Had a run tonight, 36 yoa kid jacked his car up and got under it and it promptly fell on him. Now there is a widow and fatherless child. Just another reminder to always take the time to use jack stands. Hydraulic jacks alone are just not safe.
That is very sad. My heart goes to his family. I never trust my jack. I always use atleast 4 jack stands. Scares the hell out of me
X3,i allways use stands with the jack & block the tires with 3 angle split firewood.Dont trust those harbor freight jacks at all,or any jack!
I keep getting reminded of my sins in the past, and this is one of them. Not sure why people are so hard over on cinder blocks- they hold some serious weight. You just have to be sure to have a load spreader such as a board on top. They are terrible in shear and tension. Thus, rebar. I had a friend in high school whose jack failed and the car fell on him (sloping driveway). He lived, but his head is deformed. My sons (I have no daughters) all use the proper equipment, as I drilled it into them, with reasons why.
Sometime in the early 80's, I was pulling the trans out of a 71 Cutlass. The car was on ramps, the rear wheels were blocked by large chunks of a broken cement block, and a hydraulic jack was under the front crossmember. That was not enough. It had rained the night before and the blocks pushed into the soft ground and the car rolled backwards off the ramps and kicking the jack out the front. I was under when it came down. I recieved several dislocated ribs, broken nose, concussion, a 3 inch laceration on my forehead, and an ambulance ride. Six weeks later I was fine, except for the nightmares that lasted for several years. I now put another vehicle against the first on for security purposes.
Very sad. I use jack stands, the wheel chocks if two wheels are on the ground, and try and put something else under the frame so that if it were to come off the stands or if a stand failed, there would be something to prevent the car from coming down all the way on me. Usually a piece of firewood under the frame and the floor jacks just shy of putting pressure on the bottom of the rig. I still don't trust it even with all of that. Now in the past when I was young and immortal, I did things like pulling transmissions with the car on a jack. Even back then I usually had a nice big round of firewood under the car holding it up. One of the many reasons I say I was lucky to have survived youth.
A year or so ago, a local young fellow jacked up his car with a damn bumper jack and guess what? it failed with him under the car, and he too was crushed to death. I also had a cousin, an old stock car driver of the fifties, who crawled under his stock car, supported by a big floor jack. it failed and he too was killed. i even witnessed one of those cheapy wheel ramps collapse.
That's sad to hear. Even after I have the car up on jack stands, I give it a couple good shoves on each side, to make sure that it's going to stay up.
I saw a guy the other day with one floor jack under the center of the frame at the balance point. He had both wheels off the ground on one side and thats all. He was clear under the car, all that was sticking out was his feet. Fortunately nothing happened but it made me shiver. I felt like stopping the truck and saying something but figured he would tell me to f off. Bob H.
There have been threads here on the same topic before. I think that it's great to bring this up periodically. I believe that it was about seven years ago in this area we had two fatalities within about six weeks due to people working on pickup trucks without jack stands. Ironically, both were doing front brakes on their Chevy pickup trucks in their respective driveways. Back in the fifties and sixties, you could get wire-reinforced, steel-framed wooden milk crates easily. They were unbelievely strong and not tippy. They were the best jackstands you could use. Too bad milk does not come in glass quarts anymore. Of course, they would probably make the crates from plastic, now. Don't get under a vehicle without supplimentary support. Ever.
I always try and put a tire with a rim under the car on top of using the jack stands. This is an old trick mechanics have been using for years. One of my cars is up on jack stands now. It is a bunch of work to get a car in this position. So I decided to try and do as much as I can before I lower the car down.
This add for Kobalt just scares the chip out of me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAIRlVfQX4U And you know that they only buy the best for that garage. Edit: After looking at this a couple of times I do not think that is the #48 garage. Still that is a commercial lift and it still failed.
When I get under my car I make sure I have two jackstands in the front as close to the jacking point as possible. I ususally hook the curved ends of the jackstand into one of the lightining holes in the frame (can't think of a better term to describe them) so as to eliminate any possibility of the car sliding off the top short of the jackstand tipping. I always leave the hydraulic jack under with a little pressure as a failsafe for the jackstands versus the jackstands being a failsafe for the jack. I chock both wheels with dedicated wheel chocks and I always set the parking brake. ( I usually dont have to worry about lifting the rear since it is high enough for me to squeeze under with the car on the ground. I have watched floor jacks bleed down as I am under the car and I am always thankful I use the jackstands as the primary means of support. Under ideal situations I use steel ramps with jackstands as a primary means of support that way it acts almost as a chock to the front wheels while the jackstands take the primary load. I also feel alot safer driving up onto ramps than I do jacking the car from the center of the crossmember.
I think it should read use Jack Stands...and Only Jack Stands/Ramps. When I was 10, my best friends dad was crushed to death under their Monte Carlo because he was working on it supported by a Jack. My friend found his Dad under the car. I will always only use Jack Stands to support a car I get under. Cinder blocks will crush under impact...period. If you don't believe me, take a sledge hammer to one and look at what happens. Wood can split...anyone ever used an Axe? Not to be a dick, but I can't see why anyone would ever think of a reason where it makes sense to use something other than Jack stands to support a vehicle...they really don't cost much and it can keep you alive. Even after supporting the car on stands, I try to shake it before getting underneath and still put the wheels under the car just in case.
You can see that the car slows down just a bit before it hits the tool box, like it's gently being set on it. So it must have been rigged somehow.
Just try and tell someone the way "they" are doing it isn't safe. What an ear full you usually get. ou: I had a bumper jack fail after that it takes me longer to secure the car then it does to do the work.
