OT: Ever get pinned under a car??

I was just thinking it's nice to have someone else around when you're working underneath a car, just in case. I know, you gotta use jackstands, but in my youth I wasn't so smart Anyway I have a lotta respect(read: fear) for a couple tons of metal lifted up over my head that could squish me like a g****.

So has anybody on here ever actually gotten stuck under a car?

I know it's kinda a wierd topic, but it's kinda rolling around in my head.

 

Once, when that fraternity guy was head over heels for me... but I don't want to talk about it.

No I never got stuck but that's because I always made sure to use good jackstands, the jack just under a ch***is element in case the stands failed, and I shook the car real good before scooting under there.

I'd hate to die a slow crushing death of suffocation; one more of the reasons I got divorced.

 

Nope, but I did pull an idiot out from under his car when the bumper jack fell over and dropped the car on his legs. He was sitting with his legs crossed under the rear axle, doing a brake job. He was lucky, it ended up being a "bruise job", not a "break job".

 

I've never been stuck because I always make sure the car is well supported before "going under". I rarely have anyone around when I'm working on the cars either. My dad beat it into my head at an early age to support the car, so I usually go overboard with the supports.

Bill

 

oktr6r-God a bumper jack, I haven't even heard anybody talk about those in years! Always seemed like an accident prone POS, in my opinion. Maybe they can be used safely, but I've never seen it done.

WildWilly68-yeah I'm the King of Jackstands now I try and put two under there and have the jack at the ready, just in case, and I push on the car like a linebacker to see if it's gonna slip off somehow.

Didn't somebody post a pic of a guy welding on a truck in the street with it almost at 90 degrees, held up by a long post?

I've driven through mexico/central america, and they will use *anything* there to jack up a car. The best is how a truck will warn you that it's broken down in the road around the next curve. Reflectors? Road flares? How about a stick in the ground with a bottle on it, or just light a small fire on the road I'm rambling...

 

I got pinned under my car once. But not like you are describing. My 1947 Mercury has a tilt frontend and a 392 Hemi. The shift cable adjustment is set by sliding the cable in and out. The engine has to be running, you press the Neutral ****on down and slide the cable until the transmission is in neutral and you are done. So the front end was tilted open, the engine was running and I reached under the floor and moved the cable, oops, too far, it went into drive. I moved the cable again, it shifted into reverse with a jerk hard enough that the front end closed, hitting me on the head, the car rolled back over my pants leg and I was trapped. I couldnt pull my pants leg out to get free, the car was trying to back over my leg, I couldnt reach the ignition to turn it off and to make the trap complete, now I couldnt reach the shift cable! And of course I was working alone.

 

so how did you get free?

 

He gnawed off his leg, how else?!?

 

He is still trapped, he sent the post from his PDA. Will a Hamber who lives close by please rescue him?

 

lol

maybe if he hits ctrl alt delete it will turn off the car....

 

Will our hero get free? Tune in tomorrow for the next installment of Mercury Theater Playhouse Garage!

 

i was t****d under my GRAND NATIONAL for three hours till my buddy showed up and got me out. jacked up back put on jack stands was wrestling out rear gears when i pushed on the housing front wheels rolled and BAM!!!!

 

Had a friend got stuck under his car, fixing the exhaust (he was alone). Took him 45 minutes to die. Not a nice way to go.
Had another friend got stuck under Buick fender, got away with a broken foot.

 

Damn...that would definitely not be a nice way to go.

 

My dad got pinned under an el camino of mine once. Kind of a long story. A guy gave me a pair of 80s elcaminos (I have one for a daily) parts cars, with the understanding that I would bring him back the rear end out of one of them. I had left the car at my dad's house since my yard was already full. I had pulled the rearend and returned it to its owner and the car was at his houose on jack stands. We had agreed that we would put a rear end my brother had pulled out of one of his camaros in it that saturday. Brother dropped the rearend off earlier in the week so everything is ready to go. I asked Pop several times to wait until I got there to start on it. Saturday came and I was waiting on my brother to come pick up a chain saw he was borrowing before heading over to Pops house to put the Camino back together. I'm standing on the porch talking to my brother when I get a frantic call on my cell phone saying "the car is on me I can't get it off". I yelled to my brother to go to Dad's house and then jumped in the truck and hauled ***. I called 911 on the way but we beat themthere. Since I hadn't told my brother why he jumped out of his truck with an axe and went chargiing through the front door. We went to the back yard, saw the car, rear quarters on the ground, and followed a trail of blood back into the kitchen. There we fund my dad laying on the floor with the hose from the sink spraying water on his head. Once he managed to catch his breath he explained what had happened. He had removed the jackstands and was letting the jack down when his 6 month old boxer went darting under the car. He grabbed the dogs collar and ended up falling forward with his head landing in the wheel well with the ill fitting rearend. He managed to fish out his cell phone and hit ****ons untl he heard a voice. THen he wiggled his way out. He had some nasty cuts on his face and had cut a flap through the top of his ear, but never lost consciousness. He *****ed about us calling the ambulance, who wouldn't leave until we promised to take him to the ER. When we got there all the Drs had to come see the guy who dropped a car on his head. Then came that fun call to Mom, who was out of town, ,"We're at the ER but Dad's going to be OK".... You get the picture.

 

Dang, some crazy stories.

I and another buddy, Chris, were doing a favor for our friend James. James raced autocross and was out racing one car but needed some things swapped in the suspension and brakes on another car. So, Chris and I said we'd help him out. It was a Friday afternoon that we started working on the Honda Crx... mind you this is not in a garage or anything like that - but the parking lot of our college campus. (Holy cow we did so much work there - differentials, exhausts, suspensions, even a 4x4 transmission and transfer case swap.)

But, we were under neath his car trying to break free some suspension bolts when we felt the car shudder and shake in an akward way. We both rolled out immediately and as our heads cleard the whole car just dropped to the ground.

Kinda freaky seeing the brake drums leave a giant gash in the asphalt where your head once was.

But, we jacked it back up, added some more jack stands... and had to keep going.

 

I got sorta pinned once. We were stripping out an old race car. I was undernieth wrestling with something and lifted it off the jackstands. Luckily it was light enough that I could hold it off my chest, but alas I could not get out from under it. My two buddies were there and lifted it off of me. It could have been a lot worse.

 

I never got stuck but once I was putting a 4 speed in a 61 Corvette and dropped it hitting myself in the head and was out cold for several minutes. Woke up seeing stars and had one hell of a knot on my head also. I never do transmission work now without a jack and another person to help. I will not get under a car unless it is properly braced with jack stands and a safety jack also.

 

I just lift them off me when they fall...............


Cause I'm the Juggernaught *****!!

 

I personally have never been stuck ubder a vehcle, but as a Paramedic, I have run a few calls where guys have been pinned. the last one was about a year ago when a feller was taking the driveshaft out of a '59 impala. had it up on a set of ramps. no blocking under the rear wheels. the car drug him out into the street, crushing his skull. he was DRT...........dead right there.

Vance

 

Damn right Ting. I havent seen that in a while. Funny as ****.

 

Actually, I've never had a car fall on me.

I make sure to have back up systems in place for my back up systems.

I'll use jack stands, cinderblock, rims, wood....and everything all at once.

It would be a miracle for the jack to fail, the cinderblock to crumble, and the wood to fall over making the old rims slip out from under the frame....all at once.


Plus, my car is 16" from the ground to the rockers anyhow.

I haven't used a jack in 2 years.

 

I'm pretty paranoid about supporting a car, I've had them slip before (not onto me thankfully) so now I go a bit overboard. Jack stands, the jack still in place and within a 1/2" of the frame (if I'm not using the jack for somethign else under there). And if I take a wheel off it gets tucked under the frame as well so if the jack stand and jack fail the wheel will keep the car off the ground .

 

I had a grand national race car drop on me. It wasn't fun but I was really lucky and it only bruised my leg when the frame rail smacked it. Other then that I was able to crawl out.

 

i had a race car roll of an old ramp truck we had and pin me under it,the ramps were not down and the car fell 3' onto me,broke my back,3 ribs,1 collerbone,my ankle,dislocated both hips,crushed my foot and many cuts,s****es,burns,stich's etc.it burst all the blood vessels in my eyes too.my eyes were blood red for months,the hospital would not let me use a mirror to see my face.
i missed 6 months work,and i still walk with a limp,30 years later.
you guys all need to use jackstands,and always have a buddy nearby.
my buddy and my girl picked that car up and i crawled out from under it somehow,i was under there for a few minutes.
randy

 

They are handy if you get a car stuck. Jack it up & push the jack over, repeat as needed until you're able to drive out. Not that I've ever had to do that or anything...

 

A couple of guys I knew died from cars falling...

Another had a girl jump into his 60's Pontiac while he was under it with just a bumper jack. It fell, smashing his skull. He recovered but has a permanent turn in his eye as a result.

A close friend had a Chevette slide off old tires and rims that were holding it up, pinning him but he managed to squeeze out somehow. You should have seen the marks on his forearms from trying to lift the car with them! Lucky man to have gotten out at all.
Another time he was cutting a part off a wreck at a s****yard. It was being held by the forklift.
The forks tilted because of a leak or something and the car slid forward trapping him against another car and screwed up his back for life.

I use 6 ton jackstands now on everything...plus tossing the tires or drive on ramps under as well. I'm nervous as hell because I usually work alone inside a garage well away from the house.
Theres only one person I can count on to keep me safe. ME.

 

I've always just kept my old jacks as my dailies went to s****. The bottle jacks that come in toyota pickups are decent 2nd and 3rd tier backups. I usually work alone as well and also keep my cell phone in my pocket - it might not help, but it sure might.....

 

You know thats something I HAVEN'T been doing, but I'm gonna start from now on! Too damn obvious for me I guess...
I picked up the thing so I wouldn't be stuck on the road somewhere, but it'll work just as well in my coverall pocket and could be a life saver.