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On my mk 1 focus zetec there are plastic side skirts attached to the sills but I'm not sure how to remove them. These are the standard ones that come with the car. In the manual it says to remove them you just pull it out but there are about 6 allen bolts attached along the length of each sill. Obviously the bolts need to be removed first but it seems to be quite a lot of work to me. I need to remove them so I can jack the car up on the sills to do an oil change. I could just jack under the chasis but what if I got a puncture and needed to fit the spare tyre? The car jack only works under the sills. Surely there must be a simplier way. My previous focus ghia did not have plastic skirts covering the sills.
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I?m not to familiar with the Focus so all I can offer is some not very helpful advice :-)
My Astra G ? had plastic side skirts but to use the scissor jack they did not need to be removed to allow access to the jacking point
There was a section towards the front of the car, and towards the rear on the skirt that you pulled out, and this exposed the jacking point ? a bit fiddly but easy enough
I would have thought that the focus has a similar arrangement?
Edited by redviper on 09/02/2010 at 09:41
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I need to remove them so I can jack the car up on the sills to do an oil change.
It tells you in the Owners Guide where the jacking points are. If I remember correctly you just have to remove plastic covers to get access to the jacking points on the metal parts of the sill. You don't have to remove the complete plastic sill covers.
I could just jack under the chasis ..............
Your car doesn't have a chassis: it's monocoque construction. You risk causing damage by putting a jack under anywhere other than the specified jacking points.
Edited by L'escargot on 09/02/2010 at 09:53
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If I remember correctly you just have to remove plastic covers to get access to the jacking points on the metal parts of the sill.
I forgot to say that you don't need tools to remove the plastic covers.
Incidentally, my 1999 Focus Ghia had the plastic sill trim, so it's odd that your previous car didn't.
Edited by L'escargot on 09/02/2010 at 10:30
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I removed a plastic cover at the front by unscrewing 1 bolt but it still did not expose the jacking point so I'm going to buy a bottle jack instead and put it in the glove box.
It is possible to lift the car under the chasis using trolley jacks - I used some old bike inner tube to avoid scratching it. The 99 focus was preface lift so was different to mine which was 2002.
Edited by Focus1.8TDCi on 09/02/2010 at 18:47
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As said, you shouldn't need to remove the sill cover. There should be an access panel which just unclips without requiring tools, or cut outs in the sill cover beneath and out of normal sight. The jacking points are usually indicated with a small arrow or indent along the sills.
As for the jacking points, found this on the net:
img46.imageshack.us/img46/1992/focusjackingpoints....g
It shows the relevant jacking points for a trolley jack, garage lift, and bottle/factory supplied jack.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 10/02/2010 at 00:51
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There should be an access panel which just unclips without requiring tools or cut outs in the sill cover beneath and out of normal sight. The jacking points are usually indicated with a small arrow or indent along the sills.
That's a much better explanation, and it agrees with what I remember of my 1999 Focus. I never had a problem with jacking it up.
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The position of jacking points-both for tyre changes and more serious work is usually covered in the driver's manual.Usually also shown in Haynes.
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I was told you do not need to remove anything. Just jack under the arrows. Anyway, I bought a bottle jack.
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As mentioned above, the Mk1 Focus has 4 jack points on the underside of the sill by each wheel arch, which are covered by 4 plastic covers.
You don't have to touch the sill itself or unbolt anything and no tools are needed to remove them (although the clips can be quite stiff and gunged up with dirt).
The standard Ford jack is adequate for jacking up the car to change a wheel, but additional support (ie. axle stands) is always recommended for any other type of work, particularly when working underneath the car.
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