Car Ramps

[Volf]

I'm always taking mine apart, the ramps just make it easier to get at it. That and I prefer using ramps, rather than jacks and stands.

[Gissin]

Just now, Volf said:

I'm always taking mine apart, the ramps just make it easier to get at it. That and I prefer using ramps, rather than jacks and stands.

 

What ramps do you use, I went to use mine yesterday(Halfords ones) only to realise they wont go under my bumper

[Volf]

12 minutes ago, Gissin said:

 

What ramps do you use, I went to use mine yesterday(Halfords ones) only to realise they wont go under my bumper

 

I made mine!

 

See page one of this topic

[Tilt]

42 minutes ago, mrcrow said:

 

you chaps seem to have jacks and axles...you must do quite a bit of underside work??

 

cheers

geof

 

You only need to do one oil change yourself and they have pretty much paid for themselves.................well, you know what i mean.

Unless your the type of person where your jack has to be as blingy as your phone or car, Lol.

[mrcrow]

1 hour ago, Tilt said:

 

You only need to do one oil change yourself and they have pretty much paid for themselves.................well, you know what i mean.

Unless your the type of person where your jack has to be as blingy as your phone or car, Lol.

No I am happy with simple gear.

i am now able to do all the filters so an oil change would be all needed for annual stuff.

what jack and axle stands do you use...

cheers

geof

[mrcrow]

been looking at the youtube how to use a jack and axle stands..thought they went on an actual axle..

 

i like the idea of being able to lift just one corner to do a job in that area...like my fan sensor issue.

or just getting to the drain plug to do an oil change... which means do it when it suits me and save some £££ on the local garage charges to do it..i used to do it on all my cars till i got a new golf with 5 years guarantee..some of which i paid for but had to have the book stamped etc to keep faith..

 

no fuss about running up a hill and into the neighbours front garden etc

i can see there are a few on offer...and have learnt that 2 tonne is the onnes for me..

jack and stand...

any advice on decent welded and safe items to purchase...

[rum4mo]

I'd still say that fabricating a pair or two pairs from wood, making them solid as others have done, might be your best plan as you can make them longer and so with a slower rise than any Halfords etc compact steel ramps could ever be. Mine are like brick toilets as they are made out of some massive ply wood thing, can't say why/what that length of stuff was being used for, but it made me a bit fitter sawing it into lengths many years ago!

If you want to move on a bit, you could always buy these Audi TT jacking point protectors that fit into four points (permanently), I have just cleaned up the brakes on my wife's August 2015 Polo 1.2TSI and being lazy but not too risk averse, I just used my two bigger trolley jacks and did the brakes on one side at a time just keeping the car up on two trolley jacks located at these jacking point protectors.  If I had been a bit more sensible I would have jacked it up under the sill strong points using my Jackpoint  Jackstands, and I'm not being a boastful bast*rd here in mentioning these jackstands, but they are so easy to use with all my cars, I'm just glad that I was kind of forced into buying something like that to be able to jack up and support my S4 with unfortunately is covered underneath with large plastic covers which make DIY lifting a bit tricky without resorting to something like Jackpoint Jackstands.  I'm now in the position that my old Halfords '70s metal ramps should get recycled maybe along with my collection of axle stands!

 

Edit:- I've just been out to check the sizes of my wooden ramps and they are 10" wide by 37" long by 5" high at the final flat platform area, a lot of that would have been dictated by what wood I had to hand - thought I must same that as soon as I spotted that length of gigantic plywood heading for a skip, I knew what I needed to use it for, I think that I persuaded the maintenance joiner to cut it in half so that it could be handled easier!

Edited 25 July, 2017 by rum4mo

[rum4mo]

15 hours ago, mrcrow said:

been looking at the youtube how to use a jack and axle stands..thought they went on an actual axle..

 

i like the idea of being able to lift just one corner to do a job in that area...like my fan sensor issue.

or just getting to the drain plug to do an oil change... which means do it when it suits me and save some £££ on the local garage charges to do it..i used to do it on all my cars till i got a new golf with 5 years guarantee..some of which i paid for but had to have the book stamped etc to keep faith..

 

no fuss about running up a hill and into the neighbours front garden etc

i can see there are a few on offer...and have learnt that 2 tonne is the onnes for me..

jack and stand...

any advice on decent welded and safe items to purchase...

 

Personally I don't (now) like lifting a car at just one corner as they will normally only ever be lifted by getting supported at four points in an official dealer's workshop, this is probably just me over thinking things, but I like to do what is best for the car's body, just I have two trolley jacks and always, if getting them up off the ground with wheels in the air, lift one side then rest back down on two Jackpoint jackstands, then move the jacks to the other side and repeat that.

 

I did spot something on youtube last night about an American guy showing how he gets a car (lowered Golf) up onto four axle stands using just one trolley jack - we all have our own ways of doing things I suppose.

 

Axle stands, yes, it does seem to be taking for ever for makers of stands to change to making them truly fit for supporting a modern car on the strong points on the sills, I remember maybe 10 years ago when I needed to get the front of wife's old 2002 Polo up of the ground and safe to get under, and I only had a couple of trolley jacks and four axle stands, that I fabricated hardwood blocks with a slot in them and located them on top of the axle stands using long M10 bolts to keep them in the correct position, that worked okay and avoided any damage on the sill area. So that is another cheapish way to support the car with wheels in the air.

[Tilt]

^^^ I agree about making your own.

 

IMO although it seems a good number of people use the metal ones it wouldn't be difficult to have an accident using them even for very sensible person using them.

As for a jack, i have a locally manufactured TJL2 low profile trolley jack. Whilst it looked very well made i had to strip it down, file some of the metal edges and fit some large washers to keep everything centralised as the fittings were a bit sloppy. At only £40 i am pleased with it now i have improved it.

Buy the best you can afford. As you say simple gear - Function over form any day. Me too.

Recommend get one with a swivel handle very useful.

 

Also, if you park with one side on the kerb and jack the other side you in effect have both sides lifted with just one jack. I sometimes borrow a neighbours jack if i need wheels off both sides.

 

I have made a metal 'chock' that fits between the two bars on the jack, so that if the piston collapsed the jack would not.

 

Edited 25 July, 2017 by Tilt

[mrcrow]

1 hour ago, Tilt said:

^^^ I agree about making your own.

 

IMO although it seems a good number of people use the metal ones it wouldn't be difficult to have an accident using them even for very sensible person using them.

As for a jack, i have a locally manufactured TJL2 low profile trolley jack. Whilst it looked very well made i had to strip it down, file some of the metal edges and fit some large washers to keep everything centralised as the fittings were a bit sloppy. At only £40 i am pleased with it now i have improved it.

Buy the best you can afford. As you say simple gear - Function over form any day. Me too.

Recommend get one with a swivel handle very useful.

 

Also, if you park with one side on the kerb and jack the other side you in effect have both sides lifted with just one jack. I sometimes borrow a neighbours jack if i need wheels off both sides.

 

I have made a metal 'chock' that fits between the two bars on the jack, so that if the piston collapsed the jack would not.

 

Brilliant post

cheers

geof

[mrcrow]

to add

its so interesting to know how many fellows out there have these items as regular tools

i never thought about getting them

the best i have is a filter remover...chain type,  a set of sockets imperial..useless, and some hand and power tools..impact driver and drill driver...my recent is a drill called titan..from screwfix

dont think i will need that on the skoda

i have however bought a 13mm socket for the battery clamp...and i have a 13/9 mm spanner from a 1980 vw sundowner camper took kit which does nicely to remove the battery terminal clamps...and also the screwdriver with the removeable shaft...phillips on end/ straight the other

best get up to date..

cheers

geof

 

[Tilt]

20 hours ago, mrcrow said:

Brilliant post

cheers

geof

.

 

We used to holiday near to where you are now.......................Gwithian towans.......................many moons ago.

On a campsite by the dunes. Cross over the old tin mine out-flowing orange water into the sea and onto the Sandsifter (public house as it was then) at the end of the beach. Beautiful place.

[mrcrow]

5 hours ago, Tilt said:

.

 

We used to holiday near to where you are now.......................Gwithian towans.......................many moons ago.

On a campsite by the dunes. Cross over the old tin mine out-flowing orange water into the sea and onto the Sandsifter (public house as it was then) at the end of the beach. Beautiful place.

 

you must know the jam pot then..? a little listed building cafe north of the gwithian towans restaurant and car park

we go there tea and muffins for post war prices...and a dog to throw the stick for

 

arh the goo auld days wen tha ri'rr ran red wi the blood o miners

 

the river is cleaner now and the sandsifter has been upmarketed...we are NT so our day out for a spin a walk and to look at the seals is at godrevy...

i think a campsite may still be around...defo caravans somewhere along there..

and

the moon is still there too..

cheers

prappa jab buoy

 

[Gissin]

as a suggestion from a neighbour who has a huge motor home....caravan / RV levelling ramps, I used his and they work just fine. so ive ordered a set

 

not made exactly for working on a car however they work a treat, low entry ..not as high as my old ramps but certainly enough room to do oil changes and such, they hold 6 ton and have a wide wheel acceptance upto 8.5j so covers most, as with all car ramps I wouldn't use them (even with the 6ton rating) without a set of axel stands as back up

 

[Warrior193]

On 10/22/2016 at 20:17, Volf said:

Built my own ramps for next to no cost.

Best thing I ever did.

 

 

So, who's the chippie then?

[Volf]

Just now, Warrior193 said:

 

So, who's the chippie then?

 

Chippie? - I could do with some fish and chips thinking about it...

[Warrior193]

On 7/24/2017 at 08:57, Baileydog said:

Once you go pink...

 

 

 

They could have at least matched the calipers.

[tonyblue]

5 minutes ago, Warrior193 said:

 

They could have at least matched the calipers.

My helper didn't think so. 

 

[Warrior193]

1 hour ago, Baileydog said:

My helper didn't think so. 

 

 

Ah, what I of course meant was - Great Colour! - Maybe the calipers could change to match? 

[mrcrow]

2 hours ago, Warrior193 said:

 

Ah, what I of course meant was - Great Colour! - Maybe the calipers could change to match? 

 

what colour should i paint my rear brake drums on my 58 fabia 2 3 cylinder chug a lug?

 

 

[Warrior193]

18 hours ago, mrcrow said:

 

what colour should i paint my rear brake drums on my 58 fabia 2 3 cylinder chug a lug?

 

 

 

I'm sure I've seen a BTCC car racing with rims that colour.

[mrcrow]

3 hours ago, Warrior193 said:

 

I'm sure I've seen a BTCC car racing with rims that colour.

 

it must be popular...is it puke?

 

you anywhere near twickenham...??

 

onwards...!!

[Warrior193]

Nope, at the risk of upsetting your little assistant, nothing you should eat looks like that when you see it again. 

And this from the person whose Austin Cooper S (see avatar) was painted purple / yellow, LOL.

 

Not Twickers - a little closer to Wimbledon.

 

And upwards. 

[mrcrow]

Just curious 

we lived at Hampton Village for a few years..near Bushy Park..1980 1984

cheers

geof

[Me-109]

Tend to use trolley jack and axle stands these days, mostly because the platform on the steel ramps are not just narrow but also short when you run a large wheel on them. Did use the ramps recently when doing the exhaust on the wife's Fabia. No problems with entry angles or wheel size on that and the ramps give decent working space.

 

My Dad made some wood ones many years back which still have quite a steep entry but are bigger and won't move. To stop mine moving I tend to put a strip of wood behind the ramps, touching them, then drop one of my toolboxes behind that as a backstop.