Jacking technique

[Hughie]

Many of us I guess are at home self isolating with time on our hands to do the jobs on our Trophy’s we never got round to when times were normal.

So I have been giving some thought to the correct/optimum and above all safe technique for raising the car and placing it on 4 axle stands at the defined Renault sill jacking points.

This has in part been inspired by the excellent write up and photos from Frayz and his work on repairing his bent jack points. I followed his lead and advice and repaired all 4 of mine in the last week. Not perfect I admit but if you had seen them before you would consider these ‘showroom’.




However, what this work did challenge me with was how to raise the front and back of the car, where to position the jack and then where to position axle stands.

I used trolley jacks and rubber pads under the bent sills to raise the front and placed an axle stand with pad on the subframe midway between each suspension lower arm mounting point.

I then used the jacking beam under the rear cross member as wide as possible where it meets the trailing section and then raised the rear this way. Finally putting axle stands under as a safety device in case of jack failure.

Now the sill jacking points are fixed I want to be able to lift the front and rear and place axle stands under each jack point.

Can I therefore use the trolley jack and crossbeam as follows:

Front

Drive the car up onto low motorsport ramps to increase ground clearance then from the front of the car position the jack/crossbeam under the subframe between aforementioned lower suspension arm mounts and then lift the front. Then placing axle stands under each front jacking point

Rear

Place the trolley jack/crossbeam on max width under the rear crossmember and raise the rear of the car. Then place axle stands under each rear jacking point.

So here is the exam question to which forum members are most knowledgeable probably best placed to answer!

Are the front and rear subframes and their fixings robust enough to be used as lifting points in the manner described above?

I know it is not a Renault recommended approach but it would make for a WRC service approach to raising the car.

I look forward to other owners thoughts and recommendations on the proposal.

 

[frayz]

Great job on the sills dude.
As for jacking, I never jack any car on the sills.
Always jack on the subframe to chassis mounting areas and then place a stand under the central chassis rails. Do this for each side at the front.
Then place the jack centrally on the rear torsion beam and raise the rear as one.
place a stand under the beam on each side. if you need access to the beam I place my stands on the beam hinge mounting plates.

 

[Hughie]

Thanks?
Your approach to the jacking makes sense particularly for the front of the car where 80% of the weight of the vehicle sits. The ideal I guess is to jack as close to the centreline of the strut i.e. under the outer part of the lower wishbone. This is where the weight of the front end is mainly transmitted.
I am not sure about the rear where I would want to more evenly distribute the load at the extremities of the beam so to minimise any potential for distortion. I guess you will not have experienced any issues otherwise you would not be doing it this way.
As hopefully more responses and approaches get posted I will collate them and then take some photos of the different set-ups to further council opinion.
Expect it to be a bit of a longer term thread if it generates enough interest!
Thanks again for your input.

 

[frayz]

Quickly knocked up some pics on my phone showing front and rear jacking points I use. If your car is low, some low rise ramps really help on the front especially

Using the centre of the rear beam provides lots of options for stands. You can see how much room you have.

 

[Hughie]

That is really helpful? Thanks for that. Hope others appreciate it too.

 

[Ashtons99]

I have made a couple of wooden blocks to use when I’ve wanted to jack up at the jacking points. A block about 5”x 3”. I then cut out a “groove” about 1/2” wide by 1” deep in the block so the sill “seam” sits in it. Use that on top of the trolley jack pad.

 

[Hughie]

That is a good idea and will offer better protection than just the flat trolley jack pad. There are a number of similar pads in rubber on eBay ranging from £3 to £10.

Where do you position your axle stands when you have need to work under the car?

 

[SharkyUK]

I use pretty much the same as @frayz has kindly illustrated. My sills are knackered (I think, it's been a while....) and I have slit blocks of wood and rubber that I use between the mating faces of jack/stand and subframe. Although I can't recall seeing those for some time either!

 

[Big Dave]

Frayz.
Those trolley jacks are good, ive got the same one.....

 

[Cue]

Frayz - that's the cleanest underside of a Trophy bar one that's just been wax oiled lol, does it get used?

 

[frayz]

Frayz - that's the cleanest underside of a Trophy bar one that's just been wax oiled lol, does it get used?

Lmao. Mate it’s not even a Trophy. Just a council spec 182.
Its my daily driver, does 50 miles a day and covered 125k miles so far and used every single day come rain or shine.

 

[Cue]

lol - couldn't tell with the damper covers haha...

 

[frayz]

lol - couldn't tell with the damper covers haha...

To be fair. They’re brand new and only just gone on with the dampers.
#AintNoTrophyBro ?

 

[photo_ed]

Just out of interest, what exhaust system is that? ?

 

[frayz]

BTM / Yozzasport

 

[BenG]

As already stated, I use the following points for jacking the front of the vehicle...

The green area is my first option as I prefer to lift nearer to the front as possible, however, if I need more access I will use the blue points, it just depends what I’m doing. I’ll use the yellow points if I need to remove the subframe assembly. I never use the jacking points on the sill, one of them is severely damaged and I’ve been looking to repair it for a while. after seeing this thread I’m really impressed with some of the repair work others have achieved.



For the rear I nearly always use the official jacking points on the sill. This is because it allows me to work on every component at the rear.



I’ve use the following points for jacking the rear if I’m just looking to remove the wheels or work on the brakes...

Again, this has already been mentioned but the rear can be jacked equally on both sides if the jack is positioned at the very centre of the rear axle beam, it has the benefit of freeing up the left and right sides of the beam (as circled) for positioning axle stands.





Although for the most part I use jacking beams on a 4 post lift, the principle is the same. My jacking beams came with these rubber blocks which I use frequently as they prevent any damage and stress to steelwork where I’m jacking from, they’re readily available and I would recommend them when using a vehicle jack like the one below as they offer additional jacking options.

 

[frayz]

Superb post Ben ??

 

[Hughie]

Ben

What a superbly informative post. Great write up and great photos. This really was the sort of detail that I was hoping we could all share within the forum to ensure we that we firstly operate safely and secondly jack the car in such a way as to preserve the bodywork and the jacking/stand contact areas.

Your post as with Frayz has met the criteria admirably! Thank you very much.

I am also in awe of the beautiful condition your car is in (and from the underside!!!). You must be very proud of the work you have done on it.

??

 

[BenG]

Thanks both.

I’ve done a considerable amount of work over the years of ownership and used a range of jacking techniques to carry out a whole range or tasks, the jacking points mentioned have proven to be very secure, safe and reliable.

The official jacking points at the sill offer total freedom of access for maintenance work, however, they can easily be damaged by using the wrong type of Jack or lack of care. Many of us will have damaged them in this way, myself included. The trolley jack in the pictures above would have most likely prevented damage as it has a flat rubber pad, unfortunately I didn’t possess one in the early years or ownership. Once they have been damaged they’re no longer suitable or safe to use and one of the other alternatives mentioned in this thread are necessary, all are perfectly safe as far as my experience goes.

 

[Gambit]

Hi guys if you have to remove the rear subframe where would you recommend the jack point be at the back of the car? With access to those trolly jacks and normal car jack stand only and not a hoist?