Best Replacement Jack
 

Hello everyone,

Spring is right around the corner and I'm needing to pick up a few things for the new beetle. One of the first things I MUST replace is the spare tire jack. I have a small leak in my trunk, which has ruined (in the car's previous life) the entire jack kit, which i've already trashed.

My dilemma is this: I don't want an OEM VW spare jack kit. The obvious reasons being that it would be hella expensive and the jack didn't look like it was ever that useful to begin with. BUT, I do need a setup that will fit inside my 17" rimmed spare, be heavy duty enough to actually work, light and rustproof. I guess aluminum would be good. maybe caste aluminum with all aluminum hardware or at least replaceable hardware?

Anybody have any ideas?

Thanks

Dig around in a scrapyard or Harbor Fright.

Hydraulic bottle jacks might work well for you; they come in a variety of sizes...
http://www.allproducts.com/manufactu...n/product1.jpg

Wow, I thought my 20 ton was gigantic.

If room would allow for a 1 1/2-2 ton floor jack that's what I'd use. I have one I bought at Walmart probably 15+ years ago and still works fine. I also have larger frame racing floor jack, but I know it would be too large for your space allowance.

You guys would seriously recommend driving around all the time with a hydraulic bottle or floor jack? With how much they weigh? And how much they cost? Will the floor jack fit within the spare as was listed as one of the parameters?

It was an idea... I think dieselbeetle will choose what works best for him regardless of what we suggest / recommend... :rolleyes:

I big thing to consider is ground clearance. I still use my car's stock scissor jack. It's light (relatively), compact, low clearance... oh, and made for the car! ;-)

If you don't want to buy a new, stock jack, I'd see if you could scrounge one up from a local scrapyard. I'm guessing VW has to have at least a somewhat universal jack.

hey guys,

thanks for all the great replies. i think the ton bottle jack is going to work best for me. i found one online for 18 bucks and it's small enough to fit!

yea, as i'm realizing, my car isn't the best on fuel economy to begin with. i was like breaking my back to get 43 mpg in town with my auto tranny. now that my wife's driving the car the goal is to make it safe and ready for anything! :(

now, the jetta's mine and i'll be upgrading (ecomodding) it!

Remember that clearance when the tires are on and inflated is different than clearance when a tire is flat.