Thread: Car crushed me today

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I was putting Ebrake cables in the Rambler today when both jackstands and the bumper jack ( stands were supporting most of the weight ) kicked out with me underneath it. lucilly the side I was on had the tire on it and I wasn't badly injured because it did not really fall far ( 5-6" considering suspension travel ).. but I did just come back from the hospital, I have only bruises for injuries.... Now, I know having the bumper jack have any preassure on it and being under the vehicle is a nono... now I know first hand that care and saftey should be taken into consideration when crawling under a vehicle... You can learn from your mistakes but... you can also die from your mistakes... if the tire haddn't been on the car, I would at the very least be paralyzed... both the car and me are fine.. my dad jacked it back up and I quickley crawled out.

Glad to hear your ok..... I never use a bumper jack for anything!

MM64

I am Also glad you where not hurt badly . Back in the day we would install headers with only the bumper Jack and no stands Yes many times the cars would start to fall and we would jump out just in Time . One of many thing that I and every one never should do . It only take's one time when your not Lucky

Matt, Really glad to hear you dodged the bullet. I agree with MM64, no bumper jacks for that type of work. Decent quality floor jacks are available in the $100 range these days and are an excellent investment. As you said let the weight of the car rest solidly on the jack stands and be sure to chock your tires.

Pat

I'm going to get a 3 ton jack.. I have a 2 ton but it's too small and that's why I didn't use it..edit-- my computers not working right and won't let me lol

in the meantime, I'm going to borrow my grandfathers to finish up the job

Wow, so glad this thread had a somewhat good ending.........it could have been so much worse! You did something most of us have been guilty of doing, and maybe by you posting this you will save someone else's life.

I have seen concrete blocks crumble, wood kick out, and cars bend cheap jackstands. I have also seen people jack cars up on dirt or gravel and the earth giving way so the stands fell over.

This should be a wakeup call to everyone to please be careful because sometimes people don't get the second chance like Matt did. Glad you are ok bud.

Don

PS, if you don't mind Matt, I want to post this on another forum where we sometimes get people who are just starting out in the hobby. They should benefit from this.

Milk crates but only the metal ones plastic ones are too soft nowdays . . Hey Matt glad to hear your safe and dad was nearby for help . Rule never work under auto with out someone nearby just for safety . I get under with 4 stands and a floor jack and ready to leap at any moment .

Yea glad your ok!!! That's pretty scarey. I think many of us (well me anyway) have worked like that a time or two. I was lucky never to be hurt but have worked safely since those days. I used to have a old hyd floor jack that slowly lost pressure. I would jack up the car, no jackstands and do what I could until it came down close to me. I'd crawl out and jack it up again!!!! Back and forth until I finished.

Very glad to hear it didn't turn out worse and sorry to hear of the pain you must be in.... doesn't sound like a fun time at all. Once after changing the rear wheels using jackstands I jacked up the pumpkin as I usually do and removed the stands and was lowering it back down when it slipped off the floorjack and I narrowly missed getting hit.... I do this routine about every week and it only happened that one time but I'm always a little nervous reaching under there to pull the stands out now

-Chris

Really happy your ok, like everyone else has said, us old guys are all guilty of being under a car with only a bumper jack. I had a 65 GTO and while trying to get one of the rear tires off without having any success. I got under the car with both feet kicking the inside of the tire until it came off. Today if I’m under a car I have jack stands, the floor jack, and sometimes if I can get a block under it as an added safety. One thing I have heard recently that I wasn’t doing was chocking the wheels. I guess being use to rear wheel cars in park or the e- brake was ok but today it’s different. Matt don’t wait until you get older like some of us guys before you start working more safe.

Richard

Mat glad you are OK,things happen so quickly.I use four jack stands now that I have learned my lesson,and never never leave the weight of the car on the jack. Two jacks are not safe because of the angle of the car,a hydraulic jack with no car weight on it is an added safety device.

When I was building the coupe I needed to get the car higher than the jack would travel to get the maximum on the jack stands.I put a 2x12 piece of wood vertical on the hydraulic jack.As I was jacking that was causing the jack to move and the 2x12 kicked out .The jack was under the front and I mulated the front fender and grill shell A stupid costly mistake.

Think it through we only go thru here once.Wish I had a good lift as I really have it tough getting up and down.It's called getting old.

Matt, glad you are OK. I use jack stands with the floor jack but they can be shakey too at times.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

You never know, even with a hoist. My Uncle was a mechanic for years. He was working underneath a truck that was on a hoist. The truck was only a few feet off of the ground and he was sitting flat on the ground. Suddenly, the hoist lost hydraulic pressure and bend him over double. In was under there for an hour until someone came into the shop. In the meantime, he had suffered a heart attack. He recovered but had to retire.

like everyone else...i'm glad your ok...always think of your family before you get under a unsupported vehicle...my father never got under a car without floor jack and stands...but i guess there always that one time...he was changing the brakes on an old buick...finshed one side...moved to the other side...did not put the jack stand back under the car...my mother went to fix him a cup of coffee...when she came back he was crushed under the car...man i have to tell you...she had waited hand and foot on him for over 35years and when she found him under that car i didn't think she would live through it...she did age 10year that next one year...i was also devistated...how blessed you are...but always think of your family first...

PEACE

I'm not in a position to lecture you, Matt.

When I got out of the Navy I knew everything and didn't need advice from anybody. I bought a really nice '51 Chevy and started making some changes that I felt would tell the world that I was eaten up with cool ideas. The first change was to install lowering blocks to get the back bumper as close dragging as possible.

That in itself was dumb, but not as dumb as what I did next, and you can see this coming.......

Two bumper jacks. That's all. No jack stands, no blocks, no nothing.

I crawled under and unhooked the springs. My father looked under there and said "Good Lord, boy! That's going to fall on you!". In my infinite wisdom I told him "Naw, Pop. It's solid". About one second later the jacks went over to the left and the spare tire wheel well came down in my gut and nailed me to the ground. I couldn't breathe so I couldn't have yelled for help.

Thank God for my good old Dad. Despite having a double hernia and not being exactly a kid, he lifted the car up high enough for me to squirm out and start gasping and bawling like a baby. Nothing a bruised mid-section and a shot-to-hell ego.

I still do stupid things regularly but I never did THAT again.


Jim