Jacking question (for tyre changing)

craig r

craig r

Member
Guys, apologies for asking probably a well covered question however I need some advice.

Ive been lucky enough to have never had to change a tyre. However knowing the jacking points are considered weak on the P6 I bought a trolley jack so I could lift the car from underneath.

Where then are the best places to lift it from for both the front and rear? Bearing in mind this will be for emergency tyre changing situations and not for when repair work is being done.

Also I noticed the trolley jack I bought didnt fit under the rear springs when I tried to lift from there, so am I better investing in one of those 'low profile' trolley jacks? Or will that too be useless as the car will of course have dropped a little more in the event of a flat tyre?

Thanks in advance folks!
 
On the rear the suspension needs to drop to remove the wheel so jacking under the lower arm won't help. Ideally you'd jack under the crossmember at the front, and the jacking point at the rear, but you'll need a trolley jack with a good amount of lift to do that.
 
Best bet is to use the box under the rear bumper as a jacking point. It will lift both rear wheels but is designer for such loads.
 
Pardon my ignorance, but where is this box? Could anyone post a picture to show me because I have wondered the same thing.
Is there any particular type of trolley jack anyone could recommend?
 
Here's what a rear jacking point looks without the rear valance fitted .
The 2 small holes in the jacking point is where the valance screws to.20161108_181842.jpg 20161108_181818.jpg
 
Riddler said:
Pardon my ignorance, but where is this box? Could anyone post a picture to show me because I have wondered the same thing.
Is there any particular type of trolley jack anyone could recommend?
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Look under the back of the car. Dead centre up against the rear valance there is a metal box section protruding below valance. That's it! I bought a high lift trolley Jack from halfords for about £70 can lift rear of car right up wheels off ground.
 
I was under a P6 yesterday , and it [rear block] had been removed to fit a T-bar. Mmm
 
Chalky said:
Look under the back of the car. Dead centre up against the rear valance there is a metal box section protruding below valance. That's it! I bought a high lift trolley Jack from halfords for about £70 can lift rear of car right up wheels off ground.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that - and thanks Clive P62 for the pics. This trolley Jack you mention - how big is it? Can it be carried round with you in the car? I'm always worried that if I was out and about and got a flat I would not be able to change the wheel at the side of the road. Maybe just have to call out the AA or whoever and let them use their trolley Jack?
 
Riddler said:
Thanks for that - and thanks Clive P62 for the pics. This trolley Jack you mention - how big is it? Can it be carried round with you in the car? I'm always worried that if I was out and about and got a flat I would not be able to change the wheel at the side of the road. Maybe just have to call out the AA or whoever and let them use their trolley Jack?
Click to expand...
You could carry it with you but is quite big. Personally I trust to luck and aa if luck goes. Can't remember last time I had a puncture. Oh no that's put the mockers on it! I've also got one of those puncture repair cans in the boot. Don't really like them but would get me home if small puncture. Another idea is to carry a scissor Jack and a block of wood to spread weight. Put it under where jacking points are.
 
All good ideas thanks. I do have a scissor jack in there at present but will find a bit of wood too. Cheers.
 
Riddler said:
All good ideas thanks. I do have a scissor jack in there at present but will find a bit of wood too. Cheers.
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This always worked for me under the rear inner sill/seat. The essential problem is a point load on a rotten jacking point if you can spread it then unless the car is totally rotted then you are OK.
 
The rear transverse (the front pick up points of the lower suspension arms) are much more suitable if you are not sure about the condition of the sills.
 
I carry a small trolley jack and a couple of different sized peices of wood. One of them had some foam glued to it so it doesn't slide around. I would jack mine up under the corner of the sill, NOT the cover sill (bolt on bit) with the wood up against the lip on the end, either front or rear.

Even with the amount of work I have done on it, I would still not use the proper jacking points.

Richard
 
Exactly. I have a piece of ply about 25 cm square and an inch and a half thick for this. With this you take both the sill and the rear seat box structure. This also works at the front with the sill/firewall.

And good idea with the foam, I have some spare carpet underlay which I should glue to this both for protection and it is less likely to slip.

When I bought the car the owner was actually in Canada. I jacked the car up using the standard jacking points and stood in the door shut opening and closing the other door. So while not perfect, I know it is strong as I'm "not lightweight".
 
Diverting the question slightly, has anyone worked on a P6 with an inflatable jack to spread the load on 'tender' sills?
When deflated they're fairly heavy and bulky but probably less so than a trolley jack.
 
You have to understand that while I love owning and driving classic cars, I am not very mechanically minded. As always with these threads I get an answer I think I can understand and then everyone starts complicating it and I get lost.
As I understand it, I am placing a bit of wood under the little box piece directly under the centre of my rear bumper (as shown on the pic of my car) and jacking it up on that?
In subsequent responses I am being told "the rear transverse (the front pick up points of the lower suspension arms) are much more suitable if you are not sure about the condition of the sills", to jack it up "under the corner of the sill, NOT the cover sill (bolt on bit) with the wood up against the lip on the end" etc etc . . . and suddenly I am not sure what I am doing!
 

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