MGW-Fla

Thats a real tragedy, especially during the holiday seaon. I think the moment you stop thinking about the possibility of it happening, is when you could run into problems. I have three sets of jack stands & try to always utilize my 3 1/2 tons stands. I also keep my 3 1/2 ton floor jack in place if possible just in case. If I only lift one end, then I use wheel chocks to make sure it can't roll. Ken's lift bars work real well for lifting the entire car. I still usually rock the car too just to have a bit more assurance that its not going anywhere. I've more than once made sure my cell phone was within reach too just in case something happened & I could stll use it to call for help. It would suck to be stuck under your car being slowly crushed to death while someone was inside the house & had no idea you needed help.

Tippy

I had my '69 camaro roll down my ramps, I got out just in time before it rolled down on top of me, even ramps can be dangerous.

SharkSkin

Sorry to hear of this... it's a good reminder to be extra-safe when working under the car.

Tom in Austin

Good reminder, I need to show my wife how to operate my floor jack in case something goes wrong so she'll know how to lift the car.

I follow all of the precautions mentioned ... use quality jack stands, double-check that they are correctly placed, give the car a shove in each direction to make sure it's stable, place the wheels under the body below frame members as an emergency back-up, set the floor jack back to 'lifting' mode and keep it nearby. Finally, though it may be a bit silly, I make it a point to work from the side of the car whenever possible, and not put any part of my body underneath unless absolutely necessary.

What is terrifying that you might have seen before are people underneath cars or trucks alongside the highway with only a bumper jack holding it up. You would think everyone knows that the bumper jack is only for tire changing.

Shark Attack

sorry to hear that, even if my car is on jack stands, and if im going to be yanking on it with a wrench I put as many as 8 cinder blocks under the car in case it falls... yes if it fell their would be all kinds of damage to various parts of suspention, brake lines and what not... but better that stuff than my head.

MGW-Fla

dont trust your life with cinder blocks as they are known to crumble under the weight of a car.

SeanR

Thanks for the reminder Mike.

As I crawled under the beast today I took note and extra precautions.

Warren928

I had a friend who worked at a part store and heard all the stories. HJe told me to buy a full size US made 2.5 ton floor jack and some good quality welded jackstands and always use both. Also, if your on asphalt or anything softer you will need 3/4" or thicker wood under the jacks that are at least twice as big as the jack itself to prevent sinking or falling over.
I have been working on cars for 20 years with that formula and nothing has gone wrong.

This year I will be upgrading to a hydraulic 2 post 9,000 lb lift with several safety stops built in for better servicing of the fleet I work on and use. I was leary of buying used, so for $1500 a new one seemed like a safer way to go.

tomcat

I was at the Land Rover dealer a couple of years ago and there was a nice looking Range Rover on the ground w/o wheels. I asked someone what happened and was told some guys came in during the night, put the car up on cinder blocks, and stole the wheels and tires. By the time the staff came into the dealership in the morning, the cinder blocks had collapsed. They finally added some security cameras in the parking lot after the incident.

I can't remember who it is, but someone suggested building 4 blocks from stacked pieces of 10" planks (screwed/glued together) with strips of wood at the ends to secure each tire fore and aft. Can't work if removing wheels, but more secure than jack stands.

marton

I want to get the crank bolt off.

I tried it again yesterday. Having no flywheel lock & being manual I put it in fifth gear, locked on the handbrake and gave my pipe a good pull…

car moved back along on its front jack stands, frightened me to death; I thought the front wheel would drop on my foot – see foto

Idocdes

Based on this line of conversation, how many have garage lifts? If so which type pillar or scissor? have been long deliberating putting a scissor lift for work and tire relief(not a daily driver).

PorKen

Yikes!

The pre-86, round jack pads weren't designed with jack stands in mind. Until I made my bars, I had never put the car on stands! The pads aren't much good for jacking, either; part of the reason I made a third (and fourth) contact point.

dr bob

Marton-

Stands of the type in your picture were outlawed for sale in the US quite a while ago. We get to use cast or welded-frame stands now. It also looks like you are supporting the car at a body seam instead of a jack point.

I did a thumbnail calculation of the lateral force needed to roll the car off of the standard 2-ton stands at half-height, adn was amazed when it came up with a number of about 175 lbs of pull. Changing to the 3-ton stands with the larger base helped a lot, pushing the requied force well over 200 lbs lateral with teh stands at the same height.

marton

Bob




Oh dear

marton

ODSharkBytes

This thread brought back some frightening teenage memories.... I used a scissor jack for a quick rear wheel cylinder replacement on an MGB. The car rolled slightly, the jack fell, and I had both of my shoulders touching each other under my chin, and a driveshaft trying to relocate some vertebrae in my neck. Luckily my stump-pullin' sisters were home, and lifted the vehicle before I choked to death. I know own several floor jacks and an awesome assortment of jack stands. Be careful and never take a simple job for granted. I had a few broken bones and separations that eventually healed but would have rather learned about this peril in a more pallatable way. My advice would be to always have an extra jack close and a buddy to keep you company when under a vehicle as a minimum contigency.