Ever get an eerie feeling while under your car...?

**theorangeguy** · 01-15-2015, 06:28 AM

I've been crawling under cars and tractors since I was a kid but I just got done reading a thread on another forum about a guy who got killed while under his car and I gotta admit, it has made me rethink some things...I've always been pretty careful for the most part. Jack stands, putting wheels under the car in case it falls, chokes, etc etc etc but do you guys ever get an eerie feeling while you are under yours? I have a few times in the past but usually as long as I'm safe I dont think twice.

**jrbonds** · 01-15-2015, 06:44 AM

I was recently under the front of my car changing the alternator and my jack broke. Scared the daylights out of me. My car is so low. Honestly though, I was lucky it was the front and there was not anything there to smash me. I couldn't shimmy out from under though because of my stupid boobs. My friend had to jack the car back up.

But yeah, doing my transmission recently with jack stands and the jack and me shaking the car to make sure it holds still didn't give me enough reassurance while I was under it. Kept looking at my jack stands and having that feeling I didn't like being under it.

***SMWS6TA*** · 01-15-2015, 07:00 AM

I've learned from my Army days of doing "field expedient repairs" to always shake the vehicle once after installing jack stands, try to never rely on a jack for stability, if you have doubts fine the reason why and eliminate it, and always try to have someone around that knows you are working under it, in case you have an issue of it falling on you they can at least get an ambulance or fire dept rolling.

I hate having to deal with flat tires on the side of the road. I do it quick enough to get it done and be able to move to nearest exit to find a spot to do it safely.

**Darth Cypher** · 01-15-2015, 07:35 AM

Yes, I do. In fact, my uncle died from a vehicle falling onto him a couple years ago. Back in my days on working the flight line in the USAF (still employed but not so much a maintainer now) when an aircraft was jacked up or if components were taken from the front of the aircraft, I would get a little nervous. I've seen an F-16 that had some stuff removed from the nose and minutes later out of nowhere I hear a 'BANG' and the look over and see the F-16 "popping a wheelie", lol.

When working on my car, it is obviously on jack stands, I also have the jack on as well. I know the jack doesn't mean shit but it is an added measure of security, if anything hopefully enough time to get my ass out from underneath my car if one or more of the stands fail. If the work I am doing involves me removing the wheel, I will place that wheel/rim on the side next to me as yet another added failsafe. So if the stand fails, the jack fails, there is the wheel/rim next to me to at least prevent the car from crushing me to death. But yes, I am nervous and I don't play around with jacking up a car or any type of vehicle.

**GTP231** · 01-15-2015, 07:56 AM

I get it even under a lift

**024mula** · 01-15-2015, 03:43 PM

I use to use a floor jack to raise it enough to get safety stands under it, but that took too long, so then I just started jacking it up with the floor jack and forgot about using the safety stands.
After under it I thought this is really stupid. so now I use car ramps.

**theorangeguy** · 01-15-2015, 03:48 PM

Originally Posted by 024mula

I use to use a floor jack to raise it enough to get safety stands under it, but that took too long, so then I just started jacking it up with the floor jack and forgot about using the safety stands.
After under it I thought this is really stupid. so now I use car ramps.

I've been using rhino ramps a lot lately. I like em.

***SMWS6TA*** · 01-15-2015, 06:50 PM

I still haven't gotten a set of those. I just use my 6 ton jack stands.

**0rion** · 01-16-2015, 02:53 AM

when I did headers I had a buddy helping me. Another buddy and my wife were sitting in the driveway talking while we're under it putting the exhaust back on. I couldn't get the ipipe back into the over the axle piece so my buddy was pulling on one and I was using my foot kicking the shit out of it. My wife and other buddy start screaming to get out from under the car. I about shit all over myself trying to get out from under it. Get out and they said it was swaying heavily on the stands. Not near the emergency they made it out to be....probably not safe but not scream worthy. Still enough to scare the shit out of me though.
The next time was when I was doing the rear. I had the front on ramps and the rear on a couple pairs of stands. One pair under the rear and another pair under the sub-frame. When I took the last bolt out that held the rear to the car the rear started to pivot. When it did that it started rolling the car backwards. I got out from under it but my stands were completely leaned over ready to fall and my front tires were barely hanging onto the lip of the ramps. Everytime I even touched the car it would start creaking and inching along like it was coming down. I ended up putting a blanket over the front of my truck and pulled it up against the back of the car to hold it in place then took a BFH and beat the stands upright and jacked the front of the car up to put a set of stands under the front. That was, and will forever be, the last time I use ramps on a car.

**allbaugh_04** · 01-16-2015, 03:47 PM

I guess I've just always used jack stands and leave the jack too, 3 points. My friends came over to use my garage and when I got home, they were only doing the front brakes on their car, but I scolded em about not using the jack stands lol, I've just read too many stories online about cars falling on people.