thank Ford for the jack in the boot

S3SR · 26-04-2007, 04:36 PM

well today after booking my car in for new tyres....theyre at the canvas

anyways going back to uni from lunch, i hear ssssssss and think OMG i hope the spare tyre is good.....wasnt too far from home to drove back (tyre was still inflated), pulled up to my mount everestt of a driveway and stopped so the car was flat, got out and it was my rear tyre...ok look at ground COVERED in meat ants feasting on a toad..DAMN!!!

qucikly drive up driveway....lost my entire rear end on the apex, its also a tight squeeze so drive to the right more, got out and the tyre iron wrench thing wont even fit between tyre and wall.....F'N FFFFF

so i use fords so called tool rip my hands to pieces, get 4 of 5 nuts off, swear some more, jack the car up according to the diagram, i just fit between car and wall, get to right height to pop wheel off, then BANG BANG BANG f'n jack just collapses, scared the hell out of me..ive never moved so quickly in my life

anyways ive given up and now im waiting for RACQ, they can work for their money

lesson learnt DONT buy dunlop SP3000a's POS tyre i got maybe 30 000kms out of them...and no i didnt do 30 000kms worth of burnouts i might have done 100m worth accumulated.

replace tyres when they ARE already illegal not until they burst
carry a trolley jack instead of the standard one
wear gloves when working on the car
dont swear when neighbours are around
NEVER go without RACQ, wouldnt be without them would you

could this day get any worse

/end rant

superroo · 26-04-2007, 04:45 PM

Yeah, standard ford jack is bad. I've had mine fall off it when i was changing a rear. And it bent the crap out of it, but with a small asortment of tools it's roughly back in the right shape. But it didn't scare me, scared the hell out the girlfriend though.

cheers

[Edit] yeah i've done the same as au-dude, got a breaker bar with a long socket in the car for the nuts, and have kept the original bar in there too

AU dude · 26-04-2007, 04:49 PM

Scissor jacks are deadly, they have about 10cents of metal in them, so I never have and never will trust one. I tossed mine in the shed and tied down a trolley jack in the boot, I even bought a good quality breaker bar for that flat day.

JC · 26-04-2007, 05:03 PM

Jack probably collapsed because you had it in the wrong spot. As for the tyre life, 30000 is about standard for a tyre anyway. If you get more, you're lucky. If you get less, you're lucky too, just of the "un" kind.

b2tf · 26-04-2007, 05:34 PM

Bah, the Ford jack is rubbish, Ive never had one let go on me but I dont trust them one bit.

GTWHOA · 26-04-2007, 05:37 PM

ouch.. you didnt try to crack the nuts while the car was jacked up did you?
but i agree the jack and tool are flimsy

Sledgehammer · 26-04-2007, 06:22 PM

Yeah have had a Ford jack collapse as well.

DoreSlamR · 26-04-2007, 07:15 PM

I did my whole suspension with 2 ford jacks, had a bit of swaying when i was trying to loosen a few stubborn nuts. I did have jarrah logs next to each jack too so it wasn't going to go anywhere..so the ford jacks aren't the best but better than nothing

mik · 26-04-2007, 07:21 PM

very dangerouse jacks they are i had a scissor jack totally collapse, the thread completley sheared off fortunatley the wheel was still on it was an old nissan or toyota jack, definatley something to be wary of.

S3SR · 26-04-2007, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mik

very dangerouse jacks they are i had a scissor jack totally collapse, the thread completley sheared off fortunatley the wheel was still on it was an old nissan or toyota jack, definatley something to be wary of.

thats what i meant to say, the thread sheared off

dont no i could have been jacking in the wrong place, but its the same place i jacked with before to remove those dust shields??? and nothing happened

anyways its partly my fault, shouldnt have let the tyres run so low....but iv heard some people get 80 000kms from tyres...might have been using 4x4 tyres

hopefully after i get new tyres that should be it for "repair" modifications and save for the rims and bodykit

thanks guys

private9 · 26-04-2007, 08:52 PM

Sorry mate, but how the hell do you not notice that your tyres are down to the canvas?

AlanP · 27-04-2007, 03:50 AM

I don't know which is worse the old bumper jack or scissor jack - I think the bumper jack wins (loses) because the car was usually higher of the ground.
As to tyres dunlop SP200e 95,000ks and I drive hard.

DOC · 27-04-2007, 04:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DoreSlamR

I did my whole suspension with 2 ford jacks, had a bit of swaying when i was trying to loosen a few stubborn nuts. I did have jarrah logs next to each jack too so it wasn't going to go anywhere..so the ford jacks aren't the best but better than nothing

? Might be just me but you loosen your nuts before you jack.

Bucknaked · 27-04-2007, 06:42 AM

My ford jack collapsed on me once. Brand new, used for 3 wheels. 4th it got half way down before it collapsed. Lucky for me I had the wheel on and the nuts were tight enough. The centre thread was damaged.

bodes-sh · 27-04-2007, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DOC

? Might be just me but you loosen your nuts before you jack.

i think what he means is stubborn suspension bolts, not wheel nuts....
and yes i know what you're saying...

HLC · 27-04-2007, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FALCONSR

lesson learnt DONT buy dunlop SP3000a's POS tyre i got maybe 30 000kms out of them...and no i didnt do 30 000kms worth of burnouts i might have done 100m worth accumulated.

lol i got 27 000 out of a set of Fulda Exelero's. thats fronts and rears :togo:

:

but that really sucks man. hope it all gets sorted.

howesy · 27-04-2007, 01:32 PM

Only used my scissor jack 3 or 4 times but after the 2nd time it was harder to jack up. Closer inspection the threads are being pulled through on the worm. eventually the pulling will drag it straight through when the threads give way. Now thats quality when the standard jack wont jack the standard weight without excess duress on it.

DoreSlamR · 28-04-2007, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DOC

? Might be just me but you loosen your nuts before you jack.

oh the wheels were off, was the bolts on the control arms, wow were they tight!

S3SR · 28-04-2007, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by private9

Sorry mate, but how the hell do you not notice that your tyres are down to the canvas?

haha.... does "im a uni student" count as an excuse? or that i make almost $1000 /week and am tighter than that bloody nut?

yeah i did realise that they were bald (well before canvas) a while back, never really clicked i should get them changed..but oh well next time ill learn to drive responsibly....might just go some cheap chinese tyres

jjj · 28-04-2007, 06:36 PM

Never had a problem with the scissor jack in the EL fairmont. Always keep it sprayed with WD-40 and used it a total of 14 times in the last 2 years. Tyre rotation and changing over flat tyres, changing brake pads etc. So yeah never had a problem although i do carry one jack stand in the car for extra safety.

I only use the scissor jack on flat level ground!!!!

Cheers