always back up jack stands by leaving a hydraulic floor jack engaged under the car near where you are working. Jack stands plus floor jack makes Jack a safe boy.
jesuisravi, that is exactly the trick that i was taught in college auto shop. leave the hydraulic jack in place, almost touching and tighten the valve. and always on the side of the car, or end you are working on.
an additional note. I was always taught, if you remove a tire, especially if you are using a jack with no jack stand, place the tire you took off, under the vehicle. This gives you an extra layer of protection.
I was in the middle of putting the wheel back in place on my SUV when my jack gave out. I saw it slip out of the corner of my eye. I backed up before it completely collapsed. The SUV leaned towards me but was stopped by the tire hitting the wheel well and the rotor catching the inside edge of the rim. Scariest moment of my life. I haven't done any work that requires me to lift up the SUV since. Let a shop handle that.
I do this with a stand and the jack putting very light pressure, just touching. I also never ever tilt my garage jack so I have no air in my hydraulics.
To anyone reading this : Get a Jack stand with the extra safety pin (that's on a little ring chain) the pin slips through as a backup. Also don't forget to bend the jack stand safety pin. Also putting a tire, block of wood or something in other areas might be a extra safety measure, Don't forget wheel Chalks to block off the wheels.
@lightningsmokerXx ... what you wrote was exactly what I was going to write. I've never been a fan of this type of support, and have witnessed somebody underneath a light shell of a car - with no suspension, or engine, or anything, without enough weight on the stand to counter it falling if it were knocked upward - and without any secondary safety in place. It amazes me how some of the brightest of us, with years of motor mechanic experience, take fantastic risks - I've yet to meet anyone who can bench press a car off of their crushed chest ... 🫣 ...
Excellent video. Regarding the extra safety mentioned above , I noticed the gentleman in the video is using a Pittsburgh ( HarborFreight) jack stand. The new ones they manufacture now (Daytona) do have the extra safety pin attached to the jack stand. On these new ones one MUST intentionally take the pin out in order to lower the jack stand. Just FYI. After watching this video I upgraded my jack stands to the new ones .
After 40 years of working on everything from heavy equipment to cars. I’ve never had a jack fail that way. I’ve bent stands and had welds break. I’ve even had hydraulics leak , blow apart but never have I had a jack stand fall because I hit the lever. The most dangerous thing that scares me is bumper jacks. My dad used to worry about killer wheels somebody he worked with got hurt by one of those. I’ve been around a shop since I could stand.
@@stevebean1234 old buses and some trucks used to have a rim that was two pieces. They had bolts to hold the two halves together. What would happen is the bolts would fail and the rims would kill people. They were the reason they made tire cages. Very dangerous, still you do see them sometimes especially in other countries.
Yeap same here as as set, the weight on the cradle of the jack prevents you from bumping it loose. In the porsche car, he probably did have the jack set right . Even with 500lbs on the cradle, your ARE NOT bumping a quality jack loose.
I think it's important to know that the pin is probably not a shear pin, but a steel roll pin. The steel roll pin is designed to hold components im alignment, not to act as a safety device. I have jack stands that are substantially similar and the pins are steel roll pins, not shear pins.
the bad ones need very little movement to collapse. Also, they have a 2nd failure mode, which is the actual cause of the recall: when you wiggle the load, they just collapse. Nothing to do with kicking the handle.
And three of the pttsburghs been recalled. But nowhere in the story does it say what kind of jack stand Mike had. The old ones didnt have too many safety features. So your video is half wasted.
I always back it up with a floor jack slightly pumped to share the load. Chances of both failing at once is next to impossible, unless there is a hit-man out for you. Place in gear, park and parking brake and of course wheel chocks. Be safe guys...
I always use a jack stand with my floor jacks. If I have to get under the car, i use two or more. There is nothing wrong with over doing safety, when your own car can crush you.
I have had floor jacks spring a leak and release on me before, thankfully on a car that did not sit so low to the ground it hurt me. Never rely on them.
I've always lifted the car with my hydraulic jack and then left it and then put jack stands underneath as added security. I never thought to have the weight of the car onto the jack stands.
@@specialsause949 DO NOT DO THIS. THIS WILL KILL YOU. You need to apply the weight to the jack STANDS. Then put the floor jack half inch from the frame. The car should NEVER be supported by the floor jack while you are under it.
@@specialsause949damn man thats unbelievable. If that jack fails and suddenly drops on the stands they might fail or tip over because of the sudden drop. Weight must be on the stands at all times to keep them stable avoiding a sudden drop. I leave most of the weight on the stands, and leave the jack with some tension on it also, then put the tire/tires under frame of the car for added security.
I have many years as a mechanic the more tons equal a stronger jack with safety features if you don't elevate the jack stand you are completely safe because the jack has nowhere to drop 😮
theory ---- " no way you can accidentally hit your thumb that hard with a hammer " .... is there something wrong with that statement? so there is a way to hit a jack-stand handle accidentally. there are also ways to avoid such encounters from happening.
HUH? --- I will slow this down for you Pavlo95 1 month ago, stated "no way you can accidentally hit it that hard with a hammer " this person has either never swung a hammer or does not ever miss... the BFH ( a BFH = Big F'n Hammer) I have used on a car has enough mass and inertia to move something that need to be removed, but I make sure that I am safe if something goes wrong... still too fast for you Karl... ?
accidentally hitting your thumb with a hammer is easy/common, you're holding the nail with your thumb, in no easy/common situation should you be hitting a jack-stand with a hammer while underneath it. you're making connections that don't connect unless your making leaps in your brain that you are failing to articulate. now your response to me makes even less sense than the first.
Agreed. It's not just hitting it with a hammer, it's the fact that it has to be done with an upward motion from a clearance height of about 6". When he hits the jack stand with a hammer it's in the press with plenty of clearance below the arm. It's not in it's natural state sitting on the ground with no clearance to swing the hammer from underneath. It's much more likely to be done with leverage like a breaker bar or accidentally getting something wedged under it. A good example would be working with an exhaust component, thinking it's stuck, and trying to force it out when it's actually caught under the pawl arm of the jack stand. That might do it. Has to be something that causes leverage to be applied to the arm from underneath. If you are working under the car on your back a hammer is not going to cause it, has to be a lever and a whole lot of carelessness (usually from lack of experience or caution).
Always put the jack stand handle on the outside of the car. For one thing, you'll be working under the car & want to avoid the accidental impact. For another thing, it'll be easier to drop the arm from the outside once you lift the car off the stands to lower it with the floor jack.
@@marketingmajor8126- A Bungee Cord to hold the handle down, a Strong Tie Wrap, or a Locking Cover, over the Handle, are various "Additional" Safety measures, that can reason well, slow, or stop, such "Situations" from being "Easy" to accomplish! Maybe a Combination of two of these ideas, if you live in such a "Crib!" 🥴🤭
Curious, did you confirm the ram would support at least 500 lbs? For those wondering how Mike could lift his car off himself, consider the other jack stands were still in place. I was checking my stands under the car one time and noted one was completely loose! Issue was one spot in the jack surface was a little lower (about 1/2") and I forgot to account for that. I could tip the car back and forth with one hand!
interesting. that's probably how he was able to knock the handle and lift the stand. the one jack maybe wasn't bearing a lot of weight so the handle could easily be lifted, particularly if it was hit by something.
Someone may have suggested this already, but I reckon to test/measure the shear load of the handle pin, you should put it under the hydraulic jack like you had at first, then use another hydraulic jack under the handle, or a winch and cable over it, in combination with a force gauge to test at what load does the pin actually shear off.
Aim the release handle of the jack stand away from your work area. Problem solved. CAUTION: Avoid violent psycho tantrums and tool slinging while under a car on jack stands. Second, rare problem solved.
GS Allen Tool slinging tends to happen when you are working on a project car. Usually when you snap off a bolt, or when something mashes your finger. although i never use jackstands, so I'm good.
+A. Zak Just have a bunch of sons and make them do weight training so they can hold the car up while you are working on it. You can call your sons Jack, Stan, Block and Wedge.
Good experiment. One set of jack stands I have are made by excello where the lever actually has to move upward in a curved slot to release. I’ve complained about them, but this video tells me that feature is a very nice one to have. The base of these stands is solid plate on all 4 sides. They’re quite heavy too, but I think they are well-built. I’ve had them for about 30 years.
Pro tip, use more than 4 jackstands. I like to use at least 6 preferably 8 if they can fit. This way you are not totally reliant on the 4 corners alone. In the event of a failure if you have 2 in the middle you could more than likely teeter the car one way or the other or at least keep it from totally crushing your body, saving your life.
Alternatively if possible (if you don't have more than 4 jacks, I only have 2 for instance so my back or front wheels are always blocked or on ramps and blocked) stick the tires under the car in the middle as a just in case safety feature (learned that from ChrisFix, helped me out more than once when the jack slipped as I was raising the car to move the stands out)
I'm a freak under cars so here a good way to be super safe. I usually work with either the car on 4 stands or only 2 (front/rear). After placing the stands, I keep my jack under and I will then use the wheels as another safety put them under the car.
I also put the 16x8x4 SOLID concrete blocks under it TO THE FRAME. I damn sure have never needed to use algebra and calculators to get my shit to stay up.....no Viagra either .... CIALIS !!!! LOL !!! PLEASE... DON'T EVER USE CINDER BLOCKS, they are WIDOW MAKERS.
He covered the details... but mythbusters on the other hand, some of their episodes were pretty bad. Then again, I understand they were doing it for TV.
It seems to me that you first want to know the force it takes on the lever to shear the pin. For that, there should be no vertical movement. You just have to apply a measured force at the end of the lever until the pin shears. Then you can just calculate the threshold weight on the jack from its mechanical design.
Sooooo.... I shouldn't hit the jack stand release while I'm under the vehicle. Got it. I'll add this knowledge to the previous bits such as: coffee=hot and no hairdryer in the bathtub.
Maybe if you understood basic physics it would help.... and more to the point if you understood that the entire controversial video is designed just to get 'clicks', it would help.
or maybe the guy rushed and didn't completely secure the jackstands with the ratchet jaw completely in it's slot do it was just teetering on the tip of the jaw
@@backyardburnouts8846 Not smart. Momentum multiplies the weight of the car. If you have a heavy car like a crown vic 4000 pounds and you create enough movement the jack can get unbalanced and fail. Especially if the metal of the car is structurally compromised from years of use.
Yeah fr... Even if it failed, if it was put in the right place it should have still been on the Jack stand.... It still should've been raised at least 6in
Only thing I think would’ve done that was a breaker bar releasing a tight nut/bolt and swinging perfectly into the jack handle. idk. I always use at least 2 jack stands and a jack to hold a car up before I get anywhere under it
Steve C i agree, there's no way youre 'bumping' a jack stand handle 'by accident', especially seeing as it took prying with a breaker bar and beating on it with a hammer to get it to 'fail'. The guy who got hurt probably just placed a stand wrong and didn't notice. Human error does happen.
Awesome video. Harbor Freight recalled their jack stands and replaced them with new and improved ones. They then recalled the new and improved replacement jack stands. I received an email from them in regards to this. Just wanted to share.
Harbor Freight recalled their jack stands made in east Northwest China and replaced them with jack stands made in Southeast China. Those redneck jack stands were then recalled and replaced with West coast Chinese jack stands. Those were then recalled and replaced with Yankee chinese jack stands.
“Doing this to your jack stands will get you killed”: If by that you mean don’t apply a pry bar tto a jack stand handle and apply 1000lbs of pressure while lying under the car, then i would agree. Also don’t use a sledgehammer and swing directly at the jack stand while under the car either. Also don’t tie a chain to the jack stand and the other end of the chain to a moving vehicle. also....
One could interpret the title of the video as clickbait... but it could also be that the OP wants to make it clear how dangerous improperly replicating the experiment could be.
The "safety" pin inside is supposed to break..... That was literally what he was testing. He was checking to see what needs to be done to lift it, he got it to lift and the pin that was supposed to break, didn't.
Using the same 2.36 piston setup would require him to double the air pressure to go from 500 to 1000 pounds of simulated weight. Since 500 required 115 psi, 1000 would require 230 psi...... The highest air compressor pressure I've seen was 175. That was scary as fuck.
Stuart Hall Doubling the area of the 2.36 piston would produce the same result as doubling air pressure. That comes to approx. 3.334 dia piston. Increasing the piston diameter 30%, doubled the area....pie are square
I have been using those type of jack stands for about 20 years. Never encountered an issue like that. I do find that it rare cases if you're not careful, the handle may not be in its full locking position, meaning that the ratchet type gear would rest the weight on the end of the tooth with the handle in a slightly raised position. In which the slightest movement of the car such as undoing a tight bolt will slide the tooth off causing the failure. That's my theory on what may have happened if it was a ratcheting type stand.
how do you confirm its not barely resting on the end of the tooth? I mean you can't vigorously shake the handle to confirm its locked cause than you'd be dead.
@@mosasa1307 you confirm this before using the stand. If the lever is all the way down then the teeth are engaged correctly. When its resting on the edge of the tooth the lever is half way up.
cool experiment. But this is what i don't get. Even if the guy did bump it and make it drop....it's STILL ON jackstands...just lower. That jackstand would have to be knocked out from under the car too. In other words the car itself would have to completely fall off of the stands which tells me it wasn't put in the correct spot to begin with (or on a sturdy, level surface) So i don't get how he got crushed simply from this stand getting lowered a few inches (although i would crap my pants for sure) :D
What's up Steve, I'm a big fan and subscriber to your channel, it's a dream of mine to have you do the audio on my car one day. it would be like having Bruce Lee teach you how to fight! love your work brother keep it up.
he could have been under one side of the car where the jacks are either 2 in front or 2 in back, basically he would be coming in from the left or right side of the car. THEN knocking out the one jack from the side he's on could have the car come down on his face WHILE the other jack is still in place.
After I set jack stands, I like to place 2 small scissor jacks on the frame as backup. I also throw a wheel under the diff if there's room. Pretty much guarantees a safe working environment.
I had those same HF jack stands for about a decade and thankfully nothing happened. Now I got myself two new sets of the locking Daytona Jack Stands and the peace of mind of the lock is worth the upgrade. These new jacks alongside with a hydro jack and having the lever of the stands always towards the outside of the car helps so much.
I liked this video. There is one point that I would like to make, human's head not completely in the game. When I was 24 years old I had a 1960 Olds that I used to go back and forth to work. My job at the time was a heavy equipment mechanic, so I knew about safety. I wanted to check my carrier bearing because I had a vibration. I drove the car up on blocks, ( a 60 Olds is low), I blocked it so that it could not go any further forward. I did NOTHING to prevent it from going backward! The only thing holding the car up on the blocks was the transmission that was in park. I then crawled under the car and popped the driveline off of the diff! The car immediately started to roll of the ramps. At least I had the presence of mind to turn over on to my back. The frame went across my stomach. I could just barely breathe. If the frame had went across my chest, it would have killed me. There are so many things that I did wrong. No blocks to prevent rearward movement. Did not apply the emergency brake. Did not take the transmission out of park. I worked on things every day that could easily kill me, but I always made it safe. What was I thinking? My mind was definitely not on what I was doing. I guess that the point that I am trying to make is, stop and take a look at what you are doing. Look at everything. It should only take you a couple of minutes, but I always do it now. I am 70 years old now, and every time I get under ANYTHING I remember that day long ago. It is NOT a pleasant memory.
Rat Builder, you nailed it. I’m 63 and have heard more than my share of horror stories throughout my life. We get caught up in getting it done and too often forget about our own safety. Having been an auto mechanic for a portion of my life, I can see how what happened to you could easily happen when in a hurry or are preoccupied by something. I have had some close calls too. I don’t like to think about them, but when I hear stories such as yours, those memories are revived. As the saying goes: “Look before you leap”.
I’m new to working on my car. It takes me a long time to do any work because I stop and think about each step for a couple of minutes before I execute it. I’m glad you survived that day so you can share your story.
@@waffledninja6278 Thanks Cray. There are several videos out there that are titled "Why Women Live Longer than Men". it shows some of the STUPIDEST actions that I have ever seen. My 5 year old kids were playing in the yard when this happened. When one of them got close enough that they could hear me I told them to go get their Mother. My Wife was across the street at my Mother's house. I could see her just calmly walking towards me, and when she was close enough to hear me, I told her to "get this thing off of me!" She yelled at my Mother that the car had fell on me. All they had to jack up the car was the bumper jack to change a tire. I was impressed, they started jacking up the car, and would put some blocks under as a safety. Jack and block, jack and block. They did this on their own. I was impressed. Two House-wives had more common sense than a professional heavy equipment mechanic.
@@kevanbarley1225 This happened about 1970. Even to this day, I remember how I felt! How I could just barely breathe. those thoughts will never leave me, which is good!!! I am a lot fatter now. I can't afford to try doing something as stupid as this again.
The whole experiment was asinine..Did you see him lock the lady finger pry bar into the safety latch release lever and pry the hell out of it to cause failure..What jack ass would do that to a jack stand while his own life depended on it..Only suicidal people would die that way.
I don't know why he didn't just put it under a car, 4 jack stands and a extra to catch it when the stand releases. When you don't have a garage you have to employ real-time testing.
Bump after bump after bump of not paying attention is what progressed the lever slowly. The pin sometimes won't shear on a lighter car if the force isn't applied all at once. He wasn't paying attention. You're welcome.
This scenario is obviously not going to happen while working on a car in the real world,but I will tell you that I had a jackstand fail in a scary way at my old job. We used various shop jackstands all of the time for vehicles with no problems,until one day a certain little red one fell to the last stop while it was under a vehicle. My boss thought I was nuts,but the other mechanic seen it too. I reset it and it was fine for the duration of that repair (I used a tire under the vehicle after I reset it just in case). Well days,or weeks later it happened again and that was it for using that. I told my boss to scrap it and put it aside. It looked identical to 3 other ones,so I didn't want it getting mixed up with good ones. He puts it back with the four one day and I refused to use any of those after that. I have no clue why it randomally failed to this day.
One idea to explore or expand, on this is, if a Bungee Cord, hooked over the Handle, would even add any "Safety Factor? Another might be a "Cover" that slips over the Handle, that blocks the Movement of the Handle moving up, and it, (The Cover) is held in place by a Short Bungee Cord! Of course, if the Catch Pawl, or Tooth, and the Support Arm Teeth, are loose, or Worn out, such ideas as mine, would still be Useless! But, as demonstrated in this Video, it doesn't seem too hard, to build a "Shop Test Rig" for Jack Stands!
Hi GaragrGeek! Many people have been using wooden jack stands because the thing you tried to show had happened. However, I am not sure how much weight the wooden stands can bear . Can you make another experimental videos using 2x4 wooden stands many people do?
My cheap jack stands have a triangular bar that is chained to the stand. After setting the jack, the intention is to slide in the bar which also locks the jack. In order for them to collapse, you have to both knock out the bar and lift the dog. As long as you remember to insert the bar, you have essentially zero chance of failure. I suspect that there were lawsuits over this in the past which caused them to add the lock bar.
YES!!! those are called double locking jack stands and the only type I use, for a 3ton jack stand the pair cost about 35 bucks... great price for the added protection so no reason to buy anything else.
I miss the old jackstands I used as an apprentice - they were basically a long screw, so they were adjustable to any height, rather than just the discrete intervals allowed by a pawl. And in a pinch, you could adjust the car's height a little by screwing them up and down while the car was already on them - hell, I even had an old jack that worked the same way, with a vertical screw (and a huge gear reduction - damn, I miss that thing. So reliable.) The downside was that they were more expensive and slower to set up, as you had to jack the car and then screw the stand all the way to the car, rather than having a quick setup by pulling the stand up like this model. Not sure if they're still on the market, but haven't seen anything like them in years.
+aussiebloke609 Yeah they are still available, but do to their cost only really find them in heavy duty applications. Found an example on Amazon: www.amazon.com/Esco-Screw-Style-Jack-Stand-Capacity/dp/B00FG09NS4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1494168295&sr=8-2&keywords=screw+style+jack+stands
Realistically, did the Chinese maker of this jack stand actually calculate the shear point of the roll pin (spring pin) attaching the handle to the pawl? More likely they calculated how small a pin could be used to lower the cost.
They would probably use the cheapest, which is probably the weakest, which is probably the safest, because you want to want that pin to break so the lever can't lift up. But you can't accidentally lift up against 500+ lbs anyway, so it doesn't matter.
Once the cam is dogged in place it makes no difference if the little pins shear, it ain't going no where. I replace the pins on mine all of the time the shear pins hold the handle to the cam. not the car in the air.. Most people I know that own a Porch should not be working on them..
SegoMan- You apparently are confused on what he is testing. The pins are supposed to shear instead of releasing the pawl on the jack stand when in use.
I am going to check my jack stands. For now I am really glad I've always both left the jack in place (not holding weight, just touching) and I usually slide the fullsized spare under with me
Great test. I had a similar issue in designing a latch for an infant incubator porthole door - odd analogy I know - but ... most latches can get 'hung up' in an intermediate position where it engages, looks locked, but isn't fully locked. This allows far less force to open it. This scenario may be what happened to the guy in the story. I'm about to buy jack stands, I'm gonna make sure they are good quality and don't get 'hung up'. A few extra bucks life insurance in these tools should be worth it. Thx.
true but if you aren't paying attention well enough to notice you wedged a pry bar underneath the release you should probably not be under the car for your own safety
I've used those same Harbor Freight jackstands for years now and the handle won't budge if there's any weight on the stand. You put a ridiculous amount of leverage on it during that 'experiment' and I seriously doubt there's any way you could achieve the same result by accident. I would guess the guy from the article didn't have his car supported properly like 99.9% of people who get crushed by cars.
Yup, I always leave the hydraulic jack in place as well. I also have a log I can roll under there out of the way that's thicker than me. Working under your car sucks bad enough let alone getting crushed.
I just use a tire as a back up for my jack stand and jack - triple redundancy because of earthquakes. I have a Porsche, so usually taking off the rear wheel to do anything on the engine is helpful.
You are correct. I find his experiment to be totally flawed. As long as there is weight on the jack stand, you would have purposely try to make it fail.
Tom G....I once hired a guy to install a gate in front of my driveway to keep the neighbors from parking in my yard. When he was done with the job he asked for payment. I said OK but I wanted to make sure the gate worked. So I rammed my bulldozer through it and told him his gate didn't work so I didn't pay him.
The danger isn't necessarily from accidentally knocking the ratchet lever, but the pawl edge wears away from many years of the teeth riding against it when its being extended over and over gradually filing it down over years of use. So when uncle Joe with his 15 year old jack stands is smacking on a brake drum or trying to wobble something free it might just be enough weight and enough play to sheer the remaining lip off the pawl and come crashing down.
Great info! I take it is essential to be aware of possibility of incidental hits on that handle. Rush, hang over and such and falling in sleep under the car are things that come to mind. Children playing in immediate vicinity. Be sure the good weight really is on all stands to avoid flip chance.
Harbor Freight sells a "Daytona" brand jack-stand that has an extra safety pin you insert that not only pins the next ratchet tooth up but prevents the release handle from moving. Twice as much tooth contact area and a locked handle. It has very good welds and works well.
As a Mechanic myself since 1976 I've been under a car or two with stands, its not hard to see the mistakes lay people could make using them. Mike drives a Porsche so he is possibly a lawyer, if so he was bound to make up some story that lay the blame on the jack stand design instead of admitting he simply placed the stand wrongly, or on uneven ground, or under a part of the vehicle it could slip off. We can assume he wast not under his Porsche shampooing the gearbox. he was doing something that probably involved him swinging on a spanner, which was attached to the car, which was teetering on a badly place jack stand. And he's a strong man who can lift a car and I bet he can really swing hard on a spanner too. The only question here is, how wrong am I on this.
914 bro. He had a _914_. He's no lawyer. He's a car guy. Probably rallies. He knows what's what. A 914 *if* the engine was out?? or if he's under the front??...would be super light as far as cars go (lighter than an old Beetle...some people can lift the front of Beetles; still more than enough to crush face, though.
Although it's very speculative, I have to say I think AuMechanic makes some very good points (or possibilities). I've working on cars a long time and this 914 story ain't adding up.
*to make up some story that lay the blame on the jack stand design instead of admitting he simply placed the stand wrongly, or on uneven ground, or under a part of the vehicle it could slip off.* Well, though i'm not fully in Mechanic yet. Using a hydraulic jack at a bad place can either damage the car or be dangerous. Like, when your car is parked on the side of the street, street are never strait flat, they are curved/incline to make rain go in the drain. Also result in more dangerous jacking operation. A jack stand must be on a solid ground with has less incline terrain possible, especially side incline. For Up/down hill is easier to secure by placing something near the wheels that stand on ground, or to just have your hand brake on if rear wheels are not lifted or your car parked to "Park (Automatic trans.)" if your front wheel are on ground. Like you said, his jack stand was probably at a bad place. *I always place big bricks under the arms (under the suspension arm), in case my Hydraulic jack fail, i will be safe. I even put the car a little bit on the brick to release some of the pressure that the jack is holding.* Always safety first with dangerous condition.
Its most likly that Mike, jacked his car up slip the stand under the car, and lifted the jack-stand to the bottom of the vehicle, but the cleat wasn't fully set, but instead just barely catching. Need to jack you car up a couple inches higher than the height you want your stands, so you can check to make sure the cleat is set, by lift up on the top of the stand about an inch and see if it drop back down onto the cleat.
Why? If you make sure the pawl fully engages and the hydraulic jack you used to get the vehicle above the stand still has a bit of pressure on it, it's a foolproof system if you aren't on an incline, chock the tires and use common sense for working on a vehicle. If it's a one ton pickup that weighs 3 and a half tons or a truck/tractor even bigger than that, I can definitely understand why.. but a passenger car if you just use common sense you'll always be golden.
Good idea Rick! Very small chance of BOTH stands failing. Another easy trick is to keep the jack on a lifting point with a little pressure so if the stand fails the jack is still there to keep you from being crushed.
the side that I'm working on. I always leave the jack in place... if i'm work working on car where the tire will be off.. I will take the free tire and stick it under the car also...as a safety..... if ti's work that can be done with the wheels on.. I use ramps rather than jackstands.
I to had ramps fail. My dad called me to do break work on his truck he had ramps that was about 5 years old. So i drove his truck up on the ramps. Before i put jack-stands under it i went in to get (Water yea right) to drink. Came back out the ramps failed flat as a pancake. After many years of using ramps i will never after that day.
Great technical experiment. However, it appears that the pin might require more than 500 lb of load on the stand before it can shear. Some of those "roll pins" are not proper shear pins but are hardened steel.
Something no manufacturer would ever even attempt to demonstrate. Thanks for sharing this. I am very cautious generally. Your video was oddly chilling while also being reassuring. Yes, these can fail, but seem to do OK unless a lot of force is applied. Safety always comes first because we never realize when we are making a mistake (all accidents are accidental, so take steps to add extra layers of protection to you as you work hard, fight with parts, and get mentally exhausted).
I also do the same. When I have vehicle fully up with 4 jack stands, I always have a jack in centre of the front (cross member or transmission), and rear (differential) as well as tires laying on ground behind jack points. I knew a guy who had a pickup truck drop on him with all tires off. Even worst it was in his driveway with his wife and one year old sitting on the steps watching...he unfortunately didn't make it. Be careful out there.
@@DEHOYOS98 Wrong. I've changed several transmissions, clutches, and exhausts, always with all four wheels off, car on stands, with wheels laying under corners of frame.
i had a car fall off on me also because i was careless, learnt next time to have extra jacks in case of stupidity again. like some say, have the jacks in place as well as the stands,
Extremely interesting subject matter, I watched the whole thing. As a consumer, I totally appreciate this. This is an old design, and I don't think a lot of manufacturers have given this much thought. There's QA for a reason, I'm sure they took your experiment into consideration. There is no flaw in your scenario, it shows these things pose a potential for an injury.
I was working on a Volvo V70 estate a few years ago. Good set of pinned axle stands, Jack underneath and the wheel I’d taken off. The concrete on my driveway actually gave way which shifted the axle stand and the car came towards me pinning me against my neighbours wall. I couldn’t shift it at all due to the car being wedged now with the rubber of the tyre! I couldn’t take a breath and don’t remember much after that but luckily a neighbour heard my “last” breath and jacked the car off me sideways! Lucky. I redid the drive after that but have never gone underneath a jacked up car again. If your time is up something will get you.
Theres a better chance that the falling porsche was caused by a jack stand poorly placed, work being done on an incline, a secondary trolly jack placed parallel to the car rather than perpendicular or wheels not secured with blocks. with that said, i enjoyed the video, it was well thought out. cheers sir
I agree with your comments at the 11:56 mark. Not only did it look like you had to put a *lot* of force on that pry-bar to get that jack to fail, but you can see the press flex just before it does so. Personally, I've been using that same model jack stand for quite a few years, and have never felt unsafe. When I jack my car up to work on it, I usually leave the scissor jack in place, then use a pair of these as a safety, lowering the scissor jack just enough to still be supporting some of the weight of the car, but also putting some of the weight onto the jack stands. Again, I've never felt uncomfortable crawling under my vehicle with these things in place.
Adding Wood, beside the Scissor Jack, even if not a Tight Fit, but close, like only a 1/4" or less clearance, also affords an extra Safety Factor! It might be something to add, if you know you might have to Wrench Heavily Rusted Bolts loose, for example!
Guy wasn't burly, it's called adrenaline. A car fell on my dad when my mom was 7 months pregnant with me. She raised the car enough off of him and simultaneously assisted with pulling him out with one foot.
Zephroth Talinguard Thats what I was wondering.... Surely a simple clip or pin could be used to prevent accidental use of the lever. Apparently manufactures already agree :p
Nothing against this guy, because there are obviously cheap jack stands like this that have no such safety feature. Someone needs to educate the ones who cut costs and get an inferior jack stand.
Zephroth Talinguard common sense says to put a bolt in there.. of course all the extra holes mean there will have to be thicker steel.. more holes more manufacturing cost which makes the cost go up.. and the bolt should be made out of hardened steel. here's another thing why are jack tops so small ..there smaller than the rail on my 99 expy. On a truck like that it should be a 3 inch circle top. One last thing if the pin is somewhat optional... Well you know the rest of the story..
Looked everywhere for a pair of those for decent $. Harder to find, but def worth the extra assurance. I knew a mechanic a few years ago that, used to keep pins in all holes he wasn't using just in case one of the pins failed.
I have been working on cars for years and I am still not very comfortable with using only jack stands, I keep trying to get over this phobia but can't seem to shake it, I always feel better using old rims, stones and 4×4s to assist the jack stands.
Ditto. And I'd never trust a stand with a mechanism like that - there's a lot to be said about K.I.S.S. A number of holes and a through-pin, locked in place by a cotter pin for me, thank you very much.
Makes me feel better about calling the old man up to join me the last time I used them just so I'd have someone to call 000/911 if something went wrong.
I am 63 now and haven't been under a car for many years. When I was younger and still crawling under cars I used jack stands that could handle much more weight then I ever intended to put on them and the pin set up was different. There was a series of about four holes set at different heights to pick from where you would insert your pins. You'd jack up your car to desired height and place the stands and slowly lower to car down unto them. The pins went all the way through the stands and out the other end. There was no way those stands were going to come down because of pin failure. Other dangers would be, the car rolling if you didn't secure it, or the welds on the stand failing which I've never heard happen.
I'm 61 and still use that style stand (when I crawl around under a car, which isn't as often as it used to be) and feel comfortable with them. The pin is U-shaped and has to go through two holes in the stand. It would take a lot to move that pin, if it's even possible.
This is why I feel safer with bar and pin stands. It's a giant thick diameter pin that goes horizontally through the stand. Basically impossible to fail if using the stand within it's rated weight.
i very nearly had a car fall on me when i was young and dumb, thankfully i managed to get out of the way safely, since then ive been super careful by using stands, the jack for additional support plus i put the wheels under too.
the normal height of a jack stand is still pretty high... you'd have to fuck up pretty badly to have it fall on you completely and you should always use two stands if you are getting under the car.
The whole experiment was asinine..Did you see him lock the lady finger pry bar into the safety latch release lever and pry the hell out of it to cause failure..What jack ass would do that to a jack stand while his own life depended on it..Only suicidal people would die that way
Yes I agree however when weight is on the jack stand it's very hard to push the release lever up. But of course it's always good to be safe and also use a jack like you said
always back up jack stands by leaving a hydraulic floor jack engaged under the car near where you are working. Jack stands plus floor jack makes Jack a safe boy.
Jesu - jack is a tool, not a "boy". And who are you calling "boy". that's racist.
I throw the tire under the frame also. The idea is that if the stands and the jack fail, something will be there to act as a spacer.
MrHellfinger ditto that
Always do!
jesuisravi, that is exactly the trick that i was taught in college auto shop. leave the hydraulic jack in place, almost touching and tighten the valve. and always on the side of the car, or end you are working on.
an additional note. I was always taught, if you remove a tire, especially if you are using a jack with no jack stand, place the tire you took off, under the vehicle. This gives you an extra layer of protection.
This! and buy larger jack stands for safety margin.
I have always done this. even with a stand.
I was in the middle of putting the wheel back in place on my SUV when my jack gave out. I saw it slip out of the corner of my eye. I backed up before it completely collapsed. The SUV leaned towards me but was stopped by the tire hitting the wheel well and the rotor catching the inside edge of the rim. Scariest moment of my life. I haven't done any work that requires me to lift up the SUV since. Let a shop handle that.
I do this with a stand and the jack putting very light pressure, just touching. I also never ever tilt my garage jack so I have no air in my hydraulics.
Placing the tire under the vehicle also gets it out of your way.
To anyone reading this : Get a Jack stand with the extra safety pin (that's on a little ring chain) the pin slips through as a backup. Also don't forget to bend the jack stand safety pin. Also putting a tire, block of wood or something in other areas might be a extra safety measure, Don't forget wheel Chalks to block off the wheels.
@lightningsmokerXx ... what you wrote was exactly what I was going to write. I've never been a fan of this type of support, and have witnessed somebody underneath a light shell of a car - with no suspension, or engine, or anything, without enough weight on the stand to counter it falling if it were knocked upward - and without any secondary safety in place. It amazes me how some of the brightest of us, with years of motor mechanic experience, take fantastic risks - I've yet to meet anyone who can bench press a car off of their crushed chest ... 🫣 ...
Idk pin seems like it would break it is pretty thin for me
Don't bend pin people
@@MrPlausibleDenial What does he mean by "bend the pin"?
Excellent video. Regarding the extra safety mentioned above , I noticed the gentleman in the video is using a Pittsburgh ( HarborFreight) jack stand. The new ones they manufacture now (Daytona) do have the extra safety pin attached to the jack stand. On these new ones one MUST intentionally take the pin out in order to lower the jack stand. Just FYI. After watching this video I upgraded my jack stands to the new ones .
After 40 years of working on everything from heavy equipment to cars. I’ve never had a jack fail that way. I’ve bent stands and had welds break. I’ve even had hydraulics leak , blow apart but never have I had a jack stand fall because I hit the lever.
The most dangerous thing that scares me is bumper jacks. My dad used to worry about killer wheels somebody he worked with got hurt by one of those. I’ve been around a shop since I could stand.
Killer wheels? What’s that?
@@stevebean1234probably he is talking about split rim wheels. Definitely scary
@@stevebean1234 old buses and some trucks used to have a rim that was two pieces. They had bolts to hold the two halves together. What would happen is the bolts would fail and the rims would kill people. They were the reason they made tire cages. Very dangerous, still you do see them sometimes especially in other countries.
Exactly, if there is weight on the jack stand it's not going to fall, the guy lifted the car because there wasn't much weight on it apparently....
Yeap same here as as set, the weight on the cradle of the jack prevents you from bumping it loose. In the porsche car, he probably did have the jack set right . Even with 500lbs on the cradle, your ARE NOT bumping a quality jack loose.
Just put your tires under the car as an extra safety measure
Steven K i always do that...
I ALWAYS do that.
I also put my wheels under the car. It will keep the car from crushing you but the car to fall just enough to crap on yourself.
Steven K. I hate the idea of getting my new tires killed everytime i do it but in the end, better them than me.
Doing that on truck, it won't hit the tire until another four inches. So I just put my ramps with blocks under.
I think it's important to know that the pin is probably not a shear pin, but a steel roll pin. The steel roll pin is designed to hold components im alignment, not to act as a safety device. I have jack stands that are substantially similar and the pins are steel roll pins, not shear pins.
That is a very important distinction.
Yeah that’s what they, but you’d think they’d shear. You would Also be surprised how stubborn a little piece of steel can be lol.
FYI... They just put out a recall for those HF jack stands you got! Stay safe!
the bad ones need very little movement to collapse. Also, they have a 2nd failure mode, which is the actual cause of the recall: when you wiggle the load, they just collapse. Nothing to do with kicking the handle.
I think it was for the 3 ton jack stands not the 6 ton
@@kllgrogto5838 Six ton jack too.
@@gregd3551 good to know i was about to buy the 6 ton
And three of the pttsburghs been recalled. But nowhere in the story does it say what kind of jack stand Mike had. The old ones didnt have too many safety features. So your video is half wasted.
I always back it up with a floor jack slightly pumped to share the load. Chances of both failing at once is next to impossible, unless there is a hit-man out for you. Place in gear, park and parking brake and of course wheel chocks. Be safe guys...
I always use a jack stand with my floor jacks. If I have to get under the car, i use two or more. There is nothing wrong with over doing safety, when your own car can crush you.
Yup,... Having a car on you is not fun
Shawn Young tell my gf that
I have had floor jacks spring a leak and release on me before, thankfully on a car that did not sit so low to the ground it hurt me. Never rely on them.
Richard Smith The one redeeming quality of a pickup truck or SUV
+Tony Hong I can think of one or two other redeeming qualities of a truck or SUV.
thats why you always slide the/a tire under the car where you are working.
Exactly. Or keep a couple of scrap pieces of 6x6 wood post material around.
This right here
Wyatt C. Or a second jack as a fail safe so you can get the hell out from under the car
Wyatt C. I was taught this and have never looked back.. safest easiest method..
one of the many things my brother taught me
My husband always puts blocks under the axles or somewhere. Seeing this just reinforces how grateful I am for his wisdom.
Yeah we do dumb stuff but when it’s important we take great care to ensure you don’t lose us 🙏🏼
@@richroc7 Blessings.
The Daytona Stands from Harbor Freight have a locking pin for added safety. Great feature.
I've always lifted the car with my hydraulic jack and then left it and then put jack stands underneath as added security. I never thought to have the weight of the car onto the jack stands.
@@specialsause949 DO NOT DO THIS. THIS WILL KILL YOU. You need to apply the weight to the jack STANDS. Then put the floor jack half inch from the frame. The car should NEVER be supported by the floor jack while you are under it.
@@specialsause949damn man thats unbelievable. If that jack fails and suddenly drops on the stands they might fail or tip over because of the sudden drop. Weight must be on the stands at all times to keep them stable avoiding a sudden drop. I leave most of the weight on the stands, and leave the jack with some tension on it also, then put the tire/tires under frame of the car for added security.
@@katdat1399 I leave the jack under it with a little weight, still touching, but most of the weight on the stand.
I have many years as a mechanic the more tons equal a stronger jack with safety features if you don't elevate the jack stand you are completely safe because the jack has nowhere to drop 😮
no way you can accidentally hit it that hard with a hammer.
theory ---- " no way you can accidentally hit your thumb that hard with a hammer " .... is there something wrong with that statement? so there is a way to hit a jack-stand handle accidentally.
there are also ways to avoid such encounters from happening.
huh?
HUH? --- I will slow this down for you
Pavlo95 1 month ago, stated "no way you can accidentally hit it that hard with a hammer "
this person has either never swung a hammer or does not ever miss...
the BFH ( a BFH = Big F'n Hammer) I have used on a car has enough mass and inertia to move something that need to be removed, but I make sure that I am safe if something goes wrong...
still too fast for you Karl... ?
accidentally hitting your thumb with a hammer is easy/common, you're holding the nail with your thumb, in no easy/common situation should you be hitting a jack-stand with a hammer while underneath it. you're making connections that don't connect unless your making leaps in your brain that you are failing to articulate.
now your response to me makes even less sense than the first.
Agreed. It's not just hitting it with a hammer, it's the fact that it has to be done with an upward motion from a clearance height of about 6". When he hits the jack stand with a hammer it's in the press with plenty of clearance below the arm. It's not in it's natural state sitting on the ground with no clearance to swing the hammer from underneath. It's much more likely to be done with leverage like a breaker bar or accidentally getting something wedged under it. A good example would be working with an exhaust component, thinking it's stuck, and trying to force it out when it's actually caught under the pawl arm of the jack stand. That might do it. Has to be something that causes leverage to be applied to the arm from underneath. If you are working under the car on your back a hammer is not going to cause it, has to be a lever and a whole lot of carelessness (usually from lack of experience or caution).
Always put the jack stand handle on the outside of the car. For one thing, you'll be working under the car & want to avoid the accidental impact. For another thing, it'll be easier to drop the arm from the outside once you lift the car off the stands to lower it with the floor jack.
And hope that someone that doesn't like you isn't walking by.
good point. but that is common sense
nah bruh get underneath that bitch and let the jackstand fail. let him cook. let it kill you
@@marketingmajor8126- A Bungee Cord to hold the handle down, a Strong Tie Wrap, or a Locking Cover, over the Handle, are various "Additional" Safety measures, that can reason well, slow, or stop, such "Situations" from being "Easy" to accomplish!
Maybe a Combination of two of these ideas, if you live in such a "Crib!" 🥴🤭
@@edhoffa4685 not for folks new to using jack stands, buddy.
Curious, did you confirm the ram would support at least 500 lbs?
For those wondering how Mike could lift his car off himself, consider the other jack stands were still in place. I was checking my stands under the car one time and noted one was completely loose! Issue was one spot in the jack surface was a little lower (about 1/2") and I forgot to account for that. I could tip the car back and forth with one hand!
Spot on!
interesting. that's probably how he was able to knock the handle and lift the stand. the one jack maybe wasn't bearing a lot of weight so the handle could easily be lifted, particularly if it was hit by something.
I'm guessing Mike didn't have the bar on the stand engaged completely
Exactly what I was thinking, bravo!
Someone may have suggested this already, but I reckon to test/measure the shear load of the handle pin, you should put it under the hydraulic jack like you had at first, then use another hydraulic jack under the handle, or a winch and cable over it, in combination with a force gauge to test at what load does the pin actually shear off.
Aim the release handle of the jack stand away from your work area. Problem solved. CAUTION: Avoid violent psycho tantrums and tool slinging while under a car on jack stands. Second, rare problem solved.
Yes, I agre 100%
GS Allen Tool slinging tends to happen when you are working on a project car. Usually when you snap off a bolt, or when something mashes your finger. although i never use jackstands, so I'm good.
+A. Zak Just have a bunch of sons and make them do weight training so they can hold the car up while you are working on it. You can call your sons Jack, Stan, Block and Wedge.
You could ofcourse use a jackstand with a splitpen holding the release handle in place so shit like this cant happen.
That's what I say keep it away from anything that could hit the handle
That's why you don't buy them with relief handles.i get the thick pin set with cotter pin.
Good experiment. One set of jack stands I have are made by excello where the lever actually has to move upward in a curved slot to release. I’ve complained about them, but this video tells me that feature is a very nice one to have. The base of these stands is solid plate on all 4 sides. They’re quite heavy too, but I think they are well-built. I’ve had them for about 30 years.
Pro tip, use more than 4 jackstands. I like to use at least 6 preferably 8 if they can fit. This way you are not totally reliant on the 4 corners alone. In the event of a failure if you have 2 in the middle you could more than likely teeter the car one way or the other or at least keep it from totally crushing your body, saving your life.
Alternatively if possible (if you don't have more than 4 jacks, I only have 2 for instance so my back or front wheels are always blocked or on ramps and blocked) stick the tires under the car in the middle as a just in case safety feature (learned that from ChrisFix, helped me out more than once when the jack slipped as I was raising the car to move the stands out)
I'm a freak under cars so here a good way to be super safe. I usually work with either the car on 4 stands or only 2 (front/rear). After placing the stands, I keep my jack under and I will then use the wheels as another safety put them under the car.
sound like a person that doesn't want crushed and likes life :)
I also put the 16x8x4 SOLID concrete blocks under it TO THE FRAME. I damn sure have never needed to use algebra and calculators to get my shit to stay up.....no Viagra either .... CIALIS !!!! LOL !!! PLEASE... DON'T EVER USE CINDER BLOCKS, they are WIDOW MAKERS.
It's there for a backup. It's like jacked up right before it touches the actual part.
i was just going to write this word for word till i seen ur post top advice mate exactly what i do and never ly on ur side
Fester Blats I had a 2t stand fail. Overkill is better than underkill. Ther was a soft spot in the pavement. Then it fell back on the floor jack.
This was just like a mythbusters style of experiment. You really covered the details. Good video!
Fireship1 I agree
He covered the details... but mythbusters on the other hand, some of their episodes were pretty bad. Then again, I understand they were doing it for TV.
Except mythbusters does not cover details - they've said it repeatedly "We only have a week and we have to make it fit into a TV show."
remember when a girl farted on myth busters? This has haunted me for many years.
a tv show that repeats the same damn shit over and over for an hour
It seems to me that you first want to know the force it takes on the lever to shear the pin. For that, there should be no vertical movement. You just have to apply a measured force at the end of the lever until the pin shears. Then you can just calculate the threshold weight on the jack from its mechanical design.
Thank you very much! I love working on my car but sometimes you make mental mistakes and videos like these are good reminders.
Sooooo.... I shouldn't hit the jack stand release while I'm under the vehicle. Got it.
I'll add this knowledge to the previous bits such as: coffee=hot and
no hairdryer in the bathtub.
He set out to see if one of the safety mechanisms designed into the jack stand was appropriate for working on lighter loads.
Kevin Livingston
WOULDN'T THERE BE ENOUGH PRESSURE FROM THE CAR TO KEEP THAT LEVER PRETTY STIFF?
Yes, of course there is. This whole story is garbage.
maybe if you had the attention span of a knat, you'd get the point.....
Maybe if you understood basic physics it would help.... and more to the point if you understood that the entire controversial video is designed just to get 'clicks', it would help.
I'm thinking the car wasn't on the stands level, it rocked relieving weight off one side then fell.
This is the most common reason - unlevel ground (driveway), stand at angle, no wheel block which allows slip and stand to fall/move/crush.
Bob Falfa yep
Yep
or maybe the guy rushed and didn't completely secure the jackstands with the ratchet jaw completely in it's slot do it was just teetering on the tip of the jaw
Bob Falfa .YEAH i agree what u said
Thank you for discussing a very critical safety issue . It's very reassuring to learn that we can count on the safety of a jack stand.
First Garage Geek video I ever saw. Great great video. Clean, clear, precise info. Great detail and no fluff. I am now subscribed
I always do a shake test before I get under any vehicle on any kind of stands
Roof test, get on the roof and shake back and forth
@@backyardburnouts8846 Not smart. Momentum multiplies the weight of the car. If you have a heavy car like a crown vic 4000 pounds and you create enough movement the jack can get unbalanced and fail. Especially if the metal of the car is structurally compromised from years of use.
@@MARZOSIRUS bla bla bla
Some people don't understand sarcasm lol
@@MARZOSIRUS OP is talking about applying as much force as you would when performing the service. Not testing is not smart.
There is NO WAY he " Bumped" into the handle and caused a failure ! There is much more to this story that's not being told !
I disagree
Yeah fr... Even if it failed, if it was put in the right place it should have still been on the Jack stand.... It still should've been raised at least 6in
Only thing I think would’ve done that was a breaker bar releasing a tight nut/bolt and swinging perfectly into the jack handle. idk. I always use at least 2 jack stands and a jack to hold a car up before I get anywhere under it
Steve C i agree, there's no way youre 'bumping' a jack stand handle 'by accident', especially seeing as it took prying with a breaker bar and beating on it with a hammer to get it to 'fail'. The guy who got hurt probably just placed a stand wrong and didn't notice. Human error does happen.
Illuminati
There are jack stands that have pins to prevent this type of accident
Awesome video. Harbor Freight recalled their jack stands and replaced them with new and improved ones. They then recalled the new and improved replacement jack stands. I received an email from them in regards to this. Just wanted to share.
Harbor Freight recalled their jack stands made in east Northwest China and replaced them with jack stands made in Southeast China. Those redneck jack stands were then recalled and replaced with West coast Chinese jack stands. Those were then recalled and replaced with Yankee chinese jack stands.
And I had no problem with the ones I have like this and have no plans to return them
“Doing this to your jack stands will get you killed”: If by that you mean don’t apply a pry bar tto a jack stand handle and apply 1000lbs of pressure while lying under the car, then i would agree. Also don’t use a sledgehammer and swing directly at the jack stand while under the car either. Also don’t tie a chain to the jack stand and the other end of the chain to a moving vehicle. also....
Schrodingers Box another good tip is to not put the car on drive while jacked up and traction axle is on the ground.
NEWS FLASH: danger is dangerous
One could interpret the title of the video as clickbait... but it could also be that the OP wants to make it clear how dangerous improperly replicating the experiment could be.
The "safety" pin inside is supposed to break..... That was literally what he was testing. He was checking to see what needs to be done to lift it, he got it to lift and the pin that was supposed to break, didn't.
Always have backups. Leave wheels under the car, leave jacks as backups. Being pinned is much better than being crushed.
I thought you would increase the load to 1000lbs to see if the pin failed.
Yes, find out how much weight causes the pin to fail.
Using the same 2.36 piston setup would require him to double the air pressure to go from 500 to 1000 pounds of simulated weight. Since 500 required 115 psi, 1000 would require 230 psi...... The highest air compressor pressure I've seen was 175. That was scary as fuck.
Good point about the increased air pressure. I hope he can figure out a way to do it though.
Stuart Hall Doubling the area of the 2.36 piston would produce the same result as doubling air pressure. That comes to approx. 3.334 dia piston. Increasing the piston diameter 30%, doubled the area....pie are square
Ima Tumor
No, pie are round, cornbread are square ! 😎
Thanks to this video, I learned to place the jack stands side with the handle away from my work area.
I have been using those type of jack stands for about 20 years. Never encountered an issue like that. I do find that it rare cases if you're not careful, the handle may not be in its full locking position, meaning that the ratchet type gear would rest the weight on the end of the tooth with the handle in a slightly raised position. In which the slightest movement of the car such as undoing a tight bolt will slide the tooth off causing the failure. That's my theory on what may have happened if it was a ratcheting type stand.
I like your theory. I was going to make much the same comment, but you beat me to it.
how do you confirm its not barely resting on the end of the tooth? I mean you can't vigorously shake the handle to confirm its locked cause than you'd be dead.
@@mosasa1307 you confirm this before using the stand. If the lever is all the way down then the teeth are engaged correctly. When its resting on the edge of the tooth the lever is half way up.
I use lots of old bubble wrap I have laying around instead of jack stands. It is unlikely all bubbles would ever fail simultaneously. YMMV.
mikeca98 we need this to be the next experiment.
mikeca98 lol we should test it. I use cardboard it's safer,lol.
nah, balloons filled with ooblek.
Better than Homer Simpson using a wicker basket!
lol
cool experiment. But this is what i don't get. Even if the guy did bump it and make it drop....it's STILL ON jackstands...just lower. That jackstand would have to be knocked out from under the car too. In other words the car itself would have to completely fall off of the stands which tells me it wasn't put in the correct spot to begin with (or on a sturdy, level surface) So i don't get how he got crushed simply from this stand getting lowered a few inches (although i would crap my pants for sure) :D
Snow Wolf give one instance of a harbor freight jack stand failing. Oh that's right you can't.
Well if it was a guy with a Porsche, I'm sure he didn't know what he was doing
What's up Steve, I'm a big fan and subscriber to your channel, it's a dream of mine to have you do the audio on my car one day. it would be like having Bruce Lee teach you how to fight! love your work brother keep it up.
also most jacks have pins to install after you jack it up>
he could have been under one side of the car where the jacks are either 2 in front or 2 in back, basically he would be coming in from the left or right side of the car. THEN knocking out the one jack from the side he's on could have the car come down on his face WHILE the other jack is still in place.
After I set jack stands, I like to place 2 small scissor jacks on the frame as backup. I also throw a wheel under the diff if there's room. Pretty much guarantees a safe working environment.
I had those same HF jack stands for about a decade and thankfully nothing happened. Now I got myself two new sets of the locking Daytona Jack Stands and the peace of mind of the lock is worth the upgrade. These new jacks alongside with a hydro jack and having the lever of the stands always towards the outside of the car helps so much.
I liked this video. There is one point that I would like to make, human's head not completely in the game. When I was 24 years old I had a 1960 Olds that I used to go back and forth to work. My job at the time was a heavy equipment mechanic, so I knew about safety. I wanted to check my carrier bearing because I had a vibration. I drove the car up on blocks, ( a 60 Olds is low), I blocked it so that it could not go any further forward. I did NOTHING to prevent it from going backward! The only thing holding the car up on the blocks was the transmission that was in park. I then crawled under the car and popped the driveline off of the diff! The car immediately started to roll of the ramps. At least I had the presence of mind to turn over on to my back. The frame went across my stomach. I could just barely breathe. If the frame had went across my chest, it would have killed me. There are so many things that I did wrong. No blocks to prevent rearward movement. Did not apply the emergency brake. Did not take the transmission out of park.
I worked on things every day that could easily kill me, but I always made it safe. What was I thinking? My mind was definitely not on what I was doing. I guess that the point that I am trying to make is, stop and take a look at what you are doing. Look at everything. It should only take you a couple of minutes, but I always do it now. I am 70 years old now, and every time I get under ANYTHING I remember that day long ago. It is NOT a pleasant memory.
Rat Builder, you nailed it. I’m 63 and have heard more than my share of horror stories throughout my life. We get caught up in getting it done and too often forget about our own safety. Having been an auto mechanic for a portion of my life, I can see how what happened to you could easily happen when in a hurry or are preoccupied by something. I have had some close calls too. I don’t like to think about them, but when I hear stories such as yours, those memories are revived. As the saying goes: “Look before you leap”.
I’m new to working on my car. It takes me a long time to do any work because I stop and think about each step for a couple of minutes before I execute it. I’m glad you survived that day so you can share your story.
@@waffledninja6278 Thanks Cray. There are several videos out there that are titled "Why Women Live Longer than Men". it shows some of the STUPIDEST actions that I have ever seen.
My 5 year old kids were playing in the yard when this happened. When one of them got close enough that they could hear me I told them to go get their Mother. My Wife was across the street at my Mother's house.
I could see her just calmly walking towards me, and when she was close enough to hear me, I told her to "get this thing off of me!" She yelled at my Mother that the car had fell on me. All they had to jack up the car was the bumper jack to change a tire. I was impressed, they started jacking up the car, and would put some blocks under as a safety. Jack and block, jack and block. They did this on their own. I was impressed. Two House-wives had more common sense than a professional heavy equipment mechanic.
Been there, done that, Rat builder. The memory strikes fear into my heart even now, twenty years after the fact.
@@kevanbarley1225 This happened about 1970. Even to this day, I remember how I felt! How I could just barely breathe. those thoughts will never leave me, which is good!!! I am a lot fatter now. I can't afford to try doing something as stupid as this again.
I think I'd rather have it set with weights instead of compressed air.
I agree, I want to see a test with dead weight
The whole experiment was asinine..Did you see him lock the lady finger pry bar into the safety latch release lever and pry the hell out of it to cause failure..What jack ass would do that to a jack stand while his own life depended on it..Only suicidal people would die that way.
I don't know why he didn't just put it under a car, 4 jack stands and a extra to catch it when the stand releases.
When you don't have a garage you have to employ real-time testing.
Bump after bump after bump of not paying attention is what progressed the lever slowly. The pin sometimes won't shear on a lighter car if the force isn't applied all at once. He wasn't paying attention. You're welcome.
They stopped selling this type in UK now ours all have lock pins and holes up the stem! Totally reliable👍🏻
Be like chrisfix he has jack stands with more jack stands and tire under. Safety first and then if all else fails it was meant to be.
This scenario is obviously not going to happen while working on a car in the real world,but I will tell you that I had a jackstand fail in a scary way at my old job. We used various shop jackstands all of the time for vehicles with no problems,until one day a certain little red one fell to the last stop while it was under a vehicle. My boss thought I was nuts,but the other mechanic seen it too. I reset it and it was fine for the duration of that repair (I used a tire under the vehicle after I reset it just in case). Well days,or weeks later it happened again and that was it for using that. I told my boss to scrap it and put it aside. It looked identical to 3 other ones,so I didn't want it getting mixed up with good ones. He puts it back with the four one day and I refused to use any of those after that. I have no clue why it randomally failed to this day.
Tolerances on jack stands are probably crap. They're made cheap in China. It was probably out of spec enough to slip.
@@jshepard152 You had a cheap boss who didn't care about safety.
@@chien-shengtsai8626 LOL china make cheap, not good. boss from china
Spend more money, MIC is then good.
One idea to explore or expand, on this is, if a Bungee Cord, hooked over the Handle, would even add any "Safety Factor?
Another might be a "Cover" that slips over the Handle, that blocks the Movement of the Handle moving up, and it, (The Cover) is held in place by a Short Bungee Cord!
Of course, if the Catch Pawl, or Tooth, and the Support Arm Teeth, are loose, or Worn out, such ideas as mine, would still be Useless!
But, as demonstrated in this Video, it doesn't seem too hard, to build a "Shop Test Rig" for Jack Stands!
I love how you diagnosed why the hydraulic press wouldn't work. Good reasoning skills
Hi GaragrGeek!
Many people have been using wooden jack stands because the thing you tried to show had happened.
However, I am not sure how much weight the wooden stands can bear .
Can you make another experimental videos using 2x4 wooden stands many people do?
My cheap jack stands have a triangular bar that is chained to the stand. After setting the jack, the intention is to slide in the bar which also locks the jack. In order for them to collapse, you have to both knock out the bar and lift the dog. As long as you remember to insert the bar, you have essentially zero chance of failure.
I suspect that there were lawsuits over this in the past which caused them to add the lock bar.
When I bought myself some axle stands a couple of years ago I specifically bought some with that feature.
John S - I wouldn't put my dogs under a car, that's stupid!
YES!!! those are called double locking jack stands and the only type I use, for a 3ton jack stand the pair cost about 35 bucks... great price for the added protection so no reason to buy anything else.
I miss the old jackstands I used as an apprentice - they were basically a long screw, so they were adjustable to any height, rather than just the discrete intervals allowed by a pawl. And in a pinch, you could adjust the car's height a little by screwing them up and down while the car was already on them - hell, I even had an old jack that worked the same way, with a vertical screw (and a huge gear reduction - damn, I miss that thing. So reliable.) The downside was that they were more expensive and slower to set up, as you had to jack the car and then screw the stand all the way to the car, rather than having a quick setup by pulling the stand up like this model. Not sure if they're still on the market, but haven't seen anything like them in years.
+aussiebloke609
Yeah they are still available, but do to their cost only really find them in heavy duty applications.
Found an example on Amazon:
www.amazon.com/Esco-Screw-Style-Jack-Stand-Capacity/dp/B00FG09NS4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1494168295&sr=8-2&keywords=screw+style+jack+stands
Realistically, did the Chinese maker of this jack stand actually calculate the shear point of the roll pin (spring pin) attaching the handle to the pawl? More likely they calculated how small a pin could be used to lower the cost.
The Chinese make whatever the purchaser has specified. They also make iPhones and quantum satellites (the only ones).
wholeNwon they also make planes that are not allowed to fly lollllll
They would probably use the cheapest, which is probably the weakest, which is probably the safest, because you want to want that pin to break so the lever can't lift up. But you can't accidentally lift up against 500+ lbs anyway, so it doesn't matter.
Once the cam is dogged in place it makes no difference if the little
pins shear, it ain't going no where. I replace the pins on mine all of
the time the shear pins hold the handle to the cam. not the car in the air..
Most people I know that own a Porch should not be working on them..
SegoMan- You apparently are confused on what he is testing. The pins are supposed to shear instead of releasing the pawl on the jack stand when in use.
I am going to check my jack stands. For now I am really glad I've always both left the jack in place (not holding weight, just touching) and I usually slide the fullsized spare under with me
Great test. I had a similar issue in designing a latch for an infant incubator porthole door - odd analogy I know - but ... most latches can get 'hung up' in an intermediate position where it engages, looks locked, but isn't fully locked. This allows far less force to open it. This scenario may be what happened to the guy in the story. I'm about to buy jack stands, I'm gonna make sure they are good quality and don't get 'hung up'. A few extra bucks life insurance in these tools should be worth it. Thx.
@Garage Geek, seen this video years ago, and back again ... This video is a great safety refresher. 🤎🏎️⛽
OG NURSE here, "Assurance" Beats Insurance 24x7 "Peace, w/Superior Firepower" Shalom.
Viva Palestine :D@@ExpertowgunnerBaronVonHirschRN
That's why I let my wife do the oil changes :D
They come with airbags anyhow...
Litlle kids are better their little hands and bodies fit under the car and if one gets crushed just make more.
Manny Echaluce i almost pissed myself i laughed so hard. 😄😄👍
that was good!
😂😂😂
he might have had an old jack were the teeth was worn out and when it got hit it slipped just a thought
Best guess he`s blonde gf/wife bumped his car coming back from the salon.
thank you for this video ! I never thought that it could release with weight on it. will be mindful from now on.
The best of backyard engineering! Subscribed!
But why the fuck would you be continuously hitting the jack handle with a tool????
Angry at life, like the guy at the end of this th-cam.com/video/6FMyblJkLSM/w-d-xo.html
There's no way you can accidentally push up against 500 lbs so I deem these stands safe.
it is less than 500 lbs because of the leverage
It was the cat
true but if you aren't paying attention well enough to notice you wedged a pry bar underneath the release you should probably not be under the car for your own safety
Idk man you get mad enough under a car as a big enough guy and shit starts to happen 😂
Great experiment. I never thought of a jack stand doing that. 👍🏾. Knowledge is a great thing. Great job. 👍🏾
THAT IS WHY YOU SHOULD ALWAYS KEEP THE JACK FOR EXTRA SUPPORT
I've used those same Harbor Freight jackstands for years now and the handle won't budge if there's any weight on the stand. You put a ridiculous amount of leverage on it during that 'experiment' and I seriously doubt there's any way you could achieve the same result by accident. I would guess the guy from the article didn't have his car supported properly like 99.9% of people who get crushed by cars.
Yup, I always leave the hydraulic jack in place as well. I also have a log I can roll under there out of the way that's thicker than me. Working under your car sucks bad enough let alone getting crushed.
I just use a tire as a back up for my jack stand and jack - triple redundancy because of earthquakes. I have a Porsche, so usually taking off the rear wheel to do anything on the engine is helpful.
You are correct. I find his experiment to be totally flawed. As long as there is weight on the jack stand, you would have purposely try to make it fail.
Tom G....I once hired a guy to install a gate in front of my driveway to keep the neighbors from parking in my yard. When he was done with the job he asked for payment. I said OK but I wanted to make sure the gate worked. So I rammed my bulldozer through it and told him his gate didn't work so I didn't pay him.
Funny story! Gave me good chuckle.
The danger isn't necessarily from accidentally knocking the ratchet lever, but the pawl edge wears away from many years of the teeth riding against it when its being extended over and over gradually filing it down over years of use. So when uncle Joe with his 15 year old jack stands is smacking on a brake drum or trying to wobble something free it might just be enough weight and enough play to sheer the remaining lip off the pawl and come crashing down.
That sounds very plausible
Great info! I take it is essential to be aware of possibility of incidental hits on that handle. Rush, hang over and such and falling in sleep under the car are things that come to mind. Children playing in immediate vicinity. Be sure the good weight really is on all stands to avoid flip chance.
Harbor Freight sells a "Daytona" brand jack-stand that has an extra safety pin you insert that not only pins the next ratchet tooth up but prevents the release handle from moving. Twice as much tooth contact area and a locked handle. It has very good welds and works well.
Next up: Starting your engine will cause wear
If you have a properly functioning canuter valve and blinker fluid of the correct viscosity you can reduce engine start up wear by 2/3. :D
don't forget about those piston return springs :D
Not if you have your blinker fluid topped off.
Make sure to use a metric crescent wrench!
Always keep your muffler bearings lubbed
As a Mechanic myself since 1976 I've been under a car or two with stands, its not hard to see the mistakes lay people could make using them.
Mike drives a Porsche so he is possibly a lawyer, if so he was bound to make up some story that lay the blame on the jack stand design instead of admitting he simply placed the stand wrongly, or on uneven ground, or under a part of the vehicle it could slip off.
We can assume he wast not under his Porsche shampooing the gearbox. he was doing something that probably involved him swinging on a spanner, which was attached to the car, which was teetering on a badly place jack stand.
And he's a strong man who can lift a car and I bet he can really swing hard on a spanner too.
The only question here is, how wrong am I on this.
Maybe he wasn't even using jack stands. And his jack failed
914 bro. He had a _914_. He's no lawyer. He's a car guy. Probably rallies. He knows what's what. A 914 *if* the engine was out?? or if he's under the front??...would be super light as far as cars go (lighter than an old Beetle...some people can lift the front of Beetles; still more than enough to crush face, though.
AuMechanic probably a snap on guy hitting on Pittsburgh tools again lol
Although it's very speculative, I have to say I think AuMechanic makes some very good points (or possibilities). I've working on cars a long time and this 914 story ain't adding up.
*to make up some story that lay the blame on the jack stand design instead of admitting he simply placed the stand wrongly, or on uneven ground, or under a part of the vehicle it could slip off.*
Well, though i'm not fully in Mechanic yet. Using a hydraulic jack at a bad place can either damage the car or be dangerous.
Like, when your car is parked on the side of the street, street are never strait flat, they are curved/incline to make rain go in the drain.
Also result in more dangerous jacking operation. A jack stand must be on a solid ground with has less incline terrain possible, especially side incline. For Up/down hill is easier to secure by placing something near the wheels that stand on ground, or to just have your hand brake on if rear wheels are not lifted or your car parked to "Park (Automatic trans.)" if your front wheel are on ground.
Like you said, his jack stand was probably at a bad place.
*I always place big bricks under the arms (under the suspension arm), in case my Hydraulic jack fail, i will be safe. I even put the car a little bit on the brick to release some of the pressure that the jack is holding.* Always safety first with dangerous condition.
NOTHING ABOUT A CAR IS WORTH LOSING YOUR LIFE BE SAFE AND DO IT THE RIGHT WAY
Its most likly that Mike, jacked his car up slip the stand under the car, and lifted the jack-stand to the bottom of the vehicle, but the cleat wasn't fully set, but instead just barely catching. Need to jack you car up a couple inches higher than the height you want your stands, so you can check to make sure the cleat is set, by lift up on the top of the stand about an inch and see if it drop back down onto the cleat.
I'm like NASA, I always double up. If I have a spare jackstand on a car job, it goes side by side with the other one.
Why? If you make sure the pawl fully engages and the hydraulic jack you used to get the vehicle above the stand still has a bit of pressure on it, it's a foolproof system if you aren't on an incline, chock the tires and use common sense for working on a vehicle. If it's a one ton pickup that weighs 3 and a half tons or a truck/tractor even bigger than that, I can definitely understand why.. but a passenger car if you just use common sense you'll always be golden.
better safe than sorry
yes they use schnorchel in space. Maybe a big tsunami can come :)
Good idea Rick! Very small chance of BOTH stands failing.
Another easy trick is to keep the jack on a lifting point with a little pressure so if the stand fails the jack is still there to keep you from being crushed.
You mean like NASA did on the space shuttle rocket motor 'O' rings...
the side that I'm working on. I always leave the jack in place... if i'm work working on car where the tire will be off.. I will take the free tire and stick it under the car also...as a safety..... if ti's work that can be done with the wheels on.. I use ramps rather than jackstands.
Using ramps alone killed my dad. If you do use ramps, jack the car up a little and still use stands too.
I to had ramps fail. My dad called me to do break work on his truck he had ramps that was about 5 years old. So i drove his truck up on the ramps. Before i put jack-stands under it i went in to get (Water yea right) to drink. Came back out the ramps failed flat as a pancake. After many years of using ramps i will never after that day.
Plastic or steel ramps? Those plastic ramps are terrible
What kind of brake work were you doing using ramps?
Must have been an Alfa Romeo
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inboard_brake
Thank you for puting my mind at ease whilst under my low Honda accord!
Great technical experiment. However, it appears that the pin might require more than 500 lb of load on the stand before it can shear. Some of those "roll pins" are not proper shear pins but are hardened steel.
Something no manufacturer would ever even attempt to demonstrate. Thanks for sharing this. I am very cautious generally. Your video was oddly chilling while also being reassuring. Yes, these can fail, but seem to do OK unless a lot of force is applied. Safety always comes first because we never realize when we are making a mistake (all accidents are accidental, so take steps to add extra layers of protection to you as you work hard, fight with parts, and get mentally exhausted).
Thank you for doing this man. It's a common sense to stay away from the jacks and never even touch them while working under the car.
It should also be common sense to understand this test is about bumping it accidentally, not intentionally hitting it while under a car lol.
I think your setup was spot on. Good demonstration.
Very informative. Thank you.
10:09 ..Me after a night of Taco Bell.
I assume not the "I can't get it to release" part. LOL
Good one lol
funny.
Laughed so hard.. oops a wet fart dammit...
ROFL!
So 500 pounds falling on his face didn't kill him, and he was still able to bench press a 2000 pound car!!... wow
I also do the same. When I have vehicle fully up with 4 jack stands, I always have a jack in centre of the front (cross member or transmission), and rear (differential) as well as tires laying on ground behind jack points. I knew a guy who had a pickup truck drop on him with all tires off. Even worst it was in his driveway with his wife and one year old sitting on the steps watching...he unfortunately didn't make it. Be careful out there.
@@chrislang1321
Safety redundancies are less expensive than funerals.
@@chrislang1321 with all those jack stands and tires under the car, you're not doing any work under there.
@@DEHOYOS98 Wrong. I've changed several transmissions, clutches, and exhausts, always with all four wheels off, car on stands, with wheels laying under corners of frame.
@@TheAgeOfAnalog yeah, I'm sure you did...😂
i had a car fall off on me also because i was careless, learnt next time to have extra jacks in case of stupidity again. like some say, have the jacks in place as well as the stands,
First time I recall hearing about this sort of incident. I'm 58. Thanks for the video!
Excellent experiment you made. I totally agree with you. Safety first.
Extremely interesting subject matter, I watched the whole thing. As a consumer, I totally appreciate this. This is an old design, and I don't think a lot of manufacturers have given this much thought. There's QA for a reason, I'm sure they took your experiment into consideration. There is no flaw in your scenario, it shows these things pose a potential for an injury.
He showed that it took a HUGE effort to make it drop?? Why do you think they are unsafe?
I was working on a Volvo V70 estate a few years ago. Good set of pinned axle stands, Jack underneath and the wheel I’d taken off. The concrete on my driveway actually gave way which shifted the axle stand and the car came towards me pinning me against my neighbours wall. I couldn’t shift it at all due to the car being wedged now with the rubber of the tyre! I couldn’t take a breath and don’t remember much after that but luckily a neighbour heard my “last” breath and jacked the car off me sideways! Lucky. I redid the drive after that but have never gone underneath a jacked up car again. If your time is up something will get you.
Very frightening .Non-Compressable vs Compressable very well thought out. Logical. Thanks for that.
10:10 me having a shit
hahaha
+Unboxing Boxes Wow so you use jack stands to hold up your legs while taking a shit? I hope you are using 6t jack stands or they could fail. :)
Unboxing Boxes omg hahahahah I laughed so hard ! 😂😂
"maybe if you hit it with a tool"
Okay, I have to admit, that was funny!
Theres a better chance that the falling porsche was caused by a jack stand poorly placed, work being done on an incline, a secondary trolly jack placed parallel to the car rather than perpendicular or wheels not secured with blocks. with that said, i enjoyed the video, it was well thought out. cheers sir
Thanks for posting this video man, could be a life saver. I own the same exact Jacks by the way.
I agree with your comments at the 11:56 mark. Not only did it look like you had to put a *lot* of force on that pry-bar to get that jack to fail, but you can see the press flex just before it does so. Personally, I've been using that same model jack stand for quite a few years, and have never felt unsafe. When I jack my car up to work on it, I usually leave the scissor jack in place, then use a pair of these as a safety, lowering the scissor jack just enough to still be supporting some of the weight of the car, but also putting some of the weight onto the jack stands. Again, I've never felt uncomfortable crawling under my vehicle with these things in place.
Adding Wood, beside the Scissor Jack, even if not a Tight Fit, but close, like only a 1/4" or less clearance, also affords an extra Safety Factor! It might be something to add, if you know you might have to Wrench Heavily Rusted Bolts loose, for example!
Guy wasn't burly, it's called adrenaline. A car fell on my dad when my mom was 7 months pregnant with me. She raised the car enough off of him and simultaneously assisted with pulling him out with one foot.
my jack stand has physical metal pins you put in when you set it. they are as thick as the teeth on the jacket and and are meant to stop exactly this.
Zephroth Talinguard
Thats what I was wondering.... Surely a simple clip or pin could be used to prevent accidental use of the lever. Apparently manufactures already agree :p
Nothing against this guy, because there are obviously cheap jack stands like this that have no such safety feature. Someone needs to educate the ones who cut costs and get an inferior jack stand.
Zephroth Talinguard common sense says to put a bolt in there.. of course all the extra holes mean there will have to be thicker steel.. more holes more manufacturing cost which makes the cost go up.. and the bolt should be made out of hardened steel. here's another thing why are jack tops so small ..there smaller than the rail on my 99 expy. On a truck like that it should be a 3 inch circle top. One last thing if the pin is somewhat optional... Well you know the rest of the story..
Looked everywhere for a pair of those for decent $. Harder to find, but def worth the extra assurance. I knew a mechanic a few years ago that, used to keep pins in all holes he wasn't using just in case one of the pins failed.
Bud home depot jackstands are fine and come with the locking pin. Used them for years no problem.
I never knew Bill Paxton knew this much about jack stands 😆. Great video.
i ALWAYS ask myself in every task i do: what if plan A fails?
I have been working on cars for years and I am still not very comfortable with using only jack stands, I keep trying to get over this phobia but can't seem to shake it, I always feel better using old rims, stones and 4×4s to assist the jack stands.
Ditto. And I'd never trust a stand with a mechanism like that - there's a lot to be said about K.I.S.S.
A number of holes and a through-pin, locked in place by a cotter pin for me, thank you very much.
Makes me feel better about calling the old man up to join me the last time I used them just so I'd have someone to call 000/911 if something went wrong.
I am 63 now and haven't been under a car for many years. When I was younger and still crawling under cars I used jack stands that could handle much more weight then I ever intended to put on them and the pin set up was different. There was a series of about four holes set at different heights to pick from where you would insert your pins. You'd jack up your car to desired height and place the stands and slowly lower to car down unto them. The pins went all the way through the stands and out the other end. There was no way those stands were going to come down because of pin failure. Other dangers would be, the car rolling if you didn't secure it, or the welds on the stand failing which I've never heard happen.
I'm 61 and still use that style stand (when I crawl around under a car, which isn't as often as it used to be) and feel comfortable with them. The pin is U-shaped and has to go through two holes in the stand. It would take a lot to move that pin, if it's even possible.
This is why I feel safer with bar and pin stands. It's a giant thick diameter pin that goes horizontally through the stand. Basically impossible to fail if using the stand within it's rated weight.
i very nearly had a car fall on me when i was young and dumb, thankfully i managed to get out of the way safely, since then ive been super careful by using stands, the jack for additional support plus i put the wheels under too.
the normal height of a jack stand is still pretty high... you'd have to fuck up pretty badly to have it fall on you completely and you should always use two stands if you are getting under the car.
Michael Schindler - - good comment!
Literally the first thing that came to mind.
Not always practical but putting a 4 wheeler, or a car behind the one up on stands will keep anyone (blondes) from accidentally bumping car on stands
Michael Schindler. Sounds like somebody forgot to put blocks in front of the tires
The whole experiment was asinine..Did you see him lock the lady finger pry bar into the safety latch release lever and pry the hell out of it to cause failure..What jack ass would do that to a jack stand while his own life depended on it..Only suicidal people would die that way
replace steel sheer pin with bamboo toothpick, problem solved...
Does the pin sheer at different weights depending on the rating of the jack stand? Was that weight not enough for the size of jack stand to sheer?
Yes I agree however when weight is on the jack stand it's very hard to push the release lever up. But of course it's always good to be safe and also use a jack like you said