Jacking up rear of Mk2 Golf

Is there a safe jacking point on a Mk2 Golf centrally to raise both rear wheels at the same time?

 

Yes there is. Just use the centre of the rear axle beam. Don't use one of those cheap DIY jacks though 'cos it'll probably fall over.

 

Do not what ever you do use the centre of the rear beam as Bertelli 1 has just said unless you want to bend the beam.

Jack the car on the where the rear beam bush is in the knuckle

 

You will NOT bend the rear beam - some Jap / Korean / French cars have axles made of paper mache which can distort, Vw's are made of sturdier stuff.

 

Bertelli 1, you are a tool if you think it's a good idea to jack the rear end up in the centre of the rear beam!

DO NOT DO IT!

 

I used two axle stands under the flat box-like sections where the rear beam brackets are (just in front of them if looking from the back of the car) - the section is perpendicular to the jacking points on the sills. Dont jack up on the beam as mentioned, if you try it you will see the beam bend. It may return to the same position, but its not supposed to bend hence a good enough reason not to jack up on it.

 

I'm with Bertelli on this one. The beam is substantial and after all the thing is designed to take huge shock loadings and to twist. Plus no mention of not doing it in the VW handbook (or the Haynes come to that) and if it was a no no VW would say just to cover themselves. Anyone with VW training know any different?

Mines been up and down on it plenty of time with no ill effects. Add to which I don't doubt in the 14 years I didn't own it that how the back got jacked up. I do however put it on stands as soon as it airborne. But that's for my personal safety.

Barkstar

 

Same as me... never touch the rear beam anyway, as its a pain to get underneath.
The best place has to be the box sections as mentioned above. Theyre the right size for an axle stand to fit under perfectly and right next to the sill for easy access. A Couple of rags on top of the stand to protect the underseal and your done.

 

VW wouldnt mention it because they would say take it to a dealer for any work to be done. As for shock loadings and twisting, it does take them, however, usually all the wheels are on the ground! Jacking up in the centre of the beam, assuming you find dead centre, means you are pivoting the weight of the rear on the jack. In terms of your own safety, this isnt really a good idea.

 

the beam may be made quite sturdy stuff but its not designed to take the whole weight of the car, the suspension struts take the weight and shocks and the beam just connects them. Jacking it up in the centre will put the whole weight of the rear end on that couple of inches of beam under the jack, as i believe its only connected to the floor in two points either end it could very easily push it up in the middle and distort it.

 

maybe it just dont wana be lifted lmao at this thread

i wouldn`t use the beam to be honest just cos its a pita, but wouldn`t fight in a ring that u mustn`t lmao!

and the forces in a 100mph run down dip in the road i would estimate to be more than the whole mass of the car twice so who cares about an approx moment of 65% of its mass lmao! most components have a factor of saftey to a certain multiple!

sorry if this sounds offensive not supposed to!

 

It doesnt say dont jack the car up using the sump. . . .

But the manual DOES tell you where the jacking pints are, and its no the middle of the beam!!!!

You bunch of F*cking idiots

 

You could jack it up on the beam if you stuck a length of wood under the jack roughly the same length as the beam, it would spread the load of the vehicle across the beam to the two mounting points. So the pressure would be on the mounting points not the beam.

 

Anyway as andy says just use the jacking points vw tell you too and you wont go wrong.

 

Yeah but why would you want to do that when you've got two jacking points either side????
I wouldn't risk it atall. Wood or no wood.

 

yeah i know i was just sugesting he do that if he was adamant he were going to do it. I wouldnt do it either, it doesnt take long to do it a side at a time and as you say why chance it.

 

Best way to lift the car is to wind the windows down and get a forklift under the roof, by doing this you will ensure no damage to the rear beam

 

i still think they dont want to be lifted

 

Andy947: Well there's always one whose mouth runs away with them. Why am I a f*cking idiot? Not only do you know nothing much about me, no one has yet said 'I did it and bent the beam' and despite jacking several VAG cars up using the beam I haven't bent one yet. Are facile insults your best shot?

Golf Nut Pete: There's no great weight in the back of a Golf and certainly not the whole car.

!wvw!: Like I said I use the beam to get the car quickly into the air and then put it on axlestands. And the jack I use they don't sell in Halfords.

The jacking points noted in the handbook are for changing individual wheels. Point is I've seen handbooks from other manufacturers recommending not doing things to avoid damage of a similar nature. If there was any evidence that jacking up with the beam caused damage I'm thinking we'd have heard about it. I certainly don't see it being less kind to the car that repeatedly putting a twisting force through the shell to get the car on to stands.

It's the way I see it anyway

Barkstar

 

How do you know you haven't bent any beams, it's hardly going to be visible, what will happen is that it will throw out the non-adjustable camber and tracking of the MkII.....ideal!