Topic: You DO use jack stands don't you???

[Sly Bob]

This guy was working on his Honda and while working on his car, the jack slipped or broke. He did not have jack stands under the car, this could have ended SO much worse than it did.

Please guys, if you go under there, even for a minute, make sure you use jack stands.

https://www.carscoops.com/2020/08/police-save-man-trapped-under-honda-civic-in-arizona/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkwgZgrbWUM

[Ironhide]

That's the reason why I'll never lift my car on my own.

If I need to lift it I'll always bring it to a local garage or car dealer.

Years ago I had a very bad experience with my 1978 Beetle.


My highest respect to all of the U.S. police officers, firefighters, paramedics and the job they are doing.

[elff]

My highest respect to all of the U.S. police officers, firefighters, paramedics and the job they are doing.

Thanks Man
They can use all the support they can get in todays environment.
99%+ of them are great people, doing a very hard job, for very little money.

First mistake of this guy was those flip flops. Put on some man shoes ya sissy.  LOLOL

After owning a jeep for years,  I never felt comfortable getting underneath a car that can actually land on me. 
I'll beat SA to it, I can stand under a jeep and even if it falls off the stands it's still going to be very high.  Also,  Since i had 37"x12.5" tires, I would put the one that was removed, directly under the frame next to where I was working. 

Joe Jr and me had a solstice shift off a jack stand when we were pulling the exhaust at a Mod Meet.  That was not a fun moment.

[Sly Bob]

Thanks Man
They can use all the support they can get in todays environment.
99%+ of them are great people, doing a very hard job, for very little money.

First mistake of this guy was those flip flops. Put on some man shoes ya sissy.  LOLOL

After owning a jeep for years,  I never felt comfortable getting underneath a car that can actually land on me. 
I'll beat SA to it, I can stand under a jeep and even if it falls off the stands it's still going to be very high.  Also,  Since i had 37"x12.5" tires, I would put the one that was removed, directly under the frame next to where I was working. 

Joe Jr and me had a solstice shift off a jack stand when we were pulling the exhaust at a Mod Meet.  That was not a fun moment.

I agree 100% that the front line workers are doing a great job and deserve a lot of credit. They do so many selfless things that we don't see, unfortunately that stuff usually doesn't make it on to the evening news.

The guys sandals? Yeah the comments on YouTube and on Carscoops where I originally saw the story hammered the guy for wearing his wife's footwear. Just glad he's okay because that's not often the case.

[elff]

If he had removed either of those tires, he would not have survived.   Guy is lucky he can be made fun of.

[Ironhide]

I agree 100% that the front line workers are doing a great job and deserve a lot of credit. They do so many selfless things that we don't see, unfortunately that stuff usually doesn't make it on to the evening news.

I totally agree with you!

[Sol Asylum]

My take on this is if you are too stupid to know you use jack stands society will be better off without you.  I think we have saved too many people from their own ignorance and we now find ourselves with people that think we can end crime by getting rid of the police.

I say we keep the police and make stupidity illegal. 

Someone should have dropped a jack stand on that guys feet and he could have learned two lessons.

[elff]

The kids who were given participation trophies are a good number of the people rioting.

[kgschlosser]

and Oh for the love of god for those of you that do use jack stands just because they can go up as high as they do doesn't mean that you put them up that high. It is right up there with standing on the top of a step ladder. we don't do that right?? and why not?? I am pretty sure you can see the outcome. Also putting a vehicle up on 4 jack stands is not the smartest thing to do either. If possible using a solid timber like an 8x8 or a 6x6 that is 5-6 feet long and will go across the width of the car on one end of the car as a replacement for 2 jack stands is much safer to do. One stand can tip pulling the whole car over. with both sides of the car resting on the same support it's not going to fall over as easily.

what it boils down to is this. If you have a thought that there may be an issue with the stability of the car.. then guess what?? The is an issue and you need to fix it before getting under. And don't be like that tool in the video. take a tire off if needs be and slide the thing under the rocker of the car. The car can be fixed. dying from a crushed chest cannot be fixed!

[Uranium-238]

I completely agree with part of what you said, which is running jack stands at max height. "Budget" stands seem to have a smaller footprint, and therefor are less able to resist being torqued over. I've got a regular 3-ton set, but when I did the clutch on the Camaro I had it on the 6-ton set.

I completely disagree with the 8x8/6x6 option. It's just not possible on any of my cars, though I could probably get it to work on my truck. Lift/jack points are a thing, and if they're recessed front/back left/right that suddenly involves stacking and that's way sketchier than a good jack stand.

Sometimes you have to use the smaller jack stands, as on our Charger. The lift point and the jack stand point are so close together there just isn't any other option.

Working under a vehicle involves risk, and risk which is impossible to completely mitigate. Lifts, ramps, stands, none eliminate risk. The thing to do is just pick the solution that best fits your goal.

And for 's sake, try and push the car off the stand before you go under it. I just did the oil in the Camaro yesterday, and as always I open the door, grab the a and b pillars and give the car a good shove before I go under it.

[wspohn]

Sol Asylum - stupidity is only evolution in action if it gets them before they are old enough to breed more idiots. Too late for that guy, I think.

I still have jack stands I bought for racing in the 1970s and they still do what they were intended to do, safely. If I had to go out and buy new ones, the plethora of imported crap stands would bewilder me.  I guess one can research them online, but a good review may just mean that they haven't caused a car to fall on anyone....yet.

[kgschlosser]

@wspohn

I intentionally go out and look for old tools If I ever come across a set of old jack stands I would buy them in a heartbeat. They are much stronger then the ones made today. I picked up a floor jack that was made in the late 1960's the thing is a beast bit it would be next to impossible to tip the thing over. It is really low to the ground and crazy wide. and it has something like a 1" pipe for a handle on it. I can't remember who makes it. It was 10 bucks at the local recycle place.

I have a steep driveway that offers no level spots it is always interesting lifting a car. I tool a 6x6x5 and notched it in 2 places then I took a couple of 18" 2x4's and put them in the notches to make an H and lagged it together. I made up spacers to "stack" that have a tongue on one side and a groove on the other so when stacked they can't slide apart. I use the jack stands in combination with the 6x6 if I have to lift the whole end of the car off the ground.

I just recently did the suspension on my Lincoln MKS, I replaced every single moving part in the suspension including the axles and wheel bearings. It was interesting getting the thing completely in the air but when I did the car was level and it was not moving at all. 5000LB car, 4 jack stands and 2 of those 6x6 setups.

I can't wait until I start building my garage. 2.5 car 2 story gambrel roof with a lift on one side. It is going to be much nicer to do work on a project car and not have to work on a slope, it sucks when a socket goes rolling away while under the car.

[wspohn]

Another nice thing about the old commercial floor jacks os that if the hydraulics go out as they may do after 40 years or so, you can have the seas replaced and the cylinder bore touched up (pretty much like resetting a brake or clutch cylinder). You can try that with your Harbor Freight Chinese cylinder, but chances are it will end up in land fill.

When the HF units cost under $200 and the professional units are $1,000-2000 plus, it's easy to understand why.  But shops are going out of business all the time and you can pick up pro quality used tools for a relative pittance at liquidators or auctions.

[Steelmesh]

My brother was a paramedic years ago and warned me with a gore story about a local person down the road who bled out after a car fell on him in a barn, he couldn't call for help (we're outside the city).  I also make sure I have a cell phone on me at all times when working under my car, better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it...also I find myself under my cars a lot so risk is higher for me. 

I feel pretty good about my quickjacks, where there is both hydraulics and a mechanical bar hold the car up, and you can easily put a jackstand under the platform; due to geometry anywhere would prevent it collapsing, but I don't do that because I'll forget to remove the jackstand, so I always use the safety bar as intended.

[kgschlosser]

I also want to make a recommendation on the style of jack stands.

Stay away from the ones that have those lever style locks. Get the ones that have pins and spring clips. The only way the lock on that style could fail is if you had to much load on the thing. And the possibility of that happening are still slim, the legs are probably going to buckle first. I personally do not use a jack stand to carry the weight of a vehicle. as I stated above I use something that is far larger and has a much lower chance of tipping. I use jack stands as additional frame support and stabilization.

ever notice that the top of a jack stand has a notch in the middle of it??? this notch fits perfectly on a sway bar frame mount. HINT HINT HINT. this is a great place too position a jack stand on most vehicles.