Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Trolley Jack for 2009 Plus 4

Hello,

I am about to jack the car up to remove the rear wheels to paint the plywood panels that are now flaking. I wanted to do this by a trolley jack. Given the low lifting points on the chassis I am concerned to buy a correct and low (when unextended) trolley jack.

Can anyone recommend a brand and model for the task.

Thank you.

I've not found a trolley jack that won't lift a Morgan, they aren't that low. The aluminium alloy 'racing' jacks are quite nice, they are light and easy to use, and they have a rubber pad on them to prevent damage to paintwork. I got one from Machine Mart, but they are available all over the place, things like this: trolley jack

If you don't fancy paying 120 of Her Majesty's Imperial Credits, then you can get a much cheaper one from Halfords

Whatever you go for, do not under any circumstances work on your car when it is supported solely by a trolley jack. The only purpose of a trolley jack is to lift the car high enough to get axle stands underneath, and to lower the car safely onto those stands.

If your Plus 4 has got 195/60R15 tyres you will have less than 3.5 inch clearance.
You will struggle to get a 'normal' hydraulic Jack under the car.
If you have a rear flat tyre even with the Machine Mart Racing Jack that Tim suggests (I have a rebadged version,lots about, get one with a foam protector on the shaft) you will need to run the wheel over a block of wood in order to get the jack underneath the car.

To protect the underbody panel, I usually jack up the rear from the middle of the differential, and use axel stands for safety.

I always jack from the rear under the centre of the rear crossmember, there's a good 6" or more of clearance on my 4/4.

Good point about a flat tyre, though. When I've had a puncture I've always used the scissor jack from the toolkit to get the car lifted enough to change the wheel.

On the more recent Plus 4s, the rear crossmember is covered by some bodywork, which means if you use that as a jacking point the body work will get damaged.

Ah, didn't know that. Thanks Ian.

Good info here from GoMoG

Except that it's out of date - as Wirewheel has pointed out, the newer cars have body work at the rear that prevents the rear crossmember being used as a jacking point.

That's looks sensible. I was always taught not to use the diff. case as a jacking point as it could lead to all sorts of problems.

This is my problem and because of it I've avoided raising the rear of the car.
Can someone share where the trolley jack (or scissors jack) should be positioned?
A picture would be really helpful.

Do others take Wirewheel 's approach and use the centre of the differential, I always thought that was a no no?
Andy