What have you done to your car today?

;)
ShiWarrior said:
Is that an audi quatro ?
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silly boy.

pretty nice spoiler though ;)

Love the old Mk3. Tried to buy an RS1600i a couple of times back in the day, but many were rough/rotten even back then. The prices now are ridiculous, was looking at a Turbo recently and they wanted over 20k!! Some are advertised nearer 30k and even above. Crazy.
 
Yesterday I started working through some bits that I've had sat in the garage for a couple of months :)

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Took the car out for a spin earlier before the snow started, and then hosed off the huge amount of salt that it had collected!

Now sat in the garage with a heater to dry it off
 
What cheap trolley jack/axle stands do people recommend? Other than changing oil/filters by putting a wheel up on the kerb, I've not done anything else with the car.
Thought I'd have a hand at some stuff myself instead of paying for it as it's a 13 year old Ford Focus.
I need to replace the front anti roll bar links which doesn't look too hard to do, and also have a look at the rear brake drum as it's both grinding at the start of the journey and sometimes sticking when I put the handbrake on overnight.
It's actually done this for a while, but a bit more more recently. I thought it might have come up at the last MOT 4 months ago, even as advisory but it didn't, which makes me think it doesn't need to be replaced, just cleaned out?
Is this good enough? https://www.sgs-engineering.com/tj2c-js-2-trolley-jack-with-case-axle-stands
Or should I get something from somewhere else? I will probably only use it once a year and maybe rotate tyres as I've never done that before. But if it isn't going to last then I might as well spend the little bit extra.
 
Nobody should be recommending cheap trolley jacks or axle stands, especially axle stands.

I've seen the pins snap, I've seen the pin tear through the body of the stand, ive seen the welds fail and a leg collapse.

Those SGS ones are OK though so I hear, but I am more comfortable using the ones with a chunky metal ratcheting system, with a backup pin. E.g https://www.amazon.co.uk/HEYNER-Pre...1&keywords=axle+stands&qid=1611864574&sr=8-10

That said, if you're just using them to rotate tyres, rather than spending long periods on your back underneath the car, I'd worry less about the quality.

As for a jack, I have this. Its pretty good. And you wont lose it. :D
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-2001LEHV-2tonne-Trolley-Rocket/dp/B01IDLCAAK/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?dchild=1&qid=1611864693&refinements=p_4:Sealey&s=automotive&sr=1-1

The cheap little £30 jobbies like to give up and burst seals and slowly let the car down on their own after a while and generally just arent great.

Im sure there is a middle ground though. I think there are decent £50 - £70 light duty jacks that are pretty stout.
 
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I have a sealy jack which I remember cost me around 80 quid. Great jack, but I haven't used it for quite a while.
 
Acme said:
Nobody should be recommending cheap trolley jacks or axle stands, especially axle stands.

I've seen the pins snap, I've seen the pin tear through the body of the stand, ive seen the welds fail and a leg collapse.

Those SGS ones are OK though so I hear, but I am more comfortable using the ones with a chunky metal ratcheting system, with a backup pin. E.g https://www.amazon.co.uk/HEYNER-Pre...1&keywords=axle+stands&qid=1611864574&sr=8-10

That said, if you're just using them to rotate tyres, rather than spending long periods on your back underneath the car, I'd worry less about the quality.

As for a jack, I have this. Its pretty good. And you wont lose it. :D
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-2001LEHV-2tonne-Trolley-Rocket/dp/B01IDLCAAK/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?dchild=1&qid=1611864693&refinements=p_4:Sealey&s=automotive&sr=1-1

The cheap little £30 jobbies like to give up and burst seals and slowly let the car down on their own after a while and generally just arent great.

Im sure there is a middle ground though. I think there are decent £50 - £70 light duty jacks that are pretty stout.
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Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I don't mean SUPER cheap where safety is compromised. I definitely won't go that low! I've heard some ok things about SGS and this pair has double pins so thought they might be ok.
I read the ratchet ones are less safe? But I guess the safety pin takes care of it accidentally coming off. They do look a lot more substantial than the ones I linked. I've emailed sales to ask when they might be in stock.

Do you have those Heyner ones or were you just showing an example? They might be an option if the SGS ones aren't in stock for a while.

Yeah I won't really be under the car much, but for the sake of £10-20 might as well get better ones that will last a lifetime.

That trolley jack looks good, I really like the green! I can get the red one for £105 though, so a decent price.
I'm happy to spend the extra though, especially as you say the cheap ones aren't really built to last. Plus they go lower/higher should I need to in future, and twin pistons for being that little bit quicker.

Vita said:
I have a sealy jack which I remember cost me around 80 quid. Great jack, but I haven't used it for quite a while.
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+1 for Sealey then.

Not currenty in stock, but I have also found this:
https://www.costco.co.uk/Tyres-Auto...on-Steel-Service-Jack-Model-XL2750EU/p/254971
Probably not worth the extra £35 over the Sealey though, as it seems basically the same?
 
VaderDSL said:
I got these from SGS https://www.sgs-engineering.com/tjl2jsr-low-entry-trolley-jack-axle-stands they are the ratchet stands version, and they're pretty good. Just use it for inspecting tyres/cleaning etc. just general use.
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That looks pretty decent for light work, the jack is one of the cheapies though. Im sure it will be "fine" if its not going to be in constant use.

My axle stands are Sealey and they are good, but they are probably 20 years old now. The new ones look visually similar but I don't know if they are as good. The fact they are £15 each worries me slightly I'll be honest!
 
Booked mine in for it's yearly service. Lockdowns have meant I've been able to avoid having to service it twice a year based on 10k miles which is a bonus.
 
Got it in, arrived with some lens damage which I tried to buff out but not perfect. Got a refund and after testing this out have ordered another.

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