A friendly reminder to all of us who work on cars at home

  • Thread starter Thread starter JRS
  • Start date Start date
Safety first when it comes to working on cars at home. If I have to remove a wheel it goes under it.
These things even happen to professional’s, a car tech recently at work failed to check the car was in neutral and started whilst was at whaist height. He lent in and turned the key. The car lurched forward and came off the ramp. Luckily no one was walking past and the noise came off the end and landed on his workbench. Well health and safety sent out a email strongly worded saying that all ramps must be lowered and only a car tech can start it whilst sitting in the car.
 
Poor guy. Imagine the pain of 2 tons falling on top of you. :(
I've pretty much always chocked the rear wheels, even if it's with a brick or something. I prefer to use my old mans ramps rather than jacking and axle stands where possible. Depends on job. I find myself doing less and less these days.
 
I use drive on ramps these days.

Then have a jack on a jacking point at rear sub frame.

Also wheel blocks behind the other ends wheels.

That way it can't just roll down... if it did... I'd have time to move.
 
Diagro said:
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I've looked at sets over the years. But the last few cars that have been worked on at home have been:

1) Fiat Barchetta - too low and too much front overhang for a lot of ramps.
2) Land Rover IIa - actually high enough off the ground all by itself for most jobs (I put a new exhaust mid and back section on it without lifting it at all, for example).
3) Citroen ID19 - just use the onboard hydraulics with jackstands and chocks (why don't all cars have this suspension?).
 
JRS said:
I've looked at sets over the years. But the last few cars that have been worked on at home have been:

1) Fiat Barchetta - too low and too much front overhang for a lot of ramps.
2) Land Rover IIa - actually high enough off the ground all by itself for most jobs (I put a new exhaust mid and back section on it without lifting it at all, for example).
3) Citroen ID19 - just use the onboard hydraulics with jackstands and chocks (why don't all cars have this suspension?).
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Well, my mps is too low for most ramps.

I made some ramp extensions from some scaffold planks when I need the front up.
 
hope he recovers:( nearly had this the other week doing the rear brakes on the honda had the car in gear and back end jacked up asks wife to check the brakes (history of caliper siezing) and she jumps in and says oh its in gear and knocks it out .....thank """"" for the wheel chocks i put behind the front wheels , i think they were originally from a bmw possibly old 5 series we had but not sure just a hinged piece on metal with a stay but possible saved the day ..we all have a brain freeze and it takes very little to get caught out...
 
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Terrible.

Reminds me why I don't do routine maintenance on my cars any more. All power to those that do but not for me.

I used to until I owned a MKI Mondeo that needed the front wheel off to get to the oil filter. The few times I did it I felt glad to have my limbs intact and that was that. Cars just aren't meant to be serviced at home any more.
 
Terrible news :(

Reminds me of the time I was putting a new set of alloys on my A4. I was doing this on my crappy driveway, using the silly jack that came with the car’s tool kit.

My mate who was supposed to be helping me, was indoors watching the rugby. I was putting on the last wheel when the jack toppled over and the car fell towards me. Luckily I had positioned the wheel up against the hub (just about to put the bolts in), so when the car fell off the jack, the brake disk landed on the inside of the rim, which took the weight of the car. I crapped my pants, but was unhurt.

That was over 10 years ago and I still shiver when I think about it. Idiot.
 
Sadly it certainly does happen from time to time, when I was a kid we had a lovely neighbour called Jimmy who had a badly disfigured face from a car he was working on falling on him... was a good reminder for me when I got my first car and started working on it.
 
mrgubby said:
If a wheel comes off the car, it goes under the car.

But it doesn't matter who it is, we all sometimes have a brain fart :(
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This. I always shove spare wheels under the car, I’m sure I’d still be under some pressure as I’m larger than a wheel, but rather that than the full weight of the car on me! I also chock, but I’m wary that the chocks could slip.

Poor guy, I really feel for his family, accidents can and do happen, even if you use what you believe to be good mitigation tactics for the risk!
 
Damn :(

Always good to remind people of these things. I always put the handbrake on, car in gear, and a concrete block behind the wheel.

Being crushed by two tonnes of metal is low down on my list of ways I want to go out, along with drowning.
 
This is why I never use ramps. Too much chance of the wheels rolling off them. I always use axle stands and have the car sitting on them. With the jack just taking up slack but not actually lifting the car.

I will be honest I don't really use chocks unless I am lifting the rear wheels but have a pair of bricks that I use normally. If I am going under the car I will always use two axle stands as well.
 
naefeart said:
Terrible news :(

Reminds me of the time I was putting a new set of alloys on my A4. I was doing this on my crappy driveway, using the silly jack that came with the car’s tool kit.

My mate who was supposed to be helping me, was indoors watching the rugby. I was putting on the last wheel when the jack toppled over and the car fell towards me. Luckily I had positioned the wheel up against the hub (just about to put the bolts in), so when the car fell off the jack, the brake disk landed on the inside of the rim, which took the weight of the car. I crapped my pants, but was unhurt.

That was over 10 years ago and I still shiver when I think about it. Idiot.
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A few years ago my dad was dicking about with my mum's car. Looking at the brakes or something. He was using the scissor jack since he was "only looking at something quickly". I said "just go and get the proper jack from the garage!", and he refused as above. So I said "at least shove the wheel underneath when you take it off". He did. The scissor jack then gave way and the car landed on the wheel. He wasn't under it so it was fine, but still. Hindsight and all that.

Years ago I built a proper sturdy set of wooden ramps with nice long flat bits, and a long enough ramp section to get any car up. They're never going to give way or topple, so I'm completely confident getting under the car that's on them, but I always stick something behind the wheels.

Sadly even the most experienced people have brain farts :(
 
I always get the fear when going under the car, or even just working on calipers etc with discs still on - they're basically guillotines if the car slips. Always stick under some axel stands, chock the wheels, and usually two old tyres amd rims under the sills just in case.

Our car park at work a few years ago had a coach driver try to sort something out under his coach, jacked up but as far as I'm aware no chocks. Slipped off the jack and crushed him to death, but quite slowly. Never want to experience that end! RIP.
 
My mates 1980s mini caused a set of 2 tonne ramps to buckle sideways, if it had been a car with more weight it would have totally fallen off. Even ramps aren't safe enough to go under a car properly and it's why I never do anything under a car any more myself.
 
iamdjdz said:
My mates 1980s mini caused a set of 2 tonne ramps to buckle sideways, if it had been a car with more weight it would have totally fallen off. Even ramps aren't safe enough to go under a car properly and it's why I never do anything under a car any more myself.
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A 1980's Mini weighs nothing. Must have been incredibly poorly made ramps. Possibly made of cardboard. :eek:

I've been perfectly comfortable working underneath a Lexus LS400 on a set of ramps, with a hulking great V8 sat above my dome.
 
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