Be careful Working Under Cars

[Lubener]

Just seen this article. An unfortunate freak accident when a car falls onto a guy, kills him working under it even using ramps and jack stands.

Man working on vehicle becomes trapped underneath, dies in Lorain County

Authorities say the vehicle 'shifted backward off the ramps and jack stands' and fell on top of the man.

www.wkyc.com

 

[Kira]

A sad reminder. RIP.

 

[IveBeenRued]

Set your parking brake and use a wheel chock folks. RIP fellow DIYer.

 

[Trav]

A sad case of someone trying to do right and safe yet something went wrong. RIP.

 

[spasm3]

I've been under cars on jack stands, only if I place the stands.
I do a shake test of the car prior to getting under it. I don't get under it if my wife is not home. I place the tires under the sides of the frame.

I also tend to use impact while under it , rather than tug on breaker bars.

 

[RooflessVW]

It sounds like he had two wheels on ramps and two wheels on jack stands.

Is this a safe/accepted practice?

 

[SatinSilver]

Another news article said it was an Accord coupe, so could have been a manual trans car, out of gear, no parking brake set which may have caused it to roll.

 

[spasm3]

It sounds like he had two wheels on ramps and two wheels on jack stands.

Is this a safe/accepted practice?

Not for me.

 

[AutoMechanic]

Sad. I would never use ramps or Jack stands together. All of my Jack stands sit way higher than any of the ramps I have. This is why I prefer lifts if possible but at home I will use one or the other depending on what I’m doing.

 

[Leo99]

I'm changing oil today and squeeze under without any ramps or jacks/stands. I'm uncomfortable under cars that are lifted. Keep thinking what if it falls. And what if I don't die quickly.

 

[slo town]

What a terrifying way to die.

I've been working under my cars for 50+ years. The older I get the less I like doing it. I don't like the feeling of a rocker sill six inches above my chest!

Now, whenever I'm under a car on jack stands, I'll put ramps under the tires (if the wheels are still on it), or I'll keep my floor jacks extended and placed under the undercarriage somewhere.

Also too, when working under a car on jack stands, avoid heavy pulling or jerking.

Scott

 

[supton]

Getting to where I'm not going to get under cars anymore. Not enough jack points. Really can only lift on a real lift, at least safely.

 

[CarLuver]

not enough info on what happened. could have been on an incline. i use jack stands all the time for years. whne i retire and move to another place i am going to find a place with that i can put a lift in.

 

[Ws6]

A former co-worker's husband died under their vehicle as he had crawled into a ditch (parking it straddling the ditch) to work on it. It rolled onto him and crushed him, as he failed to chalk it.

Just seen this article. An unfortunate freak accident when a car falls onto a guy, kills him working under it even using ramps and jack stands.

Man working on vehicle becomes trapped underneath, dies in Lorain County

Authorities say the vehicle 'shifted backward off the ramps and jack stands' and fell on top of the man.

www.wkyc.com

 

[Leo99]

I'm changing oil today and squeeze under without any ramps or jacks/stands. I'm uncomfortable under cars that are lifted. Keep thinking what if it falls. And what if I don't die quickly.

Guess I'm too fat to change the oil now with the RAV4 on the ground. I know I've done it before on the RAV4 but I couldn't reach the back screw for the splash guard so I used my ramps. Kept thinking about this thread.

 

[JeffKeryk]

The things I used to do when I was younger scare the heck outta me.
Young and dumb. Luckily I was lucky.

 

[Electromotive]

I always use jackstands, chocks, and also have several pieces of railroad ties and 2 in. x 12 in. boards cut into ~ 14 in. pieces that I place as well.

 

[philipp10]

Reminds me when I was about 20. Friend is doing a clutch, asks for help. I get over there and under the car. He is pulling on a ratchet. I notice the car is rocking. That's when I realized, the car had jack stands under it, but the car was not resting on them, it had a gap of about 2". I made a beeline out and took a look around. He had the car jacked up with a bumper jack and raised it an extra 2" above the jack stands for clearance. I told him in no way was I going back under. Just stupid.

 

[sloinker]

A co workers uncle died under his ratrod a few years back. Fell off its jackstands. The horrible part being the coroner estimated it took a good while before he succumbed. I don't know the particulars.

 

[Tomioka]

My sloped garage/driveway sucks when it comes to working underneath vehicles. Whenever I have to lift the front or back end I chock both opposite ends of the tires, release the parking brake to rest the vehicle onto the chocks then set the parking brake/place in Park.