I have found in the past that the Clarke trolley jacks do need to be serviced more frequently than others.

The one i've just retired has had one set of new seals and three oil changes (yes, that is a thing). Each time it was like a new jack again for a few years. Now that i'm not raising light weight French tin off the deck i decided it was about time for something bigger.

I bought the Arcan 2t alloy jack from costco for £80. Very impressed with it, it throws the Freelander in the air with ease. My only concern is the lifting pad is a bit on the large size for european cars so I might have to fashion up another.

hi that looks like a decent jack, it doesnt lift as high as the sgs, but dont forget its another £20 on top of the sgs price.

At the weekend I changed my haldex, it took ages to get the car onto 4 axle stands, partly because the jack was such hard work.

Then the release screw snapped, but fair play to machine mart I called them today and they are coming to collect it on thursday, but then its only 5 months old and this is the second time that it has been back to them.

Once the jack is fixed i may keep it for the caravan or sell it and give the money to one of my partners animal charities.

What I dont understand is I have an old 2 ton trolley jack, its at least ten years old, and it works perfectly however to use it on the freelander is a pain because its too low, but then it did only cost about £15.

I have included a couple of pics of the old haldex, I dont know what wrong with it but I am going to test the pump
I dont know why but i was expecting the ecu to be blown or something but it looks fine

Click image to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

Vanny wrote:

I have found in the past that the Clarke trolley jacks do need to be serviced more frequently than others.

The one i've just retired has had one set of new seals and three oil changes (yes, that is a thing). Each time it was like a new jack again for a few years. Now that i'm not raising light weight French tin off the deck i decided it was about time for something bigger.

I bought the Arcan 2t alloy jack from costco for £80. Very impressed with it, it throws the Freelander in the air with ease. My only concern is the lifting pad is a bit on the large size for european cars so I might have to fashion up another.

weekender wrote:

hi all, thanks for the input, I have gone for the sgs 3 ton garage jack and 2 of their ratchet axle stands.

i am going to sent the other one back to machine mart, its only 6 months old

hi jules, i have started to replace my handbrake shoes today, i put the jack under the car and because the bar is so long i could jack the car up in one go and then put an axle stand under the cill jacking point,


i would never work just under a jack, but i use the jack for safety in-case the axle stand fails.

changing the hand brake shoes is a pig of a job, on my car the adjuster was seized so i had to force the disc off, however the shoes were cracked so they needed to be binned anyway.

i have gone for discs that are coated so they dont rust, i havent fitted that type before

impressive looking jack, just out of interest as a newbie to Freelander 2, has ANYONE tried to jack one up with the jack provided perhaps in an emergency wheel swap out in the wilds, the thought of it scares me

The standard jack is ok under certain conditions. That is the car is more or less level, and that the jack foot has a decent base If you are off-road I've got a couple of pieces of 3/4" ply in each car . One of our Aussie contributors on here published a nice picture a while ago , he had made plates to spread the load out of Aluminium Chequer Plate and nuts and bolts .

For changing a wheel on the drive the standard jack will do the job. 2009 GS Auto Zermatt Silver - Sold June 21 after 10 years of ownership

2016 Subaru Outback SE 2.0 diesel SE Premium Lineartronic Sold 2024 after 8 years and 80k miles . Best Car I ever owned !

2023 Toyota Hilux invincible X 2.8 Auto .

Thanks for that Martyn

No real knowledge of these Lightwater but seems like a good idea out in the Bondu or other uses.

 FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

Lightwater wrote:

Click image to enlarge

Copying these is on my list of " projects for the early retired person"  2009 GS Auto Zermatt Silver - Sold June 21 after 10 years of ownership

2016 Subaru Outback SE 2.0 diesel SE Premium Lineartronic Sold 2024 after 8 years and 80k miles . Best Car I ever owned !

2023 Toyota Hilux invincible X 2.8 Auto .

hi martin, thanks for the input, you really wouldnt believe how much easier it is to jack the car up with the sgs jack.

its a lot wider, that makes it more stable, the jacking bar is much longer which gives more leverage and make jacking easier.



for example my dpf sensor was throwing up a dtc, I jacked the car up according to the recommendations and put 2 ramps under the wheels. that was my saturday job. jacking it up was easy.


on sunday i fitted new rear discs and pads and handbrake shoes, i put the jack in the recommended place and jacked it up in one go, then rested the car back on axle stands.

for £104 i got the jack and 2 3 ton axle stands, if you do jobs on your car then the sgs jack is a bargain.

the only down side is that its blood heavy, when machine mart return the jack i will keep it as a break down jack.

as i said thanks for the input

If you can find a NIKE trolley jack it'll last you a lifetime, and your kids'

I've had one for over 25 years now, works like new

I've jacked up the motor with the standard jack and it works fine for emergencies

or CG style
 At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race