[Hanzo]

So my friend calls me up and says she broke a lug stud on her TJ. I head over with the part (wrong one, thanks Pep Boys) and get to work. Well, it was in the rear wheel so to get the cover off, you obviously need to release the parking brake.

I however, forget to reset it and am just using the dinky bottle jack. (Can you see where this is going?)

Well, as any of you know, trying to get a new lug stud in is a real pain and you've REALLY gotta crank on it. So, I'm sitting there, giving it hell and sure enough, the Jeep falls off the jack.

Luckily it only got ahold of part of my hand. I lost so skin and it's day two and still pretty swollen so it might have some small fractures, but the good news is, the Jeep is OK. It had a small dent where it hit the garage floor, but I got it back together and it seems to be fine.

Anyway, just thought I'd give ya'll something to laugh about.

[ncb76]

Originally Posted by Hanzo

So my friend calls me up and says she broke a lug stud on her TJ. I head over with the part (wrong one, thanks Pep Boys) and get to work. Well, it was in the rear wheel so to get the cover off, you obviously need to release the parking brake.

I however, forget to reset it and am just using the dinky bottle jack. (Can you see where this is going?)

Well, as any of you know, trying to get a new lug stud in is a real pain and you've REALLY gotta crank on it. So, I'm sitting there, giving it hell and sure enough, the Jeep falls off the jack.

Luckily it only got ahold of part of my hand. I lost so skin and it's day two and still pretty swollen so it might have some small fractures, but the good news is, the Jeep is OK. It had a small dent where it hit the garage floor, but I got it back together and it seems to be fine.

Anyway, just thought I'd give ya'll something to laugh about.

You're lucky you didn't get hurt worse than you did.
I think the first thing I'd do is go out and pick up a set of jackstands.

[Hanzo]

Oh, I've got a set, but I figured that since I was only bringing one wheel off the ground that it wouldn't really matter if it was the jack or the jack stand. The bases are about the same size. However...I am definately going to be investing in a hydraulic floor jack soon. Not much chance of that thing tipping over.

[BaaBaa]

I almost had a situation at least that bad two weeks ago...

I was swappign out mud tires for my roadies when I decided I might as well try to figure out where the squeak was coming from in my rear drums. Had both rear wheels jacked up with a forklift under the bumper, and had my friend helping me put the auto in drive to let the rear axle turn while we listened. Nothing happened, at which point he realized he still had the parking brake on and the axles couldn't spin. He corrects this and we let it spin for about 30 seconds before I go to get a tool off the front seat and notice HE HAS THE DAMN THING IN 4-HI. It's a miracle the front wheels didn't pull the rear end off the forklift, drop it on the gas tank (remember, wheels are off) and kill us all.

One of those times when somebody was lookin' out for me

[Soon2AdjustYou]

get some jack stands

[lawdawg]

Originally Posted by Hanzo

I am definately going to be investing in a hydraulic floor jack soon. Not much chance of that thing tipping over.

You ARE a retard.

Nobody, nowhere, nohow, is going to tell you that a hydraulic jack is safer than a set of jack stands. Use the floor jack to get it in the air. Then set it down on some jack stands BEFORE you start to work on it.

[Hanzo]

Like I said, a floor jack would've tipped over just as easily. The bases on the two are the same size.

[jkulbeth]

Originally Posted by Hanzo

Like I said, a floor jack would've tipped over just as easily. The bases on the two are the same size.

You are better off with a floor jack, but you still don't want to perform work with just the jack. I've had my old truck nearly fall off a floor jack -- more like slide off -- while jacking it up for stands. I also had a floor jack slowly lose pressure while I walked across the garage to grab the stands.

I think the point is jacks are mechanical lifting devices, but aren't intended for holding anything up for much time. Yes -- get a floor jack, but take the stands with you when you roll it out.

Check out Sam's. I got a super-cool tire-store type jack for about $50. One pump and it reaches the frame, then you pump it like a regular wheeled floor jack. It has a super-long handle so you can safely stay away from the vehicle when you're raising it. And, it just looks cool.

[Hanzo]

Yeah, Autozone has one for like $18. It's got the stupid short handle, but I'll just get rid of that and make a new one. It's not the super powerful one, but it doesn't really need to be.

[ckster]

Also ........you should always use wheel chocks when jacking a vehicle. Much safer that way.

[Hanzo]

VERY true. Those would've helped. The strange thing is, I didn't even feel it move before it fell. Not that it's ok. Tell you what, that'll wake you up REAL fast though.

[lawdawg]

Originally Posted by Hanzo

Like I said, a floor jack would've tipped over just as easily. The bases on the two are the same size.

Uhhhhh.....

Floor Jacks

Used for lifting--do not work on the car using just this.

Jack Stands

Used for holding up car once lifted so that you can work on it.

Bottle Jack

More portable and versitile than the other two, but not as safe. You may have some freak bottle jack with a huge base, but you'd have to get the 50 ton model from this manufacturer that retails for $600.00 before you exceeded the size of the base on a simple 3 ton jack stand from the same manufacturer.

BTW, here's why you don't support a car with a floor jack while working on it.

[Hanzo]

My mistake, typo. I meant that the jack stands would've tipped over just as easily as the bottle jack since the bases are the same size.

[gonzo]

i went to work on my brakes last year---on the bottle jack....i got the tire off- crawled under the jeep--- looked at the bottle jack- put the tire back on,went to sears the next day and got a nice big craftsman 3&1/2 ton hi lift floor jack and some big ole' 6 ton stands!-lol

[JKNIPE2000]

when i first started driving i wrecked my 77 F-250. had to rebuild the front end and needed a new front right spindle on the d44. i had the front end up on jacksatnds in the garage, no tire on the right side, and the floor jack still under the axle houseing because i never fully trust one method of vehicle hoisting.

anyway, had a friend over and he was sittng it it while i worked on it. apparently he was playing w/ the gear shifter just screwing around running through the gears.

next week my new gf comes over to visit and of course i want to show off my new dual flowmasters. i hop in and dont even think about checking if its in gear because i always leave it in neutral...well my buddy left it in 1st. cranked it over and it didnt even make more than two full turns and bam...across the garage my truck goes w/ the front end riding on the floor jack. scary lol, came about 8 inches from going through the garage door. needless to say, she didnt have time to have an 'impressed' reaction lol.