My son's an enthusiast DIYer who yesterday swapped out his shocks. It gave me pride and comfort to see the whole car on stands with all 4 wheels underneath as an added safety measure. The jack was there to lift the car then moved out of the way so it wasn't a tripping hazard
I always put my car's wheels underneath the chassis somewhere near to where I'm gonna be laying under it, just as an added safety incase the unthinkable happens. (Like when one mechanic bumped another car that was on jack stands, and it fell off the stands. Luckily nobody was under it) Accidents can happen very quickly.
He's a tool and not educated enough in the trade to discuss these days. I bet he doesn't know how EFI works. Ask him how )2 sensors work and how to find out if the upstream one or the downstream one is faulty. I be the "expert" has no idea. I bet many would have no idea what I'm talking about. Yet this clown is feeding you all dribble and you all listen as though it's fact what he says.
Great video. I was always wary of the ratchet type jack stands until I watched the hydraulic press channel, they tested the jacks to breaking point and every one tested performed way above advertised load rating. It's actually kind of comforting knowing how strong decent jack stands are.
Jack stands and earthquakes here in Japan are almost like washing your car then it rains 😂 only issue is the amount of oh sh-it level when you under the car and it happens. Nearly as much fun as riding on a Chinese built roller coaster.
Thank you John as my brother in law died from a car falling on him I thank you for helping us to stay safe. Love your work always and telling how it is with no bullshit.
That used to be the easiest thing to work out, but over the last 20years, things have changed. What Looks to be a safe place, and might be, can actually bend parts of the car. It might not be obvious straight away, but you sure do find out when getting your wheel alignment done. I haven't done this personally, but have heard of people dong it. The owners manual usually gives jacking points, and most times there is usually a centre front and back to allow you to use stands under the jack points along the sills, which you will damage unless you use something between the stands and sills. Most mechanics will just use the subframe etc. Having said all of that, I think your comment was talking about the safety side of things, and I agree, it's a topic that warrants more conversation.
Thanks John. Another excellent safety video. Good to know a simple way of differentiating grey iron, ductile iron and steel. Grey iron, incidentally, was used for the scope mount on the British No. 4 Mk 1 (T) sniper rifle which served, in updated form, from 1940ish till the 1980s. Given the mass of the complete rifle, the loads imposed on the mount would have been inconsequential. Armourers did, however, get plenty of practice replacing the screws on the base for that mount and also staking the replacement screws to minimise subsequent movement. P.S. As a carpenter, it never ceases to amaze me that people consider a concrete block, which is basically a brittle piece of permanent boxing, to be an adequate load bearing support for a corner of a motor vehicle.
Grey iron is a good material if suited to the application. It's awesome to drill, turn and mill. (I didn't know that about the rifle scope mounts... I wonder why ductile iron wasn't used.)
@@AutoExpertJC I just recalled that they originally specified malleable cast iron BUT there was an authorised change to grey iron. No reason is supplied in the standard text published by Ian Skennerton but I suspect that it was related to other wartime production priorities. Cheers from NZ🇳🇿. Keep up the good work. My view is, that if you are not pissing people off, you are not pushing them to really think!
*"...it never ceases to amaze me that people consider a concrete block,..to be an adequate load bearing support "* Better yet is when said use of concrete block involves lying it on its side!
Also worth mentioning for those that are looking at lifting all four wheels off the ground, avoid jacking up vehicles from side to side. Front to rear is best. otherwise the vehicle's chassis may flex or the vehicle's suspension may move the vehicle to one side. Causing the Jack stand to move under the chassis and in extreme cases, skip a tooth on the rachet mechanism under the uneven amount of weight. I feel like that contributes to those statistics as well. I experienced a similar senario back when i was a kid learning to work in my first car. I jacked up the car side to side, unknowingly the car was sort of twisted sitting on the stands. replaced my first ever set if brake pads and discs. As I had opened the driver's door to pump the brake pedal bleeding the brakes. the jack stand on the left hand front slipped off the chassis rail and dented the passenger's floor pan crushing the fuel feed line in the process... That turned out to be an expensive lesson right there. 🙃
I ALWAYS, keep the trolley jack in place under the front or rear crossmember whilst having jack stands in place. The bulk of the weight is on the stands and just light pressure on the jack. That's just my way of adding another layer of safety. But in essence, jack stands are pretty safe. Use them correctly and appropriately and you'll never have an issue.
Same, along with any wheel/wheels I've removed. I figure while none of it will hold the car up properly like the jack stands, the jack + wheels will give me a couple of seconds to get out in the event that it all goes pear shaped.
@@davidshepherd265 same here easy enough to put the wheel under out of the way.always good to have 4 stands too so if a pair is in use you won't gamble not using them for a diff project
love the rost at the start. also with the jack stand failure, I remember something about a recall (?on Harbor freight?) in US of A which stated something about the welds on the lower frame being porous and cracking or similar.
Well said John. Love the videos and the honest reviews, especially the engineering explanations. I teach engineering and technology in secondary schools, and love the no bs and humour of your videos. Keep up the good work,
Glad I didn’t skip ahead..the first part was awesome. When will some people realize that not everything revolves around them? The extent of their freedom should not encroach on yours. In other words if you don’t like it don’t watch it. Don’t expect the content, or anything else for that matter, to change to suit you.
Hollow concrete blocks are notorious for crushing. Bloke here in paradise, aka, NZ, aka, the lair of Jacinda, saw one of his neighbours working under his car. A few hours later saw him still there so wandered over and found the bloke expired! He’d used concrete blocks to support the car and one had been crushed. Wasn’t a particularly quick death either as the car came down on his sternum and he’d more or less suffocated!
There is more to concrete blocks than instantly meets the eye. There's two basic varieties heavy and light blocks. Though the light ones aren't particularly light themselves. But they're half the weight of a heavy. Most common block is still lightweight. Blocks also have a top and a bottom. One face is fat and flat. I bet the victim used a block standing up. Blocks are weaker standing up than laying down. That and blocks are brittle. So steel right on a block can split it. Some wood cushioning may have made the difference? Also fresh blocks tend to be soft. Concrete takes a while to reach full strength.
I'm Aboriginal. However I'm getting fed up with the Aboriginal apologies every week. I appreciate how the British pulled me out of the stone age & gave me a great life in Australia.
Thanks for the heads-up John. My old stands are going in the bin tomorrow. I haven't used them for years, but I will remove the temptation in case I need to grab one quickly in the future. And yes, you do tend to prattle on a bit sometimes, but that is inherent in your style. Keep it up.
One weakness you didn't mention... the point on the car that your placing the stand, or for that matter the jack! I once jacked up an old, rusty Simca using the jack points on the chassis only to have it slowly crush into the body. Needless to say that car was scrapped as unsafe. I've also placed stands at points on the chassis I thought were strong but that buckled as I lowered the jack. It's important to use the manufacturers recommended jack points and stand location points and stay clear until you're sure the vehicle is stable.
My 1970's stands are just like they were made of water pipe and the uprights are welded into inverted "Soup Plates" and this makes them most satisfactory for use on grass, wheras those with "Legs:" will just sink in and are useless, height adjust by steel rods running through.
John, I just love your reports, plain and simple, as is. They are some of the funniest and informative material on UA-cam. Keep up the good work in what ever form you so desire mate.
Decided not to skip the first 5 minutes, and didn't regret it. Loved it, in fact. People will always find something to whinge about, it's always been the case, it's just that in today's day and age, their voices, or rather, comments, are louder and stick forever online. Speak your mind and let haters be haters. Another great video BTW!
Great piece. Like you say, the weakest link is usually the operator, not the equipment. I won't go anywhere near a jacked car without proper stands, even if it's for 30 seconds. Safety is no.1 and things can go wrong very quickly
Great video John. One thing, use Jack stands on a level floor, preferably a concrete floor. I finally purchased a QuickJack to do my vehicle maintenance, much safer and 24” (60 centimeters) of level, locked work space. Cheers from Northeast Ohio!
Thanks for making yet another interesting and information packed video. You know your subject, and conduct your own research. And one of the best things that you do is to encourage folks to use safe practices, while working on their cars, not just count your fingers at the start and finish of the day, to see if there's been an accident.
Nice demo of shavings. I recently learned about the importance of the fixed end of a ratchet spanner / breaker bar of a socket set. Never tighten or loosen a bolt with a ratchet, because the ratchet is the weakest part of the tool. Tightening or loosening is done with the fixed part. Ratchets are only for removing or driving the bolt into place. So obvious now.
Bravo John! Love these. As a backyard engineer, the science never lies. Makes me feel better when I use my knowledge in real situations. A second voice feels better. Thanks Mate. (in a Canuckistan way)
@@Rampart.X definitely has. They tend to brittle fail as they do not bend, just break without warning. Blocks of wood will usually give some indication before failing. These jack stands are a much better option in nearly all cases
If you don't understand what you're working with I'd agree with you. But if you know a bit about block you can get a lot of performance out of it. Don't use a block standing up. That's mistake number one. Don't put something hard right on the block either. Like a steel vehicle frame. Have a piece of wood in there. Use a heavy block and not a light one. I'd use a block the way it'd be laid too. That'd be fat side up.
I bought a "cost effective" jack with a short handle. Taking my car off the jack stands the car slipped off the jack and I got squashed by the rear bumper striking my right shoulder (I was laying on my left shoulder) as I had to reach way under the rear of the car to reach the jack handle. 12 broken bones and a punctured lung in about 7 milliseconds. Great video!
I do mag particle and visual inspection on these stands from time to time. The cheap ones used in professional enviroments develope weld cracks. Just be aware of the seam welds near the base and the weld around the neck. Usually the cracks start in the crater (termination point) of the weld and progress from there. I often have to request that they get run through the parts washer before I arrive. So clean the grease off and have a look every 6 months to a year. For a homeowner the stand will probably outlive you so just have a glance at it every 5 years or so. If its bent or missing paint have good look in those areas.
There's a channel here on YT where a guy compresses/smashes various objects with a hydraulic press. Most of the videos are meaningless and just for fun. However there was a video a few months back that did jack stands. It was amazing to see that even the cheapest ones failed a lot beyond their rated capacity. So if anyone wants to put his fears on rest even more, go search for it and watch a 2000KG stand brake at 8000KG of load, or a 3000KG stand brake at 12000KG of load. It just shows how much margin the engineers put on their designs. So, I guess as soon as you stay within their rated load, the only thing you have to worry is the way you use them, and not if they can handle the load!
Thanks John, I just put the car up on stands for an oil/filter change and quickly decided that I'll just leave the trolley jack in place under the crossmember and work around it instead of backing it off out of the way., seems wise to have a last line of defence if anything goes sideways.
My brother had run his Holden’s front wheels onto the ramps and I prevented him from jacking up the diff by reminding him that only the back wheels are held by the handbrake.
I have to say that what you said about the filings (if that's what you call them) from the test drilling of various pats really has educated me as a layman. Thankyou
Nice overview of the jack-stand functionality. Had a scary experience working (playing) with my car. Had the car up on 4 quality jack-stands and was removing the complete rear end for an overhaul. Removed one rear shackle and then when I removed the second, the differential dropped and the car teeter-tottered on the front jack-stands and the rear of the car went up completely off of the rear jack-stands and the front rested on the front wheels. Luckily for me I was in the back of the car. Also lucky that the front jack-stands were quality ones holding up the whole weight of the car. Learned my lesson, when I do something like this, I also put some jack-stands under the front of the car to make sure it won't drop. Thanks for the great videos. Best Regards - Mike
I agree completely. I have been doing this,(lifting vehicles) for over 60 years. I always jack up and leave. Add jack stands. Then always put the wheel under the sill. That mother's ain't going to crush me, if I can help it!!!!
I've been watching your channel now for about 3 years and I've always loved your engineering explanations you're wit and humor but the fact that there's no b******* there's always people that'll be offended please don't change cheers from Atlantic Canada👍😎🇨🇦
I had a 4WD van fall off a jack a couple of months ago. I was trying to get it up high enough to get the stand under and the jack supplied with the vehicle was too high to get under the proper jacking point when the tire was completely flat (15mm wide piece of sheet steel through the tread). This was on a flat concrete slab and I was luckily not under the vehicle at the time. My personal policy is that I only reach under a vehicle to place the stand/s, never crawl under a vehicle while it's only on a jack. The most dangerous time to be under a vehicle is when only the JACK is supporting it, even on a stable surface.
I’ve been lifting cars since I was kiddo about a hundred years ago and I still so wary of getting under to do the stands, luckily my trolley jack handle is a handy pusher/puller tool for the job. It hurts my brain when I still hear on the news from time to time a bloke has died yet again from being squashed.
I agree wholeheartedly...people sometimes don't think, and will even use the stands, but the surface they're on could be a dirt road. Not realizing that as soon as they focus the vehicle weight on a small surface like the jack stands legs, they could sink into the soft road surface, unbalancing the load on top. That's just one simple way you have vehicle drops or slide offs.
Hi John. Thank you for sharing your knowledge on jack stands. Thank you also for the 5.16min time stamp lol. Didn’t know about the different grades of cast iron. I’m always shit scared getting under my vehicle at home, even though the jack stands look similar to yours. I leave the floor jack in place for added insurance. I’ll be checking my jack stands tomorrow for the AS number too. Regards
Good video John , thanks for your expertise , i have found over the years is to purchase some good quality jack and stands for doing anything like that sort of work at home . It pays to be smart . Dont change anything in your format its makes the channel different . good work
Hi John 😊 well done mate on clearing the jack off stand safety issue, those stands you demo's look a good bit of kit. Safety when trying to do your own repairs is a bit like common sense, not too common whith some people, I've used axle stands in the past and always put the wheels under the vehicle as well just in case, or some extra large blocks of solid wood, anything to stop it dropping all the way to the floor whith your's truly turning into a jam sandwich. As for the B'S, and the swearing, I say don't change a thing mate. The only gripe I have is where's the Ming Molls got to, they gave your videos shall we say a truly rounded, warm feeling, lol. Any hoo , cheers mate, best wishe's to you and your's, Stuart UK.
Great video on a subject that did need some addressing John. as a woman with a varied career over the years including 3 years working in an iron foundry in the early 80's I did learn a bit in my time there. and as you mentioned, ductile iron is an extremely strong form of iron, with properties more closely related to steel than your normal grey iron as you pointed out. the foundry I worked in used several different cast iron alloys, ranging from ones with an extremely high corrosion/ abrasion resistance, know as Nihard 1 and Nihard 4, but they were an extremely brittle iron when it came to tensile strength. another with extreme corrosion resistance for use in the chemical industry was 27% chrome iron. again, perfect for use in environments where corrosion and abrasion resistance were critical, but tensile strength were not. then there was what we called SG Iron, which was very soft with poor wear qualities, but was more like steel in that it would bend rather than crack or break under high / excessive load conditions. I thing the biggest issue with people using jack stands, and lifting devices as well is the numpty factor, EG, not using common sense and taking various environmental factors into account..then wondering why their car has fallen over.
I've watched a lot of your videos John (thanks for your work), but this is the best so far. Was cheering your anti-wokeness and enjoyed your obvious love of material science.
Another great Video John. It reminds me of the flimsy jacks that are supplied with your car. You know the ones that you need to use in less than ideal conditions. I had a flat tyre once on the side of the M4 Motorway. I had the ute up on the jack and loosened off the nuts and it fell off the jack, fortunately the tyre was still in place and held it. But I confirmed that I did have the jack in the correctly marked spots as shown in the manual, but it still failed anyway. I work for a large employer with a large fleet and I asked them to raise it with the car company, it went nowhere! So I'm more concerned about the safety of the car supplied Jacks than those from auto shops.
@@orion7741 LOL, Sorry, didn't realise that was you looking over my shoulder. I followed the instructions. Was that the wrong thing to do? Why didn't you say something??
I remember seeing a guy who was working on his small car, and he must have accidently tweaked the handle of the jackstand by 1/8th of an inch with the handle of his spanner, which caused the jackstand to drop the car onto him. Luckily he had his head and his upper torso outside of the car and was able to yell to his neighbour to come and help him which arrived quickly. But if he had been working on a family sized car or 4wd and had his head outside of the car he would probably have suffocated under that car. Extremely luckily for him, he escaped with minor bruising -to his body AND ego, but the point is those jackstands are supposed to lock until the weight of the car is removed and that did NOT happen, thats is why I only use the type with the pin that goes thru and NEVER get under a car that is only supported by only a jack.
I like the ratchet and pin type one, I had a ratchet only type drop a tooth while I was under a car 💩 I've never felt comfortable under a car since... even with extra stands and wheels slid under the sills.
We used to get hydraulic jacks repaired by a fellow Jim Wade in Ballarat years ago and he used to say he wouldn’t lay under a bicycle that was held up by a hydraulic Jack. Jack Stands are cheap life insurance.
The press channel did the test of one of them, rated at 2 tons. With the safety pin in, 8.5 ton to bust it. So you have absolutely nothing to worry about with a 1600kg car on 2 of these.
I was always told as an apprentice that you won't die when the car lands on you. It is only when you're relieved of the heavy burden of having a vehicle upon you that you'll expire.
I guess that depends on whether it crushes your skull rather than your legs. The thing you're talking about may be the condition that happens when you've been trapped with a crush injury for some time, as little as 60-minutes sometimes, before the weight is lifted. During the time the limb is under pressure, cellular destruction and other factors produce toxins in that area. When the pressure is relieved, these toxins spread through the body, often overwhelming the kidneys and other organs, leading to death if not carefully managed during release and treatment.
Well said. Sadly its amazing how many people think that their DIY "solutions" are as good as, if not better than the proper commercially available lifting equipment. After I spent a few hundred bucks equipping my garage with a trolley jack, stands, a couple of beefy wheel chocks, the whole lot my Dad was constantly terrified at the thought of me getting underneath my car. But apparently there was absolutely nothing wrong with his dodgy DIY solution which involved some ramps made out of timber and the jack from our WB Holden which was even older than I am. Thank God nothing ever went wrong.
One point to note about the early jack stands of that style, the pin was not always a part of them as they sometimes did not have them at all and a common accidental failure is hitting the lever and it kicks it out of the lock and falls. The pin was introduced but overall its still something that needs to be put back in so that is still a problem. Although there is some auto pin engagement systems, its still on select brands and price points.
@@AutoExpertJC Cheers.., not something I ever needed to ascertain.. , start apprenticeship in 81.., I note the guys that were even half generation ahead learnt/ used such.. a hell of lot more than we did…. A lot of machine I only saw at tech/ in text books or the dockyards.. Huge loss of knowledge.., but then.. so much gear is so much better.. chemical engineering/ adhesives… bonding… Loctite H8000… used for bonding Ali boat hulls .. stronger than the parent metal…
Alternatively don't use those potentially dangerous ratchet stands at all and stick with telescopic stands that are only secured with pins. The chance of incorrect operation is much less with those in my view. The reference to use of unstable alternatives is the relevant point, even a trolley jack on it's own is safer than that!
Thanks for this John. I was recently doing a tyre rotation on my 2012 Subaru Forester and was amazed by the flimsy construction of the original equipment scissor jack. The metal gauge is really thin and there is no way I was going to trust it. Perhaps in a future episode you could have a look at these.
there is nothing "unsafe" about the scissor jack that came with the Subaru. If it were in any way unsafe, it would not have been included with the car. I have the exact same jack and car and I have used it quite a few times. If you actually use it properly like they instruct you in the manual, there is nothing at all to worry about. The jack is strong enough to lift up a full size truck. The Scissor jack is stronger and safer than the hydraulic jacks.
Forgot to 🙂. But ignoring breaking an axle stand, if you are struggling with something you can pull a vehicle off the stand. You really need to use them on a flat surface. But it is best to keep vehicles on the floor, undo things with impact devices, and personally I don't see why you wouldn't use some ramps to provide additional support inserting them like a wedge. In a garage they tend to keep all four wheels on the floor either being in a pit, or by lifting the steel floor treads hydraulically.
In the US there was an issue with jack stands from Harbor Freight being improperly designed causing collapses due to the release handle being bumped. The rachet mechanism wasn't designed with enough bite for the pawl. Had it been designed with a sufficient bite for the pawl, it wouldn't have been easily released under load.
There is a UA-cam video of a guy who has a hydraulic press who crushed a few different jack stands. All of them only failed at twice their rated weight or higher. Some 3 times.
A good friend of mine died from a car he working on falling on him about five years ago. He used stands, but I suspect that he was using them on wet grass and mud, and not stable concrete. I can't ever know for sure, though, as the exact details were never released and I wasn't there when it happened. Ever since then, though, I've been very wary about the surface I put my stands on. And then I always give the vehicle a good push in multiple places before I get under it. This way, if it does turn out to be unstable, I don't find out while I'm underneath it. Ironically, the stands I usually use now are the same ones that friend of mine loaned me just weeks before he died, since the accident happened before I had a chance to return them.
Hi John, I remember seeing a test of these stands some time ago on UA-cam. They took huge loads before failure, if I recall correctly 5 to 7 times the specified load rating. I enjoy your work, not bad for an Aussie.... Steve. NZ
The language is a wonderful thing. I once had to explain to a client why using the terms 'jack on' and 'jack off' in some tyre fitting training materials would cause nothing but mirth...
Absolutely love your No Crap, No Hold Barred advise. If people don't like your channel, they should just bypass Dingo Piss Creek and get lost. Fan from NZ.
Swapped rear leaf springs with the rear propped up on firewood. Logs don't collapse. Only you and the tool guy on the Ave channel, talk like real people.
My son's an enthusiast DIYer who yesterday swapped out his shocks. It gave me pride and comfort to see the whole car on stands with all 4 wheels underneath as an added safety measure. The jack was there to lift the car then moved out of the way so it wasn't a tripping hazard
Well done, him, Mr Wolff.
I always put my car's wheels underneath the chassis somewhere near to where I'm gonna be laying under it, just as an added safety incase the unthinkable happens. (Like when one mechanic bumped another car that was on jack stands, and it fell off the stands. Luckily nobody was under it) Accidents can happen very quickly.
Christian name !! which a chap like the one who raised the “point” is not entitled to use unless he has been introduced !
@@AutoExpertJC A proper dickhead did not overload these.
ua-cam.com/video/In1PnzPnSFs/v-deo.html
pride and comfort?? wtf
Glad I didn't skip the first part. You put things far more tactfully than I could.
Don't change a thing John, love watching all of your content!!👌
He's a tool and not educated enough in the trade to discuss these days. I bet he doesn't know how EFI works.
Ask him how )2 sensors work and how to find out if the upstream one or the downstream one is faulty. I be the "expert" has no idea. I bet many would have no idea what I'm talking about.
Yet this clown is feeding you all dribble and you all listen as though it's fact what he says.
Your "pre" 5:16 segment just earned you a new subscriber.
Great video. I was always wary of the ratchet type jack stands until I watched the hydraulic press channel, they tested the jacks to breaking point and every one tested performed way above advertised load rating. It's actually kind of comforting knowing how strong decent jack stands are.
First 5mins are the best. Don’t skip it.
💯👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽
hear hear
Yup, very true
Saved me the typing ty
I subscribed because of the first five minutes. Well said my friend
Your extensive technical knowledge AND your refusal to abide fools has forced me to subscribe.
Jack stands and earthquakes here in Japan are almost like washing your car then it rains 😂 only issue is the amount of oh sh-it level when you under the car and it happens. Nearly as much fun as riding on a Chinese built roller coaster.
Thank you John as my brother in law died from a car falling on him I thank you for helping us to stay safe. Love your work always and telling how it is with no bullshit.
So sorry. Rip
How did it happen?
Knowing where to place the stands under the chassis is important too - and I'm not convinced I know the answer on all cars.
That used to be the easiest thing to work out, but over the last 20years, things have changed. What Looks to be a safe place, and might be, can actually bend parts of the car.
It might not be obvious straight away, but you sure do find out when getting your wheel alignment done. I haven't done this personally, but have heard of people dong it.
The owners manual usually gives jacking points, and most times there is usually a centre front and back to allow you to use stands under the jack points along the sills, which you will damage unless you use something between the stands and sills. Most mechanics will just use the subframe etc.
Having said all of that, I think your comment was talking about the safety side of things, and I agree, it's a topic that warrants more conversation.
Thanks John. Another excellent safety video. Good to know a simple way of differentiating grey iron, ductile iron and steel. Grey iron, incidentally, was used for the scope mount on the British No. 4 Mk 1 (T) sniper rifle which served, in updated form, from 1940ish till the 1980s. Given the mass of the complete rifle, the loads imposed on the mount would have been inconsequential. Armourers did, however, get plenty of practice replacing the screws on the base for that mount and also staking the replacement screws to minimise subsequent movement.
P.S. As a carpenter, it never ceases to amaze me that people consider a concrete block, which is basically a brittle piece of permanent boxing, to be an adequate load bearing support for a corner of a motor vehicle.
Grey iron is a good material if suited to the application. It's awesome to drill, turn and mill. (I didn't know that about the rifle scope mounts... I wonder why ductile iron wasn't used.)
@@AutoExpertJC I just recalled that they originally specified malleable cast iron BUT there was an authorised change to grey iron. No reason is supplied in the standard text published by Ian Skennerton but I suspect that it was related to other wartime production priorities. Cheers from NZ🇳🇿. Keep up the good work. My view is, that if you are not pissing people off, you are not pushing them to really think!
*"...it never ceases to amaze me that people consider a concrete block,..to be an adequate load bearing support "* Better yet is when said use of concrete block involves lying it on its side!
@@feathermerchant Yes … because it HAS to be better that way🙂🧐!
My first time here! First five minutes you got me sold.
Also worth mentioning for those that are looking at lifting all four wheels off the ground, avoid jacking up vehicles from side to side. Front to rear is best. otherwise the vehicle's chassis may flex or the vehicle's suspension may move the vehicle to one side. Causing the Jack stand to move under the chassis and in extreme cases, skip a tooth on the rachet mechanism under the uneven amount of weight. I feel like that contributes to those statistics as well. I experienced a similar senario back when i was a kid learning to work in my first car. I jacked up the car side to side, unknowingly the car was sort of twisted sitting on the stands. replaced my first ever set if brake pads and discs. As I had opened the driver's door to pump the brake pedal bleeding the brakes. the jack stand on the left hand front slipped off the chassis rail and dented the passenger's floor pan crushing the fuel feed line in the process... That turned out to be an expensive lesson right there. 🙃
I ALWAYS, keep the trolley jack in place under the front or rear crossmember whilst having jack stands in place. The bulk of the weight is on the stands and just light pressure on the jack. That's just my way of adding another layer of safety.
But in essence, jack stands are pretty safe. Use them correctly and appropriately and you'll never have an issue.
Same, along with any wheel/wheels I've removed. I figure while none of it will hold the car up properly like the jack stands, the jack + wheels will give me a couple of seconds to get out in the event that it all goes pear shaped.
@@davidshepherd265 same here easy enough to put the wheel under out of the way.always good to have 4 stands too so if a pair is in use you won't gamble not using them for a diff project
love the rost at the start.
also with the jack stand failure, I remember something about a recall (?on Harbor freight?) in US of A which stated something about the welds on the lower frame being porous and cracking or similar.
Well said John. Love the videos and the honest reviews, especially the engineering explanations. I teach engineering and technology in secondary schools, and love the no bs and humour of your videos. Keep up the good work,
Thank you very much, Brett. Keep inoculating future generations with STEM mate.
I agree. John helps tremendously with the stuff I missed in class, because my attention was elsewhere...
Glad I didn’t skip ahead..the first part was awesome. When will some people realize that not everything revolves around them? The extent of their freedom should not encroach on yours. In other words if you don’t like it don’t watch it. Don’t expect the content, or anything else for that matter, to change to suit you.
Hollow concrete blocks are notorious for crushing. Bloke here in paradise, aka, NZ, aka, the lair of Jacinda, saw one of his neighbours working under his car. A few hours later saw him still there so wandered over and found the bloke expired! He’d used concrete blocks to support the car and one had been crushed. Wasn’t a particularly quick death either as the car came down on his sternum and he’d more or less suffocated!
There is more to concrete blocks than instantly meets the eye. There's two basic varieties heavy and light blocks. Though the light ones aren't particularly light themselves. But they're half the weight of a heavy. Most common block is still lightweight. Blocks also have a top and a bottom. One face is fat and flat. I bet the victim used a block standing up. Blocks are weaker standing up than laying down. That and blocks are brittle. So steel right on a block can split it. Some wood cushioning may have made the difference? Also fresh blocks tend to be soft. Concrete takes a while to reach full strength.
I'm Aboriginal. However I'm getting fed up with the Aboriginal apologies every week. I appreciate how the British pulled me out of the stone age & gave me a great life in Australia.
Mate that is a breath of fresh air
Thats refreshing to hear. Very positive
I'm glad you have made the best of your situation! take it easy.
Wow that’s a bit racist. Jk
@@MussaKZN Only you think so.
I'm about to start DIYing with my 16 year old and this video is super helpful, thanks John from Scotland.
Thanks for the heads-up John. My old stands are going in the bin tomorrow. I haven't used them for years, but I will remove the temptation in case I need to grab one quickly in the future. And yes, you do tend to prattle on a bit sometimes, but that is inherent in your style. Keep it up.
21:24‐21:35 Comforting
& wonderfully said.
I absolutely love your videos and your attitude. Always get a laugh out of me
Never change mate, love the start. Truer words never spoken
First time viewer. I loved the viewer feedback segment. Don't change **ONE** thing. They know how to find the door, .
Agreed
One weakness you didn't mention... the point on the car that your placing the stand, or for that matter the jack! I once jacked up an old, rusty Simca using the jack points on the chassis only to have it slowly crush into the body. Needless to say that car was scrapped as unsafe. I've also placed stands at points on the chassis I thought were strong but that buckled as I lowered the jack. It's important to use the manufacturers recommended jack points and stand location points and stay clear until you're sure the vehicle is stable.
My 1970's stands are just like they were made of water pipe and the uprights are welded into inverted "Soup Plates" and this makes them most satisfactory for use on grass, wheras those with "Legs:" will just sink in and are useless, height adjust by steel rods running through.
John, I just love your reports, plain and simple, as is. They are some of the funniest and informative material on UA-cam. Keep up the good work in what ever form you so desire mate.
Love your work John. Don't change a thing. 😀
All support for being who you are John, love your no BS informative reports.
First time a UA-cam video ever made me get up out of my chair, go out to the shop, and drill holes in my tools. Rotini swarf, yesssss!
I'm looking forward to next week's deep dive into trailer jockey wheels, load ratings thereof and the merits of after market mods.
Decided not to skip the first 5 minutes, and didn't regret it. Loved it, in fact. People will always find something to whinge about, it's always been the case, it's just that in today's day and age, their voices, or rather, comments, are louder and stick forever online. Speak your mind and let haters be haters. Another great video BTW!
The information presented in the body of the video was excellent, however the preamble was the best five minutes of my recent memory!
Right on John! Keep it up. Don’t change.
Great piece. Like you say, the weakest link is usually the operator, not the equipment. I won't go anywhere near a jacked car without proper stands, even if it's for 30 seconds. Safety is no.1 and things can go wrong very quickly
Great video John. One thing, use Jack stands on a level floor, preferably a concrete floor. I finally purchased a QuickJack to do my vehicle maintenance, much safer and 24” (60 centimeters) of level, locked work space.
Cheers from Northeast Ohio!
Thanks for making yet another interesting and information packed video.
You know your subject, and conduct your own research.
And one of the best things that you do is to encourage folks to use safe practices,
while working on their cars,
not just count your fingers at the start and finish of the day, to see if there's been an accident.
Nice demo of shavings. I recently learned about the importance of the fixed end of a ratchet spanner / breaker bar of a socket set. Never tighten or loosen a bolt with a ratchet, because the ratchet is the weakest part of the tool. Tightening or loosening is done with the fixed part. Ratchets are only for removing or driving the bolt into place. So obvious now.
Yep. Just how strong do they really think those 90 tooth ratchets are. With 90 teeth they simply can't be
Bravo John! Love these. As a backyard engineer, the science never lies. Makes me feel better when I use my knowledge in real situations. A second voice feels better. Thanks Mate. (in a Canuckistan way)
idek who you are ive just been into car stuff lately, but youre the most down to earth guy ive seen in a while
Using a concrete block to hold up something heavy like a car is inviting the block to suddenly revert to its constituent ingredients; sand, gravel
Has that ever happened?
@@Rampart.X yes
Certainly has.
@@Rampart.X definitely has. They tend to brittle fail as they do not bend, just break without warning. Blocks of wood will usually give some indication before failing. These jack stands are a much better option in nearly all cases
If you don't understand what you're working with I'd agree with you. But if you know a bit about block you can get a lot of performance out of it. Don't use a block standing up. That's mistake number one. Don't put something hard right on the block either. Like a steel vehicle frame. Have a piece of wood in there. Use a heavy block and not a light one. I'd use a block the way it'd be laid too. That'd be fat side up.
I bought a "cost effective" jack with a short handle. Taking my car off the jack stands the car slipped off the jack and I got squashed by the rear bumper striking my right shoulder (I was laying on my left shoulder) as I had to reach way under the rear of the car to reach the jack handle. 12 broken bones and a punctured lung in about 7 milliseconds. Great video!
I do mag particle and visual inspection on these stands from time to time. The cheap ones used in professional enviroments develope weld cracks. Just be aware of the seam welds near the base and the weld around the neck. Usually the cracks start in the crater (termination point) of the weld and progress from there. I often have to request that they get run through the parts washer before I arrive. So clean the grease off and have a look every 6 months to a year. For a homeowner the stand will probably outlive you so just have a glance at it every 5 years or so. If its bent or missing paint have good look in those areas.
Excellent first few minutes John!
Sincerely,
An executive producer
Thanks boss.
There's a channel here on YT where a guy compresses/smashes various objects with a hydraulic press. Most of the videos are meaningless and just for fun. However there was a video a few months back that did jack stands. It was amazing to see that even the cheapest ones failed a lot beyond their rated capacity. So if anyone wants to put his fears on rest even more, go search for it and watch a 2000KG stand brake at 8000KG of load, or a 3000KG stand brake at 12000KG of load. It just shows how much margin the engineers put on their designs. So, I guess as soon as you stay within their rated load, the only thing you have to worry is the way you use them, and not if they can handle the load!
How have I never seen this channel before?!?! I like this guy!
Without the "BS", this would just be another auto channel. 😁
Thanks John, I just put the car up on stands for an oil/filter change and quickly decided that I'll just leave the trolley jack in place under the crossmember and work around it instead of backing it off out of the way., seems wise to have a last line of defence if anything goes sideways.
Great video!
It might be worth mentioning (for the 'Mericians) that ductile iron is also known as nodular iron or spheroidal graphite iron.
My brother had run his Holden’s front wheels onto the ramps and I prevented him from jacking up the diff by reminding him that only the back wheels are held by the handbrake.
I have to say that what you said about the filings (if that's what you call them) from the test drilling of various pats really has educated me as a layman. Thankyou
filings or swarf
Nice overview of the jack-stand functionality. Had a scary experience working (playing) with my car. Had the car up on 4 quality jack-stands and was removing the complete rear end for an overhaul. Removed one rear shackle and then when I removed the second, the differential dropped and the car teeter-tottered on the front jack-stands and the rear of the car went up completely off of the rear jack-stands and the front rested on the front wheels. Luckily for me I was in the back of the car. Also lucky that the front jack-stands were quality ones holding up the whole weight of the car. Learned my lesson, when I do something like this, I also put some jack-stands under the front of the car to make sure it won't drop. Thanks for the great videos. Best Regards - Mike
I agree completely. I have been doing this,(lifting vehicles) for over 60 years. I always jack up and leave. Add jack stands. Then always put the wheel under the sill.
That mother's ain't going to crush me, if I can help it!!!!
The wheel under the sill is also a good makeshift safety when changing a wheel on the side of the road and you don't have a stand.
Always chock your wheels even on level ground many fail to implement this important step
I've been watching your channel now for about 3 years and I've always loved your engineering explanations you're wit and humor but the fact that there's no b******* there's always people that'll be offended please don't change cheers from Atlantic Canada👍😎🇨🇦
I had a 4WD van fall off a jack a couple of months ago. I was trying to get it up high enough to get the stand under and the jack supplied with the vehicle was too high to get under the proper jacking point when the tire was completely flat (15mm wide piece of sheet steel through the tread). This was on a flat concrete slab and I was luckily not under the vehicle at the time.
My personal policy is that I only reach under a vehicle to place the stand/s, never crawl under a vehicle while it's only on a jack.
The most dangerous time to be under a vehicle is when only the JACK is supporting it, even on a stable surface.
I’ve been lifting cars since I was kiddo about a hundred years ago and I still so wary of getting under to do the stands, luckily my trolley jack handle is a handy pusher/puller tool for the job. It hurts my brain when I still hear on the news from time to time a bloke has died yet again from being squashed.
I was working on a car once and I had it up so high I could sit under it in a lawn chair. It needed a lot of welding.
I love your reports, especially the swearing. As a mechanical engineer that is very fond of using swear words, they make my day.
I agree wholeheartedly...people sometimes don't think, and will even use the stands, but the surface they're on could be a dirt road. Not realizing that as soon as they focus the vehicle weight on a small surface like the jack stands legs, they could sink into the soft road surface, unbalancing the load on top. That's just one simple way you have vehicle drops or slide offs.
Holy crap John. This video didn’t even come with a brain bleed warning.
I’m loving your work.
Dan
Hi John. Thank you for sharing your knowledge on jack stands. Thank you also for the 5.16min time stamp lol. Didn’t know about the different grades of cast iron. I’m always shit scared getting under my vehicle at home, even though the jack stands look similar to yours. I leave the floor jack in place for added insurance. I’ll be checking my jack stands tomorrow for the AS number too. Regards
Good video John , thanks for your expertise , i have found over the years is to purchase some good quality jack and stands for doing anything like that sort of work at home . It pays to be smart . Dont change anything in your format its makes the channel different . good work
Thanks, Steve.
Keep up the good work John!!!! Your presentation method is perfect. I’ve enjoyed every minute…. Thanks for keeping me informed and entertained.
1:39 I must say, this is a rather polite way of telling someone to go roger themselves with a GAU-8 barrel, while said barrel is in active use.
Hi John 😊 well done mate on clearing the jack off stand safety issue, those stands you demo's look a good bit of kit. Safety when trying to do your own repairs is a bit like common sense, not too common whith some people, I've used axle stands in the past and always put the wheels under the vehicle as well just in case, or some extra large blocks of solid wood, anything to stop it dropping all the way to the floor whith your's truly turning into a jam sandwich. As for the B'S, and the swearing, I say don't change a thing mate. The only gripe I have is where's the Ming Molls got to, they gave your videos shall we say a truly rounded, warm feeling, lol. Any hoo , cheers mate, best wishe's to you and your's, Stuart UK.
Don’t change anything your delivery it’s the best of my day 😅
John Cleese observed that the activists are "... waiting for the thrill of being offended".
Great video on a subject that did need some addressing John. as a woman with a varied career over the years including 3 years working in an iron foundry in the early 80's I did learn a bit in my time there. and as you mentioned, ductile iron is an extremely strong form of iron, with properties more closely related to steel than your normal grey iron as you pointed out. the foundry I worked in used several different cast iron alloys, ranging from ones with an extremely high corrosion/ abrasion resistance, know as Nihard 1 and Nihard 4, but they were an extremely brittle iron when it came to tensile strength. another with extreme corrosion resistance for use in the chemical industry was 27% chrome iron. again, perfect for use in environments where corrosion and abrasion resistance were critical, but tensile strength were not. then there was what we called SG Iron, which was very soft with poor wear qualities, but was more like steel in that it would bend rather than crack or break under high / excessive load conditions. I thing the biggest issue with people using jack stands, and lifting devices as well is the numpty factor, EG, not using common sense and taking various environmental factors into account..then wondering why their car has fallen over.
Well done, Well Done!
Thank You so much for caring so much about us!
I've watched a lot of your videos John (thanks for your work), but this is the best so far. Was cheering your anti-wokeness and enjoyed your obvious love of material science.
The swarf test for cast iron differentiation is pretty cool.
Another great Video John. It reminds me of the flimsy jacks that are supplied with your car. You know the ones that you need to use in less than ideal conditions. I had a flat tyre once on the side of the M4 Motorway. I had the ute up on the jack and loosened off the nuts and it fell off the jack, fortunately the tyre was still in place and held it. But I confirmed that I did have the jack in the correctly marked spots as shown in the manual, but it still failed anyway. I work for a large employer with a large fleet and I asked them to raise it with the car company, it went nowhere! So I'm more concerned about the safety of the car supplied Jacks than those from auto shops.
there was nothing wrong with the jack, you just did not use it correctly. that is what the problem was and why it fell.... sorry, the truth hurts.
@@orion7741 LOL, Sorry, didn't realise that was you looking over my shoulder. I followed the instructions. Was that the wrong thing to do? Why didn't you say something??
I remember seeing a guy who was working on his small car, and he must have accidently tweaked the handle of the jackstand by 1/8th of an inch with the handle of his spanner, which caused the jackstand to drop the car onto him. Luckily he had his head and his upper torso outside of the car and was able to yell to his neighbour to come and help him which arrived quickly. But if he had been working on a family sized car or 4wd and had his head outside of the car he would probably have suffocated under that car. Extremely luckily for him, he escaped with minor bruising -to his body AND ego, but the point is those jackstands are supposed to lock until the weight of the car is removed and that did NOT happen, thats is why I only use the type with the pin that goes thru and NEVER get under a car that is only supported by only a jack.
I like the ratchet and pin type one, I had a ratchet only type drop a tooth while I was under a car 💩 I've never felt comfortable under a car since... even with extra stands and wheels slid under the sills.
We used to get hydraulic jacks repaired by a fellow Jim Wade in Ballarat years ago and he used to say he wouldn’t lay under a bicycle that was held up by a hydraulic Jack. Jack Stands are cheap life insurance.
The press channel did the test of one of them, rated at 2 tons. With the safety pin in, 8.5 ton to bust it. So you have absolutely nothing to worry about with a 1600kg car on 2 of these.
I was always told as an apprentice that you won't die when the car lands on you. It is only when you're relieved of the heavy burden of having a vehicle upon you that you'll expire.
I guess that depends on whether it crushes your skull rather than your legs. The thing you're talking about may be the condition that happens when you've been trapped with a crush injury for some time, as little as 60-minutes sometimes, before the weight is lifted. During the time the limb is under pressure, cellular destruction and other factors produce toxins in that area. When the pressure is relieved, these toxins spread through the body, often overwhelming the kidneys and other organs, leading to death if not carefully managed during release and treatment.
Compartment syndrome is a bad way to go...
I am so glad I did not skip to 5.16. I would have missed many laughs and truths. Well done sir don't delete a word.
Well said. Sadly its amazing how many people think that their DIY "solutions" are as good as, if not better than the proper commercially available lifting equipment. After I spent a few hundred bucks equipping my garage with a trolley jack, stands, a couple of beefy wheel chocks, the whole lot my Dad was constantly terrified at the thought of me getting underneath my car. But apparently there was absolutely nothing wrong with his dodgy DIY solution which involved some ramps made out of timber and the jack from our WB Holden which was even older than I am. Thank God nothing ever went wrong.
You say that, but diy can be fine. Wooden block cribbing is a good example of a superior soloution nobody can figure out how to monitize.
just bought some jackstands today, didn't know Ductile iron existed now I know thanks dude
One point to note about the early jack stands of that style, the pin was not always a part of them as they sometimes did not have them at all and a common accidental failure is hitting the lever and it kicks it out of the lock and falls. The pin was introduced but overall its still something that needs to be put back in so that is still a problem. Although there is some auto pin engagement systems, its still on select brands and price points.
Cheers John.. 40 yrs as fitter.., never new the centre punch test..
Not a very good fitter then are you.
Try it mate - it's pretty accurate.
Well at least you have an ego👍
@@AutoExpertJC
Cheers.., not something I ever needed to ascertain.. , start apprenticeship in 81.., I note the guys that were even half generation ahead learnt/ used such.. a hell of lot more than we did….
A lot of machine I only saw at tech/ in text books or the dockyards..
Huge loss of knowledge.., but then.. so much gear is so much better.. chemical engineering/ adhesives… bonding…
Loctite H8000… used for bonding Ali boat hulls .. stronger than the parent metal…
@@michaeljones7497
Ya desperately looking for some John love n attention 🤗
I watched all the way to the finish, then subscribed, and gave a thumbs up!
Agreement from the States...
Came here for the Jack Stand analysis, subscribed for your opening commentary.
Alternatively don't use those potentially dangerous ratchet stands at all and stick with telescopic stands that are only secured with pins. The chance of incorrect operation is much less with those in my view. The reference to use of unstable alternatives is the relevant point, even a trolley jack on it's own is safer than that!
Thanks for this John. I was recently doing a tyre rotation on my 2012 Subaru Forester and was amazed by the flimsy construction of the original equipment scissor jack. The metal gauge is really thin and there is no way I was going to trust it. Perhaps in a future episode you could have a look at these.
there is nothing "unsafe" about the scissor jack that came with the Subaru. If it were in any way unsafe, it would not have been included with the car. I have the exact same jack and car and I have used it quite a few times. If you actually use it properly like they instruct you in the manual, there is nothing at all to worry about. The jack is strong enough to lift up a full size truck. The Scissor jack is stronger and safer than the hydraulic jacks.
Forgot to 🙂. But ignoring breaking an axle stand, if you are struggling with something you can pull a vehicle off the stand. You really need to use them on a flat surface. But it is best to keep vehicles on the floor, undo things with impact devices, and personally I don't see why you wouldn't use some ramps to provide additional support inserting them like a wedge.
In a garage they tend to keep all four wheels on the floor either being in a pit, or by lifting the steel floor treads hydraulically.
Not only flat, but also level.
In the US there was an issue with jack stands from Harbor Freight being improperly designed causing collapses due to the release handle being bumped. The rachet mechanism wasn't designed with enough bite for the pawl. Had it been designed with a sufficient bite for the pawl, it wouldn't have been easily released under load.
Well said about the woke, so true we’re are all over it. The 1 % vocals is not 100% opinion.
Bricks is what students, not I, use to use to prop up some teachers' cars on blocks when I was in high school on 6th form (today year 12) break up.
Fired clay bricks are very strong, although I wouldn't get under a vehicle supported by them.
There is a UA-cam video of a guy who has a hydraulic press who crushed a few different jack stands. All of them only failed at twice their rated weight or higher. Some 3 times.
A good friend of mine died from a car he working on falling on him about five years ago. He used stands, but I suspect that he was using them on wet grass and mud, and not stable concrete. I can't ever know for sure, though, as the exact details were never released and I wasn't there when it happened. Ever since then, though, I've been very wary about the surface I put my stands on. And then I always give the vehicle a good push in multiple places before I get under it. This way, if it does turn out to be unstable, I don't find out while I'm underneath it.
Ironically, the stands I usually use now are the same ones that friend of mine loaned me just weeks before he died, since the accident happened before I had a chance to return them.
Hi John, I remember seeing a test of these stands some time ago on UA-cam.
They took huge loads before failure, if I recall correctly 5 to 7 times the
specified load rating.
I enjoy your work, not bad for an Aussie....
Steve. NZ
Hydraulic Press channel?
The language is a wonderful thing. I once had to explain to a client why using the terms 'jack on' and 'jack off' in some tyre fitting training materials would cause nothing but mirth...
Awesome another Aussie I really like! You just gained an American subscriber!
In the USA the Harbor Freight Jackstand Recall with BAD TEETH CASTING that could SLIP was pretty scary
Absolutely love your No Crap, No Hold Barred advise. If people don't like your channel, they should just bypass Dingo Piss Creek and get lost. Fan from NZ.
Jack stands, sometimes he sits.
Sometimes he's at work, so Jack on, and sometimes he's off, so Jack...
Swapped rear leaf springs with the rear propped up on firewood. Logs don't collapse. Only you and the tool guy on the Ave channel, talk like real people.
That rant got you a new sub. Well done indeed!
Correct worden blocks is very safer, ship yards are full of correct worden block, great video.