Mechanic gets crushed by car

You'll see on some of the multiple video posts where people are saying it was staged (as in the "JackAss" movies). Well, shop camera, it seems. And why in the hell would anybody go to the trouble of faking this? This is not Johnny Knoxville having osme fun hurting himself for $$$. It's a real safety issue.

 

For guys who wanna use "cinder" blocks, use an inflated tire instead. (I do use concrete blocks to keep cars up from ground dampness, not to crawl under.) Notice, I say CONCRETE blocks, NOT CINDER BLOCKS! You can tell the diff easily. You can't carry but 2 CONCRETE blocks at a time; they are HEAVY. Cinder blocks are light, 'cause they're are made with fly ash. And they are porous & weak.

Now, even if using CONCRETE blocks, don't for Chris' sakes do what the guy with the ratrod is doing! He's got the blocks lying on their SIDE! That is where they are WEAK. They are darn stong IF stood UPright!!!

Once again, LEVEL SURFACE! And, take extra time for as many BACK-UPs as you have materials & room to do! (Jack stands, inflated tires, arm-length pieces of railroad ties or equivalent, etc.) The skull or chest you save may be your own!

 

An engineer some where designed them , so that means there safe. Pedal cars may be....

 

the cheapies will make a good base for homemade trophys !

 

Stand's, spare tire, railroad tie (yep) ect. Oh, if ya bench: use a spotter.

 

I always use them, even if I'm only going under for a second!

 

can someone post a pic of GOOD jack stands. i've heard of casting flash not letting the lever lock in on the teeth type. i use some pinned stands (rated at 6 ton) but they're still stamped sheet metal. here's mine:

 

Always have something thicker than yourself under that car, and certainly no cinder blocks. Personaly I'm alot thicker than a cinder block but they will crumble without warning.

 

I avoid those like the plague for a couple of reasons, the first being the sharp edges on the feet. If you're using it on solid concrete, you're fine. However, you better not use those on anything else...blacktop, gravel, and a hell no for dirt. The second reason is the fact that you crank those up, I've always been paranoid that it will fail, ratcheting down and slamming on top of me. I get the ones that have the flat feet on the bottom, 3 ton limit, and the pinned U bolt. Here's what I use:

Not my pic, and I know that the arm isn't solid, but the safest ones in my mind at least.

That mirrors my concern about the ratcheting jackstands. I also had a brand new 2 ton jack burst a seal and come crashing down while my car was up. There was no motor or rear end in the damn thing. I called up the manufacturer and asked them to fix it (about a month and a half after I bought it, as AutoKillZone wouldn't take it after 30 days) and they said I couldn't get it fixed w/out the original receipt....they wouldn't accept my detailed debit card statement. Jackholes.....I'll never buy another Torin.

Like this?



Yeah, that was me. What you don't see is that right after I got it up there, I threw some rims under the front suspension.....and I already had the 6 ton floor jack hovering under the rear. I know that those high density blocks most likely wouldn't mean shit, but after having four 3 ton jackstands, rims, jack, and hd concrete blocks, I figured it would be buy me a *little* more safety. Maybe not. I need some damn 12x12 wood blocks.

 

This is a set of stands that we made to set up oval track car.I use them all the time and they are safe.

As a kid, i saw a 55 Buick fall on a mechanic and kill him.He was using a truck jack.That has been a lasting memory for me. Always think ahead and be safe!

 

Lost the photo..!

 

Fuck that, cement blocks or cinder blocks, I don't give a shit. If you want to work under a car, support it well and use double redundancy.

Back to the point, an unreinforced concrete block is ALMOST as dumb (within 10% as dumb) to trust your life to as a cinder block.

I don't really want to be a huge dick about this but the circumstances in this case dictate that I am.

 

I am guilty of getting under a vehicle once with just a jack. Circumstance dictated it, there was no other choice.
We were in a 4WD ambulance supporting firefighters during a major bush fire(Wildfire) we had to bug out in a hurry to save our asses. Going up a steep goat track we got a flat, it was so steep the ambo couldn't get up there with the flat so I rolled it back down to a level(ish) switchback.
Got the jack out, some prick has swapped out the stout 4WD jack for a normal car bottle jack. It was so short I had to get under the ambo and put the jack under the rear diff. Placed the jack and started to jack. My partner started to undo the wheel nuts, he had them all un-done but the wheel was still on there when the ambo slipped off the jack. I was laying on my side and I swear my shoulders touched when it came down!
Luckily the wheel jammed in the wheel well and held it up enough to get out.
The problem was I had to get under and do it again, with the massive bushfire bearing down on us it was do or die.
I used the jack handle to scrape some of the road surface to make it a little more even, fuck that ground was hard. This time we got it done (I jacked it, got out then we pulled the wheel and put the spare on)
Scary as shit with the roar of the fire, black smoke and glow of the flames. Lucky to make it out alive for sure!
Doc.

 

I watched a dude in "flip-flops" and shorts remove an engine from an OT car. He raised the front of the car 5ft off the ground using a wrecker boom and 1 small hook attached to the bumper. He spent an hour under that death trap taking crap loose. It didn't fall but, shit, that is insane.

 

I was working on a truck on an overhead 2 post lift. It was weight biased to the front. The rack legs were locked in the proper fashion, the weight bent the locks letting the front fall between the rails and landing on me. Lesson learned use a stand even with lifts. Damage result... broken bones in my back, pain in all parts of my body, especially in weather like we are having now.

 

Holey shit man, you are one lucky guy to survive that! I have always been a little hesitant about getting under a car on a lift, dunno why it just creeps me out (Probably thinking of what happened to you).
Doc.

 

I think this is worthy of staying at the top, a warning for all.

 

Go another step further and ALWAYS were eye protection when in the shop AND ear protection especially around air tools. You'll lose your hearing fast!

 

I'm 64, and have been using a set of those cheapass tubing jackstands for 40 years. After reading this thread, I guess I've just been lucky. Never again though. I'm too cheap to toss 'em (still good for some purposes like holding a big part) but I did just now go out to the garage and I tag them all "DO NOT USE UNDER A CAR" as a reminder to me and a warning to others who might use them.
Bunch of you guys mighta just saved my sorry ass. Thanks. And my bride thanks you too.

 

That explains the 15 minutes of ringing in my ears after using my air powered grinder!

 

They say a picture's worth 1000 words....

And no, that's NOT me!

Cheers, Glen.

 

I had the same thing happen to me!!!
Working under my Karmann Ghia with yes, "the cheapy jackstands", a small quake hit, and the VW rocked, and i rolled Quick!!! It was a roller so i think thats what saved me from getting squashed instead of one of those quick jolt ones. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeh.

 

I'v got another situation to think about. You know when you absolutly have to be under the rear-end of the car as in installing a 4-link or airbags cups, mostly sitting directly under the rear trunk floor, always has given me the creeps, even when i use 12" cement blocks with railroad ties, i'm still sitting or kneeling directly under imovable sheet metal. My buddy, as great a car builder as he is, has no common sense. He'll do this with the extra tall harbor Freight stands, and i cant watch, i gotta leave.

 

49ratfink touched on something that nobody else mentioned. After lifting the car up and placing it on jackstands give it a good "SHAKE TEST"!

We apply a lot of pressure while working on cars, so please make damned sure its solid BEFORE you get under it. It literally only takes a second.

Someone else mentioned keeping the jack nearby. Also keep it accesable, and make sure your family knows how to use it! You know, like turning the handle clockwise before trying to pump it up???

 

I've always shook a car before I get under.

 

I agree those cheap stamped stands that have tack welds are dangerous buy if you weld the connectors they are considerably safer, same deal with the stamped drive on ramps, buy better stands if you can but like the rest says don't trust just a jack with your life.

 

I remember in my early days, I was changing a tie rod end on my old valiant. I jacket the car up and had the wheel unbolted. I used one of those pro scissor jacks and nothing else. While standing beside the car I heard it creak and groan, then watched as the car shifted sideways and came crashing down, bending the scissor jack in half. Its always a risk going under a car, sure you might not want to walk over and find your trolley jack and jack stands, but this is not something you should ever get lazy with.

 

I don't think I ever got under a car in my whole life with out stands and the wheels under the frame. I also pump the jack up as a back up to just barley touching the frame on side I'm working on. I really hate to loose and I'm not a betting man so...

 

i have had this type of stand fold up on me, it was outside on the dirt, not perfectly level, one corned sunk into the ground just a little and the base just folded over, i wasent under it and if i was going under i would of had the stands on some 2x6 boards all nice and level, i always leave the jack under just for something extra, they are the 6ton stands, i'm going to weld some plates up inside about 1/2" from the bottom so they can't fold, mostly if i have to go under a car i use ramps, i have welded side bars on my ramps just to make them a little stronger.