Please Be Careful & Remember To Be Floor Jack Savvy!

[GoDadGo]

Gentlemen,

Please be careful when you are lifting your cars, especially the Roadsters and Type-65's.
Basically, I had a mishap the other day where my jack slipped off the round tube of the frame because I:

A. Didn't realize that the wheels on my jack weren't letting the jack move as I jacked up the car.
B. Wasn't paying close enough attention to what I was doing and dropped a car for the first time in my life.
C. Was too excited about hooking up the hydraulic line for my clutch that Nothing Else Mattered!

Anyway, the car slipped off the jack and went into my oil pan and dented it.
While this was only a $125.00 dollar stupid mistake (Milodon #30700 Oil Pan) it could have been worse, but nobody got hurt except for my pride.
Again, please be careful when you are lifting your cars!

Steve

[NAZ]

Good advise, thanks for sharing.

[boat737]

Thanks Steve. Have to say, too many times I've been in a hurry and neglected the basic safety stuff.

BTW, when you pull the pan, make sure you didn't get the pickup inside, or something on the outside like a fuel line.

[DaleG]

Similar thing happened to me a few years ago;car fell off the jack as I was raising it. Scared the beejeesus out of me. Things like that happen so fast.

Good practice is to approach jobs like this with a question first: What could go wrong, and how can I prevent it.

[WIS89]

Steve-

Thanks for the reminder. More importantly, glad you are OK, and only a modest amount of damage to the car!

Regards,

Steve

[mikeinatlanta]

This issue is why I made dedicated jacking points. Once seated the jack cannot move from the mount.

[bil1024]

Always a scary moment

[R. Button]

oh ya some time ago it ... cost me/Forced me to do an upgrade - new aluminum radiator! Now am really careful as I jack up the car!

[Gromit]

This issue is why I made dedicated jacking points. Once seated the jack cannot move from the mount.

Mike I'm still in the planning stages do you have pictures of these jack points I'm going to assume you welded them in.

Steve, I'm glad nobody was hurt like I say things can be replaced

Chris. Aka Gromit

[AC Bill]

I had a mishap the other day where my jack slipped off the round tube of the frame because I:

A. Didn't realize that the wheels on my jack weren't letting the jack move as I jacked up the car.

I've had that same issue with my low profile racing jack. The car moves, not the jack. This is scary when you have one end already sitting on jack-stands, and as you pump up the other end, you see the jack-stands begin to lean.
This low profile jack has a solid roller across one end, rather than 4 individual wheels like my regular floor jack does, with which i don't have that issue. I suspect the roller is not allowing the jack to move freely. Now I jack it up just enough with the low profile to get my regular jack under, and do the rest of the raising with it.

[GoDadGo]

If my mistake helps anybody, then it was worth the cost of the new oil pan, but I still have to think about the damaged pride issue.

Be Careful Gang!

[mikeinatlanta]

Mike I'm still in the planning stages do you have pictures of these jack points I'm going to assume you welded them in.

Steve, I'm glad nobody was hurt like I say things can be replaced

Chris. Aka Gromit

Mod consists of welded in receivers and a couple of custom jack adapters. Receivers are mounted in strategic locations. This one is a bit taller to match the diffuser and clear the fuel cell, but others are only tall enough to fit the adapters.
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The jack adapters. Short for normal use and the tall one when I need more height. The short one fits my 3 1/2" ride height.
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[myjones]

My ruh roh moment was with the chassis on ramps at one end and the other end being raised by the floor jack that didn't roll easy. It pulled the car forward just enough to
start it rolling down the ramps. Even a light, rolling, 33 chassis with no driveline gets in a hurry coming down a 7" ramp. No damage done but my pride.
My lesson from that is to always turn one ramp each way so there is a curb to stop the roll in both directions.

I made an adapter like Mikes for my SRT8 about 10 years ago because it was low and had few lift point options.
Dale

[Jacob McCrea]

Thanks for the reminder. I had a car come off of jack stands once - a "once is enough" experience if there ever was one. The short of it is that the tubular rear solid axle on this Nissan econo-car was parallel with the ground when the car was jacked up at both ends, and hence a decent enough place ot put a stand. But when the front was lowered and the back was still up on jack stands, the angle of the tubular axle changed and spit both of the rear jack stands out from under the car. I had always paid close attention to how I jacked up and supported a car, but neglected to realize the back would become totally unstable if the car was not level. Now I'll typically keep a jack or tires under the car as a "belt and suspenders" strategy, even if it's on jack stands.

[Flyguy561]

Great reminder for every one, even the old timers get in a hurry sometimes. I just got my replacement oil pan from Jegs this week, lucky that was only damage. A wake up call indeed, wife always reminds me to be careful under there. She didn't tell me that day. LOL

[dpariso]

I purchased my FFR a few months ago (3rd owner). I want to get under it and I'm looking for some tips on safely using my low profile jack without it possibly slipping off as some of you mentioned in this thread. For example, should I jack up the car at the rear diff pumpkin, having both rear tires off the ground, then put jack stands under the axel? Then, move to the front but lifting each side or is there a good middle lifting point?
Sorry for the rookie questions... I'm just not sure where the best lifts points are and where to put the jacks after lifting it.
Any pic's would be helpful for safely getting the car in the air and keeping it there while working on it. I plan on greasing all the zerk fittings... but need to get under the car to find them.
IMG_2005.JPG

[RickP]

If my mistake helps anybody, then it was worth the cost of the new oil pan, but I still have to think about the damaged pride issue.

Be Careful Gang!

Glad your OK Steve. Oil pans can be replaced. I always throw a couple of jack stands up underneath no matter how seemingly small the task at hand seems. I had a car come off on me one time and one time is enough. Getting these cars up in the air is a pain in the butt and the round tubes make the task all that much more dicey. If I wasn't confined to a one car garage, I would have already invested in a post lift.

[mikeinatlanta]

Just my opinion, but there is no safe way. That is why I did the custom jacking points pictured earlier.

[slpro1207]

I learned from my brothers mistake. Fortunately he was not seriously injured when the jack slipped while he was under the car. I always have my stands ready, and stay low while I pump the jack handle so I can watch that the jack pad is not slipping. Also use my stands in stages. Take it slow and be safe.
Glad you are ok Steve.

[Joee]

I purchased my FFR a few months ago (3rd owner). I want to get under it and I'm looking for some tips on safely using my low profile jack without it possibly slipping off as some of you mentioned in this thread. For example, should I jack up the car at the rear diff pumpkin, having both rear tires off the ground, then put jack stands under the axel? Then, move to the front but lifting each side or is there a good middle lifting point?
Sorry for the rookie questions... I'm just not sure where the best lifts points are and where to put the jacks after lifting it.
Any pic's would be helpful for safely getting the car in the air and keeping it there while working on it. I plan on greasing all the zerk fittings... but need to get under the car to find them.
IMG_2005.JPG

I have found I need to jack up the rear first, if I lift the front I can't get the jack under gas tank, too low. So I lift the car under the pumpkin so tires are an inch or so off ground then I carefully and quickly put stands under axle. Then i move to front lift that high enough to slide stands in under frame tubes. Then back to rear get that up a few more inches readjust stands. Back to front now I can use jack on front cross member and lift the car up a few more inches. As noted above be careful I have found if you try to lift one end of the car more than a few inches that is when things start to move. If rear is on stands as front jack rises it can actually walk towards front of car and slip off. Unfortunately as much as I break my car and or mod it I put it up about 2 foot (stands on blocks) a few times a year. It takes me quite a bit of time to do it but I have only had a few close ones never lost it yet. As a matter of fact last week i put it back up again so i can drop the pan and replace the gasket. I do envy you guys with lifts but since I am space and $$ limited I make due.

[FLPBFoot]

Steve,

Glad you are okay and the damage was minor. Bodily injury could take way longer to heal than your ego. You can still build with an injured ego.

Will be sure to take care and notice the little things like wheels not moving on the jack.

Steve

[first time builder]

I had a friend that was an Automotive Engineer and probably one of the most careful, safety conscious people I ever knew. He was building a killer Studebaker truck with a 4 cly Ford Turbo . He was almost all done with the fabrication work and decided he just wanted to check one more part. He quickly Jacked up the truck and slid under to "take a look" (he had no tools under the truck) He failed to use a jack stand prior to sliding under. Unfortunately the jack slipped and trapped him, and crushed him.Very Sad. RIP Carl.
I now ALWAYS use a jackstand .

[DMW]

I had a problem with a rubber floor mat. I had the back up on jack stands and was jacking the front of the car but the jack would not glide on the rubber mat as it would on concrete. Due to the geometry of a floor jack, it was essentially pulling the car forward as it was lifting because the jack was not rolling on the floor. I looked at the rear and saw that the jack stands were tilting forward Lucky I caught that in time before the whole car fell in my direction. I also like to use wooden timber blocks when I'm under the car for added safety.

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[Driver_WT]

I've had that same issue with my low profile racing jack. The car moves, not the jack. This is scary when you have one end already sitting on jack-stands, and as you pump up the other end, you see the jack-stands begin to lean.
This low profile jack has a solid roller across one end, rather than 4 individual wheels like my regular floor jack does, with which i don't have that issue. I suspect the roller is not allowing the jack to move freely. Now I jack it up just enough with the low profile to get my regular jack under, and do the rest of the raising with it.

I have a similar jack. the problem with the jack is that even a small amount of dirt or grit on the concrete floor will stop the jack from rolling forward as you jack up the car. Sweeping the floor really good before using the jack seems to help.