S2C Forum Archives
Main Section => Welcome to our virtual Pub Meeting ... => Topic started by: Hopeydaze on September 16, 2020, 02:45:06 PM
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I want to stop driving around with my hi-lift jack and replace it with a bottle style jack that will fit behind the seats in my SWB station wagon.
I could go to Ebay and buy an old one (however they don't seem to have handles) or buy one from Machine Mart etc. In this case I am more concerned about functionality than originality - so long as it works and fits behind the seat!
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Get one from a disvovery cheap and work well :tiphat
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Try a scrap yard lots of modern 4x4s have a bottle jacks, I got one from an old ahem Shogun. :whistle
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As others have said, Discovery 1, RRC, P38A or last of the Defender bottle jacks are good. The red Italian jacks fitted to Disco 1 etc have a U section on top rather than a flat top, but I use one all the time for a quick lift under the spring plate on Series vehicles. Watch out though - many get binned because they are leaking. On Discovery and P38A, they are mounted on their sides and this can cause premature failure. Good ones work a treat for Series vehicles though.
Late Puma Defender has a bottle jack as well. A small tidy black one mounts in the seat box. Far better than that dreadful screw jack system they used to use on Defender. Best means of shattering a headlight I've ever seen...
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Agreed, if originality is not key then one from a Discovery 1 is ideal, preferably with a stout bit of plywood to go underneath and spread the load, tucked away somewhere handy on board.
If poking about on ebay or where-ever, a jack with a decent sized plate at the top of the jack will hopefully reduce the chances of it slipping off/out while lifting ?
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Sadly, I think there is a Machine Mart in Bath :'(
They have a good range of bottle jacks, I've had one for some years and it works well under the Land Rover
Bottle Jack (https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clarke-cbj3b-3-tonne-bottle-jack/)
At least in the shop you can look and examine the range.
Jacks are heavy, even little bottle jacks - so watch the delivery charges.
One of the good thinks about the Land Rover shows was traders like Anchor Supplies had piles of these Discovery/Defender jacks going real cheap. I think I got one for a fiver at the end of the Peterborough show one year.
(I didn't find a HiLift jack much use and I quickly sold it on)
Sadly, Land Rovers shows aren't going to happen for some time yet.
:jack These are nice but even less practical than the HiLift to carry on board.
Lets face it - the most you are going to do at the road side is change a wheel.
Any more and it's the big yellow taxi home :breakdown truck
At home you can go for a decent trolley jack.
:RHD
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Machine Mart in in Bristol!
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Yeah what a shame. Several nice ones on ebay, not much money, all missing their handle. How do they get separated?!!
Maybe people are just selling the jack for £30 and then wanting another £30 for the handle.
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I thought Bristol was nightmare to drive in and around, a place to avoid ???
Lack of handle shouldn't be a problem for a Land Rover owner.
A bit of scrap conduit out of a skip. Get a threaded bit with the joint, then your handle will dismantle and take up less space.
Cut a slot in one end with the angle grinder.
Or ... any other bit of tube that will do the job.
:RHD
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The handles are stored separately in the vehicle which is why they get split...
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I thought Bristol was nightmare to drive in and around, a place to avoid ???
Not that bad, and the shop is accessible from Bath ...
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My S2 came with the old screw jack, but its too much of a faff, so its left in the garage and used as a backup to the bottle jack. My bottle jack is a draper and I’m happy with it. I carry it with me and i store it under the seat in a surplus Swiss army gas mask bag (off ebay). Its rubberised so doesn’t slide about
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^^^^ A suggestion ( Pat applied for by Manxcat) was to actually open the jack up so its "wedged" into an appropriate space rather than floating loose. Easier with a screw jack than a hydraulic job, I suspect.
In terms of hefty handles rather than silly bits of pipe, I find the handle end of the breaker bar I carry for the wheel nuts works well. the valve plug opened and closed with a stubby adjustable from the tool-kit.
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Mercedes sprinter Bottle jack is a good upgrade on the stock late defender, Disco and RR P38 jack. Slightly higher capacity, lifts a little higher and has a nice saddle too.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/c/2263344806
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A friend of mine was collecting his company's Merc sprinter van from the local dealers after a repair. While waiting for the van to be finished he had a look in the skip outside the workshop and noted about six brand new jacks in there, all still bagged. He asked what the problem with them was and was told that they were all ok. It turned out that they were there because many companies who buy vans insist that the jack and wheel brace are removed when they buy the vans. This is to prevent "untrained" drivers from attempting to change a wheel in the event of a puncture, thus avoiding the possibility of a claim if/when the vehicle fell off the jack injuring the driver etc.
As a result I received six jacks (this was a few years ago and they all have been used up - so don't ask for one!) some of them were two stage ones with a good axle cradle on the top.
Don't know if this still happens but if it does it may well be asking the question at your local van dealers, the worst that you can be told is to "f*** off.....
Martin
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My aluminium 1 tonne bottle jacket has served me well for close on 25 years and 4 different landies , I keep under pasenger seat , wind extension in, pump jack lightly with out using handle to secure under seat , As my Landie is a 4x2 I also carry chocks and a hardwood base block in case I need extra height ,the chocks are essential as if it is a rear wheel puncture there is no gear or hand brake locking when the wheel is lifted ,
Bought it at a boot sale for a quid , put some oil in back in the nineties , that was it ,
Chris
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Somewhat OT to the jacks being chucked out but my brother worked for SSE when they ordered a fleet of new vans, with the 12v socket deleted, on the basis that they did not want the drivers smoking.... then had to retro-fit the lot with a 12v socket because the crews needed to charge phones and other pieces of test equipment. Cost £££ added to your electricity bill...
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I have a discovery jack in my SWB it cost the princely sum of £9 from that famous auction house.
Peter
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I can vouch for the Draper bottle jack as I had to use mine a few months ago. A block of wood to stand it on is advisable.
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If you can make/acquire a handle then you pick up "Shelley" jacks of vintage period which look the part. Mine is older than my vehicle....
https://www.series2club.co.uk/new_forum/index.php/topic,3273.msg35907.html#msg35907 (https://www.series2club.co.uk/new_forum/index.php/topic,3273.msg35907.html#msg35907)
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My aluminium 1 tonne bottle jacket has served me well for close on 25 years and 4 different landies , I keep under pasenger seat , wind extension in, pump jack lightly with out using handle to secure under seat , As my Landie is a 4x2 I also carry chocks and a hardwood base block in case I need extra height ,the chocks are essential as if it is a rear wheel puncture there is no gear or hand brake locking when the wheel is lifted ,
Bought it at a boot sale for a quid , put some oil in back in the nineties , that was it ,
Chris
In the NINETIES!!? I chucked my little bottle jack traded for Green Shield stamps in the 70's after 10 years of disuse expecting it to be dried up and useless :shakeinghead
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Whatever bottle jack you decide to go for make sure it fits under the axle when the tyre is flat... ask me how I know :-[ it was only just too tall to get under with the tyre totally flat, something I hadn't checked previously! I still use the same jack (it's in the Carawagon) but I actually want to get an original Tangeye like I have in the 88" - it's simple and it works well. Very little to go wrong!
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Lets face it - the most you are going to do at the road side is change a wheel.
Any more and it's the big yellow taxi home :breakdown truck
When I was running a series daily I'd do a lot more than that before summoning the BYT!
I can recall extracting the driveshafts from a front axle which had a minor technical malfunction (aka the diff pinion sheering off and being punched through the diff case) in a snowstorm just off the M6 at Shap! (said technical malfunction having occurred in the fast lane of the M6, and been driven graunching and snatching down the slow lane to the next exit). Completed my journey to Carlisle a little late and very grumpy... no way was I going to be towed back home when I was only 35 miles from my destination and 120 from home!
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THAT'S the spirit jhn! :first
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^^^^ Indeed, impressive dedication to getting the job done !
:o :o
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I wouldn't expect anything less John! It's all part of the journey :-X
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Disco jack in action in the field
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And it really IS a field!! (POM candidate ???)
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You have to see the wider picture ....
Last year at 6d Handley.
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You have to see the wider picture ....
Last year at 6d Handley.
Hey!! I have that camo jacket!!
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The 6penny handley phot shows our very own Wittsend in his usual supervisory position.
Peter
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If I was having to do emergency roadside repairs without axle stands I would much rather be using a Series screw type Shelley jack than a hydraulic bottle jack.
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^^^^ What jacket, I can't see one ....
:-X
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If I was having to do emergency roadside repairs without axle stands I would much rather be using a Series screw type Shelley jack than a hydraulic bottle jack.
original poster here...That’s good to know because my £25 offer on a Shelley Jack was accepted last night on EBay. No handle of course so I’ll be back no doubt to discuss that issue.