Replacing Bottle Jack for 98-11: Emergency Use Only

[holyford86]

Discos have them under the hood, the range rover I got mine out of had it in a foam insert inside the spare tire.

Discos are easy to see and get nabbed fast.

All of these are Discos, I'll still look though, gives me an excuse to go

 

[RangerJoey]

Man, this is all great advise - I'm glad I posted. I saw this deal and figured, "hey, it's got to be better than a 20+ year old OEM", right? Well last night, I finally found my OEM one. The point about the straddle is very real and when you reference it with the rear jack point in the manual, way more likely to stay put. Or at least compared to the flat-tops.

And the measurements. Supercab, clearly you're versed in Murphy's Law. It was a weird angle, but I measured around 7 3/4" from the bottom of the rear axle tube to the bottom of the rim. The one I linked in my first post requires about 8 1/4" as the minimum. So if the rim really is on the ground... It looks like the 2 Ton, (not on sale), would work, but you'd definitely need the additional wood to carry as it only lifts to just over 14 1/4". With no weight, I pumped the OEM one to around 17 1/2" inches. Maybe both measurements are outliers, but for now, I'm passing.

Thanks for all the input guys!

 

[Curious Hound]

There are adaptors to add to the bottle jack. For example;

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Bacm when cars had real bumpers you could use these...

Dont have to crawl under, and way eaiser and faster then a shitty scissor jack

 

[Snoranger]

Hi All,
I saw a Torin Big Red 6 Ton bottle jack on Amazon today for $21 and was thinking of picking one up to replace the OEM bottle jack for the 98-11 generation, (maybe applies to others as well). Luckily, I haven't had to use the OEM one, but given its age, I wouldn't mind throwing $20ish to a little assurance on getting something more reliable, (theoretically anyway).

You think a cheap hydraulic bottle jack is going to be more reliable than an old mechanical bottle jack that’s never been used?
I’d think that as long as rust isn’t an issue, that mechanical jack will sit there for a hundred years waiting to be used and not have an issue… but those seals in the hydraulic jack won’t last more than a few years.

 

[sgtsandman]

You think a cheap hydraulic bottle jack is going to be more reliable than an old mechanical bottle jack that’s never been used?
I’d think that as long as rust isn’t an issue, that mechanical jack will sit there for a hundred years waiting to be used and not have an issue… but those seals in the hydraulic jack won’t last more than a few years.

Yeah, one needs to work the hydraulic cylinder every so often and wipe the ram with a bit of hydraulic pump oil every so often to keep the seals lasting longer and prevent the ram from rusting where you don’t want it to rust.

 

[Curious Hound]

You think a cheap hydraulic bottle jack is going to be more reliable than an old mechanical bottle jack that’s never been used?
I’d think that as long as rust isn’t an issue, that mechanical jack will sit there for a hundred years waiting to be used and not have an issue… but those seals in the hydraulic jack won’t last more than a few years.

I don't mind the mechanical screw bottle Jack's. It's the cheap scissor Jacks I don't have any respect for.

 

[Snoranger]

I don't mind the mechanical screw bottle Jack's. It's the cheap scissor Jacks I don't have any respect for.

You mean the ones you grab from the junkyard to use as camper leveling jacks? People actually use those to lift cars?!?!

 

[Curious Hound]

You mean the ones you grab from the junkyard to use as camper leveling jacks? People actually use those to lift cars?!?!

I mean the ones that come in Ford Rangers and F150s. Yes. Never had a problem with one.

 

[Snoranger]

I mean the ones that come in Ford Rangers and F150s. Yes. Never had a problem with one.

I was talking about the scissor jacks and that they’re only good if you weld them to a trailer for use as a leveling jack.
I’ve always liked the mechanical bottle jacks that Ford uses in the pick ups.

 

[1990RangerinSK]

I have a piece of wood to act as a base plate for the factory and bottle jack. The point about the saddle on the factory one is a good one. A standard bottle jack is going to be more sketchy unless you use it on the frame or a flat surface.

I also slide the spare under the truck until I can get the flat tire off and then it goes under the truck.

I also have a pair of wheel chocks to keep the truck from rolling. The tire on the opposite side and end of the vehicle gets the chock.

Though I haven’t gotten one yet, places sell bottle jack adaptors with the y for the axle and front lower control arm horn. I know Amazon had them at one point. As far as the longer handle to keep you out from under the truck, you’re going to have to make your own. I haven’t seen anything ready made that is long enough.

Look under the hood of your truck, clipped to the rad support. I never used mine, but I assume it's long enough.

 

[1990RangerinSK]

Bacm when cars had real bumpers you could use these...

View attachment 84673

Dont have to crawl under, and way eaiser and faster then a shitty scissor jack

There's a reason those are no longer included with vehicles or made. They are laterally (side to side) unstable, and thus dangerous.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

There's a reason those are no longer included with vehicles or made. They are laterally (side to side) unstable, and thus dangerous.

Well that and everything has plastic bumpers now.

 

[4x4prepper]

Though I had a floor jack in my B2 when I went off road on an ATV trail, it was the stock bottle jack that saved my bacon, when I got high centered on a root and slide sideways down hill into a tree. I used the bottle jack to push me sideways and I inflated my tires to 35 psi to get off. I have one now in my 89 F-150 under the hood, I might add one now to go along with the floor jack I carry, now that the subject is brought up. Always handy for tipping small to medium sized leaning trees if you have to or pushing out bend metal.

 

[sgtsandman]

I don't mind the mechanical screw bottle Jack's. It's the cheap scissor Jacks I don't have any respect for.

The jack of one of the vehicles I owned slowly failed at the center pivot point on a scissor jack. Thankfully, I was only changing a tire or doing a tire rotation at the time. I’ve never trusted one after that.