Collapsing Jack

[sincy]

Hey all. Well last week i had i had a flat on the front drivers side wheel. jacked the car up and put on the spare, dropped flat down to be repaired. when i picked it up, i was in a bit of a hurry so i said id put the new wheel back on when i get time..
So i jacked it up, replaced wheels, was putting the wheel nuts on just finger tight, the started lowering the jack. I had it jacked up a bit so that the 19 inch rims were off the ground, when all of a sudden there was a massive bang and the jack had collapsed. this is the reason why i would never put my leg under a jacked up car. On inspection, i noticed the thread had stripped..

I actually know the guy who owned it before me, he told me he never used the jack. was just wondering if anyone else had had this problem or heard of it.

[VYMAD]

Yeah I've heard of it, but havn't had it happen to me.

[STEALTHY™]

The first mod to every car should be, throwing the scissor jack in the bin. I've never used one, and don't plan to. Trolley jack FTW

[sincy]

Yeah I've heard of it, but havn't had it happen to me.

Well i took it down to the local holden dealership here in bathurst, they didnt want to know about it. i thought they might want to at least talk to the head office and maybe let them know. I ended up giving they guys at Holden in Forbes where the ute came from a ring, he couldnt beleive it, he organised me a new one straight away.

Was just curious if anyone else had heard of this??

[STEALTHY™]

Well i took it down to the local holden dealership here in bathurst, they didnt want to know about it. i thought they might want to at least talk to the head office and maybe let them know. I ended up giving they guys at Holden in Forbes where the ute came from a ring, he couldnt beleive it, he organised me a new one straight away.

Was just curious if anyone else had heard of this??

Its an extremely common thing. I hesitated about using the word problem, as in holdens eyes, its not a problem...

[sincy]

The first mod to every car should be, throwing the scissor jack in the bin. I've never used one, and don't plan to. Trolley jack FTW

Not wrong mate! was telling one of my uncles, he said the same thing, "get rid of that stupid scissor jack and get a trolley jack".

Just ou of curiousity, whats one worth??

[STEALTHY™]

Not wrong mate! was telling one of my uncles, he said the same thing, "get rid of that stupid scissor jack and get a trolley jack".

Just ou of curiousity, whats one worth??

you can pick them up for between $50 and $80. Or get a larger style nascar one pumper for about $150 (although you wouldn't want to carry that in your boot lol).

While your there, pic up a fire extinguisher

[sincy]

Its an extremely common thing. I hesitated about using the word problem, as in holdens eyes, its not a problem...

i didnt ever expect them to replace it at the first dealership, i thought they just might want to maybe look into it.. I'm sure it would be a different story if some poor buggers leg was under

[alien]

I still wouldn't carry a trolley jack in my vehicle, they are considerably heavier than the scissor. I always inspect my scissor jack after use (flat tyre only when not at home). If i'm home (or at a shop with one) i'll rip out the trolley jack though.

But a trolley jack can do the same thing, just less likely to happen compared to scissor jacks. If your getting under a vehicle make sure it's supported appropriatly... e.g. Stands

[sweefu]

I hear you mate, it happened to a friend of mine too same problem, stripped the thread.
Bottly jack might be the go for having in the boot? Very compact but handle alot of weight?

But for home you really cant beat a trolley jack!

[Calaber]

I've used the standard Holden scissor jack for years without problems. Like the car, they need maintenance and a little bit of grease on the thread and oil on the pivot points can make a big difference to the effort required to operate them. And they last a long time. I've certainly never had one fail on me and the thread hasn't been damaged on any of them. About the only thing I do differently is to use a socket wrench instead of the standard wheel-nut tool to operate the jack. And I don't get under the car when it's on the standard jack unless there is a solid support placed under the car as well.

I use a trolley jack in the garage at home, but as someone said, they are way too heavy to cart around in the car all the time. When you're out on the open road and need to use the standard jack, the only real problem is that they should be used on level ground and tyres don't always pick level ground to go flat on you.

[STEALTHY™]

You make it sound like they weigh 100kgs. They'd be 20, if that.........

[06vzcalais]

You make it sound like they weigh 100kgs. They'd be 20, if that.........

20kg is still a bit of weight rolling around in your boot

[Calaber]

You make it sound like they weigh 100kgs. They'd be 20, if that.........

Gees, a featherweight trolley jack. Try weighing it - it might surprise you. I have one - it weighs a lot more than 20kg, but even if it was less, I wouldn't want it in the boot of the car anyway.

[greenfoam]

I've heard of this happening on the later Commodores VY ish too, The VN-S ones while a bastard to use are tougher, I've had them lift nearly the whole car no problem, I haven't heard of one of them failing

[illusionalvr]

go all out and fit your boot out as an air compressor and get an air jack. ive had a few jacks bend on me, but thats about it.

[Tim Smtih]

The first mod to every car should be, throwing the scissor jack in the bin. I've never used one, and don't plan to. Trolley jack FTW

Hell yes! I have a trolley jack for use at home, and a bottle jack in the boot for long trips. Anyone had any issues with the bottle type jack?

[Peter89]

ya should never jack up a car without a jack stand or some kind of fail safe (like a block of wood). jacks can fail, especially if they are old, even a good trolley jack can break. in the event of a jack breaking, think of what would happen to you, if under the car, you would certainly die.

[acarmody]

My favourite jack is the scissor jack that was in my EB. Yes I use a Ford jack, don't judge me.

The Holden one wouldn't fit under the Clubbie kit (lowered), but the Ford one is well built and has a massive handle that makes it easy and quick to raise the car, and once its up, chassis stands go under. Unless I plan on working on the car, in that case you can't beat car ramps.

My parents VY Holden jack seems, i dunno, badly made. When you raise the car the jack seems to be on a bit of an angle, I just don't trust it.

[sincy]

ya should never jack up a car without a jack stand or some kind of fail safe (like a block of wood). jacks can fail, especially if they are old, even a good trolley jack can break. in the event of a jack breaking, think of what would happen to you, if under the car, you would certainly die.

your spot on there. i was actually lowering the jack at the tim to then tighten the nuts..

im picking up a jack tonight from holden, but within the next couple of days ill be going in to check out a couple of more reliable jacks..

[STEALTHY™]

Gees, a featherweight trolley jack. Try weighing it - it might surprise you. I have one - it weighs a lot more than 20kg, but even if it was less, I wouldn't want it in the boot of the car anyway.

It cant be much more than 20kgs, because i can lift it with ease........

Dont care to weigh it, i still get great economy with it in the car, so theres no issue for me.

[Dr.304]

I have had nightmares about working under my car and the jackstands falling out from under me.

Your first mistake is using a jack as a jackstand. ALWAYS use ramps or jackstands when working under the car. Dont use a jack as a solid device to hold the car up. Its only there for emergency's.