We've all read the imprecations in Haynes manual etc about ensuring car is on ramps or stands and not just a jack before going underneath. Most of us have probably played fast and loose with that advice. I know I've scrabbled under both BX and Xantia, albeit only for a look/see, while the suspension was set to 'high'.
One of my colleagues spent this morning providing benefits and other advice to a woman with very young children widowed last week. Chancing it with a jack went badly wrong and the car crushed someone.
It it can go t*ts up then eventually it will.
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>>It it can go t*ts up then eventually it will
That's more or less Murphy's law, which would be better named the first law of probability.
Literally millions of unlikely things happen every day.
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Terrible for that family. I'd never risk that but some might not have thought they had the option.
Sad for the family is an understatement.
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I had to get under my A35 many years ago when the clutch actuating rod snapped. The jack slipped, but fortunately I was able to lock my forearms between it and the ground, but I couldn't move!
A couple of passers by were able to provide enough lift for me to get out.
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Ever since my Halfords bottle jack suddenly collapsed when its thread stripped in about 1966 this has been one of the few safety rules I have scrupulously obeyed.
I much prefer hefty blocks of wood cut from a railway sleeper to axle stands. I think the latter can be very dangerous. Trolley jacks do not lift vertically, and if the car is supported on one side on an axle stand lifting on the other side with a jack can tilt the stand.
Blocks of wood are much more accommodating of small movements.
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I don't think I'm a worthy member. I've owned cars since 1979, so coming up for 40 years.
In that time I have never been or looked under a car, never changed any oil, never done anything with brakes, never put T-cut on a scratch. I've refilled windscreen washer fluid about twice, and put some coolant in a couple of times in emergencies. I've washed a car perhaps a handful of times.
I'll get my coat.
Last edited by: Crankcase on Fri 9 Nov 18 at 12:22
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I've refilled windscreen
>> washer fluid about twice,
Must be a big washer fluid reservoir.
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Unlike older cars, modern cars don't require much tinkering. So, better to leave it to professional mechanics and enjoy the free drinks while using iPad on customer waiting area :-)
Especially if the car is within warranty period (which is long for some brands).
I think DIY is a British (or European?) culture thing. In many countries (e.g. India) it is considered more prestigious if someone else does the work while you are enjoying life. Of course, labour cost is cheaper there which might have encouraged that culture.
In my initial years in UK I got shocked when my colleagues used to say "I fixed my plumbing/car/washing machine etc.".
Last edited by: movilogo on Fri 9 Nov 18 at 12:58
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I got trapped under my MG Midget while changing the starter motor. I'd jacked it up both sides at the front and it fell off while I was underneath. Couldn't breathe due to the weight on my chest but somehow managed to find the temporary strength to sort of bench press the car away from me and slither out. Very scary. It was of course a very stupid thing to do and my only mitigating excuse is that I was 17 at the time and knew no better.
Didn't do it again.
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Old man was almost offed working under a car when it rolled off its ramps and the spanner he was using, still attached to the underside of the car was driven into his side.
Apparently one of his more feeble mates tried vainly to lift the car, managing only to stop it rolling further.
Another mate who was a plumber and part-time pub bouncer (with arms like my thighs) managed to lift the car about 6 inches allowing my dad to scramble out with an impressive bruise in his chestwall.
Morris Marinas really were gash.
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>>gash.
I've not come across that word since I was in the military, yonks ago.
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>> >>gash.
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>> I've not come across that word since I was in the military, yonks ago.
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>>
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R.N term mostly,as in "chuck the gash over the side".
Not that they'd do that these days, of course!
Last edited by: Roger. on Sat 10 Nov 18 at 14:02
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>> R.N term mostly,as in "chuck the gash over the side".
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Try that in a submarine. :-)
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Lord Finchley tried to mend the Electric Light
Himself. It struck him dead: And serve him right!
It is the business of the wealthy man
To give employment to the artisan
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I only remember my granddad as a gentleman who worked in an office but he was a mechanic by trade. He was working on a lorry when the axle dropped onto him and crushed his chest leaving him months in hospital and a long recuperation. That's all I know. How, where, when and why, I'll never know.
What I do know, though, is that he drove a light blue Viva and would change gear far too early. Whenever I hear that labouring, pinking sound (rare these days), it reminds me of him.
Last edited by: BiggerBadderDave on Fri 9 Nov 18 at 14:18
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Doing Car DIY Safely - Manatee
