Using air suspension and IID Tool to put disco up on jacks for front LCA replacement

[eckolsim]

Hi Guys and Gals,

I am about to replace the front lower control arms and also discs and pads on my 2016 D4. My driveway sucks (irregular, sloped and broken asphalt) and I don't have a garage. I do however have 4 ramps, 4 heavy duty jack stands and a workshop jack. There is also a BT Gap IID Tool.

My thought to jack the car was this:

Put all 4 wheels up on the ramps at once.
Raise suspension heght to max.
Use GAP IID Tool to lift even higher
Put jack stands under frame
Defalte corners using GAP IID Tool
Remove ramps and proceed with required work.


Noting that the struts won't be under the car weight to help fully deflate, does anyone see any red flags here? I know it's not truly following the required set up for teh LCA replacement but would give me a great working height.
Did carry out a proof of concept on front only but didn't like the angle on the stands. Ended up with the wheels clearing the ramps by about 2 inches.

Thanks.

[Eric SDV6SE]

Concern is the slope of the driveway. Need to be level to prevent the car slipping fwd off the stands and squishing you like a grape.

A suitable workshop or a mates garage, or a rent-a-space?

[eckolsim]

Thanks Eric.

The driveway has a small slope but my problem with normal jacking is really more the uneven / broken asphalt. Is stable with the four jacks under the frame.
I was more interested in whether the struts needed to be under the car's weight to propoerly deflate.
Will post a photo for interested shortly.

[veebs]

Thanks Eric.

The driveway has a small slope but my problem with normal jacking is really more the uneven / broken asphalt. Is stable with the four jacks under the frame.
I was more interested in whether the struts needed to be under the car's weight to propoerly deflate.
Will post a photo for interested shortly.

When you deflate the bags will return to atmospheric pressure, or close to it. With the car on chassis stands, the empty struts will sag under the wheels weight - you may still need to jack up the wheel to remove the ramp...

[Eric SDV6SE]

As Veebs said, the weight of the car doesn't have to be on the air bags to deflate them. Loosen wheel nuts, jack the car put on stands, remove wheels then your gap tool to deflate EAS, disconnect lines, remove struts and away you go removing LCAs

[peterjj]

Hint: When you replace the LCA, they need to be at normal height before tightening the bolts, ie jack them up into position before tightening. Workshop manual should say distance between centre of wheel hub to underside of wheel arch.

[eckolsim]

Thanks guys for the feedback.

As it turns out, off-road height with a little extra from the Gap IID tool was enough. For a bonus after putting the stands in, try to lower it and super extend kicks in giving more height and an extra notch on the stands! Once I deflated the EAS the front wheels actually lifted and gave sufficient clearance from the ramps for their removal. The rears would have needed just a little lift to clear. I had the trolley jack ready just in case. This may now become my new norm for jacking the vehicle. After seeing some pretty nasty angles on the jacks with only the front or rear stands I think in future it will be all four jacks or none at all.

190395

After doing the passenger side LCA and disc + pads the drivers side was quick. Yes, I set the ride height before tightening the inner bush bolts. Drives straight and true with an alignment to be booked tomorrow. New LCA's feel great with no more clunking. Quick poll, should I keep the old arms and re-bush as a spare set?


Thanks to "tx from wi" on https://youtu.be/lBPYF1R2Se0'si=IpvhmlvrWhvhdcgg for the best LCA replacement tutorial. And also Bodsy and his brake bible. Now to do the rear discs and all pads.
Final tip, with the disk off, I removed the stone shield and used a bearing puller for the ball joint. Second joint was too tough so put the nut back on and went hammer and tong on it on the nut. Released even easier.

[DiscoDB]

Nothing scary looking about that set up…..[emoji849]

The exact same looking jack stand shown in the foreground has a history of failing catastrophically and were subject to a recall in the US.

So make sure those jack stands are certified as being compliant to AS2538-2016, and ideally have a secondary safety pin to lock in place.

Also be wary of using on any sloping surface as it puts bending moments onto the uprights - especially so if you are doing any work that requires you to put force onto bolts to undo. Even a shift in weight can cause the locking pawl to release hence you really want the secondary locking pin type.

I personally would keep one end firmly planted on the wheels (even if sitting on ramps to level the vehicle), and ideally on three wheels at all times to provide lateral support, and then double up the jack stands at the corner you are working on if they don’t have a secondary locking pin.

[Tombie]

Why so high? Work from the side and keep it low :)

[loanrangie]

Why so high? Work from the side and keep it low :)

Yep you only need to remove a wheel so like 1-2" max.

[BradC]

190395



Just a comment on those stands. My first foray under the D3 was the same. 4 stands at maximum extension and maximum anal clenching in fear. I bought some 6T (each) stands which are about 3 clicks up at the same height and have additional safety pins as a secondary. I now use those and put a set of backup stands (like yours) under also (8 stands in total).

I set the suspension at offroad height, plus whatever the GAP will allow me, then use a floor jack in the middle of each side to lift it off the wheels before I place my 4 stands per side. I then take long run-ups and give the car a good hip and shoulder from all 4 sides to make sure there's no movement before I get under it with the wheels off.

[veebs]

...I then take long run-ups and give the car a good hip and shoulder from all 4 sides to make sure there's no movement before I get under it with the wheels off.

I've witnessed BradC testing his stands. Luckily, I had a camera with me: https://youtu.be/50A9wjJ40Dk'si=HdX9PSJAJu9w8FBf

[eckolsim]

Yep you only need to remove a wheel so like 1-2" max.

I prefer if I can to work at a height where I can sit as opposed to on my back under the car. My driveway is not that comfortable and I used to trip my sciatic nerve after every service in the past. I am not as felxible as I used to be and yearn for a garage with a hoist.

The front stands in use were 6T and the rear 3T. Not fitted with additional pins. Significant shake testing occurred with wheels on and ramps in place before I even considered getting under it.

Thanks