This happened over a month ago, but I've been real busy with work and other stuff & not around on the forum for a while (talk about withdrawl!) I'm one of those real **** types with jackstands - wheels under frame rails for double protection when I can etc.... Give the car a good shove to make sure it's set OK and all that.

Anyways, as you might recall I too the T-arms out of my shark and the while I'm at it's turned into the half shafts, rear spring, rear diff, driveshaft... OK, shark is on jackstands (4 in the factory recommended locations - front of rear wheels, aft of front wheels). Well I always put an 'emergency just incase' jack under the front suspension (where the shock is) because the 'vert seems pretty darn nose heavy. Well I decided to remove the gas tank too and put a correct one in there (old one had a vent thing and was leaking - not a comforting thought). I also had an under dash project going on - so I took out the driver seat. You do see what's coming don't you? :eek:

I just happened to be standing next to the car and the side of my foot hit the rear jack stand. Not hard, just brushed up against it - and it MOVED! I lift UP in the rear wheel well, took maybe 40 lbs of lift and the car was teetering on the front 2 jackstands! There was that emergency one in the front, but it was about another inch lower (end of it's height) before it would have caught the car. I SCREAM for Greg and we end up with one under the front on some 4x4s for more support. Totally freaked me out.

Anyways - be sure you ALSO re-check your jackstands AFTER you take stuff off the car! They are real nose heavy with nothing in the rear. And mine's only a small block. :eek: :crazy: I must have been having a particularly blonde month or something. ;)

 

Good thing you've got TWO sets of hands there. :cheers:

 

Oh yea! I had the same experience!
If you remove the rear suspension the car has almost all of it's weight on the front two jackstands!

Put a jack under the crossmember or something!

 

i always like to leave my floor jack under the nose for support, light pressure on it :cheers:

 

Glad your ok. Always makes me nervous when under the car with jack stands. I usually shove my hyd jack under the front crossmember and a few 4x4's in the rear if she is up on all fours. Never had a problem, but have heard of too many close calls....

---Andy

 

Good to hear from you Juliet! Thanks for sharing...you make a good point. I'll keep that in mind when I get around to removing my rear end. Would it help to have the rear lower than the front? So, with a stand in the front it's safely supported, or have you made any other changes?

 

Rear lower or higher isn't going to change anything. The nose weight and the pivot arm is essentially the same. It's solid now with an extra support under the nose. Problem is that uses 5 jackstands, which leaves 3 from the second set for Greg. So he's on my case to hurry up because he needs to put project no points back on jackstands for some welding work he has to do under it. There's no room to store a third set of jackstands in the garage! :D ~Juliet

 

I always thought they looked nose heavy on the stands...

Another thing to remember, Juliet, involves jacking the T/A's. I put a jack under the trailing arms to jack them up and down to facilitate aligning and bolting up the half shafts and strut rods. I was laying halfway under the car, pumping on the jack handle. I looked up at the jack stand & I'd jacked the back of the car off the jack stand... Be sure the T/A is pivoting and free to move if you do this. :yesnod:

 

And remember to rely on them only.... I had one collapse on me last week, luckily I wasn't under the car.

 

Thats scary :eek: I always feel really wierd when I'm about to go under the car to work on it...Seems like its never really "safe". But thanks for the warning about being front heavy. :cheers:

 

If I don't need to remove the front tires, I drive the car up those metal ramps I purchased from Ecklar's, and jack up the rear to match.
It seems a little more sturdy.
I hate putting the car on 4 jackstands!! :mad Every time I start to jack it up for the third jackstand, I notice the the car lifts from the 1st or 2nd jackstand, to be balanced between one stand, a floorjack, and a rear tire.


Every time I go under the car, I remember what happens to a watermelon/ pumpkin/ cantaloupe when you drop them to the ground... that's what I imagine my head would do if a jack gave way and the car came crashing down on your ear!! :eek:

 

Gotta be careful with the jackstands. I had my '77 fall off in the driveway last year when I was cleaning the underside with a high pressure sprayer. Fortunately, I wasn't under it at the time. Sucker fell off and bent the heck out of the rocker panel molding, without damaging the paint or body. So I was twice lucky on that one.

What I always do, when I put the car up on jackstands... after I get it all lined up right, I make sure I'm out of the way, and my dog isn't under the car, and I push on the body and try to make it move. If it does, I re-align the jackstands and try again. I repeat this procedure until I am satisfied that the car isn't going to fall.

Bottom line, folks... BE CAREFUL! The pumpkin analogy is a good one to keep in mind.