MotoHomer Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 Just picking up on reference elsewhere on this Forum and in October's MMM to difficulties removing and replacing the rear wheels on these Mk6 Transit based vans I'm interested whether anyone has experienced such problems when using the A-S supplied jack extension in the manner specified by A-S? I've been given to understand that in these circs removal should be straightforward although I continue to eye the limited clearance with suspicion. As may be gathered, I've not yet had the pleasure of attempting this (and if Fate is reading I don't want it thanks). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul2 Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 If it was me i would go for a dry run at home Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 No experience of Fords but I have found that to jack under the chassis rather than close to the wheel under the suspension causes the suspension to decompress and the wheel to drop and thus gives a lot more clearance. I always carry and use a 3 ton trolley jack for this as it is a bit more secure and a lot less knuckle scraping too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 To change a Transit Mk 6 rear wheel, the Ford-recommended rear jacking points for a RWD variant (as used for all Auto-Sleepers Ford-based coachbuilt motorhomes) are on the underside of the rear axle. Conversely, on certain heavier FWD Mk 6 Transits, the rear jacking points are beneath each rear eye of the rear leaf springs. In the latter case the standard Ford-supplied scissors-jack is too short and, to gain the necessary extra lifting-height, Ford provides a hefty cast alloy 'block' for the jack to sit on. This block normally comes stored within the well of the spare wheel and (based on what a Ravenna owner once told me) is probably the "jack extension" being referred to. The alloy block is not officially required to change a rear wheel on RWD Transits, but I suppose it's possible that Ford supplies it as standard for RWD vehicles as well as FWD ones. (I'm a mite doubtful that Auto-Sleepers would provide it out of the goodness of their heart!) Whatever the case, unless a non-RWD Transit jacking technique is employed involving the jack being placed beneath the rear spring (or perhaps beneath the chassis itself), using the block won't help. If you jack a RWD Transit-based coachbuilt motorhome using the rear axle jacking-point and, having lifted the rear wheel well clear of the ground, it proves impossible to extract the wheel from within the wheel arch, then adding to the jack's lifting-height capability won't make a scrap of difference. Jacking beneath the rear axle naturally causes the rear wheel to 'climb' into the wheel arch above it, and the higher you jack the vehicle the deeper into the wheel-arch area the wheel will go. Jacking beneath a rear leaf-spring eye (or on the chassis) will cause the chassis to rise and the rear wheel to 'fall' out of the wheel arch. I used to be able to change the rear wheels on my RWD Mk 5 Transit-based Herald using the Ford-supplied jack and jacking beneath the rear axle. This involved lifting the wheel clear of the ground then pushing the lowest part of the wheel inwards towards the vehicle's centre line. This action caused the top of the wheel to move outwards and the whole thing to 'swivel' around the brake-drum. Replacing the wheel demanded a vice-versa procedure. It was an unnatural and muscle-taxing technique, but it did work with Transit Mk 5 Heralds and it might well work with Mk 6 coachbuilt Auto-Sleepers. I don't know if the rear wheels of Transit Mk 7-based coachbuilts are easier to change purely as a result of their rear disk brakes, but I somehow doubt it. Basically, if you own a Transit coachbuilt motorhome (RWD or FWD) and any part of the rear wheel is 'masked' by the rear wheel arch, then you'd better beware when it comes to rear wheel-changing using the standard jack. Eura Mobil's Transit FWD Mk 6-based "Profila" range had about the upper third of the rear wheels buried inside the wheel arch and I've been told that it can be a real game to remove/replace the rear wheels on these models even if you've got workshop jacking facilities. Eura Mobil probably got moans about this, as Transit Mk 7-based Profilas with otherwise similar bodywork have a radically different rear wheel arch design that exposes the complete rear wheel. Even if the rear wheels aren't masked you may have to watch out. As I've mentioned before, I can't change a rear wheel on my Transit Mk 6 FWD Hobby motorhome using the Ford-supplied jack and Ford-recommended technique as the vehicle's double-leaf rear springs have no 'eyes' to place the jack securely beneath. I can change the wheels, but not in the way I'd like to or how Ford advises I should do it. I also discovered, when I did an at-home practice, that it was near-as-dammit impossible to lower (and definitely impossible to raise) the spare wheel using the Ford-supplied tool. As paul2 suggests, the only way to find out how difficult it might be to carry out a DIY wheel-change is to try it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David B Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Anyone know what the response is of e.g. AA, RAC, or similar recovery firms if you call them out to change a wheel following a puncture? Are you covered, or do they charge extra? I have often thought that I would walk off down the road and let my wife phone and plead for help! I have tried taking the rear wheel off my A/S Nuevo Boxer, but it was not possible with the standard jack. I needed an extra jack on the rear axle to raise up the suspension enough to get the wheel off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 The AA and RAC always use to help if you were physically unable to use the jack and wheel brace due to the weight and/or tightness of the wheel nuts or due to physical limitations due to health, gender or age. However they do get a bit p*ssed off, and rightly so, if you have no tools and/or no spare wheel or a deflated spare. If you have doubts why not phone them and ask what their policies are? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little-jack Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 I notice tha Geist have removable panels over the rear wheels, certainly on the twin wheel models, to facilitate wheel removal, which otherwise looks pretty near impossible... od course they dont supply a spare wheel ... but thats another thread for another day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotoHomer Posted October 6, 2009 Author Share Posted October 6, 2009 Thanks to all especially Derek for his "tome" and to little-jack for making me smile with his apt ID! It all sounds a bit iffy. Best clear the drive I think...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 MotoHomer Just for the record, can you confirm please that the "jack extension" you mentioned originally is in fact the alloy block thingie? It would also be interesting to learn what Auto-Sleepers advises technique-wise when it comes to changing rear wheels on their Transit Mk 6-based coachbuilt models, just in case they've come up with a magic solution. (If you are going to practice a wheel-change just using the standard jack, I strongly suggest you 'pack' progressively under the chassis, or axle, as you go along. Railway sleepers or strong concrete blocks should be OK as packing. That way, if the jack fails or the motorhome topples off the jack when you are trying to remove/replace the wheel, the vehicle won't be able to fall far.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotoHomer Posted October 9, 2009 Author Share Posted October 9, 2009 Derek; the "jack extension" is a 4-faced item broadly like a pyramid with the top cut off and a level platform subsituted. It came with the vehicle when purchased new and is, I think, an original A-S part. I have raised the jacking issue with A-S in the past following reservations expressed by others and received details of how to use it together with reassurances that it all works. I just get uneasy when I keep hearing/reading about people struggling with wheel changing and on this occasion was wondering whether this would be difficult even with the proper jack extension. Thanks for your interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Sounds like the thing I've got - a hefty silvery alloy casting with a flat bottom, sloped sides and an upper surface recessed to locate the 'foot' of the Ford jack securely. I'm not going to dig out mine to check (as it's wrapped in bubble-wrap and stored in the 'van), but I'm pretty sure mine's got the Ford logo and a Ford Part Number on it. If A-S is suggesting that you employ the 'extension' to allow the jack to reach the vehicle's chassis-frame or a rear-spring eye, then there's no doubt that should (in principle) facilitate wheel changing. However, according to my Transit Mk 6 Ford Owner's Manual, that's not how a RWD Transit should be jacked up. (I assume you have a copy of that manual, so you should be able to confirm this). I presume A-S's own documentation says nothing about varying the advice given in Ford's handbook? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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