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Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: amazonian on 16 April 2017, 17:15:48

Title: Do not take chances!
Post by: amazonian on 16 April 2017, 17:15:48

A sombre warning to all you guys !   Take care.




http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/16/keen-mechanic-found-girlfriend-crushed-death-underneath-car/?google_editors_picks=true

                     :(   :(
Title: Re: Do not take chances!
Post by: ronnyd on 16 April 2017, 17:20:15
God, what a horrible thing to come home to. Having said that, he was supposed to be a safety engineer. :(
Title: Re: Do not take chances!
Post by: tunnie on 16 April 2017, 17:50:22
Very sad to read  :'(

But no detail on how it actually happened, failed jack? Slipped off an axel stand?  :-\
Title: Re: Do not take chances!
Post by: Lizzie Zoom on 16 April 2017, 17:50:45
Very, very sad :'( :'(

Was he using any form of axle stand?  Was he using a heavy duty jack?  Did he get over-confident and a bit lazy in his approach to safety?

No doubt answers will come out later, but it is a warning to all of us who work on cars.
Title: Re: Do not take chances!
Post by: Shackeng on 16 April 2017, 17:53:32
"I can remember one occasion where he'd taken the engine out and painted it and then left it in the oven to dry, and I was always finding air filters in the dishwasher."

He must have had a big oven! :-\
Title: Re: Do not take chances!
Post by: Doctor Gollum on 16 April 2017, 17:54:59
Probably at work...
Title: Re: Do not take chances!
Post by: ronnyd on 16 April 2017, 17:56:21
Probably at work...
"I can remember one occasion where he'd taken the engine out and painted it and then left it in the oven to dry, and I was always finding air filters in the dishwasher."

He must have had a big oven! :-\
Or a very small car. :-X
Title: Re: Do not take chances!
Post by: Doctor Gollum on 16 April 2017, 18:06:01
Audi S4 if you read the article ::)

It is accepted risk of working under any car... regardless of preparation, if summat goes wrong, you simply don't have the time or space to get out of the way :'(
Title: Re: Do not take chances!
Post by: baggers on 16 April 2017, 18:07:34
I'm always dubious of going under proper garage ramps since I saw the results of one failing whilst the mechanic was working under a car, it came down breaking many bones he was in a bad way but made a full recovery.
What makes it more scary was the fact that it was the ramps that I used too. :o
Title: Re: Do not take chances!
Post by: Sir Tigger KC on 16 April 2017, 18:14:03
A good friend of mine has been in a wheelchair for the last 17 years after a truck he was underneath fell on him.  :(
Title: Re: Do not take chances!
Post by: BazaJT on 16 April 2017, 19:08:11
While it's unknown what he was supporting the car with it just goes to show that skilled/amateur/novice mechanic alike can never take anything for granted.It must have been/still is horrible for his girlfriend to return to.
Is it just me with my morbid sense of humour or does anyone else find it somewhat ironic that he was lowering the suspension? :-X
Title: Re: Do not take chances!
Post by: ronnyd on 16 April 2017, 19:45:47
Audi S4 if you read the article ::)

It is accepted risk of working under any car... regardless of preparation, if summat goes wrong, you simply don't have the time or space to get out of the way :'(
;D, Yes DG, i did read the article, it was my attempt at being flippant. Obviously failing. :-[
Title: Re: Do not take chances!
Post by: Doctor Gollum on 16 April 2017, 19:52:10
Audi S4 if you read the article ::)

It is accepted risk of working under any car... regardless of preparation, if summat goes wrong, you simply don't have the time or space to get out of the way :'(
;D, Yes DG, i did read the article, it was my attempt at being flippant. Obviously failing. :-[
Blah, blah blah... might be considered tasteless and inappropriate...

Stemo is clearly much better at this ::)
Title: Re: Do not take chances!
Post by: STEMO on 16 April 2017, 19:52:23
Bet he didn't mean to lower the suspension that much.
Title: Re: Do not take chances!
Post by: GastronomicKleptomaniac on 16 April 2017, 21:12:52
Bet he didn't mean to lower the suspension that much.

It scares me that I'm on a similar level to you.

Pun not intended but left in after reading it back
Title: Re: Do not take chances!
Post by: ronnyd on 16 April 2017, 21:47:55
I think gallows humour helps in most circumstances, if you can find some laughs in this insane world, go for it. :D
Title: Re: Do not take chances!
Post by: YZ250 on 16 April 2017, 21:51:15
Very sad, OK one minute and gone the next. Maybe the jack and stands tipped over.  :-\

I grew up in an era where we we used an 'A' frame/block and tackle to remove engines but gearboxes were lowered on to your chest and you did a body roll to lower it to the ground. Refitting involved arching your back, with the gearbox on your stomach, to locate the bell housing dowels. This was all done with two trolley jacks and no support and I went through life working under cars in this manner.
About five years ago I crawled under the truck, had a really uneasy feeling about it and crawled back out again. I went out and bought a pair of axle stands and use them all the time now.
As I've posted on here before, my old car ramps let go on me through rusty joins so be aware of old car ramps as well.  :y
Title: Re: Do not take chances!
Post by: Viral_Jim on 16 April 2017, 22:10:50
From reading the article it sounds like it was on a jack. The GF mentions she went to ft "another jack". But yes, very sad but a risk we all take.

I try and do everything I can with the car on it's wheels, on ramps.

As soon as we're setup in a permanent house, I'll be having a lift or a pit installed (and yes I am aware of the risks that pits pose, but I still prefer them to working on stands).
Title: Re: Do not take chances!
Post by: 78bex on 16 April 2017, 22:58:38
Problem is some folks are short of funds & can`t afford garage prices. So they will take chances & shortcuts.
The auto technicians on here must have come across some frightful bodges in the past.