# Jack safety and the importance of paying attention



## noquacks (Jun 5, 2010)

Bigplanz said:


> I
> 
> Then I had a beer. Or three. No more car repairs for a week or so.


Geez, Big, I had 2 beers and didnt even have to jack up any vans/cars. It was pretty easy......LOL
Good tip on safety. Too many do not heed warnings.


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

noquacks said:


> Geez, Big, I had 2 beers and didnt even have to jack up any vans/cars. It was pretty easy......LOL
> Good tip on safety. Too many do not heed warnings.


i have never seen a road fail! Saw a jack punch tbrough a rusted frame rail, but never a road just gouge out like that. On a 4200 pound minivan?!?!? Whoa!

Edit to add: always pull a wrench. It you push, open your hand, don't curl your fingers over it. Damn my knuckle hurts.


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## ukrkoz (Dec 31, 2010)

Glad YOU are OK.
Yes, asphalt on a hot day is not the steadiest surface. Ask all the girls in stiletto shoes, that stopped on asphalt to chat for 10 minutes, on hot summer day. Then took off - with them stilettos embedded into asphalt.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

When you pull a wrench and it slips , you hit yourself in the nose. "been there done that". it aint no fun. Your eyes water, you want to swear, but everyone is laughing so hard and you feel like a fool. 

Now for the jack slippage. I am glad that you are still able to talk about it. 

I did a similar stunt in 1977, Working on the steering on my MACH I , the jack slipped, while I was under the car, no stands no blocks of any kind. It came down on me, I woke up in the hospital two weeks later with a hole in my head above my left ear, a blind left eye, a deaf left ear, was told that I would never walk again, Yadda yadda. 
Finally left the hospital after 10 weeks, walking. 

Still half blind, half deaf, And an avid proponent of vehicule repair safety. I do not want to trump your story with my own . 

Anyway I thank you for getting this important safety announcement out to all the other D I Y ers that read this. 

ED


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## 95PGTTech (Jun 24, 2014)

de-nagorg said:


> When you pull a wrench and it slips , you hit yourself in the nose. "been there done that". it aint no fun. Your eyes water, you want to swear, but everyone is laughing so hard and you feel like a fool.


Not if you're pulling correctly. Pull a wrench, never push it is one of the first lessons taught in AUT100 class (literally). Other than the knuckle busting issue, which is significantly worse than hitting any part of your body, you are also far less likely to lose your balance when pushing if you are working like us on a lift. Your body is designed to pull (contract) muscles, not push so you also are able to generate significantly more torque and ergonomics are significantly improved (something we try to stress to kids who may be doing this 30+ years).

I had a brand new driveway poured a few years back and I've been using a 4x8 leftover sheet of 3/4 particle board as a "diffuser" underneath the jack. Placed correctly, it's big enough to do the jack and 2 jack stands all in one shot. I had plenty of jack wheel and jack stand impressions in the old drive.


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

Pull, don't push is what i was taught.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

I was not arguing over the push vs pull . 

I was just point out that a wrench will slip either way, or break. I once broke a 15/16 inch box end While pulling. And before you ask, no I did not have any cheater on it. just pure strength. 

ED


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## TheBobmanNH (Oct 23, 2012)

Yikes!

I had a scary thing happen to me where I thought I was being smart -- chocks, jack stands, etc -- when replacing the starter on a VW several years back. Where I messed up was not reading the repair manual fully -- one of the bolts that held the starter in was also an engine mount. So with my head right under the engine, I was happily taking out this (strangely long) screw to replace the motor, and all of a sudden THUNK the engine shifts down about three inches. Any more and I'd have a significantly flatter head.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

TheBobmanNH said:


> Yikes!
> 
> I had a scary thing happen to me where I thought I was being smart -- chocks, jack stands, etc -- when replacing the starter on a VW several years back. Where I messed up was not reading the repair manual fully -- one of the bolts that held the starter in was also an engine mount. So with my head right under the engine, I was happily taking out this (strangely long) screw to replace the motor, and all of a sudden THUNK the engine shifts down about three inches. Any more and I'd have a significantly flatter head.


And I know from experience you don't want that. :thumbup:


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## 95PGTTech (Jun 24, 2014)

de-nagorg said:


> I was not arguing over the push vs pull .
> 
> I was just point out that a wrench will slip either way, or break. I once broke a 15/16 inch box end While pulling. And before you ask, no I did not have any cheater on it. just pure strength.
> 
> ED


Defective or cheap quality tool. A humans capacity to generate force on a 14" long fulcrum is significantly less digits than the tensile strength of an appropriate wrench alloy


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

95PGTTech said:


> Defective or cheap quality tool. A humans capacity to generate force on a 14" long fulcrum is significantly less digits than the tensile strength of an appropriate wrench alloy


Top of the line guaranteed for life SNAP-ON. 


ED


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## noquacks (Jun 5, 2010)

Good stories- also, even with good stands/blocks, etc, NEVER get under a car with engine running (say, to chack out an exhaust leak).


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## 95PGTTech (Jun 24, 2014)

de-nagorg said:


> Top of the line guaranteed for life SNAP-ON.
> 
> 
> ED


Defective casting. Happens even to the best of 'em.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

95PGTTech said:


> Defective casting. Happens even to the best of 'em.


 I disagree!. 

let us forget it and move on.

ED


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## Chokingdogs (Oct 27, 2012)

yikes! i love working on cars, but i absolutely HATE being under them while on stands. good to see nothing happened beyond an adrenaline spike. 

one can never be too careful or prepared when supporting 3, 4, 5 thousand pounds of people squashing metal.

asphalt - terrible, especially driveways, to have a car on typical 4 legged stands. some higher end stands have a flat bottom to distribute the load better.

prepare for the worst, cause if it happens, one typically doesnt get a second chance.

i always have two floor jacks under the car, while it's on stands, and my sensitive skin is under it. i also have a couple steel rims i put under as well, near where i am. so i have some redundancy in terms of safety....if a stand blows or the vehicle shifts, there's jacks, if they go, there's steel. 

always always always.....rock the car once it's up, if there's an issue, better to have it then....


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## cjm94 (Sep 25, 2011)

I guess I'm spoiled with multiple hoists. As I'm getting older crawling under cars sucks. If it's not on a hoist someone else can work on it!


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