|
If you are a newbie at working on cars, there is one thing you need to learn, learn well, and use ALWAYS. That is how to properly jack up and support your car while you are working on it. DO NOT, EVER take this for granted.
I've been working on cars since I was a kid (helping my Dad), and have always had a healthy respect for properly jacking and supporting my cars. However, after years and years of doing it, I got a bit complacent about it. A few years ago, I did something a bit dodgy while supporting a car. I had all 4 wheels off the ground on jackstands, with a board supporting the rear end of the car. It turns out that the board was an inch or two too tall and it was really supporting the rear end of the car, and the jackstands were not. I was under the front of the car, and when I bumped the car, it fell off of the jackstands. Luckily for me, the front of the car did not fall off the jackstands, as I was under the front end. The car was damaged slightly from the impact, but more importantly, I will never forget how scary that was, or the sound of more than a ton of metal hitting concrete. Nobody would have survived being under there.
Now, I am extremely careful when working under my car, and I always take extra precautions when I can (like laying a wheel under the side of the car, just in case).
Learn from my mistake. DO NOT, EVER, be casual about jacking up and supporting your car when you are going to climb under it, even for something as simple as an oil change.
|
Hybrid Mode
