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  •  » Car fell on me yesterday...how was your weekend?

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    4/09/2018 7:34 AM  #1

    TremendousWand
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    Registered: 5/16/2013
    Posts: 657

    Car fell on me yesterday...how was your weekend?

    Replacing the rear suspension on my 66 stang.  All the hardware was fused solid.  The air shocks some dumb*** had put on there were both busted.  A ratchet and a breaker bar and a bunch of spray on anti-seize only resulted in snapping off the first bolt.  Even the shock plate was warped.

    Time for the sawzall.

    Thankfully my wife was with in shouting distance and the car was on rollers which gave it a little extra height.  When I cut the last u-bolt the car bottomed out and the gas tank smashed down on my chest.  Not enough to break anything but enough weight that I wasn't movin.  My wife had to learn how to operate a floor jack through me yelling at her from under the car.  Got out of there and went and got some jack stands.

    ​lesson learned:  When cutting u-bolts to remove leave springs the car will suddenly bottom out once you relieve the tension.  Also, marry a good girl who is calm and cool under pressure and only calls you an idiot after she's got you out of a bind.

     

    4/09/2018 9:30 AM  #2

    MS
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    From: Canyon Lake, Texas
    Registered: 1/24/2013
    Posts: 12,308

    Re: Car fell on me yesterday...how was your weekend?

    You just can’t fool physics.

    Money you enjoy wasting is NOT wasted money... unless your wife finds out.
     

    4/09/2018 10:37 AM  #3

    Michael H.
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    From: Laurel, MS
    Registered: 4/01/2013
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    Re: Car fell on me yesterday...how was your weekend?

    Close call... glad you're ok!

     

    4/09/2018 10:51 AM  #4

    Hornman
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    From: Mansfield, Texas
    Registered: 4/01/2013
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    Re: Car fell on me yesterday...how was your weekend?

    You came that close to winning a Darwin award.

     

    4/09/2018 10:51 AM  #5

    Bolted to Floor
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    From: Houston, Texas
    Registered: 4/01/2013
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    Re: Car fell on me yesterday...how was your weekend?

    My weekend was a lot better than yours by far. Glad to hear you are ok.
    So, as I try to picture this, tires are on the car, its sitting on rollers for mobility, with no jack stands under the frame as you cut the U-bolts on the rearend??

    Somewhere in the last year, I was going to remove the U-bolt for the rear end to do something. Don't remember at this point what it was, but the car was already on jack stands. I was working on the first nut when I thought about what a pain it was to work around the jack stand......then the light bulb turned on. My jack stands were still under the rear end, not frame. Doubt I had tires on it at that point.

    We should take a few minutes to think about what we are doing and the end result.

    John  -- 67 Mustang Coupe 390 5 speed
     

    4/09/2018 12:10 PM  #6

    Bentworker
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    Re: Car fell on me yesterday...how was your weekend?

    Doh!

    Glad you are okay.

     

    4/09/2018 12:14 PM  #7

    Steve69
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    From: Madison Wisconsin
    Registered: 4/01/2013
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    Re: Car fell on me yesterday...how was your weekend?

    Glad your ok!  We've all been there at some point! 

     

    4/09/2018 2:11 PM  #8

    Mochaman
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    From: Royse City, Texas
    Registered: 4/02/2013
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    Re: Car fell on me yesterday...how was your weekend?

    I ran over myself with my own truck. Not the proudest moment in life. But I lived to tell the story over a beer.
     

     

    4/09/2018 2:13 PM  #9

    Greg B
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    Re: Car fell on me yesterday...how was your weekend?

    Sorry to hear this, Im glad you survived.  A few years ago, I came upon a couple of guys that were in the process of removing their rear axle.  They had the car up on jackstands under the rear axle.   Ive posted about it on here before.  I always figured I unknowingly saved a life that day.   If it will make you feel better, I have had a Darwin moment myself.  And someone on this forum actually seen the carnage.   It happens to us all.  

    Last edited by Greg B (4/09/2018 2:15 PM)

    If multiple things can go wrong, the one that will go wrong will be the one that causes the most damage.
     

    4/09/2018 2:58 PM  #10

    BillyC
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    From: Chesapeake, Va.
    Registered: 4/02/2013
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    Re: Car fell on me yesterday...how was your weekend?

    You've got to beware of mean old Mr. Gravity! Glad you're ok. I'm sure you won't do that again.

    "anyone that stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty"Henry Ford
     

    4/09/2018 4:04 PM  #11

    TKOPerformance
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    From: Newark, DE
    Registered: 12/15/2014
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    Re: Car fell on me yesterday...how was your weekend?

    Enjoy the remaining 8 of your lives.  Wow!  Glad you're okay.  Scary stuff!

     

    4/09/2018 6:53 PM  #12

    Ron68
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    From: Mukilteo, Washington
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    Re: Car fell on me yesterday...how was your weekend?

     Wow - you were very lucky. I had a friend drop a 283 in a 57 Chevy on his stomach. His mom had to jack the engine off him. He spent a month in the hospital with internal injuries.Gotta use those jack stands....

    68 coupe - 351W, 4R70W, 9" 3.25 -- 65 convertible - 289 4v, C4, 8" 3.00
     

    4/09/2018 6:56 PM  #13

    6sally6
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    From: Surfside Beach,SC
    Registered: 4/02/2013
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    Re: Car fell on me yesterday...how was your weekend?

    This would prolly worked better!

    Get busy Liv'in or get busy Die'n....Host of the 2020 Bash at the Beach/The only Bash that got cancelled  )8
     

    4/09/2018 8:37 PM  #14

    Alan
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    From: Axtell KS
    Registered: 4/03/2013
    Posts: 517

    Re: Car fell on me yesterday...how was your weekend?

    Mine wasn't so bad, got a new grandson, 7lb 2oz Cooper Alan.
    Daughters wasn't so good. Her washing machine broke and flooded her whole house. Insurance adjuster coming tomorrow morning.

    i also ran over myself with my 67 so I know the duh moment.







     

    Last edited by Alan (4/09/2018 8:38 PM)

    67 Coupe, 5.0 EEC IV Fuel injected. T5, 3:70 rear
     

    4/09/2018 11:08 PM  #15

    Muzz 66
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    From: Madera, California
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    Re: Car fell on me yesterday...how was your weekend?

    6sally6 wrote:

    This would prolly worked better!

    At least that rear wheel is chocked!
    And glad you lived to tell the tale there, 'wand!

    Last edited by Muzz 66 (4/09/2018 11:10 PM)

    '66 Fastback since July 27, 1981. Springtime Yellow, originally a 200 cu in, 4 speed. Also a '92 LX Coupe, 5.0, 5 speed.
     

    4/10/2018 7:28 AM  #16

    almcgee
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    From: Fairview, Texas
    Registered: 6/01/2013
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    Re: Car fell on me yesterday...how was your weekend?

    You are lucky to be alive!  A safety plea to everyone; "Please use jack stands any time you are under the car."

    Mustang Steve Bash in Gruene, Texas September29-30, 2023
     

    4/10/2018 12:54 PM  #17

    Chaplin
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    Re: Car fell on me yesterday...how was your weekend?

    Yikes. Glad you are ok. The importance of jack stands cannot be over stated. I had a friend in high school whose car fell on him. He is no longer with us.

     

    4/10/2018 3:01 PM  #18

    TKOPerformance
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    From: Newark, DE
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    Re: Car fell on me yesterday...how was your weekend?

    Another reason I enjoy having a lift, because when that thing's on the locks its not going anywhere.  However, I still have two and a half full sets of jack stands that I still use when its unnecessary or impractical to put the vehicle up on the lift.  I credit having spent my life since the age of 12 in construction with being very safety conscious.  I've seen so many people get hurt for stupid, careless reasons.  I've also taken the OSHA safety courses and had in house safety people visit my jobs (when I worked for larger companies).  Seemingly innocuous things like an extension cord in a hallway can cause serious injury or worse.  Time spent on safety is never time wasted.  Construction is inherently dangerous, and so is working on cars.  Respecting (not fearing) that danger is why I still have all my fingers, both eyes, etc.  The occasional knuckle scrape, etc. is going to happen.  The trick is not pushing the envelope. 

     

    8/02/2018 11:32 PM  #19

    val fulesday
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    Registered: 9/23/2013
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    Re: Car fell on me yesterday...how was your weekend?

    I wasn't so lucky, pickup frame hit me in the chest good news was the cheap creeper flexed. still separated my cartilage. bruised from my back of shoulders to the back of my knees. the last time I helped my father in law change a clutch. he wasn't as lucky broken pelvis.
     

    Last edited by val fulesday (8/02/2018 11:33 PM)

     

    8/03/2018 10:02 PM  #20

    Ron68
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    From: Mukilteo, Washington
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    Re: Car fell on me yesterday...how was your weekend?

    Wow - you were lucky! Years ago a good friend was pulling the engine on a '57 Chevy. He didn't have everything set up properly and something slipped and the 283 landed on his stomach. His mom had to work the jack to get the engine off him enough so he could get out. He was in intensive care for a couple of weeks with internal injuries.

    68 coupe - 351W, 4R70W, 9" 3.25 -- 65 convertible - 289 4v, C4, 8" 3.00
     

    8/03/2018 10:21 PM  #21

    val fulesday
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    Re: Car fell on me yesterday...how was your weekend?

    I was pined under the pick up by the frame. for a period of time I thought that I was able to push the truck up enough to get out. then I realized what happened was the creeper flexed just enough as I pushed up against the bottom of the pick up to get out

     

    8/05/2018 7:50 PM  #22

    DC
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    From: Marshall, MI
    Registered: 4/01/2013
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    Re: Car fell on me yesterday...how was your weekend?

    Back in the day, my brother and I were putting a new exhaust on my Dad's Buick it was 1959? But our jack stands looked a lot like cement blocks. Had a bottle jack lifting car and it popped out and that 56 Century Wagon came down on those blocks while I was under there. First block turned to gravel but next one stayed together! I was able to squeeze out and have owned more jack stands than any other person on earth since then!!!

     

     

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