

[pedrobedro]

I have a Berlingo probably the same vehicle as your Peugeot and the jacking points are fine for any jacking I need to do. The jack point is about 3" in from the end of the sill using part of the chassis reinforced. I had to straighten the sill lip where someone had used a jack under it and bent it. Suspension points are reinforced and a better bet than using chassis rails unless you use a something to distribute the weight over a larger area.

 

[Johnseat]

Always always always jack under the front sub mount rear bolts where the bottom arms bolt near.
These go straight through the sub frame and into very solid body mounts.
As for the rear, I jack up under the bottom shocker mounts if they mount to the bottom arms or if it's a solid axle like a van then I jack up under the coil spring mounts or under the arms of the axle.

 

[BrokenBiker]

i dont see why people dont use the specifically designed jacking points...

when i was young and naive i once jacked my first fiesta up under a part of the chassis rail and that deformed...i put an axle stand under what looked to be a structural area and it just bent as soon as the wieght of the car was brought down...

find the jacking and stand points, use them properly, no problems

 

[Dee J]

Reminds me of a mark2 escort estate I had decades ago. Dealer had fitted new outer and inner sills. Tried to jack it up on chassis rail jacking point. Floorpan went up and the rest of the car stayed on the ground. New sills were tacked at the ends and not joined to the floor at all.

 

[Lufbramatt]

On one of my cars the only place you can jack it up is on the sill- the subframes are aluminium so not great for jacking. But when you realise that above each of the 4 jacking points in the sill is a big U-shaped bracket made of heavy gauge steel it makes sense. Bit of pain as the place you jack it up is the same place you need to put the axle stand

 

[BrokenBiker]

On one of my cars the only place you can jack it up is on the sill- the subframes are aluminium so not great for jacking. But when you realise that above each of the 4 jacking points in the sill is a big U-shaped bracket made of heavy gauge steel it makes sense. Bit of pain as the place you jack it up is the same place you need to put the axle stand

i always thought it was a bit odd that the jacking and stand points were the same place...how are you supposed to remove the jack to put an axle stand in...

 

[Jim Davey]

I use a long low jack that reaches the rear beam or front sub-frame, then use the sill points to place my axle stands. Nice and stable, out of the way if I want to work underneath the car and no damage.
The car is low though so I used to have to drive up on wooden wedges before I could get the old jack under the front bumper. Much better with the newer jack.

 

[Lufbramatt]

i always thought it was a bit odd that the jacking and stand points were the same place...how are you supposed to remove the jack to put an axle stand in...

It's a bit of a faff but say you've got the front end on ramps you can use the front jacking point to lift the car just enough to get an axle stand under the rear jacking point, and vice versa. Don't know if that will work on any other cars though. Luckily I'm slim enough to be able to get under the car with the axle stands on the lowest setting

 

[BrokenBiker]

It's a bit of a faff but say you've got the front end on ramps you can use the front jacking point to lift the car just enough to get an axle stand under the rear jacking point, and vice versa. Don't know if that will work on any other cars though. Luckily I'm slim enough to be able to get under the car with the axle stands on the lowest setting

not on a megane you cant...i tried that and the front jacking point collapsed...i had barely got it high enough to get my lowest axle stand under the rear point and it would have been useless at that height anyway

 

[Gareth J]

i dont see why people dont use the specifically designed jacking points.

I do, it's a hangover from working on older cars with crusty or badly designed jacking points. For example, there's no way I'd use the jacking points on a vw beetle to jack one unless I really had to.

Cars that are not falling to bits or poorly designed though, I agree.

Otherwise, I try to use a lower suspension joint, they can obviously support the weight and the other advantage is it lifts the wheel without having to let the suspension sag all the way down.

 

[xmetal]

Many years ago, my wife's (girlfriend back then) Austin 1100 got a puncture. I put the jack in the proper jacking point and highered the jack. The jack went up but the car stayed where it was. A little bit rotten you could say.

 

[Lufbramatt]

Careful assuming suspension components can take the weight of the car though- the weight of the shell is supported on the top of the spring/shock absorber, the subframe might essentially be hanging on the bottom of the car and not really designed to support any weight. Probably fine in most cases but I know on my car using any of the suspension or subframes/diff is a very bad idea, you end up tearing bushes or snapping aluminium brackets that arn't supposed to support the best part of a ton.

 

[CompoSimmonite]

Local woman had a Skoda Estelle and I noticed she had a flat when taking kids to school so offered to change tyre. I jacked the car up using the proper jacking points with the factory jack - but it just disappeared into the sill ! Luckily I had a trolley jack in my own car to finish the job.

 

[brightspark]

me old mk2 escort van was the best just put the trolley jack under the read diff and jack the lot up front end under the ciossbeam

 

[keithski122]

My beetles great, its so high I don't need to jack it up to get under it.Its also so solid that I'd have no problem using the jacking points.

 

[Wendelspanswick]

Friend had a 1980's 5 series BMW, the jack was a single leg affair that slotted into a hole in the sill but when he tried to use it he kept hitting his knuckles on the door so he tried again with the door open - perfect until he lowered the car and tried to shut the door... no chance, the door opening had distorted so much he had to rope it shut and take it to a garage for them to pull on a body dozer!

 

[Crater Creator]

I do, it's a hangover from working on older cars with crusty or badly designed jacking points. For example, there's no way I'd use the jacking points on a vw beetle to jack one unless I really had to.

Cars that are not falling to bits or poorly designed though, I agree.

Otherwise, I try to use a lower suspension joint, they can obviously support the weight and the other advantage is it lifts the wheel without having to let the suspension sag all the way down.

JOhnser I agree - beetle jacking points are woeful, I'm just about to replace mine, but more for aesthetic reasons than utility, I'll likely never use them. There's nice beefy torsion bars to jack up just a bit further inboard.

 

[pedrobedro]

Careful assuming suspension components can take the weight of the car though- the weight of the shell is supported on the top of the spring/shock absorber.

I'm having a problem visualising how the bottom of the suspension is not taking the same weight as the top, please enlighten me.