Jack disaster

Hi folks
Made a major schoolboy error today. Removing front wheels so i jacked up the jimny on the jacking point on the front axle. I never put any axle stands underneath and the jack slipped off. Luckily for me i wasnt underneath, but the jack caught a metal rod in front of the differential and bent it badly. Now my jimny drives awful, is pulling strongly to the left and in order to keep it straight, the steering wheel is turned to the right and not straight. I have attachef photos of the damage. Is that the panhard rod I've bent?

Yes that is the panhard rod.

Take it off and straighten it, probably best to get a new one on order as bending and straightening could weaken it.

The bend has made it short, so the axle is out of line to the right, and the steering is pushed to the left.

Never mind.  No-one hurt and it's a bolt-on part.

Thanks guys. I took it off and straightened it as best I could. Not an easy job at all! It's still slightly bent and pulling to the left a little bit but way better than before.

I think i will order an adjustable one to replace it. Can't seem to locate the price for an OEM part or even the part number but there are adjustable ones available.

What sort of jack are you using? Can I suggest you buy a trolley jack? If using a bottle jack, then one with a saddle to go round the axle tube is the safest way, but only use a bottle jack on solid level ground.

Yes it was a trolley jack. I must have been careless with how it was positioned on the axle which led to it slipping off when i jacked it up to a high level. A silly mistake that i won't make again, you live and learn!

Wailin wrote:

Hi folks
Made a major schoolboy error today. Removing front wheels so i jacked up the jimny on the jacking point on the front axle. I never put any axle stands underneath and the jack slipped off. Luckily for me i wasnt underneath, but the jack caught a metal rod in front of the differential and bent it badly. Now my jimny drives awful, is pulling strongly to the left and in order to keep it straight, the steering wheel is turned to the right and not straight. I have attachef photos of the damage. Is that the panhard rod I've bent?

There are no jacking points on the front axle. The jacking points are on the radial arms. There is a little nib around the middle of the arm where the jack should be placed.

There is a jacking point on both axles if using a trolley jack. Those radial arm points are for the supplied jack in the boot. See photo and also owners manual.

It won't do any harm to jack at the nub on the radius arm, provided the trolley jack head is a shape that won't slip.

Wailin wrote:

There is a jacking point on both axles if using a trolley jack. Those radial arm points are for the supplied jack in the boot. See photo and also owners manual.
 

I only ever jack on the radius arms and use a trolley jack, mind my trolley jack has a traditional round cup with castellated walls so fits the radius arm under the nub.  I assume that for the axle you will need a 'v' shaped head, unless it has a flat plate?

Since I don't trust my jack I always put an axle stand under the radius arm if the wheel is off for more than 5 minutes.

Robin

My goto jack is this one. It came out of a "Classic" RangeRover.

 

I bought one of those 4x4 trolley jacks that go up a long way, but I rarely use it as it is one of those "quick lift" monstrosities that you can't press hard enough to activate the quicklift mechanism when you are close enough to the jack to see where it is going.

If you don't want to go adjustable replacement (it's something you need to setup anyway) phone around local engineering firms / engine Engineers and ask if they can help straighten your OEM one. It's not that bent and anyone with a hydraulic press and a flat surface can get it straight again. It's not made of anything special, more than upto a repair.
Just another option, pleased nobody was hurt.