I have a QuikLift as well. I feel completely safe underneath my car. Otherwise, I agree with Gideon, anything you can cram under there.

 

thanks guys ...and now that im even more paranoid/scared, I may just look around for someone to help me at a garage. I love doing the mods that I can do myself but obviously not worth the ultimate risk.

No idea how or why so many would try to lower the car on thier own...i want this done to my car badly but I figure, since I hear so many have trouble turning the bolts at times, that wrenching of the car would really put into risk of it collapsing. Youd think this would happen alot...but maybe im wrong....

Hell im worried now just to remove the wheels and change the rotors at this point.... Are the puck points on the car really balanced when all are engaged or does it "look and feel" unstable up there? (for those that had it up there....

I asked in the past about which floor jacks and stands to buy...as they vary hugely....so im confused

 

Oh yes you can, if you're really lucky Don't try it at home.

 

There have been a few threads here showing collapse lifts and jacking accidents.

Here's a 4-post lift failure.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...gs-images.html

One guy posted pics of his lift failure where his C3 collapsed onto his C4.

Here's an unfortunate jacking accident posted on here a while back.


I was jacking my C5 years ago and first put the rear crossmember up on jack stands. I then jacked the front to put that on stands but something felt funny when I let it down on the front stands.

When I looked at the back stands I was horrified to see that the car had moved backward when I had jacked the front, causing the rear stands to tilt back onto the back legs which consisted of about 1/8" thick steel. The stands were tilted back on those thin slivers of metal at about 60 degrees. Probably another couple of degrees and they would have toppled backwards with the car falling on them, causing major damage.

A good breeze could have caused the car to move enough to fall so, as badly as I wanted a picture of it, I quickly moved the jack to the back of the car and lifted the car from the center of the member. When I did that, the stands stayed perfectly balanced on their back legs for a few seconds and then slowly rotated forward back onto all feet. Whew!

Now I use a 4-post lift and am still extremely careful when under it.

 

Unless you are changing the spring you really don't have to spend much time under the car. Fallow the lifting procedure as mentioned on many threads. Once you have the weals off the ground place good set of stands under the lift points (where the pucks go) and lower the car so it rests on them. Don't use the stands with solid plate for the foot as they are more prone to rocking. At this point the car should be very stable and safe. For an added safety precaution when you take the tires off just place them next to stands under the car and you will be safe. As a extra measure of safety let someone in house know what you are doing and under no circumstances don't let other people climb in and out of the car while you are under it. Use common sense and don't let the paranoia set in, get that thing lowered and change the oil while you have it up. Good luck and happy wrenching

 

Ramps, stands and jacks! How can you get under the car to work? Quality stands put in the right place will do the job. Later! Frank

 

great idea and that what i do as well,also make sure its on level ground or it can slide/roll on you

 

So far, so good.....



Plus, one must be careful just how much one pulls on a wrench in any one direction that might upset the car....common sense....

I also leave the jack in place.

Pay no attention to the grey haired gremlin....

 

Dont worry about doing rotors (you wont be anywhere near under the car). Just chock the wheels, jack it up from the recommended locations, put a jack stand under the secondary lifting point closest to the wheel you are working on, and let it down to take some of the weight. Very steady with one wheel up at a time.

Probably very safe with two wheels up, or on ramps, but I try and do any of the little minor things Im able to do wiht only one wheel up (oil, brakes) at a time (just nervous).

 

The most common jacking issues are when people jack up the back end and forget/don't chalk the front wheels.

Also when you use a floor jack and already have one end up in the air on jack stands, don't forget to check the alignment of the rear wheels on your floor jack. They need to be straight so the jack is free to move when you use it. I have seen several people put one end up on jack stands and literally pull the car off because the jack could not move and the car was pulled backwards.

Be careful out there

Peace
Chip

 

wow...yeaaaa thatll get your heart to speed up lookin back and seeing that tilt! ughh

 

my jack stands are fall proof.....

 

One would think so . . .



I have a 4-post lift I bolted to the floor and I still am very cautious working on it.

 

There have been three times in my life that I should have died and didnt....One was when a jack stand kicked out under a 4x4 I was working on......I had been under the truck for over TWO hours working on the tranny, replacing the starter and doing some exhaust work....I was also doing a full brake job on it, so I had all four wheels off......I was using a creeper, slid out from under the truck to get a tool...I was standing at my toolbox when suddenly WHAM!!!..the right front jack stand kicked out...The other three jack stands held, but I had been laying right under the area where the jackstand failed when I replaced the starter....There's no doubt in my mind I would have been killed or seriously injured had I still been under the truck when it fell, especially considering all the wheels were off..

 

was helping my buddy swap downpipes on his turbo 240. Using a piece of wood on top of the jack, there were 3 stands in place. The car slipped off the jack and slammed down hard on the 3rd stand. It destroyed the fender and underbody.

 

you have a nice lift there, looks well built, the one with the blue car looks like a cheap china made lift. you get what you pay for. i put my 6800 lb bobcat on my lift without any problem....

 

No horror stories for me. Im extra careful nowdays. Wheel cribs when I can, or if the wheel is off, I throw it under.

 

Thats what i do too, i have 3 jacks.

 

I just did the springs on my car and I spent all kinds of time under my car. I have it on jackstands, with the jack placed under whatever my head is at and the tires under the corners of the car. To me it is alot easier to replace a rim and a rocker than to replace myself if the jackstands failed.

Chris

 

I spent the better part of 2 days under mine replacing the clutch. Home made ramps on the front and custom made 6 ton stands in the puck holes near the rear. Tires tossed under for extra safety. Screwed some blocks of wood to the ramps to stop any chance of rolling.

The funny part was when I was just starting to jack it up I put 3 or 4 pieces of wood under one tire. I freaked the neighbor out across the street so bad he was bringing me a pair of jack stands. I explained I was just getting it up enough to get the jack under the rear cross member. He looked relieved.