Need to buy a trolly jack

londonTiger

So I've decided I'm going to do my cambelts, oil changes and other bits and bobs on the car. I have axle stands but need a good jack.

It should be a trolly jack because some of the work involves jacking up the engine to support it while I take off the engine mount to access the timing belt.

I'm after somethign reliable that's not going to buckle under load. I understand that all jacks are susceptible to releasing pressure. That's why axle stands are required. But I want a decent stand that's reliable but won't cost an arm and a leg.

When supporting the engine, an axle stand isn't really a viable option, because it's impossible to get the axle stand underneath the engine.

I've ruled out an engine brace as it's too expensive and has limited usefulness to me. It's useful for one job, where as a trolley jack has multiple uses.

red_eye

you should be looking at a professional quality jack, sealy tools should have some in their winter deals catalog

get some wood aswell

Strider590

You answered your own question, you should never rely on a trolley jack and always use axle stands.

Personally if it were me, i'd go buy a trolley+bottle jack set, get one that can hold at least 1.5 times the weight of your vehicle. It can't buckle under pressure, it has to meet strict regulations.

Brand wise i'd probably look at Draper (cheaper), Sealey or Clarke.

Most of the branded low cost budget jacks will be the same item "made in china" just rebranded (As you'll see if you Google and look at the pictures).

gilbert_and_sullivan

Forget anything under £150 or so, as the poster above you want something sturdy with ball bearing wheels and wheel pivots.

I bought a good one about 25 years ago, expensive but still working fine and i used it semi professionally for some years on part time basis and it should see me out, its lifted loaded vans, big 4x4s etc....a good trolley jack is the best tool you will ever buy, worth investing a bit more than some think.

You want a lowering mechanism that you pull the lifting handle slightly and twist or a lever on the handle, lowering valve must be very (infinitely) controllable, you'll have to try a couple out to see which suits you best.

Some cheaper jacks have a seperate valve for lowering, too fiddly and tend to be rather sudden and that you don't want when lowering a sprung wishbone to locate a ball joint for example.

Don't go too big or heavy unless you are going full time pro in one place, a sturdy chap should be able to lift the trolley jack unaided into a car boot.

mcjordi

i had a 25 quid trolley jack from halfords had quite a hard life till the seals went i had it just over 8 years

red_eye

Strider590 wrote: »

You answered your own question, you should never rely on a trolley jack and always use axle stands.

Personally if it were me, i'd go buy a trolley+bottle jack set, get one that can hold at least 1.5 times the weight of your vehicle. It can't buckle under pressure, it has to meet strict regulations.

Brand wise i'd probably look at Draper (cheaper), Sealey or Clarke.

Most of the branded low cost budget jacks will be the same item "made in china" just rebranded (As you'll see if you Google and look at the pictures).

i'm curious why a bottle jack as well?
good choice on the brands but you get a free gift with sealey:p

epninety

If you have a local Machine Mart, they usually have a decent range on display you can get hands on and figure out what size and shape would suit you best.

Small trolley jack is usually ok for occasional maintenance work on average size cars, but a bigger one can worth it for fast and easy use. Make sure it has a decent maximum lift if you have a 4x4, make sure it has a low minimum toe height if you've some ground hugging sporty thing (nothing more irritating than having to jack a car up on a wheel changing jack, just to get the trolley jack underneath! :mad:)

As Strider says, a bottle jack can be very useful (and also very cheap at MM last time I looked). Don't tell the H+S man, but sometimes standing the bottle jack on the toe of the trolley jack can be very useful too!

mikey72

I bought a cheap trolley jack.
I was a student at the time, so I couldn't affford a dear one.
It's got cheap wheels, and a seperate valve.
I must have had it over 30 years, I've had to top the oil up a couple of times, beyond that, it's still going today, and no problems lifting, or letting down.
Never felt the need to change it, even though I could now.
The last thing I did with it was support the engine when I changed the cam belt, oddly enough.

rev_henry

mikey72 wrote: »

I bought a cheap trolley jack.
I was a student at the time, so I couldn't affford a dear one.
It's got cheap wheels, and a seperate valve.
I must have had it over 30 years, I've had to top the oil up a couple of times, beyond that, it's still going today, and no problems lifting, or letting down.
Never felt the need to change it, even though I could now.
The last thing I did with it was support the engine when I changed the cam belt, oddly enough.

My dad has a similar one, of a similar vintage. Nothing wrong with it...

TrickyWicky

mcjordi wrote: »

i had a 25 quid trolley jack from halfords had quite a hard life till the seals went i had it just over 8 years

I had one of those too. My neighbour used it and used it purely to prop up his car for a whole afternoon because he was too lazy to use axle stands. Result? Knackered seals and trolley jack. It was only 1.5 years old if that.

This is a good example of what you do and don't want (pic courtesy of renault-turbo.com):



You want: The top / big jack.
You don't want: The lower smaller jack. These are the type you find in Halfords for £20 - £25.

The big one is rated at 3T. It's far stronger, very solid and very reliable and probably tested to at least 3.5 - 4T realistically to ensure it can lift 3T. That said I would never trust ANY trolley or bottle jack to hold something up that I'm working under. An engine maybe as long as I'm not under it and i have another way to lift it should the jack fail. That said, if you have an £80 jack you don't want to do anything to it that could make it fail. The other problem with the big ones is that they're about 40KG in weight - very heavy to lift.

I bought my big jack after my neighbour crucified my little one (swine lol) and to be honest despite weighing a ton it's never let me down. The lifting range is fantastic compared to the smaller ones, you have more control and less effort needed because the handle is longer and you have a smoother let-down mechanism too. They really are very good pieces of equipment.

Be warned though.. when you get a big jack it won't stay clean and shiny looking for long :rotfl:

TrickyWicky

rev_henry wrote: »

My dad has a similar one, of a similar vintage. Nothing wrong with it...

You and mikey72 must be lucky then because todays cheapies don't seem to last long!