Phobia of working under a car on jack stands

As i said, even with those, there's a voice in my head telling me not to go under here. Nothing rational i know...

I don't have a problem using just two jack stands assuming I have a wheel chock as well. But at the end of the day, listen to the voice in your head, your day will be much calmer regardless if it's safe or not.
 
Oil change today on 06 Lacrosse. Oil filter behind passenger front wheel. Have to turn front wheels as far as possible to the passenger side to acess filter.

Hydraulic jack with jack stand on passenger side, 2 wheel chocks on rear tires, hydraulic jack on driver side. Kept pressure on both jacks and jack stand.

Drain plug not difficult to reach. Loosening drain plug was a female canine.

Felt safe with 2 hydraulic jacks, a jack stand, 2 wheel chocks, and the e-brake applied.

But if you don't feel comfortable in your situation, then don't do it.
 
I always liked working in a trench. Used to have access to one and to be honest, this is my favorite way of working on cars for transmission or exhaust related work. I'm not a fan of lifts for the same reason i hate jack stands i guess, even as safe as they are, it's like people afraid of taking a flight.

Something i've just realized is that trenches used to be very popular here a few decades back and still are in other european countries but i've never seen a single north american youtuber or forum user work in one.
 
I always liked working in a trench. Used to have access to one and to be honest, this is my favorite way of working on cars for transmission or exhaust related work. I'm not a fan of lifts for the same reason i hate jack stands i guess, even as safe as they are, it's like people afraid of taking a flight.

Something i've just realized is that trenches used to be very popular here a few decades back and still are in other european countries but i've never seen a single north american youtuber or forum user work in one.
I had one college roommate who's dad had a dug out trench/pit at his place. We used it to work on the 283 in his GMC Handi-Van. It's the only one I've ever seen in our neck of the woods.
 
I get claustrophobic so I pick my battles.

Should have seen me in the lifty chair with my eyeball suction cupped to the pre-lasik eye cutter right up against big machine.
2 valium and 2 Benadryl werent doing much.
It usually doesn't bother me on cars.. for some reason the Ram triggers it when I have it up on ramps for an oil change.
"what if the rhino ramp crushes"

I can't do cave exploring either makes me cringe just watching it.
 
Phobia's are real. I am guessing even the Esco stands - which are awesome - won't help. So you can get a psychiatrist, try hypnosis, dig a trench, or pay someone to do it.
 
I can understand your trepidation. I feel it too but after checking for stability of the lifted vehicle I get on with the task at hand and my fears quickly fade.
I do think that being fearful makes an accident more likely so if you aren't comfortable with it just don't do it.
 
I get claustrophobic so I pick my battles.

Should have seen me in the lifty chair with my eyeball suction cupped to the pre-lasik eye cutter right up against big machine.
2 valium and 2 Benadryl werent doing much.
It usually doesn't bother me on cars.. for some reason the Ram triggers it when I have it up on ramps for an oil change.
"what if the rhino ramp crushes"

I can't do cave exploring either makes me cringe just watching it.
That’s why a set of stands gets put under the frame rails when it’s up on ramps-I don’t trust the Rhino ramps much either!
 
Yup, I've often pushed on a corner of a car after raising it up on jack stands. Not so much any more, as my past experiences have shown me that a car is pretty stable on jack stands.

I had a boss that had a car fall on him. Because of the pressure of the car, he couldn't call for help very loud. If I recall, a neighbor heard him, and rescued him. He was pretty sore for several days. He had the car up on stacked 6x6 lumber. Super smart guy. He managed the transducer development group that I worked in. But he was also very cheap. That day, cheap ruled over logic.
 
I get claustrophobic so I pick my battles.

Should have seen me in the lifty chair with my eyeball suction cupped to the pre-lasik eye cutter right up against big machine.
2 valium and 2 Benadryl werent doing much.
It usually doesn't bother me on cars.. for some reason the Ram triggers it when I have it up on ramps for an oil change.
"what if the rhino ramp crushes"

I can't do cave exploring either makes me cringe just watching it.
I never had claustrophobia until I had an MRI. Gives me the heebie-jeebies just thinking about it.

I take a deep breath and get under the car when I have to but I don't like it. No way I'm getting under car on four jackstands. That is unstable front to bad and side to side. With two tires on the ground, I feel it's only unstable front to back. I've forgotten to remove chucks and the car would not budge. It budges with the parking brake on when I forget to release it.
 
I don't have a problem working under a car on jack stands. In fact, I personally prefer it to ramps. But I never work under a car with only one end raised. I have two pair of jack stands, and raise both ends of my cars when doing work under them.

It only takes a couple more minutes to raise both ends of the car, and get it all set on jack stands.

If this still makes you nervous, and you really do want to do your own work, instead of taking your car to the shop, it may be time to start saving up for a pair of Quick Jack lifts. Look them up. They are very secure.

Of course. My wife noticed me trying to rock a jacked up car off it's supports and laughed... until I reminded her of my dead relative. I do work under cars, but I always think twice and check three times before I work under a jacked up vehicle.
I put it on all fours stands if I'm going under the car. Less chance of the stands rocking. I also put the tires under the sides.
I'f I'm doing front or rear brakes, Ive used 2 stands , keeping my body from being under anything.
 
I get claustrophobic so I pick my battles.

Should have seen me in the lifty chair with my eyeball suction cupped to the pre-lasik eye cutter right up against big machine.
2 valium and 2 Benadryl werent doing much.
It usually doesn't bother me on cars.. for some reason the Ram triggers it when I have it up on ramps for an oil change.
"what if the rhino ramp crushes"

I can't do cave exploring either makes me cringe just watching it.
Wow, with your concerns, using Rhino Ramps is like someone who's terrified of flying only going up in a single prop plane. :D
 
Wow, with your concerns, using Rhino Ramps is like someone who's terrified of flying only going up in a single prop plane. :D
eh not really. it only bothers me on the ram for some reason. not on the forester, elantra, or equinox (current other vehicles I work on)
Phobias arent always logical. I tried it without ramps and I could fit under but not enough room to move my arms so it was worse than on ramps ;)
I never had claustrophobia until I had an MRI. Gives me the heebie-jeebies just thinking about it.

I take a deep breath and get under the car when I have to but I don't like it. No way I'm getting under car on four jackstands. That is unstable front to bad and side to side. With two tires on the ground, I feel it's only unstable front to back. I've forgotten to remove chucks and the car would not budge. It budges with the parking brake on when I forget to release it.
MRI didnt bother me..
 
I trust, using the wood blocks and jack stands over having a 2 post car lift anyday. On a car lift I'd want 4 of those safety stands, one on each corner ish. In my younger days I spent many hours under 40 ton machines, that I used wood cribbing on.
No excuse for getting squished under a car. I have also erected tripods and used a hoist as added safety back in the old days.
Never trust one system, the more the safer.
 
I have a gravel drive, Most stands are designed for concrete. I use a set of 2X8 steps screwed together. Heavy but very stable. Fine for oil changes. I had a metal ramp fold up side wise once. The wimpy stands I have require wood underneath to get high enough. Cement blocks are fine when used with the cores up as they are used in a block wall. I put them on plywood scrap with a 6x6 on that topped by a 16" 2x2 that is under the 'frame" That is a 64 sq "contact patch. Steady when leaned on. Use to take an hour to put a 528e up to do exhaust or d-shaft, suspension or brakes. Buying Camry made in 2016, has solved the constant need to raise a vehicle. I got the moves down and keep a kit of plywood,blocks and wood stashed.for future use. I used to top off keel blocks with oak. What I do is drawing on that. Also, in my teenage yrs, I attempted to take a starter out of a '56 Dodge raised on a bumper jack. Less than a minute after I crawled out from under for a smoke. The jack slipped. Later when I was a VW Bug fan, I used metal milk cases to rest the rear wheels on when gettin the bumper 3 feet of the ground. Several learning events later. I'm still here mostly due to bugs weighing only1600 lbs :cool:
 
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