You can with a two post lift or a adaptor for a four post.

 

Sorry to hear this but this is why we have insurance, don't be afraid to use it.

 

Yep, if you have room and money for a lift great and you can take a wheel off as you state. Same as I did when my Street Rod up on 4 stanchions during construction! Using stanchions is a far less expensive way to feel very safe when changing oil, installing a CAT back system, headers etc!

This Thread might be preventing some from considering doing their own oil changes! It's good if it is causing concern for jacking properly but there are alternative very safe solutions before getting under the car for the very cautious.

Been jacking cars and changing oil (and many other things) for over 60 years. Have had a few issues "when jacking" including a minor one with a C7 but NEVER when I was under the car or with a wheel off as I make sure it's safe first!

Here are a few pics of alternatives. If you're not confident that you can make very strong stanchions, they are available for sale by Race Ramps and others. Frankly I find jacking the car is easier for me than using ramps! Don't have to ask the wife to come out and see if one is sliding forward as I try to go up etc. "Been There Done That," then gave the ramps away to someone who needed to lift their car on grass! I can also get the car level with just a little more effort.


My Street Rod was up on 4 stanchions for many months as I installed exhaust, wiring, trans cooler, brake and fuel lines, seat supports, etc, etc. Still have them but these 12 inch stanchions are higher than I need for the Vette and require a two step jacking procedure.


Race Ramps sells these 8 inch high stanchions and also have a two part stackable product that raises 5 and 10 inches.


I made the wood stanchions from a 2X6 and some plywood for under $10. (There have been posts by others who made them from stacked 2X4's screwed together etc.) Calculated the safety factor of mine for fun and it is well over 15! You could make 4 if desired for an oil change. I am confident the sturdy jack stands I use, properly placed, are safe. I would not get under a car with jack stands holding both ends of the car, but that is my opinion, know some do.

 

 

Safety is paramount to me and I go out of my way whenever I work on my cars to ensure safety first, last and always. Since your weren't there, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that you can't see what I actually do when I lift and support my cars when I work on them. Those are pics of one of my C5's on my lift that I have been using over ten years along with 30+ years of lifting cars with jacks, stands, ramps etc., with never an incident - never.

I have a lift precisely because I value safety. After decades of using jacks, stands and ramps, I finally splurged on a lift and it was the best thing I ever bought for my garage.

In those pics above, I do use wood (in compression only and in good condition) as a buffer against metal-to-metal contact and as a static support but notice in the first pic of my red C5 in this thread that I always chock the wheels to prevent the car from moving as I jack the rear up at the rear cross-member with a HD scissors jack with a large support plate - very stable. Once I lower the car frame rails on to the wood supports, it is impossible for me to push the car off the supports as the weight is on the frame rails and chocked front wheels (same config when front wheels com off and rear wheels stay on).

Here's another one of my C5's while I was doing a major drive train upgrade ten years ago. Again, note the chocks on the front wheels and the car sitting on the frame rails. I removed the drive train from the flex plate back and reinstalled that week. Car did not move a single millimeter as I did the work.



I also bolt the lift to the concrete per manufacturer's specs as an additional safety measure to add even more stability. The lift I bought has a double lock system such that, if the main lift cable breaks, and the first locks don't catch, the second set automatically keep the ramps from dropping down. And unlike many who own home lifts, I examine and maintain it carefully to ensure it's always in top condition - ask anyone who has visited or worked with me in my garage.

I'm an engineer who has been working on cars - mostly alone - most of my life so safety in my garage has always been the primary concern.

Btw, I live in SoCal where we've had several moderate earthquakes and the lift is still supporting my cars with no issues and is still bolted securely in the concrete.

 

Safety is key to me as well. When I worked with my Dad, from an early age, he made me hit the jacked and blocked car hard with my shoulder BEFORE I got under it! As he would say, "If it's going to fall better now than when you are under it!" He had a friend die from being crushed under a car!

If you have the room (and money) a lift is a good idea! But there are other safe ways.

When I showed my "home made stanchions" over a year ago, someone said they wouldn't trust them. For fun I made the strength calculations. Pine has a compression strength of over 5000 lbs/in2! That provided a safety factor of over 400! However there are other possible failure modes and if your construction techniques can't keep the wood perpendicular and square I made alternate calculations showing reduced strength if the sides were at an angle, including the holding strength of 4 inch screws in pine, etc, and the minimum SF of several failure modes evaluated was 15! I recall in a structural class where 3 was considered an acceptably safety factor for a bridge etc. It also noted when designing a playground jungle-gym, use 5 as you don't know how it will be used/abused! I have several engineering degrees as well and managed an R&D Lab in my early career. However engineers also said the Titanic could not sink!

PS: Just came back from visiting daughter and family in San Antonio Heights, CA. Earthquakes are a bit like designing a kids jungle-gym, not sure how to calculate what might happen, Northridge etc!

 

Glad that there are no injuries. A car is just an object, but your health and well being are not replaceable. Best of luck with the repairs. I would just pay the $500 deductible and have insurance take care of it.

 

Agree. The same thing happened to me. I had my jack positioned at an angle to the car, not perpendicularly, and it didn't roll as it should've as the car got higher. BAM What a terrible thing to see and hear! Less damage to the rocker panel than the OP, but still required some fancy bondo work on the back of the front fender (I didn't want them to replace the entire fender). Selman Chevrolet in Anaheim did a great, great job on my C5 several years ago. Their body guy, Dan, was a magician. Unfortunately for us, he is retired.

 

Comprehensive should cover any non-deliberate damage.

 

I would not get under a car where any part of it is held up only with hydraulic jack(s). They will gradually lower, and can catastrophically lower. If you're going to get under the car, you want solid mechanical locks.

 

 

I would never call an insurance agent if a car door dinged my vette in the garage. I WOULD call a divorce lawyer!

 

I have that exact same jack, actually two of them. and have never used a puck. Although i check and double check placement and always raise both sides. However after seeing this i have 2 on order.......

 

When i use 4 jackstands, i always incorporate the jack itself as well but i do not use the ratchet type i use a good well built passthru pin type.

 

^^

I have three sets of Jack Stands. An early one is a pin and pipe with holes but have those stored as I like the ratchet ability to set in small increments. Agreed it is one more thing that can break! The ones shown in the pic I use for my oil changes also start at a low level so I can match the 6 inch rear stanchion height.

 

 

What are the best and most effective sources to purchase; The leave-in hard plastic jacking pucks are less than $50," and coupled with a proper floor jack with rubber lifting pad, that will make it virtually impossible for a vehicle to fall off the jack?

​​​​​​​THANKS!

 

This is what I was going to suggest. I think homeowner's might cover it..good luck..

 

 

Ouch!

For future reference, try a Chevy dealership where they have the roll in/roll out oil change where they never lift the car. You just drive in and they do the change from a level below the floor, the same way as at most instant oil change places. Then you drive out the other side of the building. More expensive than doing a change yourself until stuff like this happens--and they will do it in maybe 20 minutes, a fraction of the time to do it yourself in your garage.

Good luck with the repairs.