I need a bit of advice. I am trying to jack up my vehicle, which is a 2002 Ford Escape. My problem is that when I jack it up the vehicle lifts up but the tire does not seem to come off the ground. I just finished jacking up the passenger side and it went fine. But the drivers side tire does not seem to want to lift up. Anyone know what the problem might be. Is the strut gone ?? Would it be dangerous to jack it up if it is. ?? Please help and advise.
Are you using the factory jack and placing it at the specified lifting point?
No, I am using a small floor jack with some flat wood on it to jack from the frame.
The jack you are using may not lift as high as the factory one. Maybe add a piece of wood under the jack.
always use jack stands. and placing wood on top of a bottle jack Is NOT safe. go to harbor freight and by a floor jack. it could save your life. and even with a floor jack ALWAYS use jack stands.
Please see second image just uploaded before you posted.
Is that the same spot you used to lift the other side? The area looks awfully rusty.
Yes it is the same spot. All lifted fine on the other side. Yeah, I know it’s rusty. Been lookin for a new one I can afford but this will have to do for now.
sorry lack of sleep. didnt see you were using a floor jack. as far as seeing the center of the shock, thats normal. the covering just lifted up. thats not to say the strut is not still bad.
If I go higher is the strut going to blow apart and kill me or anything stupid like that, lol. Never saw that before. Just trying to do a simple brake job which I have done before a few hundred times, lol.
try lifting from the front of the car more. put the jack under the cross member. if your worried that the jack is not strong enough to lift both sides at once, then move it closer to the side you are lifting. or put the jack right under the lower control arm where the strut assembly is.
More worried about this:
Raise the hood and check the strut mount to see if it is falling apart.
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I’ll do that now. Last I looked there was no rust there at all. I’ll take a pic.
If that is with the vehicle lifted by the jack then there is nothing broken, you need to lift higher. A bigger jack would help, or more wood.
I’ll go higher as long as I know the strut is not gonna kill me or a friend. Just never seen that middle shaft before in the shock.