Jacking the car up.

[ardvark]

I want to jack my tourer up and support it on railway sleepers.

I use a piece of 3x2 timber say 15" long to spread the load making sure the middle is over the jacking point hole on the sills.
Then jack the car up so I can place the sleepers under the end 4"of the 3x2 timber.
Question is:-
Will that 3x2 timber spread the load sufficiently so not to damage the sill?
OR
Is there another way I haven't thought of?

The object of the exercise is to jack the car up high enough for me to use a creeper trolley the kids bought me, my current car ramps and axle stands are not high enough for me and the creeper to go under the car.

[Devilish]

Get a good jack, and good axle stands, you only die once.

[ardvark]

Thanks Steve.
I'm afraid it doesn't answer me question.

[RoverP480]

Not sure of the layout. Are you planning to put the 3x2 across the underside of the car & then put sleepers under the ends outboard of the car? If so I would not risk it , the 3x2 could be too weak. . If you put the sleepers under the sills with the 3x2 on top against the sill that would work

[T-Cut]

What purpose does the 3x2 serve that the sleepers can't?
With the jacking pads in place, the load will be focussed there without the extra blocks.
The loaded area shouldn't be extended beyond the jacking pads.


TC

[ardvark]

The 3x2 will be between the jack and the jacking point on the sill. Then when the car is jacked up the 3x2 will be supported by the sleepers.

[Blink]

You don't need the 3x2. Put the pads into the sill sockets and lower the car directly onto the sleepers (slowly). I've just done it and it's rock solid. Only the pads are touching the sleepers - the sill area around the pads isn't.

I've only used 3 layers of sleepers - I think it'll need 4 layers to use a creeper. Your jack might not lift high enough for 4 layers.

Dimensions of mine (3 layers) are:

Height from bottom edge of rear sill to ground - 325mm
Footprint of sleepers (area in contact with ground) - 300mm x 300mm*

* I bolted two 300mm lengths of 100x150mm sleepers together to get the 300mm width. I used 250mm sleeper screws to hold the lengths together - two screws from one side, two from the other, so there are four screws per layer.

4 layers would take it to 425mm off the ground. My jack won't lift high enough for this.

I've left the front wheels on (I'm only working on the rear) - the tyres are sitting on 1 sleeper layer with bump stops on each end to act as chocks. Each bump stop is held down by multiple sleeper screws (8 at the front end).


Edit:

There's a very slight slope on my drive, so to reduce the risk of the sill contacting the sleepers I changed the top layer from a twin block measuring 300mm x 300mm to a single block measuring 200mm x 150mm. With the sill jacking pad in place I can almost slide a forefinger in between the sill and the top sleeper.

[ardvark]

Cheers Simon that was very interesting.
I think my problem is that I'm jacking the car up from the jacking points on the sills.
I may have to look at using the front or rear central jacking point the get the car up.
Is that where you jack your car up from?

[COLVERT]

The 3 by 2 is not strong enough and will prove to be unstable which ever way you decide to use it.--

The sections quoted in the above posts are much nearer the mark.

Don't forget to throw the odd tyre and wheel under the car as if something nasty happens it can only drop that far.--

Your squishy body is smaller than that space.----

[Blink]

Originally Posted by ardvark

Cheers Simon that was very interesting.
I think my problem is that I'm jacking the car up from the jacking points on the sills.
I may have to look at using the front or rear central jacking point the get the car up.
Is that where you jack your car up from?

Al - first of all (just to be safe), note the amendments in my post above.

Yes, I use the central jacking points to lift the car. I'm using an SGS TJ3X 3-ton jack with one of these on top to gain an extra inch or so of lift height. The groove in that pad locks onto the rear central jacking U piece and it stays there.

I lifted the front of the car first and slid the single sleeper layer under the wheels (the layer with the chocks - see last para in post 7). Then I lifted the rear of the car and slid 3 layers of sleepers under each rear sill jacking point (sill pads in first). I reckon the SGS TJ3X was really close to its maximum lift height. No part of the sill is touching the sleepers - only the sill pads make contact - but the weight is spread over 300mm x 300mm and it's very solid indeed.

NB. The only danger with my system is the front wheels are still on and the car is front wheel drive - so it's theoretically possible to drive away with no back wheels or brakes or rear suspension. I'm tempted to try it just for a laugh.