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So I was trying to put my winters on and the first 3 wheels went no problem, using a 3 ton floor jack with a max height of 18.5 inches.
When I got to the last wheel, the passenger rear, I can't get it off the ground. I tried to provided scissor jack as well and maxed it out with the wheel still solid on the grou.d
Here's a picture of the scissor jack maxed out and the max height of my floor jack. The body just goes height but the wheel barely moves. Anyone have any ideas??
Max jack height Floor jacks maxed height of 18.5 inches - still not enough.
You're probably at a lower point on the floor where the jack is positioned as the car is parked right now. Do you have a drain in the garage, and if you do, is it close to the jack in the current position?
Either way, there's a few things you can try:
- Turn the car around (back in the garage if the car was driven in nose first or vice-versa).
- Lay a 2x4 flat under the scissor jack.
- Do both of these things together.
You're probably at a lower point on the floor where the jack is positioned as the car is parked right now. Do you have a drain in the garage, and if you do, is it close to the jack in the current position?
Either way, there's a few things you can try:
- Turn the car around (back in the garage if the car was driven in nose first or vice-versa).
- Lay a 2x4 flat under the scissor jack.
- Do both of these things together.
I'd be surprised if that didn't work.
I'll give it a try.
I thought about the garage floor. It has no drain and it's very level. I can try backing it in and using a 2x4 for sure, but I'm really more curious about why this wheel had been such a struggle compared to the others which just went up easy. I was able to get those a few inches off the ground with lift to spare but this one's still pretty solid on the ground maxed out.
Don’t try this unless you’re experienced working on cars, but you can place a jack (or jackstand) under the suspension arms and when you do that, 1” of jacking = tire 1” off the floor. It prevents suspension droop. Or, as mentioned, put your jack on something that raises it before you start jacking the truck.
As to “why” it happened on only one of them, yeah, it’s either because that one has some sort of slope or divot that makes the jack lower relative to the contact patch of the tire, OR you have some sort of broken suspension piece that allows the one wheel to droop lower than the others. Not knowing anything about the working of the Defender’s suspension and its individual parts, I have no idea what that could be.
Don’t try this unless you’re experienced working on cars, but you can place a jack (or jackstand) under the suspension arms and when you do that, 1” of jacking = tire 1” off the floor. It prevents suspension droop. Or, as mentioned, put your jack on something that raises it before you start jacking the truck.
As to “why” it happened on only one of them, yeah, it’s either because that one has some sort of slope or divot that makes the jack lower relative to the contact patch of the tire, OR you have some sort of broken suspension piece that allows the one wheel to droop lower than the others. Not knowing anything about the working of the Defender’s suspension and its individual parts, I have no idea what that could be.
Good luck!
My first thought is that there was a broken suspension piece but looking at it everything looks fine and there's never been any rattling or anything odd. I know nothing about a Defenders suspension and it's far more complicated than anything I've worked on.
Stick it in access height, lower the back end to the minimum and turn off the vehicle. Leave it unlocked and let it go to sleep for a bit. The suspension won't act in an active way and you can do your thing on the 4 wheels with it collapsing back to minimum height after each wheel is done.
Air suspension will play games with you. I've had the same issue.
I've taken the wheels off probably 15 times for various reasons so am a little familiar with the jacking. Used my floor jack and the OEM scissors jack.
I doubt there is any suspension fault with no light on the dash.
Do we even know the OP has air suspension? I spy white OEM steelies in the picture so that means a base car which means there is a good chance he is on steel springs.
Stick it in access height, lower the back end to the minimum and turn off the vehicle. Leave it unlocked and let it go to sleep for a bit. The suspension won't act in an active way and you can do your thing on the 4 wheels with it collapsing back to minimum height after each wheel is done. Air suspension will play games with you. I've had the same issue. I've taken the wheels off probably 15 times for various reasons so am a little familiar with the jacking. Used my floor jack and the OEM scissors jack. I doubt there is any suspension fault with no light on the dash.
^This. Once in access height, push the suspension lower button again to lock it in access height. Then leave a door slightly open, that stops the suspension from playing games. Our old LR4 would always adjust the suspension height when jacked if you didn't leave a door open.
Do we even know the OP has air suspension? I spy white OEM steelies in the picture so that means a base car which means there is a good chance he is on steel springs.
Sorry, yes I have air suspension and a lot of other add-ons.You're right that It is a 90S P300 but with a lot of the extra options. I thought it was obvious from the photo it had air suspension but I really should have been more specific.
^This. Once in access height, push the suspension lower button again to lock it in access height. Then leave a door slightly open, that stops the suspension from playing games. Our old LR4 would always adjust the suspension height when jacked if you didn't leave a door open.
So I lowered it and left it for a while and it did the trick for me.
I had been leaving it in normal height with the door open but I lowered it this time as recommended and let it sit for a while until everything shut off. Then it behaved much more like the other wheels.
Off topic but after my experience changing the tires with the 8 jacking points and their accessibility I'm going to get one of those powerbuilt combo bottle jacks and stands. That should make it a lot easier as I can jack and stand it on the same pinch weld and the clearance is about 21 inches.
10-06-2022 | 08:23 PM
Can't jack one wheel off the ground
