Phobia of working under a car on jack stands

[OM605]

Well, today's repair didn't go as planned. It didn't go at all in fact. Was about to replace rear flex disc and driveshaft carrier bearing/bushing. The fact i had to have 2 wheels (or one but without having the parking brake engaged anyway) up the air made me too uncomfortable to crawl under the car even on jackstands and with front wheels secured with cinder blocks etc.

Usually i hate it but it will do the job as long as only one wheel is up in the air. I can lift the whole front end and still be ok with working under the car since parking brake will be applied to rear wheels. 2 wheels and no parking brake? No way. This is a phobia i can't get over, am i the only one?

I will pay a mechanic to do the job but i'm thinking about digging a trench in the near future. I like that idea more than a lift for the aforementioned reason.

 

[KrisZ]

So I take it you have never heard of wheel chocks?

 

[4WD]

Well, today's repair didn't go as planned. It didn't go at all in fact. Was about to replace rear flex disc and driveshaft carrier bearing/bushing. The fact i had to have 2 wheels (or one but without having the parking brake engaged anyway) up the air made me too uncomfortable to crawl under the car even on jackstands and with front wheels secured with cinder blocks etc.

Usually i hate it but it will do the job as long as only one wheel is up in the air. I can lift the whole front end and still be ok with working under the car since parking brake will be applied to rear wheels. 2 wheels and no parking brake? No way. This is a phobia i can't get over, am i the only one?

I will pay a mechanic to do the job but i'm thinking about digging a trench in the near future. I like that idea more than a lift for the aforementioned reason.

If I don’t remove wheels - will use ramps …
If I remove wheels - use them under vehicle as protection …

 

[TheOilWizard]

So I take it you have never heard of wheel chocks?

In fairness, I consider the wheel chocks as backup to the e-brake. I wouldn't go under a car without a working e-brake either.

 

[OM605]

So I take it you have never heard of wheel chocks?

As i said, even with those, there's a voice in my head telling me not to go under here. Nothing rational i know...

 

[dishdude]

I don't blame you, I won't work under jack stands either. The good thing is, most jobs that require them aren't expensive to pay to have done.

 

[KrisZ]

In fairness, I consider the wheel chocks as backup to the e-brake in a front wheel drive car. I wouldn't go under a car without a working e-brake either.

Then you trust your life with a very wrong thing.

Did you ever take off with the parking brake on? It’s not that much resistance to overtake.
Try that with quality chocks, or a 6x6, like I use. I forgot to remove it few times, the car didn’t go nowhere when I tired to drive off.

 

[TheOilWizard]

As i said, even with those, there's a voice in my head telling me not to go under here. Nothing rational i know...

Don't question yourself on this. I think you made the right decision.

 

[TheOilWizard]

Then you trust your life with a very wrong thing.

Did you ever take off with the parking brake on? It’s not that much resistance to overtake.
Try that with quality chocks, or a 6x6, like I use. I forgot to remove it few times, the car didn’t go nowhere when I tired to drive off.

I'm saying I want the e-brake AND a chalk. You know the old saying, 2 is 1, 1 is none, etc.

 

[OM605]

I don't blame you, I won't work under jack stands either. The good thing is, most jobs that require them aren't expensive to pay to have done.

Yes, the problem is really transmission work that involves being able to turn the wheels to turn the driveshaft. Looking back on my ten years of driving and wrenching, the only times i have paid someone to do the job was driveshaft/diff related or if an expensive specific tool was needed.

 

[Exhaustgases]

I never just trust just jack stands, always use blocks of wood too. And never use bricks or concrete blocks to go under a vehicle.

 

[BHopkins]

I don't have a problem working under a car on jack stands. In fact, I personally prefer it to ramps. But I never work under a car with only one end raised. I have two pair of jack stands, and raise both ends of my cars when doing work under them.

It only takes a couple more minutes to raise both ends of the car, and get it all set on jack stands.

If this still makes you nervous, and you really do want to do your own work, instead of taking your car to the shop, it may be time to start saving up for a pair of Quick Jack lifts. Look them up. They are very secure.

 

[k1xv]

Every year or so, our local news has a story about a do it yourself mechanic who dies after his car fell on him.

I live alone in a rural location. Nobody would find me for a week.

Those days are over for me.

 

[ripcord]

I've had two instances in my life with cars falling on people I know that I've mentioned on the site before. One was a neighbor who's Ford Fairmont fell off his firewood cribbing (dumb) and landed on his shin. The other was a cousin in law who was crushed to death under his Chevy square body pickup. A healthy dose of paranoia about jacked up cars is a good thing.

 

[MRC01]

... A healthy dose of paranoia about jacked up cars is a good thing.

True. But be constructive about it - let that paranoia motivate you to use proper methods like jack stands and wheel chocks. Don't let it go so far that it stops you from working under a car that is lifted properly.

 

[supton]

It only takes a couple more minutes to raise both ends of the car, and get it all set on jack stands.

I thought there was a prohibition on using 4? can’t find that in 30 seconds of looking, must be misremembering.

I stopped using jackstands and only use wood cribbing now. However I think my new cars use a crease in the unibody ”frame” and I may have to give up on that.

 

[ripcord]

True. But be constructive about it - let that paranoia motivate you to use proper methods like jack stands and wheel chocks. Don't let it go so far that it stops you from working under a car that is lifted properly.

Of course. My wife noticed me trying to rock a jacked up car off it's supports and laughed... until I reminded her of my dead relative. I do work under cars, but I always think twice and check three times before I work under a jacked up vehicle.

 

[cptbarkey]

I'm approaching certain life boundaries where I feel the same. I like the digging a trench idea, if you have the means and the land. The one thing i'm worming over now is building a pole barn and I absolutely hate ladders. I'm going to build a sturdy 5 foot ladder, with a platform with handrails out of wood instead.

 

[MRC01]

... My wife noticed me trying to rock a jacked up car off it's supports and laughed... until I reminded her of my dead relative.

I resemble that!

 

[vpr5703]

Of course. My wife noticed me trying to rock a jacked up car off it's supports and laughed... until I reminded her of my dead relative. I do work under cars, but I always think twice and check three times before I work under a jacked up vehicle.

I do the same thing. If I can rock it and it's stable, I won't be able to put enough torque on a wrench to cause a problem.