Thread: Well that was easy ......Not

Originally Posted by garrycol

These jacks have record of failure around the world in L322/D3/D4 and RRS models. I guess it will take a death before the authorities will force Landrover to do a safety recall on these things.

If I do have to use these jacks, even when changing a wheel, I also have additional safety supports of some kind in case the worst happens.

Garry

Hi Garry,


No Challenge, it's in everyone's interest/safety, etc .... what do you think needs to change?


The nature of the move (when jacking the car) is a massive contributing factor I think. As in the height and the fact that the car moves through a reverse arc as it lifts ... pretty hard for a stationary platform to follow safely.


I think the jack could be stronger, as in a heavier construction but that doesn't fix stability issues on uneven surfaces. People on the forum use bottle jacks which are probably less prone to mechanical failures but suffer the same if not worse stability issues. And if your car came off a bottle jack, there is no frame or structure like the scissor jack to even slow down the car's fall.


At home I use a trolley jack ... strong but not overly stable ... freakin usless off-road, not practical to carry.


Like you mate, always a jack stand or a mate you don't really like under the car while jacking. ;-)


If you could lock the car at access height or lower (a dedicated jacking height selection), as in, have a system that stops the suspension from raising, it may solve a lot of issues. I believe it isn't possible with the way the current suspension is set up.


Cheers,


Kev.

My rules... never ever get into a pinch or squash position when using a jack of any description and always remove the 20A suspension system fuse before starting. At home I use a trolly jack under the wishbones or shock depending on whether its a rear or a front wheel to be changed and perhaps fortunately have not yet had a flat tyre on the D4.