when working on your vehicle with a jack:
ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS USE JACK STANDS NO MATTER HOW SMALL THE JOB!!!

AND IF YOU ARE ALONE, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A PHONE WITHING
HANDS REACH!!!

i am a stickler about safety, especially when teaching one of the kids how to do something, or if one of the neighbors needs to use my tools.

this morning, i was inspecting the brakes because i did not think they were working properly.
i just got back from the hospital because "it was only a quick look with the wheels off"

as i was getting up off the rolling seat creeper, the jack slipped and the truck fell.
the wheel clipped my foot pinning it under the edge of the wheel.
luckily i had my cell phone in my pocket, and one of the patrolmen was 2 blocks away. the ambulance was 6 blocks away.
within 2 minutes of the jack slipping and pinning me, Jimmy was here. but it took him another 5 minutes to get the truck jacked up for me to remove my foot from under the tire.

lucky for me nothing was really hurt except for my pride.
a few ruptured veins causing a nasty bruise, and one very swollen foot.

 

Thanks Tom. We all need to be reminded. Glad you are all right. When I was a young pup someone taught me that whenever you jack up a car, in addition to using safety stands you should also ( if you remove the wheels ) store the wheels flat on the ground under the car. That way if the car slips off the stands it will not go all the way to the ground. It just may give you enough room to breath should you be trapped. It also allows you room to put a jack back under the car to bring it back up.

 

Sorry for being so gruff but anyone--including ME---who crawls under a vehicle supported only by a hydraulic jack is begging for trouble. Whether something slips off or the jack fails it doesn't happen in slow motion, most times completely without warning. Age or condition of a jack doesn't matter--new stuff has been known to fail too!

I've VERY happy you're okay TJC but for chrissakes don't EVER do this again! Hurt pride diminishes over time---potential serious injury or death kinda more permanent!

 

i agree one hundred percent. the funny thing is this is the first time i can remember not using jackstands.
and i was never under the truck. i pulled the tire off, saw the rusty rotor meaning the caliper was bad, and put the tire back on.

my foot was just barely under the tire when it dropped. 1/2 inch to the right and i doubt it would have even been hit, or just barely hit and bounced off of.



and don't you worry about it happening again!!!
i might not be the brightest light bulb in the package, but i am smart enough to remember the pain and avoid ever doing anything like it again.
just like i will never put my hand into the fan of a running engine again. once 25 years ago was enough.

 

Thank you Tom for the PSA!

...and always be sure your stands, cribbing, whatever, is on a solid surface.
This happened not ten miles from me, back in March.

 

And another one today.

Man dies after being pinned under car - StamfordAdvocate

 

Glad you're ok. Deaths have happened. Here's a pic of some good jack stands.
https://www.google.com/search?q=man+...tm%3B345%3B250

 

Glad to hear you're o.k., Tom!!!


My former B-I-L and sister watched a Corvette drop on a neighbor, when it slipped off of two jacks, many years ago.

They ran across the road while this guy's legs were the only things visible.

He started breathing heavily as my sister and B-I-L reached him.
My sister screamed for the neighbor's wife to come outside.

My B-I-L jacked one side of the car up, as the two gals grabbed Jim by his legs and pulled.

They commented that as they pulled Jim out, from under the 'vette, a very foul odor appeared.

Bottom line.... Jim was fine. His underdrawers..... weren't!

 

Glad to hear you are okay and thanks for sharing the warning as we all get complacent at times. Also a reminder to all, that concrete blocks are NOT jackstands.

 

Bump back to the top...glad you wren't hurt worse, thanks for the reminder!

 

5 weeks later and i am still having problems, i have an appointment to see a specialist on monday. there is something wrong inside.
when i move my foot sideways or stand for any length of time it feels like there is a red hot ice pick in the side of my heel .

 

Thanks for the reminder. Sore is better than dead. Hopefully it's something that can be corrected quickly.

Chocking the wheels is another one. Years ago I was working on one of my trucks in the driveway, and almost got crushed. It needed a carrier bearing, and I was in a hurry to get the driveshaft to my buddies shop to have a new one pressed on before he closed. I drove the front end up on ramps, had no functional e brake, and put it in Park. Rolled underneath on my creeper, unbolted the rear u joint straps, and couldn't get the u joint to budge. Being in a hurry, I grabbed the BF screwdriver, popped it out, and the truck rolled backwards down off the ramps. The tranny pan comes right down to my face as I scurry sideways on the creeper to avoid getting run over. That one could have been bad. Slow down for a second, and take the extra steps to make sure things are secure. You can't take safety for granted.