Safe use of jacks - Page 3 - MBClub UK

prprandall51 · 27-09-2010, 04:02 PM

This thread has reminded me of one of those "tests" that can be used to prove you are of a certain age (like owning a Kaftan, etc.). You know you are old when:

You can still remember the unique "crumbling" sound of the sill slowly collapsing around the jacking point of the car you have just jacked up.

(I will never forget jacking up my 1976 Mini and then standing up to get a spanner and hearing the dreaded sound. I have never lowered a car back to the ground so quickly, but the jack had still gone straight through the sill leaving a massive hole that I - naturally - filled with Plastic Padding and painted over.)

expat · 28-01-2011, 03:15 PM

"Never, never, never, never give up" using the jack, AND jack stands, AND chocking the wheels, AND everything else to insure your safety. In other words be over the top because if something can happen, it will. And certainly you don't want to soil your MB with your body fluids!

renault12ts · 28-01-2011, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by expat

"Never, never, never, never give up" using the jack, AND jack stands, AND chocking the wheels, AND everything else to insure your safety. In other words be over the top because if something can happen, it will. And certainly you don't want to soil your MB with your body fluids!

Where near Galway?

expat · 28-01-2011, 03:31 PM

Kilnadeema, a little town a couple miles outside Loughrea which is about 20 miles due east of Galway.

W4SIM · 29-01-2011, 06:46 AM

My mate owns a tyre place and so of course they have some decent jacks that are working all day long. I sometimes work in his place at night by myself to work on the car.

Well a couple of weeks ago when it was really cold i had the back of the car lifted on 2 of the trolley jacks, but i could hear one side of the car creaking and groaning, although it never moved. When i finished the back end i moved to raise the front end with the 2 trolley jacks. The one that i thought was creaking i replaced with another similar one.

I must have lifted the car up to about the point where the wheel was just coming off the ground and then a sudden "wwssshhhhttt" as the car just came straight down without any kind of warning. I hadnt turned anything on the jack to drop the car, it was still locked to lift position. And this was a heavy duty trolley jack aswell, rated to lift 3 tonnes ( i was only lifting the corner of a Vectra).

My thoughts are that maybe the coldness got to it and it couldnt hold the pressure but what still amazes me even now is how fast it came down and with absolutely NO WARNING what so ever, no creaking, squeeking or groaning. I wouldnt have stood a chance if i had been under it at the time, and it would have been another 10 hours before i would have been discovered, probably not been a pretty sight for who ever found me.

Needless to say i swapped jacks AND put axle stands under the car, despite the fact that i wasnt even working directly under it.

Dichtung · 01-05-2011, 04:14 PM

Yes, don`t trust new jacks, never mind old `rebuilt` ones. I was shoving an axle stand under a car lifted by a trolley jack, when the jack decided to call it a day. I was lucky, the axle stand was in a good place. I came out alive, but minus half a finger.

Dieselman · 01-05-2011, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dichtung

Yes, don`t trust new jacks, never mind old `rebuilt` ones. I was shoving an axle stand under a car lifted by a trolley jack, when the jack decided to call it a day. I was lucky, the axle stand was in a good place. I came out alive, but minus half a finger.

Sounds like you had your fingers on the rest pad when manoeuvring the stand..never ever do that..always push the stands by the legs or main body.

markjay · 01-05-2011, 10:01 PM

What I sometimes do, is get two wheels on the curb... getting there from private drive bay so as not to damage the tyre while mounting the curb.

I can then get under the car safely, as long as it is braked and choked. Obviously not useful if I need to have the wheel off, but great for checking the drive shaft or exhaust, or the engine sump area.

On another note... it is never a good idea to work on your car while alone inside a garage... always make sure that there is someone around to raise the alarm if things do go wrong.

stevesey · 01-05-2011, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markjay

What I sometimes do, is get two wheels on the curb... getting there from private drive bay so as not to damage the tyre while mounting the curb.

I can then get under the car safely, as long as it is braked and choked. Obviously not useful if I need to have the wheel off, but great for checking the drive shaft or exhaust, or the engine sump area.

On another note... it is never a good idea to work on your car while alone inside a garage... always make sure that there is someone around to raise the alarm if things do go wrong.

I do the the kerb thing - but it's only any good if you are skinny - even then I find my nose very close to the exhaust etc (yes it is a distinguished nose

)

On the working alone in the garage front - just being in a garage alone can be dangerous - SWMBO tripped over (nothing more sinister than a trip) in ours in Feb resulting in a dislocated fracture of the ankle/tib (metal plates, screws etc and she's only just walking unaided). Luckily I was in the house - even then I was upstairs and couldn't hear her shouting until she managed to drag herself to the door. Had I not been there she would have had to drag herself through the (sprung) door and into the house with one foot at 90 degrees to where it should be. Makes you think. One reason to always carry your mobile?

markjay · 01-05-2011, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markjay

What I sometimes do, is get two wheels on the curb...

Kerb, rather

rascalmaster · 01-05-2011, 11:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toff190

Iv had a car come off a jack, now wouldn't even change a wheel without axle stands in the right place.

Thanks!
Was wondering where to put the axle stands; pics are very descriptive! ( turns out I picked the right spot)

BobbyHowie · 02-05-2011, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by st13phil

Just to add another element to this:

When changing a wheel with the car on a jack, keep hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions to hold the wheel - never have your hands above the tyre and beneath the wheel arch.

Excellent advice. I was lining up a rear tyre with my arm on top and the car slowly rolled forward trapping my arm. It luckily didn't collapse completely and I managed to pull it free. A bit bruised but that was all. Car was in Park but hadn't depressed the foot-brake far enough.

Pontoneer · 02-05-2011, 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dieselman

Sounds like you had your fingers on the rest pad when manoeuvring the stand..never ever do that..always push the stands by the legs or main body.

I normally raise the car with the trolley jack , then push the axle stands in with a long handled brush , rather than reaching under myself . Any minor adjustments of the stands can be done with the broom as the car is slowly lowered down onto them .

Mercsys · 02-05-2011, 10:15 PM

Another point for putting even a thin wheel or spare under the sill, is that if car does slip off jack, you will get a second chance to get the jack under the car. Once the car is on the deck you have another problem to get the jack back under the car!!!

EdmundIJones · 25-05-2011, 01:08 PM

I'd like to ask, what weight trolley jack and axle stands can you use?
For example, my W203 is around 2500kg, if I were going to jack up one corner could I use a 2ton jack or does it have to be a 3ton? Likewise, how should axle stands be specified, 2 x 2ton holding a 2500kg car or 2x3ton?

No point in using equipment if if isn't strong enough.

28-01-2011, 03:15 PM	#32
expat New Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Near Galway Car: 1994 C250D Saloon Posts: 21	Winston Churchill's advice on using a car jack "Never, never, never, never give up" using the jack, AND jack stands, AND chocking the wheels, AND everything else to insure your safety. In other words be over the top because if something can happen, it will. And certainly you don't want to soil your MB with your body fluids!

27-09-2010, 04:02 PM	#31
prprandall51 Hardcore MB Enthusiast Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: In hiding Car: 211 estate Posts: 1,992	This thread has reminded me of one of those "tests" that can be used to prove you are of a certain age (like owning a Kaftan, etc.). You know you are old when: You can still remember the unique "crumbling" sound of the sill slowly collapsing around the jacking point of the car you have just jacked up. (I will never forget jacking up my 1976 Mini and then standing up to get a spanner and hearing the dreaded sound. I have never lowered a car back to the ground so quickly, but the jack had still gone straight through the sill leaving a massive hole that I - naturally - filled with Plastic Padding and painted over.)

28-01-2011, 03:31 PM	#34
expat New Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Near Galway Car: 1994 C250D Saloon Posts: 21	Kilnadeema, a little town a couple miles outside Loughrea which is about 20 miles due east of Galway.

29-01-2011, 06:46 AM	#35
W4SIM Banned Join Date: Jan 2011 Car: S55 AMG Kompressor Posts: 216	My mate owns a tyre place and so of course they have some decent jacks that are working all day long. I sometimes work in his place at night by myself to work on the car. Well a couple of weeks ago when it was really cold i had the back of the car lifted on 2 of the trolley jacks, but i could hear one side of the car creaking and groaning, although it never moved. When i finished the back end i moved to raise the front end with the 2 trolley jacks. The one that i thought was creaking i replaced with another similar one. I must have lifted the car up to about the point where the wheel was just coming off the ground and then a sudden "wwssshhhhttt" as the car just came straight down without any kind of warning. I hadnt turned anything on the jack to drop the car, it was still locked to lift position. And this was a heavy duty trolley jack aswell, rated to lift 3 tonnes ( i was only lifting the corner of a Vectra). My thoughts are that maybe the coldness got to it and it couldnt hold the pressure but what still amazes me even now is how fast it came down and with absolutely NO WARNING what so ever, no creaking, squeeking or groaning. I wouldnt have stood a chance if i had been under it at the time, and it would have been another 10 hours before i would have been discovered, probably not been a pretty sight for who ever found me. Needless to say i swapped jacks AND put axle stands under the car, despite the fact that i wasnt even working directly under it.

01-05-2011, 04:14 PM	#36
Dichtung Hardcore MB Enthusiast Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: N.W. Car: W210 300td, W203 C180K Posts: 258	Yes, don`t trust new jacks, never mind old `rebuilt` ones. I was shoving an axle stand under a car lifted by a trolley jack, when the jack decided to call it a day. I was lucky, the axle stand was in a good place. I came out alive, but minus half a finger.

01-05-2011, 10:01 PM	#38
markjay Hardcore MB Enthusiast Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: London Car: W203 C180K 2006 / Serviced by Olly PCS (BlackC55) / COMAND NTG2.5 retrofitted by Alfie and Richard Posts: 7,042	What I sometimes do, is get two wheels on the curb... getting there from private drive bay so as not to damage the tyre while mounting the curb. I can then get under the car safely, as long as it is braked and choked. Obviously not useful if I need to have the wheel off, but great for checking the drive shaft or exhaust, or the engine sump area. On another note... it is never a good idea to work on your car while alone inside a garage... always make sure that there is someone around to raise the alarm if things do go wrong.

02-05-2011, 10:15 PM	#44
Mercsys Hardcore MB Enthusiast Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: West London, UK Car: S210 E320 CDI Estate Avantgarde Posts: 221	Another point for putting even a thin wheel or spare under the sill, is that if car does slip off jack, you will get a second chance to get the jack under the car. Once the car is on the deck you have another problem to get the jack back under the car!!!

25-05-2011, 01:08 PM	#45
EdmundIJones Hardcore MB Enthusiast Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Wiltshire Car: Mercedes C270 CDi Posts: 170	I'd like to ask, what weight trolley jack and axle stands can you use? For example, my W203 is around 2500kg, if I were going to jack up one corner could I use a 2ton jack or does it have to be a 3ton? Likewise, how should axle stands be specified, 2 x 2ton holding a 2500kg car or 2x3ton? No point in using equipment if if isn't strong enough.

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