Always use axle stands

[thermidorthelobster]

Who can honestly say they've never worked under a car without using axle stands?  I always do if I'm planning a particular job down there, but there have certainly been times when bits of me have been underneath the car with only a jack supporting it.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/north_west/7418609.stm

[Silvery Thing]

Many years ago I attended an incident where a guy was trapped under a car that had fallen off it's jack :( Needless to say he was dead and the strangest colour :shock:

It taught me a lesson to place chocks and blocks under the car to support it in every way possible :-k

[diggerdog36]

We were up in Hetton-le-hole the other week, and there was an old man with his car jacked up on the grass verge, but he was trying to put the wheel on the wrong way round, just as I walked over the road, the jack sank in the grass and down the car went!!!

[Lincs niva]

Yep ive worked under my truck without stands stupid i know..

I do use axle stands now since my old man told me the error of my way's..

Saftey first always now

Cheers Gav

[iluvmud]

Friend of mine was working on his lowered civic jacked up no axle stands  :shock: it fell on him but 2 neigbours managed to lift it off in seconds he nearly lost his ear but very very lucky !!!



I now use axle stands all the time addmittingly i didnt use to a lot of the time  :?

[ben_haynes]

i always use axle stands, a ex work collegue lost the use of one of his legs after having it crushed by a small car - fiat Chinquento (Spelling?????) and i have a vehicle 3 times the size and 4 times the weight of that, my mate uses just a jack and i Moan at him every time but to no avail,

[Saffy]

I never use axle stands.




But I always block stack instead (more versatile)

[Wireless]

Worked in a garage from the age of 16, so was given proper safety instruction.

Always chock, then jack, then axle stands, and even on axle stands put the spare wheel under the car, plus any wheels you've taken off.

Much less likely to slip off axle stands, but if it does, better it land on the spare wheel than you.

[paul.w]

I never use axle stands, I have blocks of 9” x3” timber I use under the axels, I have seen axel stands fail.

[Wireless]

Yup, I have some railway sleeper off-cuts (about 2ft long), that make things a lot safer, especially as I have a gravel driveway.

[Rich_P]

The only times I haven't utilised an axle stand is when I have been fixing a rear brake in the middle of a field, and when I have been doing the same for the front.  The worst that can happen when I'm doing that is if it does collapse, I'll get a headache as the wing will bop me one on the head because I do not put myself under the vehicle itself and work above the axle.

[Saffy]

The worst that can happen when I'm doing that is if it does collapse, I'll get a headache

You poo your pants too.

[carbore]

Y ep stands for me on the Elise and I also stick ramps under it as well. To be honest im not looking forward to doing anything under the S3 but being a skinny person I can work under it without jacking it!

[robert francis]

i always use axle stands and always recommend other people to use them aswell,

a friend whos a member on here but wont mention names let see if he owns up to it lol.
he live on a small hill, so i said pop ova my house and change your rear prop on my drive way, no hes fine he said, didnt chock wheels or anything, what happen the last few nuts snapped and the truck was of with my mate holding on for life under neath it, he got dragged about 30ft before he saw the kerb and let go at that point  and then the disco ran over his legs, he was so lucky and stupid, he was walking like john wayne for a few days, lol 


poeple please take this as a lesson and use the correct tools for the job or dont do it,

[mr_disco]

ha ha rob that was me, yea i slackend the nuts off but the last 2 had so much pressure on them they snapped, i say yes use axle stand's i learnt my leason and a discovery aint light lol, well im ok now still got a bad lump in my knee but im walking all ok now, take extreme care when working on your jeep's

[Disco Matt]

It's a lot easier working underneath a LR than a normal car though - I only have to jack mine up (and therefore get the stands out) if I need to take a wheel off. Anything else can be done by just crawling underneath!

[lee celtic]

I was going to say the same ,,, :lol:

My disco is high enough to work under without any jacking however when a wheel has to come off the stands go under and the wheel is layed under the sill just incase  ;)

[mr_disco]

yea mine is high enough aswell and i didnt use any axle stand just a socket set but the last 2 nuts snapped and the jeep started rolloin dwn the hill when i was stuck under there, i left go when it was heading for the kerb and a fence and the the both front wheel went ova my side and my both legs

[laser_jock99]

I have had an axle stand buckle under my Hilux (the leg welds failed!) luckily I wasn't under the car at the time and there were blocks of wood and the tyres I'd removed under the car as well.

Moral- use a 'belt and braces' approach if your life is on the line- don't rely on just axle stands. It's no trouble to sling a timber baulk or tyre under there which will take the hit if things go wrong!

[ian_s]

i got 2 thunking great blocks of wood i use in addition to axle stands
i just dont trust splindly little metal things

[muddysteve]

i got 2 thunking great blocks of wood i use in addition to axle stands
i just dont trust splindly little metal things

luckily my axle stands were 1st used by Brunel

massive gert things, i rarely have to put the pin in as theyre plenty tall enough just on the bases

[skip]

When I've not been at home or not had access to anything more suitable, I put the wheel i've taken off under the hub or sill. then lower the car down very close to it. At least that way it can't fall very far, if it does the only thing damaged is the car and not me :)

[thermidorthelobster]

Had the Disco up on 4 axle stands once, with Mrs Thelobster "driving" it and me listening to the diffs on the other end of a very long bit of wood.

All was fine until I jacked it off the axle stands and back down to the ground again.  At that point I found out Mrs Thelobster had left it in neutral, with the handbrake off...   :-k

Luckily I was able to take the weight on the jack again as it started to roll away.  Otherwise it wouldn't have done the neighbours' wall any good.

I know 2 other Landy owners who have demolished a wall and a tree between them whilst removing prop shafts.  :oops: