Today I removed my summer tyres which are mounted on OEM LR 19" rims and installed my winter tyres, which are mounted on OEM LR 18" rims. All went well as I have figured out how to safely jack up each corner of the 3. Off topic, also I note the thread re trying to find suitable 18" steel rims in Oz - this big rim fad sure has its disadvantages when a vehicle is driven for more than just display, for me, snow, for you, sand.
Anyway, back to the question; with the opposing wheel chocked, I lift the a corner of the 3 with a 3 ton trolley jack that has an adapter that fits the hole in the bottom side of the frame; I then also have a small bottle jack which I set under the respective A arm to lift the wheel assembly just so the bottom of the tyre sits about an inch above the concrete. The trolley jack carries the weight of the 3 and the bottle jack, just the wheel suspension setup.
Using this technique, the front wheels are relatively easy to change. I can also do it with just the bottle jack under the A arm out on the side of the road if I really had to, even in the winter. What I am saying is that I do not take the trolley jack with me each time I go out of town - a second spare, yes, but not the trolley.
The rear wheels are a totally different story. While I have not had the problem yet, I figure that if I have to change a rear tyre in the winter at the side of the road, that I would, if available, probably instead call for a service vehicle and pay someone else to change the wheel. The problem is that 3's here are are about as rare as a Rolls so no one would know how "lift" a corner of the 3 with a tow truck cable hoist. There is no factory LR Assistance in North America and I do not know either.
Our recovery people here do not carry trolley jacks - if they cannot lift the vehicle with their cable hoist setup, then they tow it, or in the case of the 3, because of the all wheel drive, you have have call out a flat bed tipper deck truck and winch the 3 up onto the deck. Out of town, this is probably a thousand dollar bill, so it is not the most desireable choice. Also just to add to the expense, the favored vehicle tie down method is four chains each with hooks on the ends; one end of each chain wrapped thru or around the open spokes of alloy wheels and around the tyre - works all the time on every BMW or similar and solves any concerns related to air suspension. Yes, this is the "one size fits all", way we do things in North America.
Hence the question, is it possible to lift a rear corner of the 3 with a cable type hoist without doing any damage, and if so, where does one hook on?
I am not certain if there is any practical place underneath at the rear on the frame to hook on to but I did wonder if lifting via the rear tow loop was possible?
I thought no, as it seemed to me that while the loop would carry the load, (probably can dangle the 3 from it), that the plastic cap re the bumper would be damaged as well as perhaps the bumper itself as I think the bumper assembly sits a bit distant from the loop and would collapse inwards should the lifting cable tighten up against it.
Another thought was if I had that older "plow" hitch set up, that I suppose a cable could be wrapped around the vertical shaft part and the 3 lifted without any real damage to the bumper assuming the plow would not snap off?
Ideas anyone has would be welcomed. It is a simple question, but I do not think the answer is so easy. It may be that repairing a bumper would be cheaper than sort of tow job.
Have you got a picture of these cable hoist thingys you are talking about? I am not familiar with them and I am a mechanic who used to work at a LR dealer and prior to that I did roadside assistance with a tilt tray truck.
I have changed rears and fronts on the side of bush tracks and it is no drama to get stressed about. The only problem is finding a flat area, never do it where the ground is sloping, drive very slowly to find an area as its better to risk trashing a tyre than to jack it on a slope because the car will "fall over' when up (I've tried it being in a bad section of road) and NEVER put any part of your body under the vehicle when jacked up.
As soon as you feel the tyre deflating is when you should be looking for an area or better still have a tyre pressure monitoring system which will give you those extra seconds to see a flat area ahead.
I only use a 3 tonne bottle jack out on the road.
I also rotate my steel wheels around regularly at home using the trolley jack.
If you have a practice at home just with your bottle jack you will find it is not that bad and I have seven crushed vertebrae so lifting for me is not as easy as it is for most people.
"Have a go mate !" Save your money on the truck for the tyre repair/replacement.
Having stronger rated tyres will also reduce the times you have a problem.
Arctic model Tow Truck - sort of what you see here in Paradise.
The jpg is typical of what will arrive to "rescue" you when it is -40C and a blizzard. This is because all the new stuff is either already in use, in the ditch, or broke down because it is too fancy or the out of town locals just cannot afford to buy fancy.
A tipper type flatbed is only found in the big cities; attached can be as good as it gets, and if it is cold enough, it looks real good.
I see what you mean about changing in -40C.
If you get in the habit of always lubricating the wheel studs with a graphite based lube/anti-seize and maybe purchasing a 12V wheel nut remover that will cut down the time immensely when you have to change a wheel in those conditions or dangerous animals around, and put the nuts on something when removing, can spend too much time trying to find that nut that has gone walkies which seems to happen when your feet kick them in the dirt/snow.
Most workshops don't even lubricate the threads but if you didn't while working at Caterpillar you'd be strung up by your nurries from the crane.
Good habit to do and helps with correct torque when doing them back up.
And remember that bit of wood under your jack so it doesn't sink into the ground.
Love to have the car with air jacks on each corner.
Use Copper Anti-Seize grease rather than Graphite based.
Permatex makes what they call Copper Anti-Seize grease, product #09127, so that is what I use, but very little of it, I might add.
I see however that you suggest graphite based rather than the copper stuff. I did wonder about the copper, but at least the wheel nuts and studs are steel so ....
It seems that the application of any thread lubricant to small vehicle wheel nuts is not common over here - an Ingersoll Rand air wrench on a 3/4" air line is however - got to love North America.
Yes, I carry a piece of wood about a foot long and five inches wide to put under my bottle jack as that does help to stabilize it. Our real problem however is that it can be slippery everywhere and chocks or not, the other three wheels want to slide.
I actually carry two pair of chocks but when it is real slippery, not much works. I recall many years back in the winter, (thought I had a tyre problem), I almost pushed my pickup sideways into the ditch when I got out to investigate. I was still holding on to the steering wheel so I went one way and the truck, the other. The pavement was glass so to speak - could not really even see the ice, it was so thin - had rained and then froze and that is why the truck seemed to be driving oddly.
Another thing I carry sometimes is my AirBag jack which instead of running off the cars exhaust I have put fittings into to use my under bonnet compressor giving me greater control when on my own.
The new models of airbags have the fittings installed already but they charge extra for the privilege and it is easy and cheap to do it yourself.
The airbag is very easy to use and sometimes beats rolling around in the dirt with positioning jacks, especially in soft ground. Just watch that you don't jack under the vehicles compressor or exhaust.
I don't know if one of these would help your situation but they are very quick too when theres a blizzard and a bear wants your butt to chew on !.
I think the air bag jack idea is about the best idea there is given the realities of winter. It appears that there is no alternative easy way to lift the rear of the 3 without doing damage in anything less than ideal conditions.
The 3 is not a motor home so thinking that Land Rover should have included corner air jacks is probably not realistic - still a good idea, but the air bag does jack seem the most practical as it really solves the uncertain ground condition reality.
I would say that air bag jacks of any kind are virtually unknown here in Alberta anyway, (probably all of Canada), so I got to looking on some Australian sites and came across the Bushranger X-Jack brand. Any thoughts as to the merits of that brand or what works best for the 3?
When I want something good for my 3, I usually order from Australia as I think your conditions really put gear to the test. You do not have cold weather but the vast distances with nothing in between make reliability the supreme requirement.
I have the Bushranger. Has not split or holed as yet, seems fine. It is supplied in a carry bag and has mats for the ground side and another for on it/under the car to help with any sharp objects.
There may be other brands but they are probably all made in the same factory (in China) as many things these days.
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