# Car trolley jack



## slineclean (Dec 23, 2011)

Toying with buying a decent aluminium trolley jack , when swapping for winter tyres and hence if need to change any family wheels etc, 

With the jack face being flat? Where do you use it? The A1 has a lip doesn't it? So would that get damaged or just get 1 of those rubber jack protectors with the cut out . Just dont want to cause any damage using the jack


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## sfstu (Aug 3, 2010)

a lot of cars have that lip underneath, i know my mondeo used to...i bought an ice hockey puck from ebay and cut/chiselled a channel into it that fitted around the lip on underside of car...:thumb:


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## slineclean (Dec 23, 2011)

Theres a chap selling some on eBay ( when get to a computer ) I copy and paste a pic . I just need to measure the lip depth and he check if got 1 more suited to fit


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## uruk hai (Apr 5, 2009)

sfstu said:


> a lot of cars have that lip underneath, i know my mondeo used to...i bought an ice hockey puck from ebay and cut/chiselled a channel into it that fitted around the lip on underside of car...:thumb:


That's what I did, works a treat and I fitted exactly to the shape of the jacking point.


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## Mick (Jan 23, 2010)

all this talk of hockey pucks amazes me. when you go to a tyre fitters (the majority of them at least), do you see them trial fitting a load of hockey pucks to the underside of your car for the right fit before jacking your car up? of course not.

99% of the time the car comes out with no damage underneath. A hockey puck really is not necessary and just another thing to fiddle about with.

FWIW, I own one of the Arcan aluminium jacks from costco:










I have never onced damaged any car I have jacked up with it. the lip on the jack is made from aluminium and the car is made from steel, so the likelihood of causing damage with it is very slim (maybe moreso on an older car).

By all means, if buying a puck makes you feel safer doing it, then go for it, but dont think you NEED to, because thats simply not the case (you can jack a car on many places other than the OEM jacking points safely )

:thumb:


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## DW58 (Nov 27, 2010)

Member Bero on here used to sell modded hockey pucks for this purpose, I got mine from him, does a great job at a great price - he may still have them for sale.


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## uruk hai (Apr 5, 2009)

Mick said:


> all this talk of hockey pucks amazes me. when you go to a tyre fitters (the majority of them at least), do you see them trial fitting a load of hockey pucks to the underside of your car for the right fit before jacking your car up? of course not.
> 
> 99% of the time the car comes out with no damage underneath. A hockey puck really is not necessary and just another thing to fiddle about with.


It's all personal choice mate, I did it because it cost hardly anything to buy and shape a puck and it suites me to use it. As you say though a hockey puck isn't necessary but neither is taking hours to jack the car up, remove, clean and seal the wheels but we do it and how much time does placing a puck on the crown of the jack actually add to the job ?


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## Mick (Jan 23, 2010)

uruk hai said:


> It's all personal choice mate, I did it because it cost hardly anything to buy and shape a puck and it suites me to use it. As you say though a hockey puck isn't necessary but neither is taking hours to jack the car up, remove, clean and seal the wheels but we do it and how much time does placing a puck on the crown of the jack actually add to the job ?


I dont disagree, which is why i said below the part you quoted that if it makes you feel better/safer to use one, the best to go for it :thumb:

learning where/how to jack a car properly without anything extra is just as good a solution though IMO


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## sfstu (Aug 3, 2010)

agreed with uruk hai above...:thumb: mine cost abou £3 and took 3 minutes to cut to shape then 5 secs to place on trolley jack...
and whilst i haven't seen tyre fitters messing about with different hockey pucks (i only use one-one size fits all), i _have_ seen damage done to underside of cars by them...:doublesho

want one of those arcan ally trolley jacks...:argie: the cup on that looks much flatter then the one on my halfrauds jack plus its rubber coated...


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

The Hockey Puck is a handy thing to have and enables you to lift on the factory lift points often on the welded lip easily.

*Arcan Jack very Nice, i did a mini review for mine a good while back...*

*Well thank's have to go to ChrisC once again for meeting me at Costco Sheffield to nab one of these...



















These have been in and out and up and down ( a bit like the jack itself...:lol: Stop Groaning...:lol in Price in Different stores.

Well the box is rather Large not surprising with the size of the Lift...:doublesho

Open the box by cutting the 2 heat sealed straps lift the box lid off to reveal 2 parts to the handle that simply clips to gether.
Remove the Jack from the Bit of packing there is...
Has a central bar to help carry it as well as the 2 side handles.
Although its aluminium the size over a standard jack negates the weight saving... however this style of jack compared to the metal of the same size im sure would be a hefty difference.

The handle drops into the opening for it going over the lift and lower valve and has a spin lock wheel to screw in at the back of the jack to hold the handle firmly in place.

Before inserting the handle there is just a bent metal clip to remove that is simply there to secure the lift arm while in transit will need a bit of a yank to get it out but needs must...:lol:

Unlike the normal cheap hydraulic jacks that have a valve on the side to lower or raise the Jack... These style have the valve actually activated by the turning of the handle.

A little disconcerting, for me anyway having not used this type before i was fearful of turning the Handle and lowering the lift.

However my concern was unfounded as even if you do inadvertently turn it you move about 20/25 degrease before it even starts to really catch to open if that makes sense and then another 15 or so until the valve is open enough for it to actually start falling.

Having used it a little now at no point did i open the valve accidentally.

So the Height while lowered at the lift plate end on my Old one is...120mm
The Height while lowered at the lift plate on the Arcan is....90mm to round up.

Now the old style takes 39 full strokes to get to full height of 345mm... not always possible to get full stroke dependent how far under the vehicle you are mind.

The Arcan takes 5 full strokes and not even that i made it 4.5 at which point i was full height, note all these are without a load on.
Giving a total height of 500mm.... I would love 600 or even 750mm... but still a good deal more over the old one there...:thumb:










Dimensions on the box...










In action...




























So in conclusion a very sturdy piece of kit not light if you compare to the old style lifts... But certainly lighter than its metal compatriots of the same size...:thumb:

Has a long reach under the car...:thumb:

Lifts fast and easily....:thumb:

Seams a sturdy piece of kit...:thumb:

Low lift height for when needed but also few strokes to get to contact height should you have a distance to reach before contact...:thumb:*


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## slim_boy_fat (Jun 23, 2006)

^^ I fully agree, they're brilliant bits of kit. :thumb:

Iirc, mine was £80-odd [inc VAT] a good while back.


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## slineclean (Dec 23, 2011)

£108 inclu vat for a machine Mart 1 1/4ton low entry alum jack


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## allgearnoidea (May 9, 2013)

sfstu said:


> mine cost abou £3 and took 3 minutes to cut to shape then 5 secs to place on trolley jack..


What did you use to shape the puck? Mine arrived today and tried a stanley knife quickly but nothing happened really as the rubber was so tough.


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## slineclean (Dec 23, 2011)

Someone selling them on eBay ( different types hence for different cars ) when can get on a laptop will put a link , think roughly £8 / £9 including postage. Think he's charging £4 for the postage


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## sfstu (Aug 3, 2010)

allgearnoidea said:


> What did you use to shape the puck? Mine arrived today and tried a stanley knife quickly but nothing happened really as the rubber was so tough.


Use a fine toothed saw like a metal cutting saw/hack saw to cut two slots and then a chisel to remove the middle...:thumb:


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## slim_boy_fat (Jun 23, 2006)

slineclean said:


> Someone selling them on eBay ( different types hence for different cars ) when can get on a laptop will put a link , think roughly £8 / £9 including postage. Think he's charging £4 for the postage


That sounds like the one I bought - shaped using a milling machine I think.


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## slineclean (Dec 23, 2011)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=251331837521&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:GB:1123


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