Place of repair
A well-lit garage with plenty of space is best for car maintenance work. In warm, dry weather, a platform with hard ground in the fresh air is also suitable. Before work, you must carefully sweep the place you have chosen so that you do not get dirty again and be able to find small parts if they fall on the site.
Be careful when handling gasoline and oil on dirt and asphalt. These liquids are destructive to these surfaces. In addition, the asphalt under the rays of the sun can soften, resulting in dents from the jack and other devices. If there is a drain or sewer hatch nearby, you should cover it during work, otherwise some small parts may get there. If you have a viewing hole, then you need to pay attention to the following: gasoline and other volatile substances can cause the accumulation of harmful gases in a poorly ventilated area. Be careful when working with open flames and when smoking! Also remember that when the engine is running, exhaust gases enter the inspection hole, which can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning.
Note. Often after work on the ground there are traces of oil. To remove them, use dishwashing detergents. Special oil stain cleaners cope with this problem even better.
Attention! Always keep the vehicle stationary!
Car jacks are intended only for lifting the vehicle. They are by no means a sufficiently reliable support for work under the bottom of the machine. Therefore, never work under the bottom of the machine without additional support! Otherwise, the repair may cost you your life. In order to properly secure the vehicle, it is necessary, among other things, to place blocks under the wheels so that the vehicle cannot roll.
- 1 - support points for a car jack and lift, as well as additional support points, for example, installation on tripods;
- 2 - support points for a mobile jack (be sure to place a hard board or rubber under the door threshold to distribute pressure);
- 3 - support points for a mobile jack with a cross member to distribute the load. In this case, special attention must be paid to ensure that protruding parts of the engine, such as, for example, the exhaust pipe and the cross member, do not come into contact. Therefore, a corresponding notch must be made on the cross member.
Tripods are an addition to the jack. Other vehicle lifting devices may cause the tripod to stall. The most successful position of the tripod is the position in which one of its supports is outside, and the other two are inside relative to the edge of the car body. When buying, pay attention to the fact that the area on which the tripod rests is not too small. Be careful not to damage the body metal when using tripods.
Using a repair trestle is the most reliable way to set up a machine for repair. The car in this case is very reliable. It is also important that the overpass provides a good overview and allows, if necessary, to move the car back or forward. The disadvantage is that when entering the overpass, the front spoiler can be damaged. To provide additional safety, recesses should be made on the overpass for fixing the wheels. Cheap overpass options often do not have these recesses.
Left: For large installation work, use extendable tripods. This is a good, but, nevertheless, not quite reliable stand. Position the tripod so that one of its legs is perpendicular to the machine body to prevent tipping (as shown in the photo on the right): when using a mobile jack «outside» of the prescribed fulcrum, be sure to place a wooden beam between the jack and the door threshold to evenly distribute the load, in order to avoid deformation of the threshold.
Car jack
Regular car jack: with it, you can raise your Renault 19 to the height necessary for most repairs. By placing something under the jack, you can further increase the height of the lift.
When installing a jack, it is necessary to put a small board under it so that its heel does not push through the ground.
Screw car jack: it makes sense to purchase only a good jack of this type. Such a vehicle jack is particularly suitable when the bodywork is damaged at the jack's support points.
Hydraulic car jack: it's really worth buying. A clear advantage is that the machine can be quickly lifted with a hydraulic jack. Before buying, it is recommended to check the lifting height of the jack. If it's too small, you won't be able to get the wheels off the ground, and if you buy a jack that's too big, you won't be able to fit it under the bottom of the car.
Mobile car jack: If you decide to buy this type of jack, it is important to choose a jack with an additional high lift foot pedal. For those who decide to repair their car themselves, a short, small jack of this type will do, which can easily be inserted under the bottom of the car. It should be noted that a jack with small wheels will not be able to move easily under load. It is also necessary to securely fasten the jack under the bottom of the car so that it can be maneuvered with it.