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pls share if you've ever had a floor jack fail

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JMapleton said:
It's beyond stupid to use a jack as your only method of support for a cars weight.

You can't spend 3 dollars on a cinder-block or something for a measure of safety?
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NEVER USE A CONCRETE BLOCK. They are not made for this function and should never be used as such. They will break and your car will fall on you one day.
 
herm0016 said:
NEVER USE A CONCRETE BLOCK. They are not made for this function and should never be used as such. They will break and your car will fall on you one day.
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You're probably right. My mistake. I grew up with family members doing this but I can imagine those crumbling easily.
 
Know of two people that have died from a jack failure. My grandfather died when my dad was about 8 from a car jack buckling and the same for an ex-worker who had his truck fall on him.

I have also witness my own car cause a jack to start buckling sideways (didn't know it was till my dad went to use it the next time) but that was my dad doing the breaks and was never under the car. It also probably had more to do with footing for the jack than anything else.

Don't know what kind or manufacturer any of these were though.
 
Topweasel said:
Know of two people that have died from a jack failure. My grandfather died when my dad was about 8 from a car jack buckling and the same for an ex-worker who had his truck fall on him.

I have also witness my own car cause a jack to start buckling sideways (didn't know it was till my dad went to use it the next time) but that was my dad doing the breaks and was never under the car. It also probably had more to do with footing for the jack than anything else.

Don't know what kind or manufacturer any of these were though.
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No offense, but that is darwin speaking right there. I always thought I was overly precarious by insisting on never working on a vehicle that did not have 3 redundant areas of support. Glad my hyper-sensitivity to vehicle support brings me here to comment on this thread of others who did poorly on my checklist.

Have worked under a few two-post lifts and even though they are more secure, can still be scary, and I always employ the mechanical stops.
 
natto fire said:
No offense, but that is darwin speaking right there. I always thought I was overly precarious by insisting on never working on a vehicle that did not have 3 redundant areas of support. Glad my hyper-sensitivity to vehicle support brings me here to comment on this thread of others who did poorly on my checklist.

Have worked under a few two-post lifts and even though they are more secure, can still be scary, and I always employ the mechanical stops.
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No offense taken. I wouldn't even do this type of work in the first place, which is probably a bad thing to admit in ATG, but I would assume everyone who gets under a car should be sensitive to the idea that a car could fall on them and take the needed precautions to avoid it.

Only problem is with Gramps he succeeded in reproducing before biting it. So no Darwin Award for him.
 
I've had a couple scissor jacks fail. Metal starts bending.. one, the car pretty much fell on top of me but I was luckily able to escape with no harm. I've since learned my lesson and always have jackstands or wheels/tires in place.
 
Topweasel said:
It also probably had more to do with footing for the jack than anything else.
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I think that this is spot-on. I've noticed two things about broken jack stand pictures that I've seen: many are of vehicles on jack stands on surfaces that aren't pavement or concrete, and many of the failures involve using jack stands at their maximum extension.

Jack stands are rated for compression loads only it seems. The moment (hah!) that bending is involved jack stands will start to fail.
 
Do you guys ever use a jack stand on a slight-incline driveway or must it be flat? I will be using a chock of course. Also wouldn't a jack/stand leave an unsightly impression in blacktop? I saw it in a youtube video to use a sheet of metal to prevent this but I don't have that sort of thing handy.

Also, my vehicle has a jackpoint built into all 4 sides that is the shape of a rectangle with deep sides so it wouldn't slip out. So if I use that to jack up the car, how can I use a jackstand after that? Aren't they insecure if you just put it on the frame?
 
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rh71 said:
Do you guys ever use a jack stand on a slight-incline driveway or must it be flat? I will be using a chock of course. Also wouldn't a jack/stand leave an unsightly impression in blacktop? I saw it in a youtube video to use a sheet of metal to prevent this but I don't have that sort of thing handy.

Also, my vehicle has a jackpoint built into all 4 sides that is the shape of a rectangle with deep sides so it wouldn't slip out. So if I use that to jack up the car, how can I use a jackstand after that? Aren't they insecure if you just put it on the frame?
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Use jack-stands on a slope at your own risk. It is VERY easy to get into trouble using a jack/jackstands on a slope. You may be able to get away with it, but it is not advisable.

To not leave dents in blacktop I would use a small piece of plywood or other wood. Sheet metal seems like an expensive plan.

To jack up a car I aim for a subframe so I can lift both front or rear wheels at once. If that's not easy to do I will use a pinch weld adapter/jack adapter and lift one whole side of the car at a time. FM isn't the only place to buy one from either, you can even make one with a hockey puck and a hacksaw. Then I am able to use two jack-stands at the proper locations without any fuss.
 
+1, slope can be very risky. If a tire unintentionally lifts off the ground and steering isn't locked it can roll/pivot off the jack. Esp with a stiff unibody vehicle like your x5. I won't even use ramps on inclines.
 
Only jack I've ever had fail was the scissor jack that came with car. They're not made to used repeatedly and those tack welds loosen up with frequent use.
 
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