well, i guess ill be one of the first to post here. so here it goes

if you dont own a pair of jack stands (we all should but i dont yet) and your usein cinder blocks to hold up what should be on the jack stands (very dangerous, although ive done this) make sure the holes in the cinder block are goin up and down instead of side to side so that you cant see through it, the cinder block will colapse if you place somethin on top of it that way.

BUT YOU SHOULD NOT USE CINDER BLOCKS IN THAT WAY!

 

GOOD THOUGHT ORANGE PEEL. Since before xmas SEARs has had them on sale almost every week. since xmas past maybe your valentine will get you some if you pass the hint. I now have 3 set's..hint's can be effective. good luck :-X12 caddy 53 chuck

 

I had a friend and next-door neighbor who used concrete blocks to support his car while doing some clutch work. He left the tires on, and put the blocks under the tires. Then he set the parking brake, and for safety, set a jack under the car at a lift point, but not in contact - just in case the blocks crumbled.
As he was pulling the transmission out of the bell-housing, the parking brakes didn't hold in reverse, and the car rolled back off the blocks onto him.
I drove up in my driveway just as it happened, and saw some commotion over there with his wife and teen age son. I ran over had jacked the car up off him with a bumper jack (his son was so upset he had the jack upside down). He survived with only a really bad twist break in his arm, but we both learned a very valuable lesson.

That was in 1976, and though we live 800 miles apart now, we are still friends.


Winford

 

Good story. In my opinion, your life is worth more than the 30-70 dollars for jack stands. Be safe because the one time you get in a hurry or cut a corner it'll bite you.

 

I always use two stands for every one point. Incase the first one packs it in.
Jim
CYWG

 

As far as using two stands for every one point. That is great because I had an E350 dually cube jaked up, took the wheels off and set it on the stands. Started doing the rear shoes, went to my tool box for the special tool I made for the pain in the butt brakes. I heard a big crash and there was the van still on the jack stands but one was down all the way. The scary part it was the side I was working on and when I do the brakes I have to stick my head under the wheel well opening, I sit on a little stool. When I looked at the stool the van wheel opening was only about 8 inches higher than the seat on the stool.


Do the math.

The only good thing that if I was going to go, it was not by a chevy, or a dodge.

 

That's a scary story to be sure.

It seems like no matter how good I think I have a car or truck jacked up, I still get nervous crawling under the thing. I get a fear of something happening just like what you wrote. Seems like when your under the auto, your working in a tight spot, your streching to much, your pulling on a bolt that won't move and the thing starts shaking, etc. The truck is not as bad because of the ground clearence, but my car always gives me the *****'s. I don't like getting it real high and don't trust the jack points because they just look flimsy. At least the truck has a real frame.

Double jack stands is a great idea. They are cheap enough not to get a couple of sets.

 

I use cut off pieces of railroad ties, they hold up stuff that is too heavy for any jack stand

 

I might add, don't waste money, time or risk on cheap stands. I try to over engineer for sake of safety, Remember these trucks are pretty heavy when they leave the factory. they don't get any lighter when we add aftermarket equipement.

Whenever using jackstands on asphalt, cut a square out of 3/4" plywood or sheet steel to slid under them as they WILL dig into the asphalt and tip. Most home driveway asphalt is only 1-1/2" thick and not strong enough to support that much weight on a small foot print.

Think of a 100 lb woman stepping on your toes, don't hurt much. Now have her do it with 4" spike high heels, see the differance?

Petrol

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 27-Feb-02 AT 12:23&nbsp;PM (EST)]<Think of a 100 lb woman stepping on your toes, don't hurt much. Now have her do <it with 4" spike high heels, see the differance?



LOL - never thought of it that way!!!

 

i had a set of Wal-mart jack stands collapse on me when i was under a truck it took 3 hours before someone noticed the rear axle landed on my legs breaking both of them. My advise is even though you have a 1/2 ton truck buy a set of 4-6 ton jacks stands spend the extra money it pays off in the end. Car ramps I refuse to use these pieces of junk
I went to run my truck up on them and they just crinkled like a soda can as i was driving up. Floor jacks sure those floor jacks at sears wal-mart with the little bitty jack plate on them and they are nice and small so you can put them in the trunk but they are junk in my opinion to the jack lift plate is to small to securely hold anything.
and I also have done this in the past and see this all the time
NEVER NEVER NEVER crawl under a car only being held up by just a floor jack. Lets say you jack up a honda just at one lift point on the corner of the car and you are useing a 4-ton floor jack you think hell no problem this car is light so you crawl underneath it WRONG
it only takes alittle bit of pressure to blow out an o-ring on a hydraulic jack and it can happen anytime. I jacked up my wifes car with a 4-ton jack walked away to get the wrench and heard a pop and the car went right down to the ground i just thought thank god i wasn't under it at the time.I live by this rule #1 my kids are to important to me #2 THERE IS NO PRICE ON SAFETY

 

I have quit using conventional jack stands and ramps for supporting vehicles because they are unstable and don't work on dirt.
Instead, I keep a selection of old steel rims handy. If you have assorted sizes you can stack them nested, and they don't tip even in soft ground. If you want even more safety, weld them together.
I also welded two of my jack stands to rims to make tip-resistant bases.
Another nice thing to have is a stash of pressure-treated 4x4 blocks about 1 or 2 feet long. They don't crush, support plenty of weight, and are great for shimming.

 

i use railway ties and alot of fence posts (the big ones) to hold up my truck. heck if they can hold up a 13000 lbs motorhome they can hold up my 5500lbs truck! but i am gonna go buy a good set of 4-6 ton jack stands asap.

 

To go along with a good set of jackstands, get some wheel chocks as well. If you are only working on one end of the vehicle, chock the wheels that are still on the ground. I was working under a car one day out in the driveway and had it up on ramps. I figured I didn't need chocks as the rear tires were still on the ground (rear wheel drive). Well, the driveway was gravel and the tires slid on the rocks. I had just crawled out from under the car (and behind the front tire) to get a different tool. As soon as I stood up, the car rolled off the ramps. After that, I make sure all tires that are on the ground are chocked. BTW, I have 2 sets of 6 ton stands for working on trucks and I am going to get 2 sets of 3 ton stands for working on small cars (so it doesn't have to be jacked up so high)

 

i heard of a guy once that used 4 stands and they did not fail his concrete floor gave out.

my guess is that it was not thick enough

I use the heave duty stands myself
I quit using my 3ton jack cause it has jack sage
I'm thinking of a 5ton jack