Lifting a car with air bags

[sparc]

Here's the situation:
I have a friend who has a compact car that has been sitting out in a back field for many years.
A couple of the tires have gone flat and a groundhog has made a home under the car. His digging
has caused the car to settle down on the frame and three of the wheels are sow sitting in holes in
the ground.


Question: How to remove the car without doing damage to it. They now want to put the car back
on the road after rebuilding it top to bottom. Not my idea of a worthwhile project but to each his own.

Anyway, I have been trying to come up with a way to lift the car without doing damage to the underside.
I thought of using my Bobcat (which is not big enough to lift the entire car) with my forks to lift one side and get a 16' long plank (2x12) under each side then lower onto the plank. Once this is done on both sides we could air up the tires (which should hold for
a few minutes even if leaking) and roll it onto a trailer to move it.

I then came up with another idea. Use a couple truck tire tubes and stuff them under the car deflated,
then inflate to raise the car and put the planks under. I think there is less chance of doing damage to
the car using the tubes.

Anyone ever tried something like this or see a reason why it won't work?
Is there something other than tire tubes which will work that I can get at a reasonable cost?

 

[woodsmith]

Can you dig a ramp in front of each wheel, air them up and then pull it out?

I would think inner tubes wouldn't be able to push upwards enough as there is nothing to stop them pushing outwards instead. You could try it as it might work enough anyway. Place a thin sheet of plywood above and below the tube before sliding it under the car to protect it as much as possible though.

Proper lifting airbags are not elastic and so only lift in the direction they supposed to.

The other way would be to slide a couple of long boards under the car, at the jacking points, as levers and then lift it from that so that rocks can be put under the tyres.

 

[WM75Guy]

Check with local fire departments to see if they have lift bags. They might do it as a training opportunity or for a small donation.

 

[woodsmith]

Check with local fire departments to see if they have lift bags. They might do it as a training opportunity or for a small donation.

If they are anything like the UK fire department they'd be wanting to cut the roof off while they are at it!

 

[carmedic310]

Tire tubes will not work.Could even be dangerous if over inflated.Will the tires hold air?I would inflate tires and hook to frame and pull it out with your machine.Other option is to call a tow truck to winch it out

 

[Egon]

Dig a hole under the jacking points and us a jck and blocks.:thumbsup:

 

[Baby Grand]

Here's the situation:


<snip>

I then came up with another idea. Use a couple truck tire tubes and stuff them under the car deflated,
then inflate to raise the car and put the planks under. I think there is less chance of doing damage to
the car using the tubes.

Anyone ever tried something like this or see a reason why it won't work?
Is there something other than tire tubes which will work that I can get at a reasonable cost?

I remember seeing a product marketed as a car jack for people who couldn't deal with a scissor jack or bumper jack that was very similar. It was a plastic pillow (Those aren't pillows!) with a tube that you jambed into the exhaust pipe. You'd run the engine and the exhaust would fill the bag, lifting the car. I guess you'd need a good exhaust system. Sounds to me like your idea would work nicely.

Exhaust Powered Car Jack

-Jim

 

[Gary Fowler]

I think that you are overly cautious in suspecting to damage the car. Just dig out a hole around the front bumper mount points, hook a chain to the frame at that point and pull it out of the holes with your Bobcat. You dont need to lift it up to do that. Try to air up the tires first but I seriously doubt that they will hold air is setting that long. THe rim seats are likely un-seated and getting it to take air will be next to impossible but still worth a try. Even with the tires flat, it should roll on the rims and not damage them in dirt.

 

[ray66v]

Airbags??? No need to make a big deal out of this.

Inflate the tires that will take air.

Dig as necessary to accommodate a jack. Use boards under the a jack to assure it is stable, raise the vehicle enough to remove the tires that are bad, and get them repaired.

Using the jack again, place wood, or stone, under the tires as necessary.

Tow the vehicle away.

Apologize to the ground hogs. :groundhog:

 

[timster2]

Be careful where you attach your tow cable/chain etc. This tow strap was attached to the factory tow point! Here is a quick video of how not to tow a vehicle out of snow. And this was on pavement with inflated tires. How to tow a car out of Snow - YouTube Very funny to watch unless you owned the car:laughing:

 

[zzvyb6]

I would just jack up each corner, fix the tire and air it up, fill in the hole and set it back down, When all 4 are back in position, tow it away. You have to lift the car a lot because of suspension travel. Doing one corner at a time is the least effort if you can get to the control arms at the front and the axle at the rear.

A decent front loader and a nylon strap would make yhis job very easy.

 

[CurlyDave]

As these guys found out, that is not a factory tow point. It is a tie-down point for shipping.

Good dealers take them off before delivery...

 

[sparc]

some good feedback, thanks. the car is a fiero, i left that out somehow in my original post.

the thing is sitting right down on the frame all around. I will take a pic next time I am over there.
he's in no hurry to move it, which is how it ended up in this condition anyway.

airing up the tires will not do it. i was worried that digging around it to try to get ramps in place might wake it worse.
i have no idea whaundersideersode of a fiero looks like and what could be damaganythingnthing. anyonemorew moer about
them or have some photos of the underside.

don't know that we are overly cautious, i have just been bouncing some ideas around in my head of what might work. i think I could pull it out with the tractor or my pickup if it came to that, but there are limited attachmenaccessibleccessable and sturdy enough for that kind of rigging.

i think my idea with the forks is the easiest. just pick up one side and put a plank under both wheels, then go to the other side and do it again. the car is now up on its wheels and can be rolled away and on to the trailer. I think my little Bobcat can lift one side at a time, anyone know what a fiero weighs?

never mind i just found it online.


Wheelbase 2,373 mm (93.4 in)

Length
1984–1986: 4,072 mm (160.3 in)
1987–1988: 4,144 mm (163.1 in)
1987–1988 GT: 4,193 mm (165.1 in)

Width
1984–1986: 1,750 mm (68.9 in)
1987–1988: 1,753 mm (69.0 in)

Height
1,191 mm (46.9 in)

Curb weight
1,176 to 1,265 kg (2,590 to 2,790 lb)


I also found there can be an issue with the cooling lines if the car is improperly lifted (below from wikipedia)

A second problem has become common since more Fieros are being serviced by auto repair shops that do not know their design very well. The underbody coolant tubes are positioned in a manner that a casual glance underneath the car may not suggest their fragility. As a result, many of them have been crushed by shop lifts, resulting in a near complete lack of engine cooling. The age of the car suggests that even General Motors dealerships may now be unaware of the proper jacking methods.

 

[tcartwri]

If it has been sitting on the ground for that long there will be very little left of the frame anyways.

 

[sparc]

If it has been sitting on the ground for that long there will be very little left of the frame anyways.

i know but can't convince the owner of that.

 

[ray66v]

I don't know what your "idea with the forks" is, but if it is to lift the entire side by the rocker panel, you will damage the car for sure that way.

The underside of a Fiero is similar to any unibody car. Since most of the understructure is sheet metal, there are limited areas that can be used for jacking.

These are the recommended Fiero jacking points, others can be used to some extent, by someone with experience.

 

[ray66v]

As these guys found out, that is not a factory tow point. It is a tie-down point for shipping.

Good dealers take them off before delivery...

Not all are removable. Sometimes manufacturers weld them into the structure.

These boys seemed to have no knowledge of basic physics. i.e., things being pulled, move in a straight line.

Correct me if I am wrong Dave, wasn't that from Newton? :apple:

 

[sparc]

I don't know what your "idea with the forks" is, but if it is to lift the entire side by the rocker panel, you will damage the car for sure that way.

The underside of a Fiero is similar to any unibody car. Since most of the understructure is sheet metal, there are limited areas that can be used for jacking.

These are the recommended Fiero jacking points, others can be used to some extent, by someone with experience.

well my idea was to lift with the forks under the rocker panel but now seeing the diagram with lifting points and your comments i see that is not a good choice. I could narrow up the forks then straddle a tire, that would let me lift that corner. Plenty of time to figure it out, doesn't have to happen soon, no time pressure.

 

[sparc]

I would just jack up each corner, fix the tire and air it up, fill in the hole and set it back down, When all 4 are back in position, tow it away. You have to lift the car a lot because of suspension travel. Doing one corner at a time is the least effort if you can get to the control arms at the front and the axle at the rear.

A decent front loader and a nylon strap would make yhis job very easy.

Yes it might if we had one.

 

[bcp]

I could narrow up the forks then straddle a tire, that would let me lift that corner.

That sounds best.

Long ago someone sold a bracket that attached under a lug nut so a stuck off-road vehicle could be jacked up from the side. I couldn't find a photo. One end went under a lug nut, then up against the bead area of the wheel, then out to make a jacking point, if i remember correctly.

Bruce