Ive been trying to find one of these(the kwiklift set up, not the truck) local to me on Craigslist. I have a low ceiling the the garage so they look like a decent option if I can get one cheap enough. Its called Kwiklift and I guess the company just shut down. I know they were pricey brand new, but Ive seen them on C.L. for as little as 350.00.
It's always sad to hear about someone being injured or killed doing something they love. To help others, including me, avoid similar dangers, can anyone confirm the proper location for jacks and stands? I have a '66 Skylark and I'm always concerned that either my floor jack or stands may not be properly positioned. I haven't yet received my owners manual that I'm should detail these things. Thanks for any coaching. Theo My66Skylark
Placement of your stands depends on what your doing under the car. No matter where you put them make sure they are flat on the ground, on concrete. have the upper part on solid steel either on a axel tube, frame rail or I somtimes put them under the lower A frame. As long as its making good contact and its not on sheet metal. Once there set and weight is on them give the car a good shake to make sure its not gonna move then go to work.
Seen numerous jack accidents in my line of work.... Jack stands, wheel chocks and or sturdy ramps always and always test stability before climbing under. always have a jack in place as backup. Leave the concrete blocks for building foundations, seen them fail too. :Smarty: also while we are on the safety subject, Ive seen way too many gas fires started by incandescent drop lights. a good buddy burned down his business and burned the hell out of himself just changing a damn gas filter. florescent/led hand lamps the only way to go and they dont blow out when you jar them. :eek2:
i managed to get one of those air jacks that has the double locks and picks up off of pads that fit on the frame.... but,,,, I still use jack stands under it too.... yes they are in the way, but I had rather work around them than get hurt.....
This is an old story, but in the early '60s there was a dealership on Rt 9 in Natick, MA "HIGHWAY PLYMOUTH". My brother's '58 Plymouth "Golden Commando"-powered wagon was in for an oil change. The car next to it was in for a fuel gauge sender. The Mechanic (that's what they were called then) who was working on the tank had an incandescent drop light under the tank when he disconnected the fuel line. The gasoline hit the light and you can figure out the rest. When the smoke cleared (no pun intended) The building and 16 cars - including many brand new Plymouths and my brother's wagon - were rubble. My brother got a new '60 Plymouth wagon out of it, but the dealer never recovered. LED drop lights are a good thing.
My dad always taught me that when the wheels come off the car, they go UNDER it. First, it keeps them out of the way. Also, it's your last line of defense should all the other equipment fail. One time, I wanted my mothers husband to look at something under my Mustang and all I had was the scissor jack. He was just about to poke his head underneath when all the threads stripped off the screw and that car came down in a hurry! I still sweat bullets any time I have to use one of those things.
Thanks all. Two wheel chocks on both front tires, jack stands on the rear axle near each wheel and an 12" solid wood cube (leftover from a recent construction project) under the rear differential. Belts and suspenders, perhaps...but I felt pretty darn safe. Theo My66Skylark
My wife was so worried about a jacked-up car falling on me during my solo wrenching sessions that when we had our house built, she told the builder to put a pit in one bay of the garage. She even helped design it. It works well for oil changes, and exhaust & trans work, or any other jobs that don't require the car be jacked up. Seems quite safe. It added $1000 to the cost of our house.
awesome wife :TU: The camp I worked at had a pit like that, made oil changes, flywheel changes, trans drops and the like pretty easy.
I'm guilty of working under cars with just a jack; my mom and dad's fwd Park Ave. and LeSabre for oil changes. I put the jack behind the rt. front wheel, on the engine/susp. cradle mount. So I'm just lifting the one wheel to the point it's just off the floor. We have a 4 post hoist, but it's usually got junk sitting on it, so we can't use it for what it's intended for.
