major accident today, angels watching over

Happened to my father years back. His arm became a jackstand for an Austin Healey 3000.

Left a patch of palm skin stuck to the underside of the chrome bumper! No other damage, thankfully...

 

Glad your ok. Where you able to decide what made it fall? What kind of car?

 

Very luck dude. I try never to work under a car alone. I think we all know horror stories about things that have happened........

 

Glad to hear you're ok. Can't ever be too cautious.
Last year a guy from nearby pulled his pick up off the jack stands onto himself while trying to wrestle with his exhaust system from under the truck. His situation didn't turn out as well as yours. He did not survive!
Even if the car is on stands you have to be careful. A frame can easily slide off a metal stand.

 

or try to pass a law against hotrods.....

 

you should go play the lottery ! very lucky indeed

 

Glad you are OK.
Get back under there.

 

Glad you're okay. You can never be too careful.Here in Taxachusetts, you would have paid a tax for calling the EMT's, Then they would have invented a tax for working on your car, then invented a "Hazardous" Permit with fee, naturally, you would have to get. etc. By the time they were done you would have to sell the car to pay the taxes, lol! Someone was watching out for you. A lucky man my friend.

 

I just lost a very good friend in this type of situation.He needed to put some touch up paint on a trailer he was building and went under it without jackstands.His wife found him and it was to late,the jackstands were sitting right next to the trailer.I think about it everyday and it still pisses me off that he would have done this.
Luckily you had a better outcome!

 

Glad you are okay, reminds me of the day I walked into my buddy's shop and he had his face in the engine compartment of his truck "Hey, could you pump up the engine hoist a bit?" he had his thumb between the motor mount and the frame! Glad to see me I think.

 

glad to hear you are ok, that stuff only happens when you're by yourself, i have'nt crushed my arm but have done plenty of accidents when no one is around to help, i've been lucky over the years.
goat

 

Woah! I had a similar accident one time when my car fell off the jackstands, I felt the car coming down on my arms as I pulled them out.. It was kindof a weird Matrix type moment, and after all the banging stopped, and I looked down to see that I had both my hands and arms intact, I shit bricks. SLOW DOWN and pay attention to what exactly is going on with your car when you're under it.
Glad to hear you're okay

 

We all tend to work in the garage ALONE at some point, it's a nightmare we have all thought about. I'm glad you are ok. I've had stuff happen...one 'accident' kept me out of my own garage for over a month from FEAR alone. Play safe out there guys.

 

Nice picture! That crushing moment could have been real disarming.
Seriously though, I am glad you are OK.

 

exactly, My mistake was setting a pair of jack stands under the axle...the pin in the leaf pack popped out from the top plate attached to the axle...then axle, the axle moved up 6 inched and the rest of the car dropped...the axle is free floating when detached from the un-bolts and shock...I should have set the axle lower and placed another set of stands on the frame rail... rookie mistake...could have cost me an arm among other things...By the way I was working on the 50 Shoebox

 

Oh, another thing, Don't ya just love Cell phones? I fell and broke a couple ribs one night in the garage, and without my Cell phone to call and wake the wife to come scoop my ass off the floor i'd still be laying there!

 

Wow! Glad you are ok.
PLEASE let us know what caused the spring to fail.

 

Glad to see you're ok!

 

I'm glad that worked out for you!


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The spring didn't fail...After detaching the shock and bottom leaf pack plate the axle had nothing to hold it in place, while I was messing around under the car the center bolt that centers the leaf pack to the axle popped out...the spring returned to its natural state and the axle bounced up 6 inches...my mistake was not securing the frame rail and leaf springs along with the axle...

 

Wow! You dodged a bullet there. Glad your injuries are minor. I already have plenty of jackstands, but maybe I'll buy a couple more, just in case!

 

I was pinned under the running board and frame rail of my 40 once (of coarse I was alone) and was lucky enough to have the jack close enough to reach it with my feet. Scarry shit!! Sat in the office with my head in my hands a while after that one.... Had wood blocks under the wheels, pulled the driveshaft and was just rolling out from under the car when it rolled off the blocks. The car landed on the blocks. Front bumper and the rocker just ahead of the rear wheels were setting on the blocks. Lucky I had a plastic creeper to take some of the shock and the jack handy. Dumbass thing to do but shit happens when you get into a hurry.

 

You are very, very lucky - glad you are OK!

 

After a long, slow learning curve and a number of miraculous escapes that I was too young to appreciate...
My take on under car work has come down to this: Any jackstand that I can afford and that is compact enough for home car use is crap..too little footprint/height ratio, before even worrying about welds.
I have come to like SOLID WOOD. Pieces of heavy timber, store bought railroad tie material OK, real RR ties or things like 12X12 timber chunks better. Using fairly short pieces you can easily make supports that are reasonably light and wider than high.
I have a pet piece of timber that is about 12X12X16 that goes under the car with me...with that thing sensibly placed somewhere near where I am I feel PROTECTED.

 

its strange, but I tried legging the jack but couldn't...I was fumbling around in my tool box trying to find something to pry and get leverage under the body...then I found that 3/4 reducer I had been looking for for months...funny as heck...

 

Damn dude, glad to hear your ok.

Kinda reminds me of one night I was working late at the dealer. 10:30 PM, no one but me there, doing some brake work on a heavy truck. Dropped my hammer in my tool cart drawer and the whole thing fell over, taking me with it, got my leg pinned under the cart with the rest of me under the truck, cell phone on my tool box 10 feet away. And to top it off I fell into the truck before I hit the ground, causing the whole thing to start rocking on the lift. Luckily i was able to wiggle my leg out, nothing but some bruises, probably not that big a deal, but scared the SHIT outta me. Always been very careful since then.. And, I got to clean and reorganize all my tools!

Be careful guys, it's the little shit that gets ya..

 

so you jacked up the car by the rear end and then unbolted the rear end from the car?

bet you won't do that again.

 

We all get in a hurry , and think,,,I`ll be fine ???
Now that Im working with my 15 year old son on
projects , I am extra carefull to show him how to do it
safe,,,,Glad it worked out all right for you !!

 

rod, that could've been very bad. Glad to hear you came out of it ok. A great reminder to think about these kinds of situations especially when working alone. I curse cell phones most of the time, but this is a situation where it's very important to have it.

 

ratfink...No I jacked the car from the center of the axle, and placed 2 2 ton jack stands under the axle arms either side...took off tires, unbloted one shock from leaf pad...then unbolted the u bolts...My mistake was placing the axle to high...I should have lowered it in conjunction with the spring arch...done this so many times, in hind sight I skipped a few steps after removing the wheels...today I'll lower the axle and proceed with caution...