DIY Car Lift - Opinions ....SAFETY WARNING!

Post by **volare** » 27 Jan 2017, 22:09

EMT here. Saw a few of these calls. Not a fun or pretty way to go. It's seriously not worth it, EVER.

matthew1 wrote:Please be careful working under your Volvo, guys. I've mentioned it here a couple times over the years: about 20 years ago, my dad's friend died when his car fell on him while he was under it. If I recall, it was an MG. He was in his garage.

I don't know the details of what went wrong, but his wife found him. He left behind her and three daughters who were in junior high and high school at the time.

I saw his widow about two years ago... she's friends with my mom. I don't think I need to go on. Please just be careful.

Post by **cn90** » 28 Jan 2017, 10:43

1+,

When I have more time, I will work on a separate thread "DIY how to raise car for routine maintenance, how place jack stand etc."
And will need contributions from others to chime in.
- How to build and use wood ramps for routine oil, ATF fluid change etc.
- Wheel chocks: rubber chocks vs bricks etc.
- Jack stand: brand-name, tonnage rating.
Be careful, 3 -ton jack stand is rated as pair that can "safely" support 3 tons or so when used as a pair.
So a 3-ton jack stand, when used alone, has a rating of about 1.5 tons!
- How to build redundancy: extra jack stand, extra tire under the car etc.

Basically, I will write a generic DIY for the sake of safety, building a bullet-proof system that you feel safe while working under the car.

Post by **matthew1** » 28 Jan 2017, 11:17

Sounds good, CN. I'll feature it prominently.

Post by **cn90** » 28 Jan 2017, 13:19

Every few months, I see local news with someone either injured or killed simply b/c they used only jack, and failed to use jack stand.

Even with jack stand, I use it at lowest setting (I don't trust the elliptical "eyelet"), so the vertical center rectangular column sits on the jackstand's base.
Jack stand's base failure is rare, but when it fails, it splits at the welding points.
So, even at lowest setting, I place a piece of wood DIRECTLY below the vertical center rectangular column. This way, weight is transferred vertically down to the column ---> concrete floor.

Below is a video of some guys having fun with his hydraulic press (don't worry, your jack stand is unlikely to fail this way), but I post it so you can see the weakest point of the jack stand...

Time marking 0:30 ---> 0:34 shows you exactly how it fails...

Post by **cuhfs** » 28 Jan 2017, 18:31

Anytime I jack car and take tire off; flat tire, or for timing belt etc... that tire gets put under car as an extra safety while I work.

Post by **abscate** » 28 Jan 2017, 19:33

We had a neighbor 20 years ago who left a car on a jack on a sloping driveway and it fell and killed his toddler.

Total horror show.

beigg · Post by **beigg** » 29 Jan 2017, 06:39

Some u-pull-it yards I've went to do not permit jacks being brought in. Those same yards set the cars on stacked rims placed in tangent "T" .
One visit I was at the side of a car pulling a part from within the wheel well... After finishing up and timing it very close, walking away the car came down on to the ground where I was working. The rims used and the placement of them allowed them to go through the floorboard.

Just an experience I thought I'd share... Rust doesnt care.

Post by **j-dawg** » 29 Jan 2017, 17:53

Lifting cars is by far my least favorite part of working on them. Something like this would be nice, but it's pricey. At half that price, I'd seriously consider it.

Post by **cn90** » 29 Jan 2017, 18:35

@j-dawg,

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... _200662686

The lift you mentioned sounds good but it is deadly as the whole car now sits on a single U-cup inside the hydraulic system.
Search google for U-cup (loaded vs not loaded), and you will see why.

Post by **j-dawg** » 29 Jan 2017, 19:23

Once it's up, it rests on a steel bar and you can relieve the hydraulic system.