I have a 2000 Golf, and had my first occasion to use my jack today. Got a
roofing nail in the tire.

I couldn't find anything that looked promising for a jack placement. The
manual said it was 8.6" up from the rear wheel well. I put the jack there
and it seemed to work okay, but there didn't seem to be anything special
about 8.6" over 7.6" or 9.6". Is there a marking that I missed?

(I found the nail and pulled it out before taking the tire off. Sometimes
they hold air, but not today. The disconcerting thing is that the nail fell
to the garage floor and I couldn't find it despite looking for it for half
an hour. Geez, how far could it have gone? Can't wait to "find" it
again...)

assuming the top of the jack is kinda -u- shaped, there's usually a bit of
the lip on the sill that's slightly thicker and sticks down a little bit.
that's where the jack goes.


"toller" <toller (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote

Look for a little triangular impression on the running board, the jack will
go somewhere there, on that thin channel under the car. There is a flatter
spot where the jack hooks in to.... I don't like the VW jack and how it
affixes to the car at all - I always think it's going to collapse whenever I
use it.
"toller" <toller (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote

I've seen it referred to as "the Widowmaker" jack once or twice - POS design
IMO.

I.

For sure... I was just rotating tires on the car and I could just see it
shakeing and flexing... Had the spare tire under the car just in case...
Definately investing in a proper jack for next time... I wish my Volvo's
jack worked on the VW, but it doesn't.

"Iain Miller" <donot (AT) spam (DOT) me> wrote

"Rob Guenther" <robertguenther (AT) nospamsympatico (DOT) ca> wrote

Not sure about late model VWs but my '91 GTI and my '00 Eurovan have the
same-design jack (the EV's jack is the same as my GTI's but just larger) and
it's crap. Yeah it takes up a small amount of space when stowed but when
using it ont he car I'm always amazed at how tipsy it looks.

Matt B. wrote:
I believe that is the point. It LOOKS tipsy. Used correctly it
always seems to work well.

Of course it is good to remember it is not intended as a work jack, it
is intended to emergency repair of flats. While I have used it occasionally
for work when my floor jack, ramps and jack stands were not enough for some
reason, I very seldom have used it.

I suspect it is sturdy enough for the usual owner's needs. Looks can be
deceiving. I would rather trust it than some super cheap jack from Harbor
Freight.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

My 91 and 99.5 and 2003 all have the same crappy jack.

The jack for our 1993 Volvo is marginally more space inefficient (but Volvo
mounts it in a nicer spot in its own holster with tether strap... not in
cheap styrofoam container) but it's a LOT safer, very stable.
"Matt B." <noway (AT) hellno (DOT) com> wrote

"Joseph Meehan" <sligojoe_Spamno (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote

It works, but it's still kinda creaky...definitely less stable than other
OEM jacks that I've used.