[Closed] Dangerous or safe? - Car on 4 axle stands

Sounds safe enough to me, especially since he's got them on ply rather than sinking into tarmac.

It'll be fine, those axle stands are pretty strong, my cheapish ones have a SWL of 2.5t.

I am not a pro and would not trust my own word. However, my understanding was that if properly positioned (which I suppose would include not under something rusty) and of the proper weight, they're pretty sturdy. I'm a worrier by nature but was under the front end of a van supported by axle stands alone a few times.

Why not wander over and chat to the kid? He will probably be keen to chat. (Not being sarky).

Good on you for looking out.

Sounds fine to me. That's what axle stands are for.

Sounds like he's done exactly what he should.
Worry no more.

Depends on what hes doing, ragging out a rusted exhaust may be a bit iffy but assuming no real force is being applied sideways then it would (IMO) be OK, Being on ply is a good idea as it ensure the feet have a flat surface to sit on, I'm always much more worried about jacks as things can and do go badly wrong with them. Having said all of that I would always advise to spend as little time as possible underneath the car unless on a proper ramp.

Depends on what part of the car the axle stands are supporting as to how stable it will be but it sounds like he has done a reasonable job if he has thought about mounting them on ply rather than just the tarmac. It is certainly a lot safer on axle stands than it being on scissor jacks.

If you are seriously concerned then go round and have a chat with the guy, explain your concerns and ask if he thinks it would be beneficial to lift the side that is lower up to make it level.

If you ask him in a friendly way he may be able to demonstrate to you how stable it is to relieve your fears and explain what he is doing.

It'd be pretty easy to push it over tbh, but it should be safe for most jobs- the amount of force needed to tip it is still high.

It'll be fine, this is how my golf sat for 7 months outside my house as i gradually cut out and welded in all new floors, rear inner and outer arches, sills, structural suspension mounts, fitted new engine, all new running gear , new interior/wiring etc.....etc...etc..

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I only meant to do the rear brakes for the mot but one afternoon i got rather carried away and 9 months later ended up with a folder full of receipts for near enough £5K by the time i had finished.

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Go and speak to him or offer a hand if you've a few hours spare.

so long as everything is fairly level and the stands themselves are properly upright all should be good.

If you think about the stands as triangles for the then to be tipped over the top of the stands need to go upwards in order to move sideways. So to topple the car you need to push it with enough force to lift the car upwards. Theres only so much sideways force you can put on the car if you are under it. If two people were working on it - one was trying to put a ceased hub off of something similarly pushypully - then you wouldn't want to lie underneath

If the stands themselves are on a slant- to the top of the stand is already above its edge than that would be a cause for concern.

I do speak to him, he is a nice lad who had a big interest in bikes (BMX etc) and I used to lend him tools etc, though I don't know him very well on a personal level. I did not want to say anything as he is showing real interest in the car and I think will be excellent at fixing it up - I did not want to look critical or knock his confidence as I think he has a difficult life in some ways. Also, as I am no expert in jacking up cars, seems a bit out of line for me to comment on his set up and then find I am wrong! I only do oil changes and suchlike on my own car so have never needed to get it off the ground.

I always lay the wheels under the car if it's on axle stands or on a jack. Belt and braces approach is best.

Somafunk - that looks very nice.

That is exactly what they are for. As long as they are positioned on decent ground (sounds fine to me) and they are in supporting suitable places on the car then there won't be any problem.

I have worked under cars on scissor jacks (the one in the boot), bricks, trolley jacks etc etc and I know better than that and after 2 close calls (car knocked off bricks by a van and scissor jack collapse - both times I had just got out from underneath) I now do things a bit more secure.

I will often stack the wheels off the car or some spare ones under the car to act a back up. I put them 2 high under a flat and strong part of the car - eg the front sub frame. Other times when I've not had any axle stands I've used sections of scaffold board on top of wheels under the jacking/support points. Can give a much more stable base than axle stands on uneven ground or spread the load out if you are taking a part off you would normally position the stands under.

Speaking from previous experience - you might want to ask him if he wants you to wait for him to get out from underneath if you are parking next to it.

Go up to it & give it a shake to see how safe it is,If he catches you doing this just say you were worried it wasn't safe for him to be lying under & wanted to make sure...

Axle stands when used properly are very safe though...

Cheers MidnightHour, t'was a labour of love and many a sweary moment involved and thoughts of wtf am i doing here often cropped into my head but it was well worth it, i've posted plenty of other pics of it on various forum threads so i'll not post any more here. Needs a respray to tidy up the paintwork but hopefully that'll be done over the winter and as everything underneath has been replaced for genuine VW or better items i hope she'll last another 28yrs on the roads - I hate driving modern cars as they're full of needless driving aids and my old 950kg golf with a 194bhp ABT 16v engine and the suspension mods can rip the absolute piss out of the new MK6 GTI Edition 35 on any occasion - Tiz' good fun to drive as well but very thirsty 🙁

As has been said this application is exactly what stands are intended for. The time to start worrying is when you see someone working under a car supported only by a jack. My Dad's neighbour was found dead one morning under a car with a failed jack next to him.

Soma - my last car was 18 when it retired and just a bog standard car, nothing special 200,000+ on the clock. As said I only do basic service stuff like spark plugs/oil but I loved that car - it was so nice to drive and so much easier to work on than the (slightly) newer one I have now. It only ever broke down once in its whole life. It saw off loads of friends modern cars as computer circuits, engine management and stuff just seemed to fail constantly on thiers.

I really love seeing older cars and vehicles on the road - respect to the people who care for and maintain them.

Thanks for the input everyone.

You can never be too safe. When I was swapping out all my wheels/fitting spacers and pads I used axel stands, a trolley jack AND the spare wheels under the car. If a car FOR WHATEVER REASON FALLS you'll have a horrible crush death. Axle stands and either wheels underneath or trolley jack is a safe back. Always have a back up to the first props- no one will laugh at you 🙂

Seen 1 tip over. Was a Range Rover shell (chassis+shell?), no doors, no wheels, no engine. Just tipped over in the breeze, on a reasonably flat bit of cul-de-sac, because the drive was on too much slope to safely jack up. Fortunately, nobody was underneath.

as others have said - putting the wheels underneath it is the easiest way -
I'd never work on a car without doing it - there is no excuse anyway as the wheels are already off.

Recently I walked past someone working under a 3series beemer on a shale drive with what seemed like two axle stands. Yes I said something and was told to mind my own business 😯

I'd never work on a car without doing it - there is no excuse anyway as the wheels are already off.

You know, if he's doing the car up the wheels are probably away for a refurb, ir in the shed being prepped for flippin hours.

Old wheels then. Anything really that can help take the pressure of your skull or rib cage.

Anything really that can help take the pressure of your skull or rib cage.

What - you don't routinely test your 'manlyness' by slowly lowering a car onto your skull, gradually taking up the full force...??

DrP

like they say it is safe if done properly but I would echo Hora and others in having a backup as well- personally dont truts just a jack EVER

DrP I once pulled a Suzuki Jimny using my balls whilst spinning two plates on chopsticks.

hora is lying, I don't think even he can spin two plates. 😉

Used to do it every day when I was a motor mech, long before wheel free ramps came along 😛

Father in law of the bloke who used to live opposite me - their drive starts flat but curves downwards fairly steeply as it joins the pavement. To change the oil, he reversed the car onto the flat bit, made two towers of bricks about 3ft high on the pavement to prop up two planks which ended up level. He then drove the car forwards onto the planks. Car is now balanced on towers of bricks which aren't on perfectly level ground.

It was terrifying to watch, I did go over and have a word but he was fine with it. I really could not watch.

I had a VOLVO 740 in except the same situation a few years back, think I was swapping the wheels/tyres around or something.

The car was on a tarmac drive and moments after I got up to get a cup of tea the axle stands on the drivers side began to sink and I watched as the car fell flat to the ground.

Seconds earlier and that would have been the end of my cycling days.

Tell them at least to put the wheels under the car.

It’ll be alright, it's what axle stands are for.

Reminds me of the days i spent spraying HGV's. We had Volvo F12's up on 4 axle stands and then lay underneath and sprayed the chassis.

hora - Member
DrP I once pulled a Suzuki Jimny using my balls whilst spinning two plates on chopsticks

Is 'Suzuki Jimny' a slang term for a Japanese transvestite that I've never heard before ❓

and what the hell is 'spinning two plates on chopsticks' a euphemism for?

If you want to see something that looks dangerous (but wasn't) check out what I had to do to strip the underside of my fun car, looks lethal due to the central position. Was removing the rear subframe and all structural parts for a re-build and paint, and the sills are 0.9mm foil so I wasn't balancing it on them!

Fortunately a 28mm front anti roll bar coupled with a 6" gap between stands means I could climb in and out of it quite happily without it even shifting. I was VERY cautious at first! I wouldn't recommend doing the same at the front too 😀

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My axle stands came with a warning stating a vehicle should never be supported entirely on axle stands.

[i]If you think about the stands as triangles for the then to be tipped over the top of the stands need to go upwards in order to move sideways. So to topple the car you need to push it with enough force to lift the car upwards.[/i]

One good nudge and the car can slide off the stands, the stands themselves don't need to fall over. Wheels or something like some timber under the sills would be most sensible.

One good nudge and the car can slide off the stands, the stands themselves don't need to fall over.

Definitely, especially if you stand it on a subframe or similar with a hard, flat surface. Always aim for a "pocket" or ensure the top of the stand has a surrounding of bolts/nuts that will prevent slippage.

My axle stands came with a warning stating a vehicle should never be supported entirely on axle stands.

Mine didn't 🙂 They'd be a bit pointless as axle stands if they were not designed to support the car, they're not exactly emergency catchers for if it slips off another support type.

It's not always possible to put extra supports under, but it's good if you can.

If I'm going to be under the vehcile I prefer the square 4 footed axle stands, the bigger the better, more stable. This shows little ones in use....

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I think the warning on mine basically means, leave two wheels on the ground or support the other half of the vehicle on a solid structure. They are the same design as those under Mark90's Land Rover.

Ah I see spooky, I mis-read that.

YEah if I was under a landy supported on stands I'd want them to be welded to the chassis and with a 3ft square base 😀

Theres a car I keep seeing when Im at work thats on some guys drive on 4 stands.

Im not too sure where the front stands are positioned but the rears are under the brake drums 😯

Its asking to fall over.