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skittles2011

New Member
Hi Chaps & Ladies

Sorry if this has been asked before

I have a new (2011) Freelander 2. However it is not supplied with a jack. So I have obtained a 2Ton bottle jack which I keep in the car. As the bottle jack only has a small top (Size of a 2pence piece) which comes in contact with the jacking points on the Freelander, I was wondering if any of you know if you can buy a “Jacking block” which fits into the jacking point to spread the load when jacking up the car?

Hope this is not a silly thing to ask

Thanks
 
This may be a silly question but if the vehicle came without a jack I assume it also came without a spare so why would you want to carry a jack in the car anyway? If there is a spare then surely that means the proper jack is missing so it should be replaced like for like. If there isn't a spare then why carry a jack in the first place? It would be better to invest in a trolly jack with a decent lifting-pad and leave it at home where maintenance can be carried out.
 
Forget the bottle jack, you could easily shape a bit of strong wood like ash to fit but hydraulic bottle jacks seals can fail if they're left unused for a long time especially cheapo ones & you can bet it'll start to go when you most need it. Better to try a breakers (perhaps online) or try to pick up a Freelander jack off ebay. Another suggestion is to try to look at an old style mechanical screw jack off ebay like a Shelley or Lake & Elliot as some of them come with decent shaped "seating pads". If you did go for one you'd have to make sure they have the lifting range for your car & aren't for some old low slung 1950's sports car & that it comes with the handle (unless you're happy to make one up). The very early classic Range Rovers came with this type of jack & if in good condition & regularly oiled they are well made & will last for decades.
 
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chromiumuk said:
Forget the bottle jack, you could easily shape a bit of strong wood like ash to fit but hydraulic bottle jacks seals can fail if they're left unused for a long time especially cheapo ones & you can bet it'll start to go when you most need it. Better to try a breakers (perhaps online) or try to pick up a Freelander jack off ebay. Another suggestion is to try to look at an old style mechanical screw jack off ebay like a Shelley or Lake & Elliot as some of them come with decent shaped "seating pads". If you did go for one you'd have to make sure they have the lifting range for your car & aren't for some old low slung 1950's sports car & that it comes with the handle (unless you're happy to make one up). The very early classic Range Rovers came with this type of jack & if in good condition & regularly oiled they are well made & will last for decades.
Click to expand...

Chromiumuk probably has some good advice here :) The standard jack in pretty crap. Actually, it's worse than that! I've gone and bought a proper 3 tonne trolley jack for home and greenlaning use. Much safer and easier!

If I need to change a wheel during road use (and I haven't got the trolley jack with me) I'll simply call the RAC out to change it for me. It's a once every 3 year event, so it's not unreasonable to ask to be done.
 
Most, if not all hydraulic jacks have high failure rates when not used for long periods of time, including trolley jacks.

The ones you can trust most are the ones you wind up, like scissor jacks and ofc, hi lift jacks. Only thing you need to do is keep them lubed up to the max!
 
zoolander said:
So a new Freelander 2 isnt supplied with a jack?
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From what I have read elsewhere some are and some aren't.

It is quite common across the industry nowadays that depending on the spec there is no spare wheel & jack but instead you get a pump and can of something like Tyre Weld. Sometimes it is because a particular model uses wider tyres which don't fit into the normal space, sometimes it is for weight saving and other times it is just down to cost.
I remember my wife's MGF which she bought (new) 10-years ago, standard models had a (steel) spare but the Trophy (which used wider tyres) did away with this and had the repair kit instead.
 
My wife's Mini has no jack or spare wheel but a fitted kit of sealant and a 12v pump to inflate. There isn't even a wheel nut spanner supplied!

What's the world coming to eh! When I were a lad ......
 
RichM said:
Most, if not all hydraulic jacks have high failure rates when not used for long periods of time, including trolley jacks.

The ones you can trust most are the ones you wind up, like scissor jacks and ofc, hi lift jacks. Only thing you need to do is keep them lubed up to the max!
Click to expand...

That's what I've found & when I spoke to my dad who was a maintenance engineer for Rolls-Royce he said the same, that they don't like to sit idle. I've picked up a few older mechanical jacks off ebay including a modern mechanical bottle jack from a 1990's Toyota Hi-Lux which has an impressive lifting range & works from a simple hook type handle you can pick up from every scrappy (funny how people selling jacks have always lost the handles). The only downside to the Hi-Lux jack is that it has a very similar style of circular seating pad/saddle to hydraulic bottle jacks though a little larger whereas the shelleys have proper seating pads on them.
 
angeloc said:
My wife's Mini has no jack or spare wheel but a fitted kit of sealant and a 12v pump to inflate. There isn't even a wheel nut spanner supplied!

What's the world coming to eh! When I were a lad ......
Click to expand...
When you and I were a lad there was a lot more rubber in the world!
The reason many new cars are supplied without a spare wheel is down to the world shortage of rubber. I work at Nissan, and customers have to specifically ask for a spare wheel these days.
Having said that, I'm not sure if the shortage is down to a lack of rubber trees or the way the Chinese economy is going, they're consuming huge amounts of the worlds natural resources at the moment for their motor industry, steel, lead, copper and rubber, that's why we're all paying such high prices now.
 
chromiumuk said:
That's what I've found & when I spoke to my dad who was a maintenance engineer for Rolls-Royce he said the same, that they don't like to sit idle. I've picked up a few older mechanical jacks off ebay including a modern mechanical bottle jack from a 1990's Toyota Hi-Lux which has an impressive lifting range & works from a simple hook type handle you can pick up from every scrappy (funny how people selling jacks have always lost the handles). The only downside to the Hi-Lux jack is that it has a very similar style of circular seating pad/saddle to hydraulic bottle jacks though a little larger whereas the shelleys have proper seating pads on them.
Click to expand...
The mechanical jack in my Freelander had been sat idle in the boot locker for so long it had rusted solid..............:mad:
 
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