I normally drive the front end up onto the first pair of ramps , then put the trolley jack under the towbar to lift the back end . Depending on what I'm trying to access , I sometimes reverse the rear ramps as above , but if they're going to be in the way I don't worry as the car is extremely unlikely to roll off since the tyres sit down into the cross bars in the top of the ramps .
ontheball247
Member
Just to add another example, to show how common a car supported on just a jack falling, is (and so no one thinks "it rarely happens...wat r the chances?")
It's happened to me, too. Was under my 91 3rd gen prelude, and saw the jack slowly creeping to one side, just in time. I crawled out from under the car, on my back, JUST in time to save the car from landing on my face....literally (picture indiana jones crawling out from under a trapped door that's closing.lol) But yh, no joking matter guys....never risk it, even if u think "im just gona be 2seconds".
My 2pence worth towards the thread.
It's happened to me, too. Was under my 91 3rd gen prelude, and saw the jack slowly creeping to one side, just in time. I crawled out from under the car, on my back, JUST in time to save the car from landing on my face....literally (picture indiana jones crawling out from under a trapped door that's closing.lol) But yh, no joking matter guys....never risk it, even if u think "im just gona be 2seconds".
My 2pence worth towards the thread.
Ed209
Active Member
I'm cringing just picturing that^^ as know too well that sight of the jack slowly falling over-luckily I've never been under it at the time.
312 Sprinter
Active Member
I saw this posted up recently on a 2CV forum, and before anyone asks; no this isn't me!
Thats jus askin for trouble i learnt the hard way bout jacks luckery 1. I wasnt workin under the car (normaly use work ramps for that) 2. I still had two wheels bolts in the wheel i was removing so luckey no damaged was dne lol ik now more careful then ever.
Toff190
Active Member
Iv had a car come off a jack, now wouldn't even change a wheel without axle stands in the right place.
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perfect advice thank you so much.. saw an actual scene before about that jack thing falling over a man by accident.. something i wont forget i guess for the rest of my life.. guts went out .. i was there.. it was a lesson learned for me .. unfortunately not for that grease monkey... end of career for him.. sad..
Sp!ke
Administrator
I'm equally concerned with the use of axle stands. Sometimes I hear them creaking or groaning and a few times I've lowered a car down onto one side and I see the axle stand on the other side of the car lift a corner as the balance point shifts.
Whenever I get under a car on stands I also throw a spare wheel under the car beside where I'm working as extra insurance should the worst happen.
Whenever I get under a car on stands I also throw a spare wheel under the car beside where I'm working as extra insurance should the worst happen.
It's best to use wood that is larger than the jack itself for stability. Don't use 2 pieces. It's not safe. Make sure you have a solid base underneath the wood.
It is not a good idea to put the wood between the jack and the car as the wood could possibly roll out because of the movement when you are lifting.
It is not a good idea to put the wood between the jack and the car as the wood could possibly roll out because of the movement when you are lifting.
prprandall51
MB Enthusiast
This thread has reminded me of one of those "tests" that can be used to prove you are of a certain age (like owning a Kaftan, etc.). You know you are old when:
You can still remember the unique "crumbling" sound of the sill slowly collapsing around the jacking point of the car you have just jacked up.
(I will never forget jacking up my 1976 Mini and then standing up to get a spanner and hearing the dreaded sound. I have never lowered a car back to the ground so quickly, but the jack had still gone straight through the sill leaving a massive hole that I - naturally - filled with Plastic Padding and painted over.)
You can still remember the unique "crumbling" sound of the sill slowly collapsing around the jacking point of the car you have just jacked up.
(I will never forget jacking up my 1976 Mini and then standing up to get a spanner and hearing the dreaded sound. I have never lowered a car back to the ground so quickly, but the jack had still gone straight through the sill leaving a massive hole that I - naturally - filled with Plastic Padding and painted over.)
expat
New Member
Winston Churchill's advice on using a car jack
"Never, never, never, never give up" using the jack, AND jack stands, AND chocking the wheels, AND everything else to insure your safety. In other words be over the top because if something can happen, it will. And certainly you don't want to soil your MB with your body fluids!
"Never, never, never, never give up" using the jack, AND jack stands, AND chocking the wheels, AND everything else to insure your safety. In other words be over the top because if something can happen, it will. And certainly you don't want to soil your MB with your body fluids!
renault12ts
MB Club Veteran
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Where near Galway?
expat
New Member
Kilnadeema, a little town a couple miles outside Loughrea which is about 20 miles due east of Galway.
My mate owns a tyre place and so of course they have some decent jacks that are working all day long. I sometimes work in his place at night by myself to work on the car.
Well a couple of weeks ago when it was really cold i had the back of the car lifted on 2 of the trolley jacks, but i could hear one side of the car creaking and groaning, although it never moved. When i finished the back end i moved to raise the front end with the 2 trolley jacks. The one that i thought was creaking i replaced with another similar one.
I must have lifted the car up to about the point where the wheel was just coming off the ground and then a sudden "wwssshhhhttt" as the car just came straight down without any kind of warning. I hadnt turned anything on the jack to drop the car, it was still locked to lift position. And this was a heavy duty trolley jack aswell, rated to lift 3 tonnes ( i was only lifting the corner of a Vectra).
My thoughts are that maybe the coldness got to it and it couldnt hold the pressure but what still amazes me even now is how fast it came down and with absolutely NO WARNING what so ever, no creaking, squeeking or groaning. I wouldnt have stood a chance if i had been under it at the time, and it would have been another 10 hours before i would have been discovered, probably not been a pretty sight for who ever found me.
Needless to say i swapped jacks AND put axle stands under the car, despite the fact that i wasnt even working directly under it.
Well a couple of weeks ago when it was really cold i had the back of the car lifted on 2 of the trolley jacks, but i could hear one side of the car creaking and groaning, although it never moved. When i finished the back end i moved to raise the front end with the 2 trolley jacks. The one that i thought was creaking i replaced with another similar one.
I must have lifted the car up to about the point where the wheel was just coming off the ground and then a sudden "wwssshhhhttt" as the car just came straight down without any kind of warning. I hadnt turned anything on the jack to drop the car, it was still locked to lift position. And this was a heavy duty trolley jack aswell, rated to lift 3 tonnes ( i was only lifting the corner of a Vectra).
My thoughts are that maybe the coldness got to it and it couldnt hold the pressure but what still amazes me even now is how fast it came down and with absolutely NO WARNING what so ever, no creaking, squeeking or groaning. I wouldnt have stood a chance if i had been under it at the time, and it would have been another 10 hours before i would have been discovered, probably not been a pretty sight for who ever found me.
Needless to say i swapped jacks AND put axle stands under the car, despite the fact that i wasnt even working directly under it.
Yes, don`t trust new jacks, never mind old `rebuilt` ones. I was shoving an axle stand under a car lifted by a trolley jack, when the jack decided to call it a day. I was lucky, the axle stand was in a good place. I came out alive, but minus half a finger.
Dieselman
Banned
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Sounds like you had your fingers on the rest pad when manoeuvring the stand..never ever do that..always push the stands by the legs or main body.
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What I sometimes do, is get two wheels on the curb... getting there from private drive bay so as not to damage the tyre while mounting the curb.
I can then get under the car safely, as long as it is braked and choked. Obviously not useful if I need to have the wheel off, but great for checking the drive shaft or exhaust, or the engine sump area.
On another note... it is never a good idea to work on your car while alone inside a garage... always make sure that there is someone around to raise the alarm if things do go wrong.
I can then get under the car safely, as long as it is braked and choked. Obviously not useful if I need to have the wheel off, but great for checking the drive shaft or exhaust, or the engine sump area.
On another note... it is never a good idea to work on your car while alone inside a garage... always make sure that there is someone around to raise the alarm if things do go wrong.
I do the the kerb thing - but it's only any good if you are skinny - even then I find my nose very close to the exhaust etc (yes it is a distinguished nose
)On the working alone in the garage front - just being in a garage alone can be dangerous - SWMBO tripped over (nothing more sinister than a trip) in ours in Feb resulting in a dislocated fracture of the ankle/tib (metal plates, screws etc and she's only just walking unaided). Luckily I was in the house - even then I was upstairs and couldn't hear her shouting until she managed to drag herself to the door. Had I not been there she would have had to drag herself through the (sprung) door and into the house with one foot at 90 degrees to where it should be. Makes you think. One reason to always carry your mobile?
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