Too close for comfort - if you work on cars, please read.

[blu_fuz]

Had a very close call last night my friends and could have had a very different and horrible outcome.


Ever read news titles like this "mechanic killed while working under car" ? Matter of fact, just happened to a well known racer/mechanic/business owner a few months ago around where I live.


My brother's car has had some issues lately that I was wanting to help with to ease the pain of paying a dealer/shop to fix a misfire and change out his alternator. I picked up his SVT Contour on Friday, June 3rd with truck/trailer for a 2 hour round trip to get it to my house.

Decided to take on the task of swapping the alternator out at about 5pm last night.

Usually I get the entire car up on 4 jack stands before I crawl under to work on anything. This time I blocked the rear wheels on both sides front and back of the rear tires. Jacked up only the front and placed 2 jack stands under the front subframe just ahead of the control arms.

Got the passenger front wheel off, took the tie rod nut off and popped it out of the knuckle. No problems, everything smooth as silk.

Gathered the extensions, wrench, etc. that I needed under the car and layed them in a tray I have and slid them under the engine area. Layed down on my padded mat with slick back on it.



This is where •••• got crazy.....

I always pull myself on the sliding mat going from right-to-left by grabbing onto the exhaust and the ridges on the bottom of the car. Slid under, again with nothing out of the ordinary going on, looked over at my tools and just grabbed the socket wrench..... one of the jack stands made a creek noise and I see the car starting to roll backwards off the stands with me 75% under the car!

I don't really know how I managed to grab onto the exhaust before the car was completely off the stands. The car stopped after sliding backwards over 4", one stand touching the subframe by just a point of the stand saddle and the other stand with the subframe sort of floating over it but not touching.


So, now what? I'm laying under the car, it's ready to fall and kill me, and I have my hands on the exhaust. No phone on me, wife in the house, I am freaking out. Decided I had to get out on my own and gently let go of the exhaust watching for any movement of the car and as soon as I let it go I was wiggling my way out from under it.


Wow, I seriously had many things go through my head in that 10 seconds I was under there wondering if I was going to make it out alive.


I went inside, Mrs Blu (8 mos pregnant) asked me if I was ok with concern on her face. I told her I didn't want to say what happened but told her to put her hand on my heart..... she thinks I'm having a heart attack ( I'm 27 btw) and I was shaking like crazy.


Explained what happened and what the other result would have been. We cried it out for a sec and calmed down, went back into the garage and showed her how close I was to not making it out.




I'm posting this because a lot of you are working on your own cars. Please be careful - saving a couple hundred dollars isn't worth losing your life over so make sure you have many safety nets in place. I did eventually get back under the car after an hour, but now with 6 jack stands and my wife sitting by reading her book.


I love my wife, my new soon-to-be daughter, my family, friends, and you guys. I would hate to lose any of you over something like this.


-blu

 

[oldskool69]

I am just flat glad that all ended well. And this doesn't just apply to cars. It's in all we do. I have been in the military andd constrution for years and watched as people are severely maimed or killed because they got "comfortable".

We all need reminders somtimes. However, it's unfortunate that those reminders often means someone has to get hurt or worse.

Just glad you are ok.

 

[sony_apm_fan]

So glad this ended ok, I'm sure we have all done things and thought..."Gee, that was close...."

My father always warned about this sort of accident, and taught me to always place the removed wheel under the car, like a safety last option.

Reality is life is hazardous, and many of our hobbies and pusuits can add to that risk.

We have had a really bad run in Melbourne with Angle grinder accidents lately, one guy had the blade shatter in his face, then he lifted his hand to his face HOLDING the grinder and lost an eye.

Learning not to do things in a rush, not when tired, not when busy, and using safety gear is great advice.

 

[Fatdog]

Dude! Glad you're okay. A close friend of mine is a long-time mechanic and he has said he never gets used to the all the creaking and popping. His reflexes are top notch though.

 

[jaetee]

Happened to a friend in high school. He broke several ribs.

I am a huge fan of jack stands, and usually leave my floor jack taught when the car is up on stands, too....

Glad you are still with us to share this...

 

[redbenjoe]

Happened to a friend in high school. He broke several ribs.

I am a huge fan of jack stands, and usually leave my floor jack taught when the car is up on stands, too....

Glad you are still with us to share this...

----------------------------------

"so glad you made it "

and jaetee is very right --that floor jack is your extra layer of safety

 

[Superduper]

30 years ago, I jacked up my '70 GS455 Stage 1 to work on it. I used the cheap stamped steel jack stands. What do you expect, teenager buys the cheapest jack stands out there, right?

So as you know, them stamped steel stuff bend quite easily so as the U shaped cradle slowly flattened out so that when they become more like __ than U, they don't do nearly the nice job it was supposed to.
With one side of the car jacked up and on the stands, my friend then went to jack up the other side. Wouldn't you know it, it slides off and tips sideways so that the car falls sideways off the stands and leans against the house foundation. Just moments before, I was standing over there before walking around to the back.

I immediately tossed out those cheapy stands and bought the heaviest duty cast ones I could afford. I've never had another mishap since. Good quality stands make all the difference. NEVER EVER use stamped steel jack stands. They should be illegal.

 

[restocat]

Glad you are ok. after a similar mishap, I now slide a large anvil under the car, which I trust more than any car Jack stand.

 

[baddboybill]

I too while working under my Buick have used stands and tires/rims under frame, Plus leave the Hydrolic jack under as added protection Glad your ok Joe

 

[gamefool117]

wow glad you did not get hurt. Actually something similar happened to my dad about 10 or 11 years ago. He was working on his car when it actually slipped off the jack stands and fell on him. Luckily, he saw the car start to fall and made it mostly out from under the car before it came down. He did have a few broken ribs and had to go in an ambulance to the ER, but he recovered fine. To this day, he always uses the most heavy-duty jack stands when working under any vehicle.

 

[Lasonic TRC-920]

Hey Blu, glad your alright,

I've been wrenchin' for the better part of 30 years and have had a few close calls with cheap stands (like Norm) or stands that sink in soft asphalt. NOT COOL!

Glad you were man enough to get right back under there!

I hope you charged your brother a few extra beers for this one!

 

[blu_fuz]

I actually charged that little bastard LESS because it only took about 1/2 the time it did the first time I changed out his alternator!


Thanks for the support, and I actually like hearing the "close call" stories. It is a reminder of how fragile we are and any tips are useful.

I will be using the tire-under-car method combined with my 6-8 jack stands and wheel blocks.



Love you guys

 

[monchito]

wow that is scary ..i used to be a mechanic myself at a Ford dealer,, and yes u would think that it wont happen even using the good tools ,, i only had one incident while working under a van on a lift the extender plates were a bit worn but i did not think anything would happen well after it was in the air i walked under for a repair when all of a sudden one plate slipped to the side forcing the van to shift ,,boy i moved so fast that i forgat where my heart was ,, i had to lower the van bit by bit beause that sucker would have collapesed right on top of me ,,exactly why i stopped being a mechanic it aint a funny scene either i have had a couple friends get hurt like that plus a mechanic die after working on a strut on a car,, u are very lucky my friend and i know that sometime u have to so u have to make sure that car will be secure,,

 

[skippy1969]

HOLY crap Joe !!!!!!!!!! That is nuts!
I'm glad you were fast on your feet and made it out ok.
I would have been very very sad if I would have had to be going to a good friends funeral,yours.........