Safety warning

General conversation and chit chat - The place for non-shooting specific topics. Introduce yourself here.

Safety warning

Post by Blr243 » 03 Sep 2019, 1:23 pm

So I’m under the Ute this morning after jacking up the axle attempting to remove the back wheels so I can adjust the hand brake easier. They are a bugger to do on a hilux. When wheels are off I’m always careful not to put any part of my body under the brake drum just in case. But I was under the real leaf sling and undertray tool box I felt / saw the Ute rolling back off the jack and I have not moved so fast in thirty years. I got abrasions, bit of bruising and damaged ego for allowing this to happen. Even though it probably happened fast a bit of it seemed slo-mo and I remember scrambling out of the way super fast as I was watching the brake drumcrash into the bitumen I had some tools and a new big socket set and a lot of camping equipment precariously stored above me on top of the Ute ... the moment I realised I was safe from the possible crush of the brake drum that when all the tools came raining down on top of my head , I actually got a bit of a giggle out of this because I knew it was not stuff that was going to kill me. ......so if your not a mechanic and you don’t know what your doing with cars ....I was lucky ...DONT LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU !
Blr243
Brigadier
Brigadier
 
Posts: 4479
Queensland

Re: Safety warning

Post by bladeracer » 03 Sep 2019, 1:27 pm

Blr243 wrote:So I’m under the Ute this morning after jacking up the axle attempting to remove the back wheels so I can adjust the hand brake easier. They are a bugger to do on a hilux. When wheels are off I’m always careful not to put any part of my body under the brake drum just in case. But I was under the real leaf sling and undertray tool box I felt / saw the Ute rolling back off the jack and I have not moved so fast in thirty years. I got abrasions, bit of bruising and damaged ego for allowing this to happen. Even though it probably happened fast a bit of it seemed slo-mo and I remember scrambling out of the way super fast as I was watching the brake drumcrash into the bitumen I had some tools and a new big socket set and a lot of camping equipment precariously stored above me on top of the Ute ... the moment I realised I was safe from the possible crush of the brake drum that when all the tools came raining down on top of my head , I actually got a bit of a giggle out of this because I knew it was not stuff that was going to kill me. ......so if your not a mechanic and you don’t know what your doing with cars ....I was lucky ...DONT LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU !


Throw the spare wheel under there anytime it's up on a jack.
Practice Strict Gun Control - Precision Counts!
User avatar
bladeracer
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
 
Posts: 12655
Victoria

Re: Safety warning

Post by Ghoatman » 03 Sep 2019, 5:24 pm

Never get under a car supported only by a jack!!! Plenty of people have died this way unfortunately. :(

I wouldn't even trust a wheel under it, a set of jackstands is less than $100, just buy a set.
Ghoatman
Recruit
Recruit
 
Posts: 19
Queensland

Re: Safety warning

Post by Oldbloke » 03 Sep 2019, 5:29 pm

Ghoatman wrote:Never get under a car supported only by a jack!!! Plenty of people have died this way unfortunately. :(

I wouldn't even trust a wheel under it, a set of jackstands is less than $100, just buy a set.


That, is good advice.
The greatest invention in the history of man is beer.
https://youtu.be/2v3QrUvYj-Y
Member. SFFP, Shooters Union.
SSAA, the powerful gun lobby. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Hunt safe.
User avatar
Oldbloke
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
 
Posts: 11192
Victoria

Re: Safety warning

Post by bladeracer » 03 Sep 2019, 5:32 pm

Ghoatman wrote:Never get under a car supported only by a jack!!! Plenty of people have died this way unfortunately. :(

I wouldn't even trust a wheel under it, a set of jackstands is less than $100, just buy a set.


Jack stands are the go if you're on a concrete floor. With the Coaster bus we keep a bunch of heavy blocks of timber in the back for jacking - 200x50mm and 250x75mm lumps 300-600mm long, great even in soft sand.
Practice Strict Gun Control - Precision Counts!
User avatar
bladeracer
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
 
Posts: 12655
Victoria

Re: Safety warning

Post by YoungBuck » 03 Sep 2019, 5:32 pm

Ghoatman wrote: a set of jackstands is less than $100, just buy a set.

This.
When a wheel/s is off, I do NOT get under my car without these in place.
It'll shoot the fleas off a dog's back at five hundred yards, Tannen, and it's pointed straight at your head!
User avatar
YoungBuck
Corporal
Corporal
 
Posts: 436
Victoria

Re: Safety warning

Post by CrackThump » 03 Sep 2019, 5:43 pm

Ghoatman wrote:Never get under a car supported only by a jack!!! Plenty of people have died this way unfortunately. :(

I wouldn't even trust a wheel under it, a set of jackstands is less than $100, just buy a set.



+1 for this.. pair of jackstands for $50 from supercheap. NEVER get under a car on a jack alone, my arse is worth more than that. My old man was a stickler for this, though I suspect he had a few close calls as a young man so he drilled it into us kids.

As Bladeracer said.. if nothing else, check a spare wheel down as a buffer.

Fekking close call man, Good to hear you were quick on your feet (back.?) :D
CrackThump
Corporal
Corporal
 
Posts: 260
Tasmania

Re: Safety warning

Post by Blr243 » 03 Sep 2019, 6:36 pm

If I were home doing this I would have had jack stands , timber blocks and a 2000 kg trolley jack but no instead I was in a mitre ten car park with no gear trying to kill myself ,,,,,immediately after the incident I walked into mitre ten and bought a trolley jack and axle stands , then I completed the job safely . I need to stay alive because my dog loves me very much and we need to go hunting again next new moon
Blr243
Brigadier
Brigadier
 
Posts: 4479
Queensland

Re: Safety warning

Post by marksman » 03 Sep 2019, 6:56 pm

the axle stands can topple as as well, do not rely on them on their own, get some chocks for the wheels so the car cannot move :thumbsup:
“If you do not read the newspapers you are uninformed. If you do read the newspapers you are misinformed”. Mark Twain
User avatar
marksman
Colonel
Colonel
 
Posts: 3660
Victoria

Re: Safety warning

Post by Die Judicii » 03 Sep 2019, 6:56 pm

Blr243 wrote:If I were home doing this I would have had jack stands , timber blocks and a 2000 kg trolley jack but no instead I was in a mitre ten car park with no gear trying to kill myself ,,,,,immediately after the incident I walked into mitre ten and bought a trolley jack and axle stands , then I completed the job safely . I need to stay alive because my dog loves me very much and we need to go hunting again next new moon


:thumbsup: :thumbsup: Yeah ,,,, you were VERY lucky.
A bloke I knew was killed in his own driveway this way, (with only 1 axle stand) and the vehicle still moved)

His wife did herself an injury trying to get him out and finished up in hospital herself.

You are soooooooooo, Lucky.
I do not fear death itself... Only its inopportune timing!
I've come to realize that,,,,, the two most loving, loyal, and trustworthy females in my entire life were both canines.
User avatar
Die Judicii
Colonel
Colonel
 
Posts: 3706
Queensland

Re: Safety warning

Post by Blr243 » 03 Sep 2019, 8:09 pm

I got a good scare and that is a good lesson ... the memory of that incident is permanently etched into my memory and will be foremost in my mind when I have to get under a vehicle again
Blr243
Brigadier
Brigadier
 
Posts: 4479
Queensland

Re: Safety warning

Post by Roo farmer » 03 Sep 2019, 9:24 pm

CrackThump wrote:
Ghoatman wrote:Never get under a car supported only by a jack!!! Plenty of people have died this way unfortunately. :(

I wouldn't even trust a wheel under it, a set of jackstands is less than $100, just buy a set.



+1 for this.. pair of jackstands for $50 from supercheap. NEVER get under a car on a jack alone, my arse is worth more than that. My old man was a stickler for this, though I suspect he had a few close calls as a young man so he drilled it into us kids.

As Bladeracer said.. if nothing else, check a spare wheel down as a buffer.

Fekking close call man, Good to hear you were quick on your feet (back.?) :D


I agree with your opinion, but $50 for a pair of jack stands? Do you think that they should be trusted? I've never been able to bring myself to trust something that cheap. You obviously think they are okay? Do you have a pair?
Roo farmer
Lance Corporal
Lance Corporal
 
Posts: 107
South Australia

Re: Safety warning

Post by pete1 » 03 Sep 2019, 10:13 pm

I brought 2 caravan chocks to stop it rolling when on jack or axle stand highly recomend for 10 bucks
22LR
223
308
12G
12G
12G
User avatar
pete1
Corporal
Corporal
 
Posts: 390
Victoria

Re: Safety warning

Post by marksman » 03 Sep 2019, 10:17 pm

pete1 wrote:I brought 2 caravan chocks to stop it rolling when on jack or axle stand highly recomend for 10 bucks


+1 :thumbsup:
“If you do not read the newspapers you are uninformed. If you do read the newspapers you are misinformed”. Mark Twain
User avatar
marksman
Colonel
Colonel
 
Posts: 3660
Victoria

Re: Safety warning

Post by Stix » 03 Sep 2019, 11:12 pm

Been there n done that...stupid teenager i was...stupid becsuse i knew i shouldnt do it but did it anyway...
I remember it was a warm day & my dog kept laying under there in the shade to be near me...
I kept telling him to get out not wanting him to get squashed but i risked it myself... :roll: ...but he kept getting under to be near me.
Eventually the car started tipping & out rolled--quick-smart...or quick stupid more to the point...

My working on car days are over, but i only came to totally trust 20"-12" wide stumps--as in firewood before its split..they dont tip like stands, but still chock any wheels in ground contact...safe as you can be. :thumbsup:


I must say though...that experience wasnt the fastest ive ever moved from under a car...
The fastest was a couple years later...

I blew the diff in my EH...a very boring & anti-climactic diff break too--doing a bloody 3 point turn... :roll:
Anyway...rebuilt the entire back end...sandblasted & powdercoated everything-even the U-bolts & new nuts for them...

So with car up on stumps for a month, there i was hunched under the wheel arch , doing up nuts with a shifter, & only getting a very minor turn, then having to switch the spanner over--you know one of those utter pita nuts that take forever...

So after 15 mins or so literally sittin on my butt hunched into the shape of the wheel arch, im in pain & cramping up...so i slide my legs & bum forward so i can stretch my neck backwards...

Well...i close my eyes, tip my head back & stretch my neck, then open my eyes & no more than 3 inches from my nose on the underside of the wheel arch was the biggest, hairiest, blackest & ugliest spider...

Well my body jolted like i was electrocuted, slamming my head backwards on the edge of the wheel arch...
And the next thing i knew i was standing 10 metres from the car, rubbing the little egg on my head wondering how i got where i was..., & thanks to a rapid high velocity dose of adrenaline, i didnt have cramp anymore... :lol:

Whats even funnier, is that i couldnt find the spanner...it was over on the lawn... :lol:
The man who knows everything, doesnt really know everything...he's just stopped learning...
Stix
Colonel
Colonel
 
Posts: 3675
South Australia

Re: Safety warning

Post by pomemax » 04 Sep 2019, 12:07 am

My son years ago always told him put JACK stands under the car when your under it .
He did my fault I should have told him take your finger off the top of the stand when your placing it under the car yep as he was placing the stand not even taken a wheel off yet the car fell onto his finger trapping him , he rang me he could not reach the jack I flew to his house time I got there 3 miles his mate agross the road heard him took him to hospital 5 days in for a totaly wrecked finger still looks wrong now 20years later .
Last edited by pomemax on 04 Sep 2019, 11:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
pomemax
Warrant Officer C2
Warrant Officer C2
 
Posts: 1165
New South Wales

Re: Safety warning

Post by Die Judicii » 04 Sep 2019, 12:20 am

pomemax wrote:My son years ago always told him put JACK stands under the car when you under it .
He did my fault i should have told he take your finger off the top of the stand when you placing it under the car yep as he was placing the stand not even taken a wheel off yet the car fell onto his finger trapping him , he rang me he could not reach the jack I flew to his house time I got there 3 miles his mate agross the road heard him took him to hospital 5 days in for a totaly wrecked finger still looks wrong now 20years later .


LOL,,,,,,,,,, Finger better being red,,, than him dead.
I do not fear death itself... Only its inopportune timing!
I've come to realize that,,,,, the two most loving, loyal, and trustworthy females in my entire life were both canines.
User avatar
Die Judicii
Colonel
Colonel
 
Posts: 3706
Queensland

Re: Safety warning

Post by bladeracer » 04 Sep 2019, 6:35 am

Roo farmer wrote:
CrackThump wrote:
Ghoatman wrote:Never get under a car supported only by a jack!!! Plenty of people have died this way unfortunately. :(

I wouldn't even trust a wheel under it, a set of jackstands is less than $100, just buy a set.



+1 for this.. pair of jackstands for $50 from supercheap. NEVER get under a car on a jack alone, my arse is worth more than that. My old man was a stickler for this, though I suspect he had a few close calls as a young man so he drilled it into us kids.

As Bladeracer said.. if nothing else, check a spare wheel down as a buffer.

Fekking close call man, Good to hear you were quick on your feet (back.?) :D


I agree with your opinion, but $50 for a pair of jack stands? Do you think that they should be trusted? I've never been able to bring myself to trust something that cheap. You obviously think they are okay? Do you have a pair?


As long as they're designed well there's no reason they need to cost more.
Practice Strict Gun Control - Precision Counts!
User avatar
bladeracer
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
 
Posts: 12655
Victoria

Re: Safety warning

Post by CrackThump » 04 Sep 2019, 7:05 am

Roofarmer. I take your point on cheap'n'crappy . but as bladeracer said, as long as the basic design is good theres no problem.

I have 2 pair in the shed. heavy duty ratchet type that were about $90 and a lighter steel tube and pin type that were about $45 on spesh lol. obviously the HD ratchet stands are rated higher, but both are good IMO.
CrackThump
Corporal
Corporal
 
Posts: 260
Tasmania

Re: Safety warning

Post by Die Judicii » 04 Sep 2019, 8:55 am

This actually raises an interesting scenario,,,,,

The bought ones (cheap) certainly do look crappy and "cheap", but being mass produced and sold by these stores surely they must be rated ?

And if the worst happened and they collapsed under a normal vehicle causing death or injury where would the selling store stand ?

Or would it be a case of "the party with the deepest pockets and smartest lawyers" wins out at the end of the day regardless ?

:unknown: :unknown:
I do not fear death itself... Only its inopportune timing!
I've come to realize that,,,,, the two most loving, loyal, and trustworthy females in my entire life were both canines.
User avatar
Die Judicii
Colonel
Colonel
 
Posts: 3706
Queensland

Re: Safety warning

Post by Roo farmer » 04 Sep 2019, 8:25 pm

Die Judicii wrote:This actually raises an interesting scenario,,,,,

The bought ones (cheap) certainly do look crappy and "cheap", but being mass produced and sold by these stores surely they must be rated ?

And if the worst happened and they collapsed under a normal vehicle causing death or injury where would the selling store stand ?

Or would it be a case of "the party with the deepest pockets and smartest lawyers" wins out at the end of the day regardless ?

:unknown: :unknown:


They're even cheaper on Ebay. From all sorts of sellers. None of which will be likely to still be in existence when you have a problem.

Of course, price is not necessarily an indicator, you could pay more and get the same flimsy looking things.

I've not progressed any further than blocks of wood and solid ground.
Roo farmer
Lance Corporal
Lance Corporal
 
Posts: 107
South Australia

Re: Safety warning

Post by CrackThump » 04 Sep 2019, 8:59 pm

stop me if Im wrong, but wouldnt they be subject to Australian Safety Standards. ? (like everything else in this nanny state we live in. ? (the store bough stuff, not the unregulated ebay sh!t)
CrackThump
Corporal
Corporal
 
Posts: 260
Tasmania

Re: Safety warning

Post by bigfellascott » 04 Sep 2019, 9:10 pm

Lucky man there mate, I had a ute parked on my chest a few yrs back, no damage done but was a weird feeling alright. :lol: scariest part was waiting for the driver to get it off me again, hoping she didn't panic and gun it! :silent:
User avatar
bigfellascott
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
 
Posts: 5289
-

Re: Safety warning

Post by mickb » 04 Sep 2019, 9:15 pm

This is one of the few times being unmechanically minded comes in handy. There is no good I can do under a car, I let someone smarter do that. Good post though BLR, everyone makes mistakes and has close calls. Like the threads on accidental discharge of firearms- always worth seeing them everyone now and then as a reminder :drinks:
mickb
Warrant Officer C2
Warrant Officer C2
 
Posts: 1095
Other

Re: Safety warning

Post by Oldbloke » 04 Sep 2019, 9:48 pm

CrackThump wrote:stop me if Im wrong, but wouldnt they be subject to Australian Safety Standards. ? (like everything else in this nanny state we live in. ? (the store bough stuff, not the unregulated ebay sh!t)


I think it unlikely there would be an AS for car stands. My guess is that the usual "duty of care" would apply.
In this case the usual 2.5 times rule would apply. That is if most cars weigh 2 tonnes then the stands would need to withstand 5 tonnes.
This rule is often applied to lifting equipment such as crane slings.

Usually they are designed and calculated by a mechanical engineer. The onus is usually applied to the seller/outlet.

Please note the above is only a general rule of thumb and may not be correct in this specific case.
The greatest invention in the history of man is beer.
https://youtu.be/2v3QrUvYj-Y
Member. SFFP, Shooters Union.
SSAA, the powerful gun lobby. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Hunt safe.
User avatar
Oldbloke
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
 
Posts: 11192
Victoria


Back to top
 
Return to Off topic - General conversation