Thoughts on auto part store jacks and jackstands

[losh1971]

Sounding like to me that you can have a 20 year old jack that needs a top up every six months and it not fail yet a brand new one can fail soon after purchase. Doesn't give me much confidence in the Australian standards. My TTI one has been used maybe six times yet it could fail the next time I go to use it, go figure.

 

[chrisp]

I've seen the owner of a wreckers and spray painting business crawl under a car using just a floor jack. He was a big boy. I was surprised he did it as he is a panel beater by trade.

I can’t recall the exact statistics, but I recall reading that motor mechanics (and similar) made up half, or more than half, of the deaths and injuries due to misuse of jacks and jack stands. I suspect complacency creeps in after a few times of getting under a car only using a floor jack. And, probably almost 100% of the time they are absolutely fine. It’s that small percentage of cases when things go bad and a car falls on someone when things get really ugly very quickly.

It’s similar in the electrical trades. Tradesmen are a very high proportion of electrocution deaths and injuries.

They should know better, but sometimes compliancy, poor workplace culture, rushing to finish a job, and sometimes it just the old case of “I’ve always done it this way” (and I’m not changing).

 

[chrisp]

How so, since no one uses my shed without me being there?

You can’t think of a single possibility?

Just to play along, what about a case of someone coming a cropper on a motorbike while on their way to purchase a MarketPlace bargain. Unfortunately the car coming the other way couldn’t stop in time. The family holds a garage sale and sell off a marvellous assortment of tools and trailers.

But really, the jack stand is not fit of purpose, so why keep it? A block of wood would hold up you RD. Or, if you aren’t racing it, put the stand back on it.

 

[losh1971]

I'd never climb under a car supported only by a jack. After the incident around 10 or so years ago when my ratchet stand slipped I've often felt nervous about being under a car supported by stands. I'm of the belief that when my ratchet stand slipped down it was user error and it wasn't locked in properly but I'd never trust ratchet stands again regardless if they were a better design.

 

[losh1971]

You can’t think of a single possibility?

Just to play along, what about a case of someone coming a cropper on a motorbike while on their way to purchase a MarketPlace bargain. Unfortunately the car coming the other way couldn’t stop in time. The family holds a garage sale and sell off a marvellous assortment of tools and trailers.

But really, the jack stand is not fit of purpose, so why keep it? A block of wood would hold up you RD. Or, if you aren’t racing it, put the stand back on it.

Yeah that makes sense. While its useful for holding the bike up I'll actually write on them not safe for use.

As for the RD the mount that holds the stand pivot was cut off to save weight.

 

[Fu Manchu]

Although being on honest, my biggest fear was the multitude of different snakes that lived under our house. Tigers, Copperheads and Browns.

Danger noodles

 

[hademall]

Danger noodles

Yeah, the feckers were everywhere! In my shed, under the house, in the gardens. For six years I lived in fear of those danger noodles!

 

[Fu Manchu]

Pythons are nope ropes

 

[Immortality]

I'd never climb under a car supported only by a jack. After the incident around 10 or so years ago when my ratchet stand slipped I've often felt nervous about being under a car supported by stands. I'm of the belief that when my ratchet stand slipped down it was user error and it wasn't locked in properly but I'd never trust ratchet stands again regardless if they were a better design.

It's not exciting till you have a mark across your chest from the seam from under the car.

 

[Fu Manchu]

It's not exciting till you have a mark across your chest from the seam from under the car.

You’d sound like Rick Dizneck after he plowed into the vaulting horse fkn hard.

“I broke all my ribs. -heeeerrrrrgggh- I ruptured my spleen - heeeeerrrrrgh - Both my lungs were punctured - heeeerrrgh - I also suffered some minor bruising to my body”