- My model of MX-5 is: __ NC 2008 2.0 Sport
Morning folks.
I have done a search but can’t find exactly the answers I’m after so hopefully someone can help.
I am after a trolley jack for my NC.
Ideally I would like to jack up the rear and front separately and put the car on stands. However, it seems that many of the cheaper Halfords brands are not long enough to get far enough under the front or rear of the car. Or are they? It’s hard to tell without trying.
I don’t want to spend a lot of money on a jack that will be used once a year or so.
So, I would be happy to have a smaller jack to do each corner one at a time - jack at the sill and then up on axle stand. However, if I put the jack at the sill jacking point, how do I then get the axle stand in the same place with the jack already there…if you know what I mean?
Any advice or experience?
Thanks.
The cheaper jacks don’t get it high enough for an axle stand to be slipped in. You need one with a very low starting height (the front crossmember is really low even on stock suspension) and a high max height, and they are expensive.
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Is 37.5 cm high enough to get stands under?
I bought this low profile jack recently (at a higher price) and it gets under my lowered car on the sills easily. Can’t quite get it under a chassis rail though.
You’ll never get to the front cross member on the NC to jack on without a long reach very low professional jack and doubt anything will without raising a lowered NC on ramps first.
This does for me.
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Thanks. That’s pretty much the kind of thing I was looking at.
Once you have jacked it up on the sill, how do you then place the axle stands on the sill with the jack already there though?
I bought the Halfords five piece kit and later the 2 tonne stands and all works well, except that I need to use the OEM scissors jack to lift one corner to get the hydraulic jack underneath.
p.s. If I have lifted at the sill then the axle stand can go under the suspension link-arm or wishbone mounting points.
I can jack up the front of my NC with a standard Halfords trolley jack but I have to (a) push the front of the car up a mm or two with my shoulder and (b) start the jacking with a 10mm allen key (other short levers are available) until there is space for the proper handle. The jack lifts very little weight to start with, so this works ok.
It still won’t lift it up far enough for axle stands, so this is purely for wheel changes or brake jobs that don’t involve going under the car.
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All I am intending to do is a brake fluid flush and pads change. Maybe just the jack at the sill points would be enough as I’m not planning on getting under the car at any point?
TBH - I have worked under the car with just a trolley jack supporting it.
As extra safety I put the removed wheel under the sill - just behind the jack and some 3x2 wood on the wheel to catch the car should the jack ever give way.
PS - I don’t jack at the sill points - the halfords low profile trolley jack reaches far enough under to use the chassis brace mount points and a large rubber pad on the jack face prevents damage.
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Sadly the 1.8 tonne Arcan aluminium one that Costco used to sell for £100 isn’t offered any more. That gets to just under 500mm lift and is much easier and safer to use that the little £30-£40 jobs.
This one will get to c. 430mm for £80 (Sealey)
I have an assortment of wooden blocks, a pair of those ramps made from angle iron, 4 adjustable stands, a small trolley jack and the longer Arcan jack which gets nice and low and reaches the front and rear cross members.
If I don’t need the wheels off I put one end of the car on the ramps. I did have it on 4 stands under the sill jacking points (wheels off) recently which is a bit fiddly because you have to pack the last one to just the right height.
I have a 2 tonne Clarke ultra low profile and can reach the front crossmember of the NC.
I don’t think they do it any more, but there is a very similar one on Amazon
THIS review of Trolley Jacks may help
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No - I got this one during the sales for £99
The fast lift feature is very handy - can be operated by hand as you are looking under the car to position the pad.
Also - one of the really nice features is that the handle stays where you put it after jacking up the car ( you can even remove it so it doesnt get in the way of opening doors.
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I’ve got another standard trolley jack as well as the low profile one from Halfords.
My axle stands go under the rear most part of the chassis rail at the rear and at the front cross member. I jack it up on the sill jacking points. You can just see the axle stands in each picture 
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To gain a little more height to get a trolley jack under the sill or crossmember, drive the car wheels (front, rear or all four) onto short planks to give just enough clearance. To get my ‘normal’ short-reach trolley jack under the front crossmember, I turn the steering to full lock, at which point the jack can be manoeuvred at about 45 degrees into the large gap between the wheel and front of the wheel arch to line up with the centre point of the crossmember. This large gap also allows sufficient room for my jack handle to be levered up and down to raise the car. Once in the air the sill jacking points are free to position the axle stands. The rear crossmember can also be reached by accessing at a similar angle from behind one of the rear wheels, and providing your jacking lever is not too long it can be worked up and down in the void behind the wheel and the rear bumper. If the jack lever is a bit too long, but detachable, use a temporary shorter lever until the car’s high enough to insert the correct one. Again plenty free places including the sill jacking points to position the axle stands. This method has worked satisfactorily on my NC and ND models.
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Rear crossmember? It’s the diff casing, isn’t it?
No, there is a crossmember under there. This Manual pages - MX5 Manual | Mazda MX5 (Mk4) 2015+ shows the ND.
Ah right, the OP has an NC.
