Getting the Zed on axle stands - Painting calipers

[daveg]

I need to work on the rear brakes this weekend and want it on stands. Problem is - I can't use a trolley jack with the gravel drive (and I don't have one).

How can I jack it up with scissor jack and put it on stands - where should they go if the jacking point is being taken by the jack?

The gravel is chunky and can be moved out the way and there is firm ground underneath so it will be sturdy enough when it's up considering I'm not going under.

 

[klarky]

i dont use the jacking point to jack up, thats for the stand, if you feel a bit further back you will find a seam that sticks out thats strong enough to use a jack on, its just beyond the plastic for the skirt i think.

on gravel surfaces i have a couple of bits of wood ive nailed together which i drive the front or rear wheels onto, nice solid base and raised the car slightly so i can get my trolley jack underneath. i also have a bit of wood the jack can sit on so its also level and on a solid base.

 

[mikedav]

I'd buy a trolley jack, about £10-20 tops and so much safer / easier to use. If you have axle stands it's worth the investment

 

[daveg]

I can see the seam just behind the jacking point. Problem is the scissor jack doesn't sit well on that thin 'wall' and I wouldn't be able to get a jack on since it's right behind the jacking cup.

How about on the bolt where the rear strut joins just left to the side of the jacking cup? I can see a trolly jack would be better but I could fit a big enough piece of wood in the Zed to use as a base to roll the trolley jack on!

 

[klarky]

the seam runs along the entire side of the car so move up a bit more towards the front, thats what i do. ive not looked at anywhere else to jack from so cant help re the strut area

 

[cj10jeeper]

Best place to jack the whole car up is the centre rear when the 2 braces join and reach a strong point on the tub.

Scissor jacks are the tool of the devil - designed to kill you as you 'just lean under'. get a trolley jack and be safe. Lower the car onto axle stand s under the 2 jack points then remove the wheels.

 

[klarky]

good point re the central point, forgot about that! ive never had the balls to use it / i feel safer doing one wheel at a time, but trolley jack is the only way to go, ive dropped a car on its brake disc once using an oem jack, swore never to use one again after that!

 

[eyup]

Does anyone have a picture of the central jacking point so I can be sure? Pretty certain which it is but dont want to get it wrong. The plan was to paint the rusted calipers this weekend but turned my ankle and tore the ligaments in my foot on Monday

Left foot is now a very nice combination of blue, black and yellow and doesnt like taking my weight. Will have to do the calipers in a couple of weeks. No more either for a bit!

 

[cj10jeeper]

Does anyone have a picture of the central jacking point so I can be sure? Pretty certain which it is but dont want to get it wrong. The plan was to paint the rusted calipers this weekend but turned my ankle and tore the ligaments in my foot on Monday

Left foot is now a very nice combination of blue, black and yellow and doesnt like taking my weight. Will have to do the calipers in a couple of weeks. No more either for a bit!

Nasty to go over on the ankle. Did it once running and a decade later I can still feel it in certain positions

See here - exactly wheere the 2 diagonal braces meet and are bolted up:

 

[andysat]

Wow your car is sooo clean underneath cj!

 

[eyup]

Nasty to go over on the ankle. Did it once running and a decade later I can still feel it in certain positions

A decade(!), oh god thats not a nice thought. Done both ankles in the space of six months now so got to be really careful. Still its not worth given up football permanently for.

Cheers for the pic.

 

[aquazi]

The Z4 is deceptivly low - my trolly jack could only just fit under it.

I have used a trolley jack on a slightly graveled surface before.. many years ago i painted the calipers on my car so had to jack it up and down 4 times - i ended up getting blisters on my hands using the stock scissor jack - never again will i ever use those nasty pieces of equipment.

 

[Anonymous]

Did it once running and a decade later I can still feel it in certain positions

Didn't think this was that kind of site

 

[decio]

Yeah, trolley jack is a hell of a tool. I am using it frequently. At least once a month i wash my car underneath with a mini wash and some cleaning fluid produced by Karcher. Below are some photos just to see how am I doing it.

 

[daveg]

Hope the ankle is better after a rested weekend eyup - as a matter of fact I was jacking the car up this weekend to paint the rear callipers.

Thanks to everyone’s advice and CJs helpful picture I did things the right way and used a friends trolley jack and borrowed a car to fetch a piece of wood as a base. The trolley jack didn't fit under but instead of driving onto blocks I used the scissor jack to 'sit' the car up on the springs allowing me to then slide it under.

First time using a trolley jack or doing anything other than swapping wheels with a scissor jack. The car looks so light and almost like a model when up in the air without wheels like in decio's pictures.

Here are the callipers with the wheels off:


Cleaned up:


Painted:


Other side:


Lookout in case anyone tried taking the wheels


Wheels back on:


And front calipers from a 330 before and part-way through cleaning. This was a very very very dirty job.















And painted ready to go on in a fortnights time with EBC Ultimax discs and Greenstuff pads :evil: (Thanks to CJ and pawnsacrifice for their help :wink: )





Sorry for all the photos - just been a long weekend spent on this project and wanted to share Hope everyone had a great Easter

 

[Dreamer]

Excellent work daveG Really tidy looking and a very worthwhile project.

Good to see that like me you went with black paint, it looks very smart and with a silver clip just adds a bit of class

 

[PawnSacrifice]

Looking really good Always enjoy project pictures.

And painted ready to go on in a fortnights time with EBC Ultimax discs and Greenstuff pads :evil: (Thanks to CJ and pawnsacrifice for their help :wink: )

Um, yeah, a good collaboration... CJ helped with the technical stuff while I provided hyperbole and colour consultation. Actually sort of doing the same thing at the moment, so it's been really good to be "working with" someone on this. Just, well, did you have to set the bar that high... damn you got those things clean! :roll:

Few things... how did you do the clips in the end? Did you start with new ones?
Where did you get the black paint?
Was all the cleaning done with the Dremel style tool wire wheel attachments?

Am now considering black again... it's one of those corner of your eye things; not as immediately apparent as black, but the details all add up.

Excellent job.

 

[TH3R4POR]

good work!

 

[cj10jeeper]

Looking good. Nice to see the pm exhanges turned into real life activity and photos.

So why aren't the axle stands under the jacking points as insurance? It may look like a toy and the jack will easily hold it, but if the ground sinks, seal on the jack bursts, it'll feel real heavy in you :thumbsdown: Worst case just put the wheels under the sills.

 

[etedlm]

i did mine black and silver too good work