Gents
Am after a new jack for the FF too (the std scissor jack folded just like other have) so am looking at the Mercedes Sprinter bottle jacks, I've seen red ones in plastic cases and the blue ones like in the link, are they the same or is there a preferred model to get?

i think there are at least two sizes of Sprinter jack. I have one i acquired from a works van (which didn't have a spare anyway) about 14 years ago and that's a 2.7 ton jack, i've just bought another one for the boot of my Range Rover, which is slightly fatter and 3.5 tons. I expect the 4.6 ton sprinters come with the 3.5 ton jack. Both are more than adequate for lifting the Range Rover. as you're never going to be lifting the entire car off the ground, only 1 or two wheels, so a 1.5 ton jack is the minimum you need.

the Sprinter jacks are good, as there are a lot of them knocking around. Most leased fleets don't have spare tyres these days and drivers aren't trained to change them anyway. So the jacks get sold off cheap. They're also quality made Weber Hydraulic jacks, which are EU made rather than the generic chinese made ones.
Lastly they sprinter jacks also have a very high lift. This is something you need to check with the generic ones, their maximum height, some lift vast weights, but only have 6" difference between min and max height.

The sprinter ones that i've seen are all blue (Weber stuff is all blue) and the red ones are probably just generic far eastern ones.

This happened to me yesterday. I got a puncture 200 miles
from home (front passenger) nightmare!
I have deployable steps which makes it impossible
to get to the jacking points. I put the jack under the suspension
and wound it up (I tried about 6 places)
I eventually managed but I had to perform a formula 1 style
swap as my jack was bending. I will never use it again as it was
downright dangerous but I had no choice.

What is interesting that a piece of equipment, that dangerous, is not subject to a safety recall. Maybe someone first needs to get trapped underneath a car or loose a foot or something to warrant some proper attention ???? Ridiculous and unacceptable. MY 2010 5.0 SC Galway green and sand interior!!
Have the Faultmate MSV2 Extreme to be tinkering with the settings etc. !!

I've got one of blue sprinter jacks and I used it twice a year to swap all my wheels over (winter/ summer). I also have deployable steps and I manage it without taking the steps off but still using the correct jacking points.

That's interesting Buz1500. Do you have to
Jack it up with the handle under the vehicle
or can you get to it from the side?

i would imagine if you have the car on level ground you could use the service jacking points on the front and rear subframes. The sprinter jack should fit between the exhaust at the rear.

I make sure the steps are deployed by leaving a door open then I use just one piece of the extendable handle and operate it by reaching under the car. It takes a bit of effort but it's preferable to taking the steps off. I also put a block of wood under the jack before I start just to take up the gap between the jack and the jacking point. This means I get the car lifted sufficiently without needing to use the secondary piston on the jack.

It seems to me that modern cars just do not seem to have many places to jack from and the RR is as bad as it gets.You would think a motor so heavy would have somewhere better to jack.I had a wheel changed at a local tyreshop and the guy there almost had it on the floor as it slipped on the trolley jack,mind you I would not have put the jack where he did even though he did it for a living but to get it somewhere safe is quite awkward.!!

I suppose with old cars with a separate chassis pretty much all of which was strong enough to place a jack, or large axle castings thats true there are loads of places to put a jack.

But i think the L322 is still better than most, it not only has 4 jacking points on the sills suitable for a range of jacks but also a jacking point at each end on the subframes. (i reckon the wesfalia tow armature would take it too) I'd say it was probably better than most for the number of jacking points. The problem is the suspension has so much travel in it, that you have to lift it so high to get the wheels off the floor most normal trolley jacks become unstable as their chassis isn't long or wide enough added to the fact most trolley jack saddles go through an arc so when at full height they've moved a long way laterally from where they started, so they slip. Adding side steps doesn't help for access, but then neither do body kits on normal cars. Of course jacking under a rigid axle doesn't give you the problem with suspension travel.

When you look at most modern cars all they give you to jack from is the welded lip on the bottom of the sill, which is easily damaged and normally ends up bent and rusted on a car when it's a bit older!

I have ordered a blue sprinter jack off eBay
For £28+p&p. I will try it and let you know
my findings.
Gary

I've got one of the sprinter jacks of eBay I've modded the top (see elsewhere) and it works a treat, however it's taken to not closing fully when I've finished with it. Even if I push it closed, when I take the pressure off it expands a bit. Anyone else had this? is there a fix? should I be more worried than I am? which is not at all.  Geoff

Just a semi-educated shot in the dark but if it's bouncing back then unless there's a mechanical cause it could be air in the hydraulic system. Some bottle jacks do have a bleed valve so could look into that? Ed

I hope those of you with the sprinter jacks are still using something else under the car when jacked up to support it as there are a few cases of the seals in them going and the jack slowly letting the vehicle down.....

Personally as above i have a trolley jack for most of my car needs, a 3t Hilka thing and a 20tonne bottle jack as a spare backup unit thats got a 3 stage lift so more than enough for most vehicles ive come across  FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.

the seals can go in any hydraulic jack. You can say they go on a small number of any type, including trolley jacks,

I had the problem described with my older sprinter jack after i tried using it horizontally for something. I just re-primed it if i recall correctly. Open the valve that lowers the jack then push the ram right down while pumping the handing a few times. If that doesn't work take the lowering valve out and put it back in quickly (there will be a bit of oil squirt out.