Appropriate method to hoist D3/4 ?

[Ozzy119]

Hi all,

This might come across as a bit simple but I'm slightly unsure how garages would hoist the car to change tyres. When I look under the vehicle I can't see how arm hoists can run under the frame without damaging things. The air suspension chamber and compressor both sit slightly lower than the frame.

There are no obvious suspension stops to get under or front and rear diffs.

How do they do it?

[BigJon]

Under the chassis rails, using spacer blocks to clear anything which hangs lower.

[101RRS]

On my last tyre change they lifted it under the rear diff:o:(:mad:.

[bbyer]

There are no obvious suspension stops to get under or front and rear diffs. How do they do it? You ask a good question. I fortunately have one tyre shop that I deal with that understands air suspension and 3's and Sports. They have a frame hoist with the referenced vertical extensions that keep the hoist arms well clear of the air compressor etc and allow the wheels to hang just for a simple flat tyre repair.

I already had one scary experience with a shop that even though I asked that they please do not jack on the rear differential they did. Yes they did find it; the front is a little more difficult but they can always just jack on the engine skid plate and you can hope it does not bend too much such that the alloy engine oil pan is cracked. Owning a 3 can be trying.

My 3 survived the rear diff jacking experience and I will say that they did lower the 3 as soon as I started to cry. They did recall what I had asked and next day I brought them 10 pages of pictures of what is in the rear diff and what it is made of. I think that they appreciated that and will remember for the next unfortunate; crying was more effective than reaming them out I thought.

Below are a couple of pdf's with lifting and jacking info.