Safe use of jacks

[rascalmaster]

Iv had a car come off a jack, now wouldn't even change a wheel without axle stands in the right place.

Thanks!
Was wondering where to put the axle stands; pics are very descriptive! ( turns out I picked the right spot)

 

[BobbyHowie]

Just to add another element to this:

When changing a wheel with the car on a jack, keep hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions to hold the wheel - never have your hands above the tyre and beneath the wheel arch.

Excellent advice. I was lining up a rear tyre with my arm on top and the car slowly rolled forward trapping my arm. It luckily didn't collapse completely and I managed to pull it free. A bit bruised but that was all. Car was in Park but hadn't depressed the foot-brake far enough.

 

[219]

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.

I normally raise the car with the trolley jack , then push the axle stands in with a long handled brush , rather than reaching under myself . Any minor adjustments of the stands can be done with the broom as the car is slowly lowered down onto them .

 

[Mercsys]

Another point for putting even a thin wheel or spare under the sill, is that if car does slip off jack, you will get a second chance to get the jack under the car. Once the car is on the deck you have another problem to get the jack back under the car!!!

 

[EdmundIJones]

I'd like to ask, what weight trolley jack and axle stands can you use?
For example, my W203 is around 2500kg, if I were going to jack up one corner could I use a 2ton jack or does it have to be a 3ton? Likewise, how should axle stands be specified, 2 x 2ton holding a 2500kg car or 2x3ton?

No point in using equipment if if isn't strong enough.

 

[rascalmaster]

not that i advocate exceeding SWLs but generally Safe Working Loads are at least 1 sixth of the breaking stress...

besides if you jack up one corner of a 2.5 tonne car- thats 700kg on your jack. even if you jacked up one end in it's entirety- thats 1.25 tonnes...

so; youre safe ;-)

 

[rascalmaster]

not that i advocate exceeding SWLs but generally Safe Working Loads are at least 1 sixth of the breaking stress...

besides if you jack up one corner of a 2.5 tonne car- thats 700kg on your jack. even if you jacked up one end in it's entirety- thats 1.25 tonnes...

so; youre safe ;-)

 

[rascalmaster]

is it just my computer/ iphone/ ipad or are others getting duplicate posts put up as well?

 

[EdmundIJones]

Thats what I figured with regards to a trolley jack, you could us ea 2ton jack ok on a 2500kb car. What about axle stands though, I'm assuming you'd want to be really safe and go for at least 3ton each to be sure, I've seen cheap axle stands buckle before.

 

[effbee584]

I used to jack up Aircraft using hydraulic jacks - big ones - they all have a heavy duty screw down ring that is turned down all the time the jack is raising the aircraft and that locks the jack at height just in case the hydraulics fail. This type of strong mechanical lock could be adapted on hydraulic car jacks - my crocodile jack does not have any locking mechanism. Staying up relies on not touching the release valve! Hence the axle stands I also use. Of course it would not stop the car falling off a dogy jacking point.

 

[bob_corinna]

yes, this is something we are all maybe guilty of, If its a quick job and cant find my stands, I use the road wheel and some blocks of wood under the sill and I lower the jack so the wood it just touching, if the car falls it will then take all the weight, if your worried about putting your shiny alloys under the sill put a car mat on top of it then the wood pieces. simples

 

[Jupiter1]

Since I got into retro-classic ownership earlier last year (and now owning a W124 as my latest retro....) I invested in a Halfords trolley jack, think it's 2-tonne - and some Draper ratchet 2-tonne axle stands. I would never never never go under a car with just a jack of any kind supporting it. What a pointless/ridiculous way to be maimed for life or even worse...

 

[Norm126]

A good thread, and those photos are useful.

Also I wonder if others also have some more good photos of jacking cars up correctly and photos of where the axles stands should go?

Placing the spare under the sill is also a very good idea and not something I've done but will certainly start doing!!

 

[Dblock]

Bump so people read this. As Norm says guides about where to place stands is a good start.

But IMO you shouldnt get anyware near a car with out ramps/stands. Always leave the jack in place as a back up. If you have 4 stands and you only need 2 as your working on the front lets say. Put the other 2 in places that if it was to fall it would catch you.

I am shocked to hear people still lose their life over this, its a real shame. Please take the extra few mins to check if the car is stable before doing anything.

 

[EdmundIJones]

I'm looking to start doing my own Oil changes and my biggest concern is having the car safe while I'm under it, for some reason even when I have the car on axle stand I'm never very secure trying to remove a suborn bolt or anything in case the car shifts. I reckon I'd be a lot happier with ramps to put the car on (font or back only at a time obviously) and then put some axle stands in place as a just in case.

My question is, what spec ramps would I need for my W203 to lift up the front end? Would 2ton ramps each side be okay?

Also, not really related but would the oil still drain correctly from the sump if the front is elevated on stands?

 

[219]

I just heard this morning about an HGV mechanic who had jacked up a truck with a bottle jack , and was reaching underneath to place an axle stand when the jack failed and trapped him underneath . He was fortunate only to be slightly injured ; it could easily have had worse consequences .

This just highlights how easily things can go wrong , and that even reaching in to place axle stands can be risky . I can't remember if I mentioned it before , but my standard proceedure is to jack the car up without reaching underneath ( a trolley jack can be slid into position whilst keeping yourself at a safe distance ; even a bottle jack can be pushed in using a broom or similar ) . Once the vehicle is raised , slide the axle stands in using a long handled implement like the aforementioned broom before lowering back slowly onto them .

The broom can also be used for pulling the stands back out before lowering the vehicle back to the ground .

I still go on about this , having lost a good friend to this type of accident , also having read of numerous other deaths and injuries on this very thread , and still regularly hear about additional incidents such as the one I just described .

Clearly , people still take risks believing it cannot happen to them .

Please , don't become another statistic .

 

[EdmundIJones]

It seems to me like ramps are by far the safer option if working under the car, the downside is you can't take the wheels off if using them.

 

[silver_star]

I was at the historic racing the other week at Donnington Park and noticed a Lotus Cortina jacket up rather high with a "mechanic" lying right underneath it. No axle stands or chocks in sight and the car diddn't look too steady as he was levering something around the rear axle and leaf springs!!

 

[NW_Merc]

I'm looking to start doing my own Oil changes and my biggest concern is having the car safe while I'm under it, for some reason even when I have the car on axle stand I'm never very secure trying to remove a suborn bolt or anything in case the car shifts. I reckon I'd be a lot happier with ramps to put the car on (font or back only at a time obviously) and then put some axle stands in place as a just in case.

My question is, what spec ramps would I need for my W203 to lift up the front end? Would 2ton ramps each side be okay?

Also, not really related but would the oil still drain correctly from the sump if the front is elevated on stands?

If you're concerned with the car falling from a jack, then use a suction pump to remove the oil through the dipstick tube. This is what the dealership does anyway.

 

[Aoraki]

If you're concerned with the car falling from a jack, then use a suction pump to remove the oil through the dipstick tube. This is what the dealership does anyway.

Really? Wonder why they charge for a new drain plug washer then?