Axle Stand safety

[Steve AKA vitessesteve]

I have just treated myself to another set of axle stands.  On reading the specification leaflet that came with them it says do not work under lifted vehicles.  I had always been told not to work under a car being lifted by a trolley jack and that axle stands were safe to work under.  What do you think?

[Keith]

It does rather defeat the object, probably best not to go near the car at all, just to be on the safe side. ::)

[Richard B]

So, how are you supposed to change a gearbox...


Health 'n Safety gone made. (just covering themselves)


"Do not use four axle stands on one vehicle."


Personally I'd return them as "not fit for purpose" and buy some others...  8)

[Steve P]

So changing a fuel pipe under a Herald at 6am in a layby near Inverness in the rain with a scissor jack isnt safe then?
S

[nicmk1est]

shear madness  ;D

[Nick Jones]

redoxideVit wrote:

So changing a fuel pipe under a Herald at 6am in a layby near Inverness in the rain with a scissor jack isnt safe then?
S

Not really.  Nor sane (arguable  :P).  But obviously survivable most of the time.  :)

If the axles stands can't hold the car up with sufficient certainty to allow access beneath, I'd say that they are unfit for purpose.   Better use some bricks or breeze blocks, or maybe some nice thick logs.....

Nick

[bxbodger]

Common sense says you need some sort of back-up, I also put a stack of two or three wheels underneath - i wouldn't go under anything just on axle stands, either two or four! I do wonder at times about the possibility of metal fatigue in these things, my ramps are about 35 years old now, I have three sets of axle stands, two sets are of a similar age, and one set is newish, but described as 'folding'.....

[Greeks]

I had an axle stand sink into a tarmac driveway once and tip.

Incredibly it caught on the underside of a good solid panel and held... with my Dad's assistance. Needless to say I always use some sort of backup nowadays. Unless i'm rushing for dinner  :P

[Richard B]

Now days I only go under the cars when the jacks are on concrete. These are the stands I use;

http://www.sgs-engineering.com/jsr6-ratchet-axle-stands?___store=sgs_en&___store=sgs_en&gclid=CIO20aqPscECFfHKtAodXhwAgA



As they are rated at 6 tons (each) I have little concern about them failing due to 'fatigue' with a mere ton and a half of saloon on them.

[Stuart Wilson]

oops when working on my rally car I often have it lifted up and on four stands

[Steve AKA vitessesteve]

I have asked Silverline Tools for their input as sellers of the my new axle stands.  I do not expect an answer as they are probably stopped by health and safety concerns from saying that their axle stands are actually safe.

Richard my stands look very similar to those but cost less.  Same shape, same dimensions and spec just blue instead of black.

[marktheherald]

Siverline?.................. ??)        

[DGGT6]

I have seen some of these ratcheting type stands "slip" and drop!
There was a roll pin in the ratcheting mechanism that while it did not take any actual weight, it was bent and allowed the "finger" (that jams between the ratchet teeth and the stand body that actually holds the weight) to move away from the ratchet teeth and allow the post to drop! The only good thing about this was it was SO loose that it dropped under its own weight before you had used it in anger.

The axle stand manual may be referring to a car being raised/held up by a JACK as "lifted" and hence the statement  Do not work under a "lifted" car.

Wording for standards can be really silly, often written by someone with no practical experience with the object.
I have seen bottle jacks fail testing because the lettering of the warning label was 4.8mm high and not 5.0mm! Another jack passed as it met the standard of a 30mm top cap. The next batch came through still with a 30mm top cap but with a chamfer around the top edge, reducing the top surface to 28.5mm and therefore failed!


Cheers,
Doug

[DougBGT6]

I once had a scissor jack topple over and deposit my GT6 into a flower bed. The car was OK but the flowers were not. I was in deep trouble!  ??)

These days, get it up with a bottle jack, slip in an axel stand, spare tyre and some wooden blocks my Dad made out of ceiling joists. Then it's safe for my son-in-law to go under.  ;D

[Andy Flexney]

I usually back up the axle stands with breeze blocks and house bricks as well as big pieces of wood. In fact there is so much stuff under the car there is hardly any space left to work

AndyF

[Greeks]

The best thing about this thread is that i've learnt the French for axle stands: 'chandelles a cremaillere.'

Roughly on topic thought is a reminder to all to check your jacks every now and then. I noticed a large nut missing off my trolley jack last weekend ... could have  been nasty :o

[MarkDeTriomphe]

Richard_B wrote:

Health 'n Safety gone mad.

  


No idea who this is by the way  :o

And you really don't want to see what the axle stands were actually holding up!

[JohnD]

Bricks, OK-ish, although if you can build a high enough stack of loose, unmortared bricks, respect.

Breeze blocks, while they can build a wall, are not designed to be strong enough to withstand point pressure, as the underside of a car will exert.  Only the flat (and mortared) surface of the next block.    They WILL crack and crumble in this application!

Wood's best, as it it remarkably strong in compression and resistant to cracking, especially if made into a "crib block": http://www.myturbodiesel.com/wiki/wood-cribbing-block-diy-for-raising-the-car-in-addition-to-jack-stands/

I know, I know, I'm an H&S bore, but there are few enough Triumpheros!
JOhn

[Dogsbody47uk]

John is right. Both blocks and bricks can crumble... Good solid timber is the best backup.

[Tim Hunt]

When at home I simply use a trolley jack anywhere under the 4A chassis using a piece of hardwood to spread the load and protect the surface.  I then lower the chassis on to logs which are about ten inches in diameter by twelve inches. These logs were cut from a neighbour's Eucalyptus tree over thirty years ago and are still in perfect shape with no splits. When out I would use the scissor jack to lift the car to change a wheel but would never get under it unless I could find some solid additional support to put under the chassis for insurance.

Tim

[nang]

Here's mine, belt and braces....along with other misc. junk.
Tony.

[CRAJ]

I have a generic, small, two tonne trolley jack that I keep in whichever car we are using at the time. This also goes on the RBRR with us along with a single axle stand. I don't like or trust scissor jacks even for a wheel change, but obviously I don't have the same space constraints in a big saloon.

Colin

[Richard B]

MarkDeTriomphe wrote:

No idea who this is by the way  :o

Really; those ramps, they look familiar.... :-/

[MarkDeTriomphe]

Richard_B wrote:

Really; those ramps, they look familiar.... :-/

I understand they're still in use 24 years after that photo was taken ;)

As has been pointed out above, you can't beat wood for supporting heavy objects.