EXHAUSTED
Bushranger X-Jack lets your tailpipe do the work
The Hi-Lift jack is an off-roader's best friend. This versatile jack can lift heavy loads and get them high in the air. However, these great chunks of metal have a lot of drawbacks as well. They are bloody heavy, they don’t pack easy, they can be quite unstable and they sometimes like to fight back.
Enter the Bushranger X-Jack, an exhaust inflated airbag that will do the same job, only a little differently. Now I’ve had my doubts about exhaust jacks, due entirely to my ignorance. Are they rugged enough for an off-roader, will the exhaust not melt the hose, does the exhaust actually push air out with enough force to actually lift a heavy 4WD?
I got to chat with ARB, the distributers of the Bushranger X-Jack here in North America, about these questions. They told me to find out for myself and before I knew it, a big round bag showed up in the mail.
As you can see the kit comes with a durable carry bag, the X-Jack itself, a protective mat to place between the vehicle and the X-Jack for additional puncture resistance, the main air hose, an extension hose, a pair of work gloves, a patch kit and laminated instructions (nice touch, because it’s never pleasant out when you need to jack your 4WD).
My first concern about durability was answered instantly. The X-Jack is made from thick rubber with a triple layer reinforced lifting surface. The bottom is covered in plastic spikes to ensure the jack holds firm to the ground. The hose features a silicone cone for placing over the exhaust tip and is rated to handle temperatures up to 140°C. A Schrader valve is included that allows the jack to be inflated by an air compressor and also allows for accurate changes in lift and the safe evacuation of air.
Yes, you can lift a heavy 4WD with merely your exhaust pressure thanks to witchcraft… I mean physics, between five and ten psi is all that is needed to achieve the X-Jack’s 4,000 kg (8,818 lb) rating. Fully inflated, the X-Jack will rise 75 cm
(31-in) without load, which for my little Samurai on 32’s is more than enough.
To put it into action, editor Irons and I went on a little excursion up into the local mountains after a decent snowfall. With a shift fork broken in my transfer case and the Sami left with one-tire-fire, getting stuck was the easy part. Planting the Zuk well into the deep stuff, we pulled out the X-Jack and tossed it under the passenger foot well. Ensuring the bag is laying flat on the surface, the exhaust hose connects with a quarter turn and we’re ready to inflate.
As the Zuk is still a work in progress, I don’t exactly have a tailpipe at the moment, more just an open down pipe
leading from the turbo. Pulling rank, I had Irons hold the X-Jacks hose to the exhaust as I monitored the X-Jacks progression. It took a little while for the little 1.6L to fill the bag, but once it started to rise, it had both passenger side tires airborne in seconds. During our first inflation, the X-Jack was starting to roll over on an angle; the spikes on its base proved more than suffice to keep it in place but better safe than sorry. Especially since we had Irons under the Zuk (don’t worry Mrs. Irons, we shoveled out a good safety trench for him), we deflated via the Schrader valve, repositioned and reflated at a safer angle. Even with the repositioning, the time from tossing the jack under the truck to having wheels up was under two minutes.
Due to the X-Jack’s size, the footprint on the ground is quite large, meaning that it did not sink very far into the snow once we loaded it with weight, so no need to carry extra plywood around. Likewise, the surface area that is pushing on the bottom of the vehicle is spread over a wide area, which protects against damage and will mold to the shape of the underbody.
A couple of characteristics worth noting, the first is that the X-Jack is better suited as a two-man operation. It can be operated solo, but there will be a lot of back and forth travel from holding the hose to the exhaust tip to visualize the height of the vehicle and insure a stable placement. The second, the X-Jack doesn’t always go up straight, bulging out to one side on occasion. We had to abandon a couple lifts to refit the jack to get a stable inflation. Finally, you can literally throw the X-Jack anywhere under your 4WD, however you need to
be mindful that you don’t push up on the hot exhaust system or delicate parts such as fuel lines or a wiring harness. This was a little trickier than I thought on the small Samurai; just remember to look up at what you are going to put the weight of the vehicle on.
Regardless, I found the X-Jack to be a fantastic addition to my recovery kit. In the Samurai, weight matters, and the lightweight, easy to use nature of the X-Jack has rendered the Hi-Lift impotent. Best of all, the X-Jack works on anything, I even slipped it under my lowered Toyota MR2 (stop laughing Irons) to swap the winter tires. When the snow melts, we’ll have another go in the mud to see just how good the X-Jack really is.
www.arbusa.com