Bent Jacking Flanges - ARrrrrgghhhh!

[2003 V8 TT]

So I just got my vehicle back from service. They've always taken great care of my car, because they know I'm meticulous. I do my usual post-service inspection today to discover that two of my jacking point flanges were bent. I don't know why it's a big deal, but it's bugging da heck out of me.

Questions:

1. To prevent fuming over this issue in the future (and forever more), I'm contemplating shaving them all off with my Dremel carbide cutter. That way it'll always be a FLAT surface...why does Lotus do this T-shaped tab anyway? On all my other cars and pretty much all makes I've seen, the jacking points are always flat!

2. Should I just bend them back? Because the factory jack in the bonnet has a slot that accommodates these flanges. If I shave them off, then I'm scared that using the factory jack in the future would cause my vehicle to slip off, since the contact point is so small and the flanges serve to hold it in position! I have a feeling it'll be an impossible feat to bend these things back...any suggestions? The mere idea that they will never be perfectly straight even after bending is annoying me to a point of shaving them clean off.

3. Should I just drill out the rivets and take the jack flanges clean off (or are they actually bonded to the bottom of the body with adhesives as well)? It would make everything look much better, but then I risk not being able to identify where the exact jack locations are. At least by shaving off only the protruding part of the flange, I can still identify the exact jack point locations via the remain base plates.

And yes, I have a set of hockey pucks with slots cut in them to prevent such incidences. But I kept them at home for my personal use. I figured since my Lotus mechanic hasn't bent a single flange in the last 10 years through both my Esprits (S4...now V8), this was an unlikely incident (plus I really trust him). Bottom line, I'm not going to complain to him about it. I'm certain it was an accident.

Thanks for putting up with my rant...any advice, views, "dude, you're too anal" comments welcome.

Finally - Having bent jacking tabs/flanges...or even to a point of their complete flattening...is that something all you Esprit owners get "bent out of shape" about? Is it common? Is it one of those things classified under "they all do that, sir...live with it" category?

Arrrrggghhhh,

Will

[Jonathan]

They're tabbed so as to locate the jack and to stop it falling lose / off.

Mine are all damaged too - I intend to zip the whole plate off and replace them with a nice stainless patch for no other reason other than it looks nice. TBH unless you're using the original jack most will be bent flush as mechanics tend to lift the car there on flat castors.

The idea of hockey pucks with slots in them is a good idea though.

Using the original jack on a bent tab can also be dangerous as the two surfaces that take the weight will un-doubtely now be un-even on the car not to mention free to slip and slide.

The fact is the original car jack is an emergency use thing to put the spare on - I would never be happy holding the car up with something like this, a suitably rated hydaulic jack or similar yes but the flimsy thing in the lotus kit no, there is way too much chance of it tipping if something out of the ordinary happens - I always use my trolley jack, that way I know even if I fall over (never gonna happen) and hit the car it will not fall off the jack.

[DVR]

Will ,

If somebody would flatten the jacking points on my car I would feel the same as you and then some.

I take great care of my car and always take pictures during maintenance work at the dealer.

So it helps to see little things like that and make a subtle remark before it is too late.

I do not quite understand why you would not want to go back to your dealer. Even if it is a human mistake (I agree) they should repair/correct their mistake. I also believe that there should be a way to get them straight again. There are enough tools in a workshop/bodyshop to make it like (almost) nothing has happened.

Definitely would not shave them off.

Love the way how you and your beautiful red Esprit are pictured on your webpage.

Denis

[airbusdrvr]

I feel your pain. I tried to straighten mine out and broke two off! The rivets are easy to break. It does look like there is a grey bonding agent to help hold them but it was nothing a hammer couldn't take care of. I have a race shop nearby that is going to fabricate four new ones with a gusset at each side for added strength. It will not interfere with the spare tire jack. I'll post when I get them made. Maybe everyone can have new and stronger jack points.

[2003 V8 TT]

Thank you all. Much appreciate your feedback!

Denis, thanks for the compliment. Do you REALLY have the final Esprit shipped to the US? She is yellow.

[joeyoesprit]

One of my tabs were bent at the dealership too. I just straightened it and it is fine... so far.

I recently purchased two larin 1.5 ton sissors jacks at the following web page http://store.autosupplyusa.com/lar15tonscis.html (no affilation) they are $11 and they work perfect to jack up the esprit, without damaging the the lifting tabs. I'm thinking about buy two more (so so I can jack the entire car up using the lifting tabs).

JoeyO

2001 Espirt

[DVR]

Denis, thanks for the compliment. Do you REALLY have the final Esprit shipped to the US? She is yellow.

The picture of you and the car coming of the truck played a small part in me wanting an Esprit in the US too.

So my comment was really genuine (I know you knew that but felt like elaborating some more)

Secondly ,do you mean "shipped" or "build" B)

[2003 V8 TT]

airbusdrvr - Looking forward to seeing your new jack point mods! Perhaps we could all use the switchover.

DVR - Love the wheels on the yellow V8. What kind are they? I'm glad the final Esprit stayed on this side of the Atlantic :-)

JoeyO - Great link. Love the silver "channeled" jack for only $11. Having 4 of them makes complete sense. Question: How did you bend back the bent tab?

[DVR]

DVR - Love the wheels on the yellow V8. What kind are they? I'm glad the final Esprit stayed on this side of the Atlantic :-)

They are Oxigin wheels , type Lexor.

18front

19rear

www.oxiginwheels.com

[joeyoesprit]

airbusdrvr - Looking forward to seeing your new jack point mods! Perhaps we could all use the switchover.

DVR - Love the wheels on the yellow V8. What kind are they? I'm glad the final Esprit stayed on this side of the Atlantic :-)

JoeyO - Great link. Love the silver "channeled" jack for only $11. Having 4 of them makes complete sense. Question: How did you bend back the bent tab?

I guess I got lucky that the tab was not completely bent flat. Just enough room to get a small pry bar under the tab and gently bend it up eough to get a pair of pliers on the tab to return it to orginal state. Also if you need these jack I belive Autozone sells them... but they are $25 each. I also purchased two pairs of the smaller jack stands I think they were $11 a pair.

JoeyO