Changing Rear Tyres

[alanrichey]

I've been carrying one of these around in the car for a year

 

 

but in the garage I have been using a much larger jack. So yesterday I thought I should do a practice wheel change rather than wait till I have to do it for real. The front was no problem, I just put the jack under the wishbone. But in the rear I couldn't find a logical place to put the jack. If I tried to jack up any of the chassis points or the diff then at the full extent of the jack the wheel wasn't clear of the ground. And the bottom of the trailing arm/suspension unit is too close to the ground to get the jack under.

 

The only solution I could see was to put the jack under the axle itself, but I don't want to risk that in case I bend the axle.

 

Do I need to get a lower (scissor) jack to fit under the suspension arm or am I safe using the axle ?

 

What do other people use ?

 

Al

Edited April 23, 2014 by alanrichey

[theduck]

Scissor/trolley jack under suspension.

[maw]

I carry a scissor jack, it's small and light but requires a little bit more effort!

[tractor]

get a block of wood and use that to give bottle jack the extra it needs

[Longboarder]

Scissor jack under suspension arms. Toyota ones are well made. Millions in scrapyards and most look like they have never been used.

 

Nigel

[alanrichey]

get a block of wood and use that to give bottle jack the extra it needs

Tried that, but unfortunately the basic extension of the jack (80mm) still doesn't lift the chassis high enough to lift the wheels. It's looking like I need a low scissor jack.

[brumster]

Pick the back end up with my left hand, whizz the nuts off with my fingers using my right hand (assuming it's the rear right that's the problem - reverse if it's the other wheel). I then tend to rip the tyre off the rim with my teeth, fix the puncture (you don't want to know what with), pop the tyre back on with a couple of head-butts then re-seat the bead with a couple of hefty puffs.

 

Honest.

 

<cough>

[Guest Ian & Carole]

Scissor jack lives under passengers seat.

[fry61]

Have a very short Hydraulic Jack in Florin --- pre-war I think -- made by Tecalamit ?? -- centre screw near doubles the height.

[Guest zoomzoom]

No spare wheel so no need for me

[johnlrichardson]

If the tyre is flat you will need a very short jack,You could always drive onto a wedge shaped bit of wood 4ins high then the jack might fit under the bottom arm.

 

HTH jon

[alanrichey]

If the tyre is flat you will need a very short jack,You could always drive onto a wedge shaped bit of wood 4ins high then the jack might fit under the bottom arm.

Clever

[Guest mower man]

Pick the back end up with my left hand, whizz the nuts off with my fingers using my right hand (assuming it's the rear right that's the problem - reverse if it's the other wheel). I then tend to rip the tyre off the rim with my teeth, fix the puncture (you don't want to know what with), pop the tyre back on with a couple of head-butts then re-seat the bead with a couple of hefty puffs.

 

Honest.

 

<cough>

Thats ok if you go about with 2 hefty puffs!!mowerman

[ibrooks]

Superspec - so Sierra rear end. What are you referring to as the "axle"? If you mean the torque tube that carries the diff then it's plenty strong enough.

 

Personal I carry a scissor jack. A couple of 3x2 blocks with a chamfer on one edge though are a good idea. Put next to each other and driven onto they can often give that extra bit of height needed to get a jack under a convenient place and at other times they can serve as chocks to stop the thing rolling away if you've lifted a rear wheel.

 

Iain

[agent_zed]

again no spare so tend to carry a can of tyre weld. (thankfully never had to use it so far).

 

I put my sissor jack under the sierra beam mounting. My jack has a slit in the top so i put it so the edge of the sierra mount sits in that so it can't slip off. I don't tend to like jacking up on the wishbone as it has the potential to move and slip, unless you get a jack with a bit that will stick into the hole in the spring mount.

 

as said sissor jack from a scrappy will prob be brand new and £5-10 at a guess depending how friendly they are. must be lighter to carry around than a bottle jack.