close call - car jack

[BR37TZ]

well my car jack got thrown away today.
all of 5 years old and its ****ed.

twice today it was used to jack my car up and twice it failed with someone nearly under the car.
lifted it first time to put stands under, just as the stands were going under and the lift gives out.
thinking it was a lucky close call and must not have screwed it all the way up.
second time made absolute certain it was properly screwed all the way, went up fine then just as the stand were almost in place it gives out again!
cursing and spluttering all the words that would make a biker blush.
pulled it all, made certain a third time it was all done up properly and that was fine. then checked the oil and it was all topped up. didnt look like anything was messed up or broken.
so now its sitting out the front after all the usable bits have been salvaged off it.

what an absolute waste of money
TTI brand 2 ton jack if anyone is interested

[IJ.]

Good call on binning it if it can't be trusted it's worse than useless!

[BR37TZ]

thats it

im just glad i wasnt working alone and there was only a shoulder under the car at the time

heard too many sad stories about cars falling on people

[Micks]

The seals can let go in the best of floor jacks! I had an APAC Aussie made unit thirty odd years with little use that had to be rebuilt.

[swingtan]

First step after jacking up the car is to throw the spare wheel under it. It will help in the event of a jack failure.

Chances are that the seals have gone in your jack. I've got a 40 year old jack here that needs new seals, but it only has a slow drop, not a sudden loss of pressure. Very scary situation to be in, glad you're OK.

[Micks]

First step after jacking up the car is to throw the spare wheel under it. It will help in the event of a jack failure.

Chances are that the seals have gone in your jack. I've got a 40 year old jack here that needs new seals, but it only has a slow drop, not a sudden loss of pressure. Very scary situation to be in, glad you're OK.

Great advice Simon, if you have no stands a wheel is better than nuthin!!

[lmoengnr]

Never trust a jack on its own, Murphy's Law...

[BR37TZ]

I never do trust a jack by itself....
even on stands im always suspect about it
it was only on the jack long enough to put the stands under but they never made it anyway.

if the seals had let go would it be leaking any fluid?
and would it have jacked the car up the second time?

[Radikl]

Got a trust old Aussie Made Armstrong Jack......Around 30 + years old....

Only now i need to get seals done....

But never ever get under a car with a jack only...is my rule....especially those hi end brands that are made in china

[Devil CV8]

There's been a couple of fatalities this year with cars falling on people using a jack only to hold the car up. One in Qld and 1 a few weeks later in Canberra

[Jag530G]

At least you didn't get squashed, that's the main thing, unlike the poor soul on the Gold Coast a few months ago, awful stuff.

[lmoengnr]

I never do trust a jack by itself....
even on stands im always suspect about it
it was only on the jack long enough to put the stands under but they never made it anyway.

if the seals had let go would it be leaking any fluid?
and would it have jacked the car up the second time?

Internal leakage, around the seals on the piston.

[A PSYCHO]

There's been a couple of fatalities this year with cars falling on people using a jack only to hold the car up. One in Qld and 1 a few weeks later in Canberra

there was actually 2 in QLD recently. 1 on the goldcoast in April, then another only a month later in greenbank.

[XUV]

if the seals had let go would it be leaking any fluid?
and would it have jacked the car up the second time?

It might have air in the system, try this if ya still got it.

undo the release bolt a fair, nearly all the way, the pump the jack for a hundred or so strokes, retighten release and try.

[BR37TZ]

It might have air in the system, try this if ya still got it.

undo the release bolt a fair, nearly all the way, the pump the jack for a hundred or so strokes, retighten release and try.

cant do anything with it now
couldnt trust it anymore
so it was stripped and the rest put out the front for someone to take

[white lie]

If it was an expensive jack, you could have just got it serviced/repaired.

[BR37TZ]

If it was an expensive jack, you could have just got it serviced/repaired.

but you see that wouldve made total sense!
and not totally over reacting to a situation

even if I got it serviced I would never have trusted it again and it would be useless to me anyway

[Smitty]

well my car jack got thrown away today.
..................
TTI brand 2 ton jack if anyone is interested

I have a couple of Total Tools (TTI) jacks (2 or 2.5Tonne I think)
they work fine with ONE proviso... you MUST bleed the buggers about every 12 months
otherwise they just about get to the top of the stroke and then collapse.. coz they have air in them

I also have an Armstrong 2 tonner... old as (even the orange paint is fading) but never had a problem :)

[Jamolad]

On reading the thread title I thought this was going to be about a close call where someone tried to steal your car while you and/or a family member were in it.

Good thing you stripped the jack so it can't be used without some fixing - otherwise it would look like it was still functional, and someone may think they had stumbled over a good find and may not have been as lucky as yourself when they eventually used it.

[IJ.]

I have a 2T Omega and a set of their Axles stands, solid bit of gear never given a hint of a problem. :)

Don't use it as much as I once did since getting the Hoist.

[BR37TZ]

I have a 2T Omega and a set of their Axles stands, solid bit of gear never given a hint of a problem. :)

Don't use it as much as I once did since getting the Hoist.

to have the space and $$ for a hoist mmmm



On reading the thread title I thought this was going to be about a close call where someone tried to steal your car while you and/or a family member were in it.

Good thing you stripped the jack so it can't be used without some fixing - otherwise it would look like it was still functional, and someone may think they had stumbled over a good find and may not have been as lucky as yourself when they eventually used it.

yeh good timing that when someone picked it up we were outside and mentioned it to the person who picked it up

[jc_sv8]

On reading the thread title I thought this was going to be about a close call where someone tried to steal your car while you and/or a family member were in it.


That's how I read the thread title too!

[Kakarot_92]

That's my worst fear, being under the car and jack giving way.

My younger brother is currently taking of a gearbox in the garage, with 2 stands at the front and jack at the diff.
I had to go and buy another 2 stands for the rear, safety first ;)

[BR37TZ]

That's my worst fear, being under the car and jack giving way.

My younger brother is currently taking of a gearbox in the garage, with 2 stands at the front and jack at the diff.
I had to go and buy another 2 stands for the rear, safety first ;)

yeah thats what ive just finished doing
stands front and rear
still wasnt high enough, had to stack hardwood under the jacks and still wasnt as high as i would of liked
but in the end it got done

but I have a horrible claustrophobia, could not stand being under it