RE: [Chevelle-List] Jack Stand Safety

[John Nasta]

Good point about never working under the car alone. Although if the car does fall on you, having somebody else there to watch is not necessarily going to save your life.   Also, the cheapo jack stands have a triangular base and are made of bent sheet metal. Those things are an accident waiting to happen. Good jack stands have a rectangular base and are made of cast iron.   I had my El Camino on 4 (good quality) jack stands for two years and there was no problem to have it sitting there. I didn’t work under it though w/o putting a good hydraulic floor jack near where I was working as a failsafe. There's no such thing as being too careful in this situation.   John Nasta       -----Original Message-----   john: i really think the jackstand we had as kids 30 + years ago were POS. the new style are far superior to the old ones. personally if I'm under the car i jack up the car high enough to put blocks  (4 x 12 about 12 inches long) under the tires. i put as many as i need (4 x being 3 1/2 inches) and then i let the car down on jack stands just to the point where there is a load on the stands and the tires wont turn. Do not jack car up too high. I then feel pretty safe. 1) NEVER WORK UNDER A CAR ALONE!                                                                                 Larry (Z)