Requested Link -- VW Monster Jack

................I would never get under or even very close to a car that is resting on cinder blocks. The monster jack looks interesting though. I'll still use my floor jack and jack stands because that's what I'm used to and because I'd still need them for the other vehicles that I have.

I want one of those.

Great idea

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Looks very interesting, I would get one if I saw one, rather unlikely in Europe thought...

Ant

MN AirHead wrote:

Tim Rogers.

A group of masons we had build the foundation for our garage figured out it would work. (concrete block stands)... it was their suggestion.

Concrete is a compression material... probuilt blocks are built to ATSM spec.

I was VERY cautious when doing it the first time... I place tires under the car just in case.

During the initial test, I tugged.. pulled... had 2 guys try to help me pull it in all directions. With the front wheels blocked no problems.

Please explain -- I'd like to update my site -- want to ensure I'm not putting people in danger.

Thanks for the reply

T.

Concrete is still a little different from cinder blocks.

Either way, both are somewhat brittle, cinder blocks more so. They take a lot of EVENLY distributed load, from ONE direction. And very little load if it's centered in one small area and/or if it comes from the wrong side.

It's happened before, that's how the general "grapevine" warning was born. They break easily when used as jackstands under a car. Use proper jackstands.

Jan

On Fri, 16 Jan 2004 14:15:00 -0800, "MNAirHead" ran around screaming and yelling:

of course a mason will say to use the blocks, they work with them everyday and they are at hand....though they are not designed to be used the way you used them...they are designed to be laid in a horizontal position and to take quit a bit of wieght that is spread out evenly on the entire surface area of the block....using them in the verticle position you have them placed in means you are relying on the one "web" that the wieght is sitting on....this also "pinpoints" the wieght to the specific area that is actually making contact...that

*can* "overload" the block and cause it to crumble....with the light wieght of a beetle it is *probably*(*note that word) not going to crumble....but if you plan to continue using the cement blocks i can offer up a suggestion that you lay them horizontally as they were designed to be used, and also place a piece of 3/4 plywood on top(cut to the size of the block, 8x16)to spread out the wieght...they could be double stacked...that is alot of trouble and takes alot of room to store several blocks and a plywood cap for each corner of a car...that is what makes jackstands so great...they are *designed* for holding up vehicles... J(NOT Tim...lol)

........................You might not be me but you and Jan did a great job of explaining why using those blocks is a bad idea. I'd be scared to use them and besides, jackstands are cheap.

On Fri, 16 Jan 2004 18:25:56 -0500, "Tim Rogers" ran around screaming and yelling:

i had the concept of using jackstands nearly beat into my head by my stepfather...he once had a jack sitting *on* a couple solid "red brick" pavers....he was lucky enough to be out from under the car when they disintegrated and the car fell to the ground(no tires or wheels on it)....so it was common for me to be drug out litterally by my feet when i would crawl under a car "real quick" to do this or that without jackstands...who knows, i *may* owe him my life....think about it people... J

Well.. I had a bug land on my chest once.. when the supposedly good, always trusty floor jack developed a leak.. and decided to do so just as I was lying face up under the car, engine above my chest. The jack would leak pressure so slowly I didn't notice anything until it was too late, I realized I had trouble moving and breathing. "holy crap!" I was stuck in there good and teh weight kept coming down. One rear wheel was off. (remember my way of removing and installing the engine requires one rear wheel to be taken off to reveal an easier route fo rthe engine to be pushed in?)

Anyway, I was doing this at moms, and nobody else was home. For a moment I thought that was it, I'd end up with a crushed ribcage and squashed internal organs and die a slow and painful death.

Then I remembered I had left the jack handle on the jack, and the jack was placed somewhere near my feet that were still sticking out from under the car. I could just reach the jack handle with the tip of my shoe, and was able to pump it enough times that the car would lift up again, just enough for me to wiggle myself out of there.

Never went under the car again when it was supported only by a jack, no matter how "good" jack. The next christmas dad bought me two jackstands and a new floorjack. Not a whole lot of words were exchanged, just meaningful looks. (That doesn't include mom. Although I can't remember what she said, I'm sure she did ;) )

Jan

On Sat, 17 Jan 2004 05:30:35 +0200, Jan Andersson ran around screaming and yelling:

its amazing what almost getting killed will make you appreciate and respect, huh?(BTW you *were* very lucky)...i had a buick skylark(81 FWD) almost take my head off once when i had it on jackstands *and* the floor jack...but it was in soft grass and soil....i now take an extra step if i have to jack one up in dirt or grass...i put a plywood or thicker block of wood under the stands to spread the wieght...no more sinking and falling sideways off the stands...i was *damned* lucky, as i had just seconds before came out from under to grab a wrench....such as the life lessons of a "backyard" mechanic... J

................I do this on my asphalt driveway. Some people don't realize that asphalt can be surprisingly soft when the sun is hitting it during the summer months. I also use a 2 x 4 foot sheet of 1/4" plywood under my floor jack when using it out in the driveway as well.

On Sat, 17 Jan 2004 10:03:27 -0500, "Tim Rogers" ran around screaming and yelling:

LOL..you should see all the little indentions in my paved drive...LOL J

Thanks...

Had some good points... about steps that I'd forgottten to include and other stuff.

Will be removing the block page. - Thanks.