Safety Thought

[squeefoo]

Have you checked or changed your hydraulic floor jack fluid ? Lube the wheels/rollers and pivot points.

Another good thing to check is your jackstands for any problems, i.e. look for cracks, bad or cold welds, bad wear patterns or bent parts.

I do this in the fall and spring (just finished looking everything over) so I thought I might prompt others to do the same.

[911/Q45]

Good call! I can't think of any worse way to die than slowly being squeezed under a fallen car.

[AZhitman]

Great info!

For those of you DIY'ers, this is a god time to remind you to always use jackstands that are sufficient for a car the size of the Q.

I had a jack fail on my 68 GS when I was 18... Fortunately my head just happened to be in a "recess" behind the front A-arm. Frame rail compressed my chest to an uncomfortable level and stopped. I laid there for an hour (thanking God and taking itty bitty breaths) until my buddy got back from the autoparts store.

[PoorManQ45]

I had a jack fail on my 68 GS when I was 18... Fortunately my head just happened to be in a "recess" behind the front A-arm. Frame rail compressed my chest to an uncomfortable level and stopped. I laid there for an hour (thanking God and taking itty bitty breaths) until my buddy got back from the autoparts store.

Wow!!!! Good thing you were in a "recessed" area.

I try to practice safety with my jack stands also. I'll check them for faults every so often.

It's always good practice to use 2 jack Stands at a time. I usually jack up the car, and then put a jack stand on the frame rail, and then back the jack off just enough to "load" the jack stand.

Also, in a pinch, 2x4s or 4x4s will work very good to hold up a car. If you have a cinder block lying around, you can use that too. Make sure the internal supports are vertical though, or else it will crush.

Look, I said something stupid again!!!!

[szh]

I had a jack fail on my 68 GS when I was 18... Fortunately my head just happened to be in a "recess" behind the front A-arm. Frame rail compressed my chest to an uncomfortable level and stopped. I laid there for an hour (thanking God and taking itty bitty breaths) until my buddy got back from the autoparts store.

You were awfully lucky!!! Glad it was not worse.

Z
Modified by szhosain at 10:50 AM 11/23/2004

[szh]

If you have a cinder block lying around, you can use that too. Make sure the internal supports are vertical though, or else it will crush.

No! Avoid cinder blocks if you can. Concrete can absorb water and weaken without your realizing it. Then, when you least expect or want it, it will fail and break into small pieces!

Far safer to use the wood - as long as you don't try to stack them lengthwise, of course!

Z
Modified by szhosain at 10:51 AM 11/23/2004

[szh]

Also, in a pinch, 2x4s or 4x4s will work very good to hold up a car.

And, of course, it also depends on how you use the wood. See the attached image for an amazingly wrong way to do it.

Z

[AZhitman]

OMG!!!! Great pic, Z.

PMQ, is that a relative? (j/k man).

Freaked my mom out when she found out about the jack failing... not *quite* as bad as when I shot a compressed coil spring through the brand new garage wall, but almost as bad.

[szh]

OMG!!!! Great pic, Z.

Isn't it?

Look at what he is doing under the car too ... arc-welding, I think! I sure hope he is/was not near any fuel lines.

Z

[elwesso]

Possible darwin awards candidate......

I use home made ramps whenever I can... Stacked wood, 5 pieces, one piece 6 feet, then 5, 4, 3, 2 feet, and then a stopper at the end..... Sometimes I put the ramps on the frame instead of stands.. I dont trust stands, even though im thin enough to fit under a non lowered Q45.....

We use those ramps for our forklifts that haul aorund boats, so i think its safe for the Q

[911/Q45]

With that guy's demonstrated safety awareness, he's probably welding the fuel tank!

[PoorManQ45]

Actually, those wood pieces (they appear to be 3x3s.), have an amazing amount of vertical strength. Stand a 4x4 on end, straight up, and then see if you can break it by only applying weight straight down, not side to side.

The only thing wrong in that picture is that the pieces of wood do not have a secure footing. They are on the edges.

That could be one of my Uncles!!!

[elwesso]

That could be one of my Uncles!!!

How does this not surprise me....

[szh]

Actually, those wood pieces (they appear to be 3x3s.), have an amazing amount of vertical strength. Stand a 4x4 on end, straight up, and then see if you can break it by only applying weight straight down, not side to side.

Agreed. Compression along the wood length is not what I found of concern in the picture!

The only thing wrong in that picture is that the pieces of wood do not have a secure footing. They are on the edges.

Exactly! They could easily slide out. Indeed, it would be awfully easy for that guy to knock one accidentally out with his butt, just moving around a bit.

Crazy stuff.

Z

[szh]

With that guy's demonstrated safety awareness, he's probably welding the fuel tank!

ROFL! Probably!

By the way, did you all notice what he is using for wheel chocks to prevent the truck from rolling forward and back off the wood posts? I am amazed that he is as old as he is ... you would think he would have killed himself at a young age!

Z

[HeavyDuty]

OMFG! That is amazing, can you imagine the lack of clarity to deem that appropriate?

[Q451990]

Better question... how did he ever get it leaning that far over in the first place? 15 friends tilt the truck while he placed the 4x4's under it?

AZHitman... Your story about being trapped under the car for an hour is amazing. I would have lost it!

Heath

[texasoil]

anytime I take a wheel off, unless Iam working with the wheel, it gets slid under the frame as an easy way to get two things at once--a back-up for the 4ton jack stand, and the tire out of the way.