Jack-aphobia (nervousness while jacking)

[kwm]

I had my car jacked up in my garage last night. My present car suspension equipment is a rather cheap (ok very cheap) floor jack and a set of jack stands (I also have a set of ramps but have never used them on the SC).
I first had my front-end jacked up to inspect my front-end and remove my A/C components. I then let the front down and jacked up the back to finish the A/C removal and change my oil.
I just NEVER feel very safe under the car. I have worked under other (usually domestic cars with frames) and I never felt nearly so anxious.
I just hate the difficulty in jacking up our cars or securing them. There are so few jack points or securing options on the cars. I almost dropped my car last night and when I am under it I feel so less than comfortable.
Is there a good way to in a home garage get my whole car off the ground? I want to send all four of my fuchs to Al Reed this winter and work on my front suspension and steering all at once. Every place I want to put a jack stand is the same place my jack is already in. Will I ever feel comfortable under a 911?

[Jeff]

Buy a Jack Plate from Pelican and you won't have to jack the car up where the jack stand needs to go. You can lift one entire side of the car from this position, lower it onto jack stands and repeat on the other side. Wayne wrote a very good step-by-step of this in his 101 projects for the 911. Good money spent.

Also, buy quality jack stands and jack ( these can be inexpensive), because if the car falls on you it will probably leave a mark.

[Oh Haha]

Get a lift. Seriously, that is the only way it sounds like you will feel comfortable under the car.

Myself, I feel just fine about it. I pulled the engine assembly on a couple of 911's recently and had no problem getting under and doing the work. You just need to knwo where the safe points are and to check before crawling under it. Do a search and I think there is a map of the strong places to jack a 911.

[JBO]

I know what you mean. In addition to the jack stands I also leave a jack on each side as added insurance, though they can get in the way. I still don't feel completely comfortable when my whole body is under the car, like when changing the trans fluid, but I guess it is not because there is much of any chance that it will fall, but mostly due to the thought that if it did fall you are probably history. I always leave the wheels on when having to go under, and that way I won't be smashed quite as flat

[Super_Dave_D]

Once I get mine up on stands I always push on it a but to make sure its stable (not under it of course) and leave the jack under it for added safety. You could always place a couple railroad ties and cinder blocks under it for more piece of mind. Strangely, if no one is home I always keep my cell in my pocket so I can call 911 when the car falls on me. Not like I would be able to actally get to it but it sure makes me feel better.

[pieterk]

Like Jeff said, get the jack pad if you don't already have it. Lift one side, put jack stands under the torsion bar cover and front control arm cover, and then repeat on the other side of the car. You can repeat the cycle once to get the whole car up higher. Make sure the car doesn't tip on the stands when jacking; make sure the jack is moving under the car when lifting and not the stands. Have a sympathetic neighbor spot you, preferably someone who knows about this stuff (I'm lucky; a neighbor/friend a two minute walk up the hill races a TR4 with VARA and his daily driver is a 911SC; we help each other out).

Then, once up, leave a jack under the pad on the side you're working on, and if you have a spare set of wheels, lay the wheels on the ground beneath the seam welds on the side of the car. If the wheels are sent out, you could consider using something like cinder blocks or carefully stacked lumber just as insurance. I don't know if it's a good idea, but I'd probably do it just in case.

[kwm]

JBO...LOL. I do feel a little safer with the wheels on too.
I have had all of Wayne's books for awhile now (since before I had the car actually). I have also reviewed threads on here before about the best jack points etc.
I think the jack plate is a very good idea not sure how I overlooked that. My method presently that I have used about 6 times now is jack under the cent of the engine in the rear. I have the late 3.0 w/o the sump cover plate so I took a bunch of layers of cardboard and duct tape and made a resting point for the top of my floor jack that straddels the case. I then have the stands under my tonsion bar ends and I take tehm up click by click as I jack. Last night it kept wanting to roll forward off the bar ends even thoght the wheels were chaulked.
In the front I jack where the knuckle is for each A arm then place the stands under the flat plate directly in from the center of the wheel. I dont really think I can afford a lift thought.

[kwm]

pietrek...I thought about the cell thing too but then realized the last thing heard on it if I was able to call would be the cracking of my skull. I wonder just for giggles (well not really) how many poor car guy souls are sent upward due to a car falling on them? HHHMMMMM

Last night was pretty scarry thought I lowerd the jack and looked at my jack stands and they where tipping forward. I paused for a sec. then got my ass in action..........Whew

[coloradoporsche]

Be careful with the side to side "see-saw" jacking method. As I found out, the car can slip off of a jack stand while doing this:

Jack safety...a reminder

After this incident, I bought a larger jack and much larger jackstands. Basically, total overkill in jacking equipment allows me to move the car up and down with confidence.

I prefer to jack up the rear of the car under the engine, put the torsion bar covers in 2 huge, stable jackstands, and then jack the front of the car up. I find this a more stable way to jack up the car.

Once the car is on the very large jackstands, it is SOLID. Won’t budge when I throw all my weight at it.These have 6 Ton capacity each. That’s 12 Tons of jackstand for a 2500 lb car:



It makes a huge difference, and looking back, I can’t believe I actually got under the car with the smaller stuff.

[kwm]

Colorado- Whoa. Did you get hurt? Sounds like you were right where I am not with the cheapy little jack stands and jack. Do you or have you used a jack plate?

[Emission]

Originally posted by coloradoporsche
I prefer to jack up the rear of the car under the engine, put the torsion bar covers in 2 huge, stable jackstands, and then jack the front of the car up. I find this a more stable way to jack up the car.

+1

[RarlyL8]

Concerning the title of this thread:
Don't worry, you won't go blind. It's only an old wife's tale.

[ckissick]

Good thing you don't live in earthquake country.

[SP2]

I also have fear of jacking the car up. I bought the jack plate. This works great. I also use several emergency jack stands that I put around the car so if it falls, hopefully they will catch the car and it would give me time to crawl out. I also keep the tires under the car on their sides.

Also, never have your jack stands extended to their maximum length. They are not stable. I proved this the other day during my engine drop. We had the rear end high with the 2 ton jackstands and the car would wobble when pushed. Then I insisted on switching to my 6 ton jacks and it was night and day difference.

[Tim Hancock]

Before I got my lift, I would always leave the jack and or the wheels lying under the car just in case.

Talking about queasy feelings about jacks, it doesn't get much scarier than jacking a large aircraft for doing the gear drop check during an annual inspection.

My customer standing in the cockpit does not look worried, but I always am when I do these tests. I always place sturdy industrial grade saw horses under the wings before crawling under there to do any work. It is not quite as bad as it looks, as the jack shafts have a cross hole that a safety pin is inserted into that cannot be made out in the picture.

[rlh930]

I second coloradoporsche's advice. Overkill. I have four NAPA 6000lb jackstands. I also put my wheels under the front crossmember and crankcase so they get squashed instead of me. And once the car is on stands, I REALLY try to push the car off the stands to make sure it's stable before I get under. Finally, when working under the car, I get ALL THE WAY under, so if the worst happens, at least I go quick.

[defcon65]

I upgraded from the light-duty floor jack and stands I had to a heavier-grade floor jack and 6-ton stands from Harbor Freight - the very same orange stands pictured in this thread, $20 a pair. Granted, the stuff is probably not 'professional grade', but much stronger than what I had.
I also feel a little nervous when working under a car on stands. It makes me feel a little better by having a buddy help me or at least be there while I'm under, should anything go wrong - I think that is excellent advice. I put the tires up under the pan to give me a backup support should the worst happen. I've got a couple 4x4 and 6x6 timbers I lay across the tires to elevate the height of my backup. I also have my cell phone with me in case I have to call 911.
Maybe I'm too paranoid, but I really don't want to be crushed by a car, even a 911. Incidentally, I've also felt a little spooked working under a car on a professional lift as well - there is a potential for failure there too.
Taking the time to set up a car on stands and employing overkill to feel like it is safe is a much better use of my time than recuperating from a crushed pelvis, ribcage, fractured skull, etc. I tend to over-engineer solutions by a factor of three, anyway. Must be the German in me.

Regards,

[kwm]

Well I have certainly learned allot here today. My other issue that no one has hit on yet is the throw on my cheapy floor jack. It is short so I have to jack it up fully, raise the jackstands, drop the jack, put boards under the jack, jack it up again, so on and so forth, till I get the height I need. I am actually surprised I have lived this long. Am I correct in guessing high dollar jacks have mush longer throw? My neighbor wroks in NASCAR and has one of those types of jacks but I have never used it or seen it extended.

[defcon65]

The one I bought at HF for $45 has a 20 inch lift, I believe. Yes, it is Chinese, but pretty rugged and of decent quality. If I needed to go higher I'd place the jack securely on timber cribbing to get another 6 to 12 inches, that would be enough to do anything I'd ever plan. NEVER put a tall block between the jack and jack point to get excess height - too wobbly and dangerous.

Regards,

[kwm]

$45???? I must be thinking of something else. I think lift has a diff. meaning to me. Lift as in a apparatus that can lift all 4 corners of teh car up at once.