[collinsperformance]

well i am glad this happened to me and not the wife (she and 6 girls just got back from kids camp) the wife needed the burban for the day so she was going to drop me off at work. on the trip in we heard a strange noise from outside the burban, so we pulled into the gas station to look for it and get a cold drink. well we got a flat the pass side rear blew a sidewall 4" slash cut (not sure how it went) we removed the spare and the jack and needed tools.

i decided to verify where chevy likes to have the jack (same place that i set it under the axle next to the shock mount). and then i poped the wheel cover and lossened the 6 lugs. i then jacked the beast up and removed the bad tire. i went to install the spare and it was not high enough (i needed 2 more inches (sounds like a sig line...lol) so under the beast i go to reinstall the jack handle and as i am streching to get the handle lined up with the jack end i heard the wife scream "it's falling of the jack" as i look up i see the suburban falling at me in what seemed slow motion. i got hit in the face and the bumper ripped a gash in my arm and she dropped to the ground. i was not hurt too bad (if she was not there i would have been under it and well...) i had to go buy a new floor jack and jack her up and got the new spare on. the support pin in the jack brok and the jack failed to hold the suburban. the out come was lucky this time but now i got a small cheap floor jack in the surban now and tossed the factory jack and i got a set of wheel chocks $3 Wal-mart.

ok here is the pics of the jack.

mike

 

[ChevyFan]

Wow, that could have been a very bad story! I've heard stories about guys getting pinned under their vehicles when the jacks drop out, but I've never had it happen to me. I wonder what the specs on the 1993 jack are and why the pin failed.

 

[Davandy]

That was a close one :shocked:

 

[Bruce_B]

Glad you're okay. Did the jack just fail under the weight, or did the Suburban roll and cause the jack to fail from the changing angle?

 

[tinfoil_hat]

Scissor jacks are always junk. My burb came from the factory with a bottle jack. Glad you weren't hurt worse. Any damage to the rig?

 

[Flatman]

Holy crap! Glad you are okay...scary.

 

[Grynder]

First off, Glad to hear your relatively ok !
Truly a close call !

Second, a great reminder of how something so mundain as a flat tire can turn "Life or Death" in a split second !

Third, I feel this story is not something we should keep to ourselves. With your permission I would like to repost/link to this in other forums where I am a member. I would also urge others here to do the same if the OP gives permission.

Fourth, A great reminder that everyone should do a "practice" tire change on each of their vehicles at home in their driveway. Become familiar with the tools, procedures and precautions in relative safety and comfort.

Last, a couple of tips.......
Have ALL passengers exit the vehicle before jacking (Shifting wieght).
When towing, consider the effects of the towed vehicle/trailer when jacking.

Any one have any other tips to add ?

 

[Bruce_B]

Any one have any other tips to add ?

I try to follow what I was taught as a child - never get any part of you under a vehicle that is only supported by a jack.

Of course, sometimes in the real world of having to change a tire on the road, safety gets overlooked. That's usually when bad things happen though uch:

collinsperformance - if you don't mind me asking, why had you removed the handle from the jack?

 

[collinsperformance]

i have no issues with reposting what i said to any other group or thread. lets see if i can hit a few of the questions in one repost.
this was the 1sttime i had to use the equptment that came withthe car ( i normally do the jack swap but we just moved and still unpacking and getting a plan together)
the suburban was stopped aganst a curb so it was not moving, the 2 young ones were in the car in thier seat belts but there was not too much moving from them. this was a busy street and no place for people to go so i felt better to have them in the car than in the street. there was no winds and it was not so hot the jack sank in the asphalt. these jacks have a large "C" on one end and it you do not keep the same tension on it from all sides it likes to pop out easily. i was going to leave it out untill the spare was in place and snugged down so i could get under it and reconnect the handle but i need the vehicle to go up 2 more inches so the spare will go on. i am not sure why the jack gave out i looked at it many times now and it just looks like the metal just gave up. i normally put the spare under the frame and swap with the flat but this time i was in a hurry to get back on the road. the suburban went down on the asphlat o the drum. i looked it over and no damage to the drun, but the was a dent in the asphalt. i lost the e-brake cable on the rear pass side its cover is all streached out. we are all good....mike

 

[ChevyFan]

Great idea. I stuck the thread to the top, so just go ahead and link to it and cut/paste to whatever site you deem appropriate.

 

[Cableguy]

First off, Glad to hear your relatively ok !
Truly a close call !

Second, a great reminder of how something so mundain as a flat tire can turn "Life or Death" in a split second !

Third, I feel this story is not something we should keep to ourselves. With your permission I would like to repost/link to this in other forums where I am a member. I would also urge others here to do the same if the OP gives permission.

Fourth, A great reminder that everyone should do a "practice" tire change on each of their vehicles at home in their driveway. Become familiar with the tools, procedures and precautions in relative safety and comfort.

Last, a couple of tips.......
Have ALL passengers exit the vehicle before jacking (Shifting wieght).
When towing, consider the effects of the towed vehicle/trailer when jacking.

Any one have any other tips to add ?

Good call! One thing to add is to check condition of your spare from time to time. Pressure and dry rot or other damage.

 

[Grynder]

Sometimes it is better to leave the young ones in the vehicle for safety sake. The post just had me recall a situation I saw once where one of those 15 passenger vans had a flat. all the occupants stayed inside to enjoy the A/C I suppose while the lucky/unlucky driver got to change the tire. The van wasnt full but it had at least 10 people in it. Avg. weight per person, 150 lbs/ x 10 = 1500lbs shifting ! That had to be scary when they moved about even a little. Sounds like you did everything right, just one of those times that bad things happen to good people.

Thanx for the ok to repost. Maybe we can help prevent an injury or something worse....

 

[trenchwarfare]

I just noticed that pretty truck in the photo. What do you have there?

 

[95CTburb19]

well I'm going out to my surburban right now and throwing a bottle jack in the back. :great:

 

[Pete95Sierra]

wow i have the same jack.... gonna have to get me a new one