I wanted to start my brake work today and noticed my stands are too short.
They may be long enough if i used the shaft that goes from rear wheel to rear wheel.
is this a safe place to lift a 59 250. the frame is just too high for my stands.

thought id play it safe and ask the dumb question.

thanks for your help.!
-Kurt

 

Placing the jack stands under the spring perches or the axle shaft is a safe place to locate your stands. It's good to hear you using jack stands as I've seen some working under a vehicle and just trusting the o-ring in a hydraulic jack. Stay safe, it's nice having you hanging around with us.

 

If I'm lifting my trucks I alway place the stands under the rear axle or the front straight axle unless I'm doing something that necessitates moving the axle up and down, like replacing shocks then they're under the frame.

On a vehicle with independent suspension I would go under the frame. New cars can be quite trickier to find a good place to located stands. I would never go under a vehicle without a good pair of stand place firmly under it.

 

Heck, that ain't nothin'. I've seen guy crawl under cars to change starters using only a bumper jack. They add to the entertainment when they start hammer on something under the car.

 

HA HA, No thanks I want to live long enough to enjoy my truck!

 

There was a guy I worked with some years ago, I went over to his place and he was working under his 1 ton dually that he had the front end hanging from the rafters with a 1/2 ton chain hoist thats hook was streched open. When I mentioned it to him he just shugged his shoulders and said he's always done it this way and nothing has ever happened. That's when I shook my head and left.

 

Going slightly off topic but what the heck, that's never stopped up before.

I live on a farm, I don't farm, I married a farmer's daughter. When they got old enough I sent both of my sons to tractor safety school before I'd leave them do any work with the machinery. I spent $40 apiece and accompanied both, two years apart, every Saturday for an eight hour class for eight weeks. I come home some time later to find my oldest kid helping my nimrod father-in-law, an old time, never do anything wrong, farmer greasing up an implement on the back of the tractor, up in the air with no blocking. The first lesson they teach the kids is never, ever trust the hydraulic system and never, ever get under a piece of equipment without blocking it up. I tell my kid to get out from under the implement and block it up or go into the house. My nimrod F-I-L starts b*tching about the implement won't go anywhere. I tell him, and my kid, it's either my way or no way. It's hard to instill safety into a kid when you have that kind of retarded mentality to fight against but you have to.

 

Properly supporting a vehicle when working under it is serious business. I've had two close calls and I'm pretty skittish about it now. It's easy to become complacent about the chances of a jack failing and begin to trust them - until you've seen a 4000 lb. car hit the dirt when the ram seal blew out. Even jack stands require caution when placing them. I had my foot pinned underneath the rear brake backing plate of a '66 Mustang when the jack stand tipped over. I didn't have it sitting square and it upset when my buddy jacked up the front of the car. I think I was 16 at the time. I squealed loud enough that 4 or 5 guys came running from all over the neighborhood and picked the car up off of me. I got out of that one with nothing more than a little bruise and a ruined shoe, but I've never forgotten it.

 

BOR,

I know what you're saying. You can have your parents try to hammer safety into your head, be it when doing work or driving, but nothing will get it through to you like a close call. I've learned a few lessons that way. It's not the best way because the newspapers are loaded with stories about accidents that only were only separated from being called a close call by a fraction of a second. My two sons just got their drivers licenses and like all kids, think they're the best. My wife constantly nags them and I've told her we've done our best the only thing that will make them realize they're not invisible is a close call of two. Hopefully no on will get injured but that's seems to be the only way to get through to most. I know, I was a new car driver one time and 35 years later I'm still learning.

 

At least this guy has the truck propped for support.

 

Yeah, what's the problem?? My F-I-L would think that's overkill, you should only use one board.

 

This guy was checking his driveshaft thinking that it was the cause of the vibration in his truck...turns out it was a bent wheel!

 

Must be from a Balkan Country!

 

I agree with you Bob. And that's why you see so much fewer guys running around with fingers missing or eyes gone than you did during the 40s and 50s.

The unfortunate thing about it is that for some stupid reason, younger males tend to think that a missing finger or big scar from a chunk cut out of a leg on some old fart, is like a true manly man badge of courage and knowledge. Where does that come from?

Keep slapping your boys with the safety - every time - you may save their life one day. And if one of them did get hurt because you didn't tell them that one time how to do things the right way - just that one time, you'd feel responsible, and HORRIBLE!

The proverbial ounce of prevention instead of NO cure!

 

and going even more off topic, speaking of hydraulics.
I have been working on a pipeline project where I am required to set grade and alignment for pipe and standing on top of the pipe right next to the bucket end of a 385 trackoe makes me a bit nervous because one slip of the controls and I'm smashed. that and the equipment the contractor is using has been breaking down a lot.

Just yesterday about a mile from my project a guy died where a guy in the trench was leveling a manhole and the trackhoe boom was pushing down on the base when it sliped off and hit him square in the chest. he died within the hour. I have about a week left on this project and I can't wait to be finished.