Ford Ka - Jack Collapse

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Tue 19 Jan 2016 09:57
Ford Ka - Jack Collapse - Captain Fantastic

While changing the front left wheel on a Ford Ka, the screw jack supplied with the car suddenly collapsed without warning. The screw thread was in good condition, lightly oiled over paint indicating the first use of the jack. The jack foot was vertically below the correct sill jacking point, extension did not exceed 355mm. Failure was caused by the pressed steel sides spreading and the plastic threaded boss popping out. The car is year 2005; 47,000 miles.

Is failure of plastic jack components a normal occurrence?

Fortunately, the replacement wheel was already on and the nuts half tightened. The free drop was 10mm before the tyre touched the ground. But the next day, the car failed the MoT with two broken front coil springs. Could this be related?

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Tue 19 Jan 2016 10:08
Ford Ka - Jack Collapse - madf

All it needs is the jack not to be level = or have been abused in the past- and the stresses are transmitted sideways and not vertically..

Edit: It will take more than a jack collapse to break strings - although it may have been the last straw. Corrosion and speed humps appear the major factors.

Edited by madf on 19/01/2016 at 10:10

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Tue 19 Jan 2016 13:12
Ford Ka - Jack Collapse - Gibbo_Wirral

Are you the first owner of the car and the jack? If not it may have been misused in the past.

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