Thread: New D3 bottle jack

After my wheel nut incident I also bought a 22mm socket and 450mm wrench to suit.

I got a couple of attachments made that sit on top of the jack head to lock the jack into the chassis rail. Work a treat.

But in testing these I noticed again a disturbing (to me anyway) thing that happens. As the car is raised the jack tilts towards the opposite side of the car. You can see it in the picture below where the base of the jack is off the ground. The leaning to the right is just my bad photography

I'm not an engineer but I assume this has to do with the height of the car when jacked up, which in turn means the car is levered over to the side opposite that being jacked.

I assume this is normal but it just looks weird.

That is a problem with jacks and is why trolley jacks have wheels. As you lift one part of the car it rotates slightly so the part of the chassis you are jacking on will move away from you slightly. Then you get more weight transfer to create a sideways load on the tires and before you know it there is enough movement to do this.

I have seen some jacks have a slightly curved base so that they start off with half the foot on the ground then rock to have the other half on the ground at full height.

This is one of the reasons you don't get under a car supported by a jack.

Something I read about the D3 is that you have to use the supplied wheel chocks when jacking as this greatly reduces the movement. Having said that, I would expect the movement in your pic as a best cast. On anything other than hard concrete the foot will sink slightly and this will be less visible.

Cheers, Steve

Originally Posted by WhiteD3

I got a couple of attachments made that sit on top of the jack head to lock the jack into the chassis rail. Work a treat.

But in testing these I noticed again a disturbing (to me anyway) thing that happens. As the car is raised the jack tilts towards the opposite side of the car. You can see it in the picture below where the base of the jack is off the ground. The leaning to the right is just my bad photography

I'm not an engineer but I assume this has to do with the height of the car when jacked up, which in turn means the car is levered over to the side opposite that being jacked.

I assume this is normal but it just looks weird.

All you have to do is push the jack in about an inch before you start jacking and when it is up it will sit flat.

Originally Posted by garryc

Get yourself a hydraulic jack as mentioned and also get an extendable socket handle. I got one for about $15 and it came with two double ended sockets of 18/20 21/23mm. The D3 nuts are 22mm and the 23mm works OK but I must buy a 22mm socket. Don't rely on the scissor jack or wheel nut spanner. On a 4wd magazine test they split the wheel nut spanner enough said. regards

We also broke the wheel nut spanner. The pin used to attach the socket to the handle is counter sunk drilled at one end so the pin can be pressed into place. Unfortunately they drilled the hole too deep and it shore through when I leaned on it (no pipe used, I promise!!). Never broken a nut spanner in my life, but it is kind of important if you get a flat.

Originally Posted by WhiteD3

I got a couple of attachments made that sit on top of the jack head to lock the jack into the chassis rail. Work a treat.

Any chance of a pic of the attachments? Sounds like an excellent idea. I'm also interested in the discussion about whether this unit will suffer if stored horizontal - I can remember my old man going ape at me for leaving a bottle jack flat out on the floor of the farm workshop several decades ago - he found it swimming in a small lake of oil...

I guess the issue of fit beneath the vehicle when down on a flat could be made slightly more dubious when adding a jacking plate for stability, too. Having had one vehicle drop off a jack way back when much younger, due to soil giving way unevenly under the load, I am hesitant to not use a plate under a bottle jack base. This does mean you have to use Corgie Carrier's tip about pushing the base slightly away from you to counter-act the inevitable lean, coz you can't rely on the base pushing down into the dirt to even things up.

D4 wheel nuts are also 22 mm, and you need a short extension to get hold of them comfortably with a socket.

Originally Posted by Jesse B

Any chance of a pic of the attachments? Sounds like an excellent idea. I'm also interested in the discussion about whether this unit will suffer if stored horizontal - I can remember my old man going ape at me for leaving a bottle jack flat out on the floor of the farm workshop several decades ago - he found it swimming in a small lake of oil...

I guess the issue of fit beneath the vehicle when down on a flat could be made slightly more dubious when adding a jacking plate for stability, too. Having had one vehicle drop off a jack way back when much younger, due to soil giving way unevenly under the load, I am hesitant to not use a plate under a bottle jack base. This does mean you have to use Corgie Carrier's tip about pushing the base slightly away from you to counter-act the inevitable lean, coz you can't rely on the base pushing down into the dirt to even things up.

D4 wheel nuts are also 22 mm, and you need a short extension to get hold of them comfortably with a socket.

Jesse, the jack has been stored on its side in the car now for almost 2 years with no leaks. You could always put it in a plastic bag if concerned about leaks I suppose. I also carry a block of wood for a jacking plate.

Here's the attachment.




If I was doing this again I'd look seriously at an exhaust jack for reasons of storage and uneven ground when jacking offroad.

T-riffic! Thanks for the pics, and the heads-up on jack storage. Re use of exhaust jack instead: I did wonder about this option, as it could be mighty handy in the event of burying the heavyweight beast in sand too (as per thread running parallel with this one!). But I have a hunch I've read someplace or another about not using one of these for wheel changes? Or have I crossed my wires somewhere along the way?