I personally have NEVER used the thing cuz OE Bilstien Jack just seems crappy and usually the jack posts are sketchy at best

i didnt vote, because my car has been inoperative and on jack stands etc for the past 4 or 5 years, but when I first got it I used it a few times. the square peg part was twisted, and I was afraid that the car would slip right off of it though!

I've never used it but I do have it in the rear trunk if I need it

to do some side of the road work. hopefully never!

They actually work pretty well. If your car isn't rusted half way through that is.

The factory jack has been missing on every Porsche I've ever owned.

I've got an extra one, I think...





I used mine just the other day, as a joke for about how they are handy for picking the car up just high enough to roll the floor jack underneath it.

I didn't vote because there isn't a place for more than a year ago....


I have used them multiple times. But about 5 years ago, I had a flat in Betty's 914 on the way to work one morning (yes, sometimes she lets me take it to work). Halfway up, the screw in the jack broke, just above where the moving part is. So the car was halfway up, with weight on the jack, and I could not raise it or lower it. Luckily the guy at the gas station has a hydraulic floor jack in his truck and he was nice enough to let me borrow it.


I will never use one again. I go to the wrecking yard and buy the jacks out of late 80s early 90s Nissans. Great jacks, durable, light and cheap.

Road side only. IMO. Since my car isn't on the road yet, I geuss it would be in case of an emergency only. Hopefully I'll never need it.

I had to use it to put a strut back together, so I used it enough to get a bottle jack under the car. Only for roadside emergency. It actually worked pretty good, and I was real nervous since it was on the passenger side.

I have a 944 jack for my car. Much more reliable and versatile.

I don't think it would go high enough to put a jack-stand under the car so whats the point
BTW the stock jack on my stock truck can't lift it up enough to change a tire with out a spacer (that I carry.)

I, like Clay didn't vote 'cause there was no "not in many, many years" choice. Never liked them anyway. Kept a "small" floor jack in the trunk for flats/roadside repairs. If you don't scotch at least one/two wheels with the stock jack the car can "fall"/roll and cause problems. You know the kind I'm talking about.....

can't, if I wanted to...
wouldn't, if I had to... I carry a scissor jack instead...

What about those of us that have used it in years past but have not used it in the past year?

I lifted the car with it when I bought the car to see how it worked, and then put it away and never used it again. I DO have it in the car, and would use it if I had to. My jack posts are strong, and my car is not rusty. However, for the time being if I have to lift the car, I use my floor jack.

Zach

I think it was around 1980 when I last used one. Damn thing collapsed, pushing it self into the fender and made a "nice" dent. Had to borrow a floor jack to get it out of the receiver. Never used it since. Have several in a pile in an obscure corner of the shop.

I'd only use it in an emergency.... its just not the best way to lift the car and I've seen the posts bend, and a jack implode inward on the body....

I voted "Never" because I also use a 944 jack in my 914's. They wiegh practically nothing and work great.

I use mine at every AX I attend to change to race tires and back. It works great is compact and light weight. Just keep it lubed.

Try it on an incline with dirt...

Huh?


I ALWAYS use the stock jack posts to lift up my car ...
Andy

Answering this poll makes me realize I don't have a factory jack!

A few months ago I traveled to San Diego to see a movie. After the movie, my car wouldn't start - no fuel pump noise. Since I was parked on a level section of a parking garage, I jacked up the drivers side, found a loose fuel pump wire and fixed it.

It made for a nice ride back to Orange County.

As far as I'm concerned, the stock jack is a very reliable jack for emergency use. I would never use it in my garage, but when you're traveling and stuck, it does the job pretty well.

Eric Read

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!! - Rob - read the owners manual - level hard surfaces only! Also the opposite front wheel should be chocked/stopped-off F&R.

Jacking 101: get to a proper & safe place to change the flat (flat, level & hard surface out of & well away from traffic), chock the opposite front tire F&R, release the E-brake, get the jack in position on a firm/flat surface & in the tube (inspect tube first every time) & just start it up without lifting the tire, break the lug bolts/nuts loose while the tire is still weighted on the ground, then jack up & remove the flat, replace with the spare (forehead top & knees at 70-80 & 200-220 degrees to hold the tire in place for the firs lug always worked for me in the pre-aligning-stud days), hand tighten the lugs, let her down part way to partially re-weight the wheels to tighten up the lugs (star pattern, go to opposite corners rather than all around consecutively), then let 'er down the rest of the way, remove the jack, re-set the E-brake, remove the chocks & stow the flat, jack, etc. & get to a tire store asap to get the flat fixed.

I can make a video for you Rob, if you want!

Rich - they're also made for roadside emergencies - NOT shop work - use a proper floor jack for that, which is why there are 4 jacking/lift doughnuts on the underbody. But they're leagues better than the old USA ratchet types of the day!!

So long as your jack tubes/supports & longs are good, the Bilstein jacks work fine, but I prefer the 73> screw-type better than the earlier ones.

If the jack posts are iffy, then get a compact +/- 2 ton piston jack to carry on/next-to the spare in the front trunk well & use that on the appropriate jack post. Good idea to use a rubber or poly pad on top of the piston to save the doughnuts finish a bit. IMHO the hydraulic piston types are more reliable than the scissors type.

I've used both the factory & piston types on mine - about once or twice a year back in the day - sometimes to put the cable chains on the rears when up in the mountains to ski if space was too tight to roll back onto the chains. They work fine & are safe when used properly on a 914 without damaged tubes/longs & never get under the car with them. I'd bet that at least 9 times out of 10 the mishaps noted above were due to either tube/long damage &/or improper use of the jacks - including incomplete insertion into the tube - which the gals hate!

BTW - I voted 1 year anyway, even if it's been 25 since I drove mine. Damn the statisticians & full speed ahead - since a survey/pol can be structured to get any answer you want!

OK - so now I see that 70+% of you have never used theirs, so the garage queens & those missing a stock jack have to be thrown out, & you have to allow us old farts more than a year ago to vote under the "last year category"!!!!

What year 944 jack is this?

I like the idea of picking up a 944 jack. I have never used my 914 jack. I've restored some to pristine condition though & they sure looked nice sitting in my trunk

i did it once...
never again...
i think it was designed as an afterthought...or perhaps the jack engineer was a
little

Any . Some of the earlier cars had the same design and spec jack, but it was steel. ANY turbo car or post 85.5 n/a car should have the aluminum I believe. Check E-bay, usually 20,00-30.00

i also did it once thats how i discoverd my jack posts are not in the best of condition. i also bent the valence and it remains bent untill today.

floor jack for me

My car doesn't have the jack posts so the OE jack is useless. I carry a 944 jack for roadside emergencies.

If a few of you want the 944 jacks, I can ask a local guy that parts 944's. He may have a few sitting around.

I am interested in one, the aluminum one so it's easier to move around.

Dave

When I've used mine, it worked great. I should mention that mine looks new and is not a POS; if it were I wouldn't use it in the first place.

I used it once many years ago (no choice for that in the poll). It worked fine but I was on asphalt and the only flat I've ever had in that car.