chily2008

I am not quite sure how this happened however I had my car on jack stands overnight. I had a stand on each side of the engine mount bar, I had the jack on the left rear jack point and I had an extra jack stand laying under the suspension on the drivers rear (this wasn't in use, just laying there). I am not really sure what happened over night however the jack had given out, the drivers side lack stand had also given out. I inspected the car and found that when the jack/stand gave out, the lower drivers side control arm landed contacted the jack stand that I had laying on the ground. The control arm snapped in two pieces!!! I was surprised that the arm snapped because the car could have only fallen 1/2 to 1 inch. Oh well, looks like i've got a new project.

Doug Donsbach

It's really easy to break things when you load them in ways they weren't designed to be loaded.

Jacks will bleed down (sometimes quickly and without warning) so they can't be trusted to take the place of a properly positioned jack stand.

springgeyser

Just be happy you were not under the car at that time.

AOW162435

Do yourself a favor and invest in a set of AC jack stands. Beyond bombproof.





Andreas

SH || NC

You left a jack, not jackstand, supporting a portion of your car's weight overnight, with jackstands sitting under it?

How did the jackstand fail? Did it /bendcrumple? What was the ton rating?

Sounds like maybe the jack failed, then the car slid off the jackstand.

If that's all that's damaged, I think I'd consider myself lucky.

chily2008

I think that the jack gave out (not very unexpected). Since the car can change position when a jack lowers (car doesn't go perfectly up and down) I think that it made the position of the jackstand unstable. I think that the jackstand then slipped then the car fell ontop of the third jackstand that I had. My original description of the jackstand giving out was more because I did't know how to describe it properly. All the jackstands held and were not damaged. Ultimately, the problem is with me and not really the jack or jackstands. As previously mentioned, jacks do bleed overtime. I should have planned for this and simply supported the car only with the jackstands. If I get a chance, I will take pics of the control arm.

FYI- i was using a few different types of jackstands- both were cheapos. I think one set was from autozone and the other was from walmart. Both held up well.

Botsy67

I am always scared of jacking up the car using the rear jackstand pads to lift-up the front and put-in the jack-stands there because I am afraid that when lowering the rear the slight shift of the car (rear tire contact with ground) could shift the front jack-stand location and the car weight could have severe the cooling piping along the car. Therefore I think your jack did shifted too (lower over time) shifting the car... Thanks for sharing your experiences so that others can avoid it next time. Cheers,

himself

Sorry to hear about it! But it sounds like a good time to install the GT3 lower control arms

-td

Edgy01

Clearly the control arm was hit in a way it was never designed for and failed. Not entirely surprising. But as Andreas stated, you have to get serious about jacks if you're going to have a Porsche. Never trust a hydraulic floor jack overnight. Have serious jacks because you're dealing with a lot of weight, and at some point you're going to be under that car.

Recently there was an outstanding group buy on the 993 forum for German designed, Chinese made jack stands. I would trust them with my life. How about yours?

chily2008

Here is a picture of the jack stands that I used. The picture was taken on my other car

AOW162435

Dan,
I have the older, Made in Denmark, AC Hydraulic stands. The newer 'ESCO' stands you reference are in indeed made in China. A friend of mine has a set - functionally they are identical and we both purchased from The Ultimate Garage.

Based on more than three years of constant use, I'd say the AC stands were galvanized. The ESCO stands appear painted, as my friend's stands are already showing signs of rust on some of the welds.


Andreas

chily2008

Does anybody have a 996 control arm available? I thought that I was able to get one but it has been more difficult and expensive than expected. If anybody has one and also would be willing to ship it immediately via next day service, I would be greatly appreciative. Of coarse, I would pay for the part and shipping. I can pay ASAP via paypal.

Thanks,
Steve

tornik550@hotmail.com

Edgy01

Andreas--the latest batch appear to be painted, with cadmium plated hardware. It's still a very nice rig,--you just have to stay on top of them and avoid exposing them to severe conditions without inspection.

chily2008

I am trying to remove the broker control arm. Everything is going well except one part. The bolt that is closest to the brake caliper (looks to be a ball joint) will not come out. I was able to remove the nut however the ball joint seems stuck and I cannot remove it. Are there any tricks to this or do I simply need to put a little muscle into it.

Thanks again,
Steve

dallison28

http://car-part.com $100-200