K1NGZ gearbox is kaput, another box is sitting ready to be fitted and the tired old auto is now out and destined for the scrap bin ( yes its still working but has issues if your chasing a rebuilder ..... ) after all the work by the boys yesterday in dropping the old box out, we were all having a spell ( except for me because of my back injury so acting as 'foreman' drifting between the rows of cars that were around the shed needing work done on em) ...... fitting driving lights to VT, new power antenna to a VT and a VS Statesman, replacing the ultra low coils on a VS to lows for a RWC, fixing my multimeter, fixing my testlight, ripping the plenum off of a Z1........ etc etc etc etc ..... so..... all of a sudden K1NGZ lurches sideways and the rear passengers side drops dramatically to the floor, the car is balanced in a rather bad position and I get everyone the hell out of the way incase it falls further ( thank god no-one was under the car at the time but Stephen had been only moments earlier) It took nearly and hour to secure the car and get it back down onto the ground ...... slow n steady as she goes boys..... luckily no damage to the people around the car at the time and the car is also unscathed What had happened was one of the "safety stands" had colapsed Nope, not a torn pin hole as we've seen recently but the actual baseplate to upright conection had failed completely The 'post' weld had sheered completely along one side thus allowing a sideways movement and subsquent folding over of the stand and the enevitable falling car. After the car was grounded safely I inspected all the stands and found stress fractures in all bar 1 stand it was just a question of when it was all going to fail not how in hindsight! Stand 1: as said.... failed weld / stress fractures at post to baseplate connection Stand 2: support plate (at the top of the stand) one side sheered off completely Stand 3: baseplate to post conection distorted, approxamately 20degrees out of square, visiable stress fractures. stand 4: basicaly unmarked although the baseplate has some buckling from the fall I''ve had these stands for over 20years now and they have seen a multitude of cars sitting on them on a regular basis....... time for a new set Any good stands out there ??????? all I've seen so far online is of a lesseer quality than the now wornout set I own. either I find another set that will last me out ..... or it looks like I'll be manafacturing my own. Kingy
I assume they were they the square base vartiety? I've got the pyramid style ones which I got from a gasweld tool shop. Seem nice and sturdy with solid construction and ratcheting lift (not the pin type) There are some dodgy stands out there, so safety first for me. I've had jacks fail in the past, so the extra cost is offset by all the karma they should bring me
Seconded Mitch. Pyramid style are safer, particularly when jacking front or back end at a time, as it makes the flat based style ones rock/flex more than the rigid pyramid style.
x3 They are the sort I use also. I have a pair of small ones (2,000kg rated from memory) & a pair of large ones (4,000kg rated). I bought them from Bursons, they are the same as Mitch posted but blue
What happens if you kick the ratchet accidentally while you're under the car? Or are they load locked?
The weight of the vehicle is resting on the ratchet. So the way its designed means that to undo the ratchet, the lifting shaft actually has to move UP. ie... no load on it at all.
I hate hearing these stories. So so lucky that no one was injured. Makes you think we all need to inspect our tooling and safety items more regularly. Its the simple items we use daily that gets you in the end. I too also use the pyramid stands. These to be specific. Sparex branded. S.27320 AXLE STAND-6000KG (PAIR) Supplied as a pair. Always use on firm, level surfaces. Min/Max height: 379mm/597mm. Safe working load per pair: 6000kg. Adjustable, telescopic axle stands with locking mechanism. Formed steel frame construction. And i can get them for - $62.05 inc GST (for the pair). They're cheap but they are no different than the ones my old man bought years ago from a reputable store for $110 each. These come from a supplier of ours through work. They also do bigger ones, as in load and height. Happy to hook you up with them if you should desire. Ive owned 4 of them for a few years now with no ill effects. Currently 2 are on long-ish term loan to a mate whos building a rally car. So far its been around 6 months that the cars been on them. haha. For the players at home. Play Safe!
Yep I use them too. The only complaint I have is that my jack wont get the car up high enough to get the stands under. I have to do it in two passes using an older shorter set of stands for the first lift. Maybe I have jumbo sized ones. Once the car is up on all four, you could have a party in under there. Anyway, they are solid as a rock, and as Mitch says, there is no way to release the ratchet with a car sitting on top.
I use those type of stands as well, and as an added safety measure always place some old wheels with tryes under the car as well. They take up a bit of room but act as a good backstop if the stands let go.
