Trolley Jack on Rear axle ?

[c240yaz]

This is not too technical, just a curiosity really.

For doing a front / rear tyre swap on a C class, do you mechanical guys who do this on a regular basis, prefer to use the trolley jack under the diff or rear wishbone ? If so, do you recommend a piece of wood between the jack plate and the diff casing ?

( I am sure that the rear wishbones on mine have a plastic cover on them. Will check tonight when I get home)

 

[Harley Man]

I usually jack my W202 up on the rubber blocks inline with the jacking points, The Diff mountings always look a bit fragile to me and yes the rear wishbones do have plastic covers. Am I doing it right?

 

[Dieselman]

Just use a pad and jack it under the diff, it'll be no problem.

 

[Will]

Silly question, but if you're swapping the front tyres to the rear, why would you want to jack the car up only at one end? What I mean is, surely you'd want to jack the car up on one side to remove the front and rear wheels of the respective side at once and swap them from front to back?

Just a thought

Will

 

[c240yaz]

Silly question, but if you're swapping the front tyres to the rear, why would you want to jack the car up only at one end? What I mean is, surely you'd want to jack the car up on one side to remove the front and rear wheels of the respective side at once and swap them from front to back?

Just a thought

Will

I never said I was jacking up at one end only. I only have one trolley jack, so I will use the scissor jack on the front, while the trolley does the rear...hence asking about best jacking point for the trolley.

I am more used to jacking up Mercedes and Volvo trucks with bottle jacks, where a bit of force is acceptable...not much experience on MB cars.

 

[Will]

Sorry yaz, only asking - just that you only mentioned one jack..

Good luck with the swap.

Will

 

[c240yaz]

Will, No problem. Harley Man mentions a "hardpoint" between the 2 axles ?? Is there such a point where you can use a trolley jack ? I can't really get under the car to see, at this time. If there is, that would be ideal.

 

[Dieselman]

He means the little rubber protrusions under the sills at the jacking points.

If you want the whole car off the ground then raise the front and support then jack under the diff casing, it will be alright.

 

[c240yaz]

Diesel man, Sounds good, thanks. I will take your advice and do it this way.

 

[Wezzel]

IIRC the Haynes manual recommends putting the jack next to (but not on) the rubber jacking point but using a piece of timber to spread the load.

An axle stand can then be put under the rubber thingy.

I seem to remember the manual saying not to use the diff or suspension arms for jacking.

 

[Rory]

I never said I was jacking up at one end only. I only have one trolley jack, so I will use the scissor jack on the front, while the trolley does the rear...hence asking about best jacking point for the trolley.

..errr - if you mean both at the same time, then that doesn't sound like a good idea. The sissor jacks aren't very stable.

Also, if you jack the rear axle up (i've never done this, so might be wrong) but would there be enough clearance to get the wheels out of the wheel arches? I realise the springs would tend to lift the body as the axle is raised, but it might be a bit fiddly.

 

[c240yaz]

..errr - if you mean both at the same time, then that doesn't sound like a good idea. The sissor jacks aren't very stable.

Also, if you jack the rear axle up (i've never done this, so might be wrong) but would there be enough clearance to get the wheels out of the wheel arches? I realise the springs would tend to lift the body as the axle is raised, but it might be a bit fiddly.

No problem, I jacked up the rear, positioned axle stand, removed jack. Then jacked up the front, left scissor jack in place and put trolley jack under bottom ball joint for safety, removed both wheels and swithed them over.

Thanks to everyone for the tips. :bannana: