Hydraulic bottle Jack

Why do you want to replace it in the first place?
It's only new.

My Rodeo has the same jack by the sound of it. (Screw type bottle jack) It works fine and I have used it to remove a completely flat tyre on the beach as well as to help out in the garage.

You have to be careful with some hydraulic bottle jacks as they will leak oil if you lay them on their side. Which is the usual position in a standard car spot.

Utemad

You should use a "block of wood" anyway.. When your out in the bush, if the ground is soft, and the jack sinks - which it will on sods law, your fubar.

I use a 12x12x3inch block of wood. Works a treat.. Also have a small groove in it to sit the wheelnuts.

YMMV

This any good - http://www.4wdworld.com.au/products/bushrang/exhaust.htm

Drew,

As pointed out above, I would love to hear your reason for changing the jack.

I had cause to remove the front drivers side wheel the other week. Had to remove all the clay from my little adventure that had worked its way into the back of the alloys and was throwing the wheel balance out.

Parked on level concrete I stuck the jack underneath and started winding. There was 10" of free space before the jack touched the bottom of the chassis rail. After reading Roachies comments then this would obviously be a bit different if the tyre was completely flat. When I got to the top of the jack the tyre was still just touching the ground with enough weight that I could not get it off the studs. I let it down again and stuck a 2' block under it. This time it was fine. The Cooper AT's are about 10mm bigger in radius than the originals so that must be the difference.

The jack was pretty slow though. A slightly faster one would be good. If there was a 3 stage version that was the same size it would be perfect I reckon. Let me know if you find one.

Cheers

Steven

Toyota has been making that type of jack for nearly 30 years, never seen one break yet. Would never rely on a hydraulic jack alone, the original jack with a larger base would be nearly as solid as a stand. The comment on laying hydraulic jacks on their side is valid too, any decent ones will have an arrow on the side to keep uppermost when using them sideways, cheap ones won't.
I'd keep the original and carry the hydraulic one as an additional spare, two jacks might get you out of trouble one day.

Drew T

I agree with Peter 2 that 2 jacks are better than one. And I feel for your position - I did a similar thing a few years ago with my Patrol. The mechanical screw jacks are Blood&*^$#%^!! hopeless, especially if there is a serious weight to lift. And on a new 4 x 4 a highlift jack is (unfortunately) useless, so that is not a realistic option...........

Anyhow, what I now do is carry the bull bag/power jack/exhaust jack, and use it in sand/bogs etc if stuck. If necessary I will use it to change a wheel or assist with a lift prior to using the bottle jack.

But for changing a wheel in road or track circumstances, I use a 6 t bottle jack. I have a 30 cm extension arm for the pumping handle so I am nort risking things by lying under the vehicle while jacking. I find this set up at least halves the time to swap a tyre over & I get less frustrated. I also carry a strong (read : not Super Cheap $ 6.00) wheel brace, with the correct socket end distinguished by a bit of paint sprayed on the arm & nut housing. And I carry two x HARDWOOD 3 " blocks of timber.

So here's how:
1) acknowledge that if the tyre is dead flat or v low, you may have to take 2 bites at the cherry. Jack as best possible, or use the exhaust jack; Use the blocks of timber to rest the vehicle on. MAKE SURE IT IS STABLE: DO NOT GET UNDERNEATH, prior to your second elevation/bite of the cherry.
2 ) NORMAL SCENARIO: get your base plate out, put the block of HARDWOOD on the base plate; put bottle jack on top of that - position it under the chassis/axle - screw the extension out as far as possible before utilising the hydraulics, & go for it.

Use a hidey-hole in the rear compartment/under a seat/ etc to store base plate & the block(s) of Hardwood. Store it out of the way 'cos although it has to be accessible, the main criteria is convenience of utilisation of space, not the ability to change tyres. By that i mean if you acess rear for fridge/camping /cooking/personal/food etc items, you will do this 100 times for every time you need the jack. So they are numer uno. not a lousy jack.

Hope this helps

I just bought a bottle jack from thompsons spare parts(brisbane)for the troopy . Trade quality and they have all the spare parts . 5000kgs swl for $60 .

Drew,

Sounds to me like you need a 2-stage jack. I have a MASADA HPD4NG. Made in Japan, not China, and has a two-year warranty. 150mm down and jacks up to 340mm. 2000kg rated. Was 4000kg rated, but under revised AS standards the second stage of a 2-stage jack has to be halved in rating. A touch expensive, at $135, but you get what you pay for. Works fine for the Cruiser, but I keep my standard jack in its hidey-hole as well.
Lyle