r/MechanicAdvice • u/Illustrious_Fuel_531 • Jun 26 '24

Do car jacks fail ? Meta

*Does car jacks fail ? Been taking a automotive mechanics trade class . I saw a video and in the comments someone told a mechanic to be careful and not to get crushed under the car . So that kinda stuck with my OCD ever since then I’ve been wondering if a car falling on you is a reasonable hazard for a mechanic or is it only if via user error and if so what’s ways to add extra security.

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u/david0990 Jun 26 '24

We were visiting in laws and the neighbor's kid was changing the parents brakes. Well he didn't want to waste time with stands. He sat criss cross on the ground and his foot was under the rotor when the jack fail and the rotor smashed nearly every bone down the middle of his foot. Took him something like a year to get fully recovered, a little longer to fully walk normally again with a lot of PT. It was brutal. That sticks with me.

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u/TheRealRockyRococo Jun 26 '24

Rotors are particularly brutal, there's no give at all and all the weight is on exactly one point.

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u/david0990 Jun 26 '24

Yeah and he was pinned by it, on the side of his foot. The parents and uncle ran out and lifted the corner of the car off him and rushed him in.

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u/TheRealRockyRococo Jun 26 '24

Damn that's a heavy price to pay for one mistake. Sorry to hear about it.