eclipse23

Ok, here's the deal. I was hanging with Ron from StreetEffectz and I left his shop. I ran over this HUGE branch right near my house so I pulled over cuz something was rubbing against my front right disk. So, I could not see what it was so I pulled into my driveway and wanted to check the disk.
I looked under but could not see anything so I decided to jack up the car and take off the wheel. 20 mins later I jack up the car (on the stress point) with my handy dandy Acura Jack and take off the wheel. I turn around FOR ONE SECOND to get some cribbing and BANG!!!!!!

THE FUCKING JACK BENT IN HALF and my car crashed down on the disk brake. After standing there for a moment in sheer horror, I run not walk over to my neighbor's house and he lends me the 3 ton jack. FUCK! Goddamn it! I put the wheel back on and take it for a test drive and noises and scrapes are all I hear. I put it back in the driveway, jack it up, and take off the wheel and have to bend the plate on the back of the disk off the disk brake. That seems to have done the trick.

All I have to say is Acura is getting a huge letter from me regarding the quality of the jacks they give you with the car. I used to work in a tire shop in college so I know how to use a jack and crib a car. I am gonna take a pic of the jack and post it, un-fucking -believable.

Plus, I'm sending my car in to get looked at, Wayne, HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ 08-20-2001: Message edited by: juniorbean ]

CLpower

that sucks....i remember leaving a dealer once in my friends teg, making a right turn and watching the wheel roll off

nootch

My dad got his tires rotated one time, and the idiots at the shop didnt tighten any of the lugnuts on a wheel. We heard a noise, pulled over and the tire was almost off the wheel.

TypeSKid

Thats really pathetic. You'd think that for a car that weighs as much as ours they'd at least supply a half way sufficient jack.

I noticed it was a little weak when I raised the left front tire for the CAI install...

I would have hit the roof if that was me!

beestea

Thats pretty unsafe... what if you were underneath the car at the time?

Ogolden1

If the "TIRE was almost off the WHEEL", that would have nothing to do with tightening the lugnuts!!!

Ogolden1

If that's true, then you would have had a JACK STAND under there!!! :o

amir was here

OH SHIT WHEN I WAS INSTALLING MY CAI, WE USED THE JACK, AND I WAS UNDER THE CAR!!! FIGHTING WITH THOSE STUPID THINGS THAT I ENDED UP BREAKING OFF..!!

I was under the car for a good 2 hours...SHIT...

Akim711

Dude, i hate to take sides... and even though i'm a honda fan... i must say, that the design for the honda jacks suck. they're certainly stable i think, but as for your case... i don't know.

its just that i've changed wheels before on a bmw 325 and a volk jetta cuz they had flats... and the design of the jackstands and its ease of use is SOO much better. They're specifically designed for their own cars, but yeah, changing a tire has never been easier. you hardly have to apply any torque to the lever, and the car just starts rising.

i'm not really sure where i'm getting with this... but yeah, our honda jacks suck ass.

MiK3Y

thats what im sayin

BC

CLpower. That is a terrible thing to happen, had to grin to myself though. Reminds me of that old Kenny Rogers song, "You picked a fine time to leave me loose wheel."

eclipse23

Hate to shatter your moment of brilliance but if I was on the side of the road with a flat that jack would have simply broke then. I don't carry jack stands in my car for emergency use and btw cribbing is a jack stand made of wood but I couldn't get that far because when I turned to get the wood my fucking car slammed into the ground. Yeah Yeah I could have put the cribbing in before I removed the wheel but aside from the lack of Jackstands this should not have happened either way. The Jack is bent sideways, it caved in under the weight.

[ 08-18-2001: Message edited by: eclipse23 ]

2002 3.2 CL

Not only does honda have bad jacks but my friends ford mustange has the same jack with a different handle. So does his sisters dodge stratus, so it is not just honda's but acura at least shoud have made them better and stronger than the one that comes with the civic.

wayneg

Poobah- bring it up and we'll check it out. Can do a product quality report right then and get you a new one, too. thankfully you weren't hurt. We can always fix the car!

blxmjx

Eclipse, sucked that this happened but at least you weren't hurt. Use this as a lesson though guys. Never trust a factory jack when working on your car especially under your car. Even if you are using the factory jack to change a flat, never let any part of your body get under the vehicle. I've seen factory jacks fail on numerous occasions. A bunch of different model cars too (lexus, toyota, mazda, gmc, ford, honda). When I work on my cars I make sure that I use jackstands w/ a heavy duty shop jack.

bdimc2001

Hey Ernest,

glad your ok. one time I was at the Seton Hall Prep parking lot and I had to change my tires b/c it had a flat and the jack fell also good thing there was a camry that stopped the fall of the TL, and the rotors didn't hit the floor. Kinda messed up my front plates alittle. But I managed to get that jack under there and changed the tires. Took forever. So I know what u mean by the jack design sucking.

Hey you still coming to the meet tomorrow right?

monkeymato

That really sucks. Acura better repair it all for free. Didnt think the jacks would just bend like that. Good luck.

MikeS 18

Here is a trick that I use when I do not have a jack stand handy. I take the tire off and place THAT under the car at a support point. So if the jack fails or the car rolls off then all I lose is a tire/wheel and not the whole axle/brake assembly. Now, with the amount of money some of you guys put into tire and wheels it might be a more expensive proposition...
There. That's my "moment of brilliance"!

CLS899

I bought a nice hydrolic scissor jack in a plastic carrying case at PepBoys for $ 39.99 and keep it in the trunk for tire changes. The original CLS jack looks too fragile for lifting up the car and is hard to use.

Rock Dog

A bad situation inderd my friend. I haven't used the OEM jack on any car I've owned in years. But in this case you has no choice. Except maybe, next time you pick up the NEXTEL and get that TLC card out of oyur wallet.

I'm glad you're alright. Wayne is right. It just a car. A car you cherrish, and pamper. A car that gets a steady cash injection for fun and frolick. As a matter of fact wen he is finished washing it. He doesn't just dry it with a chamoise, he then applies baby powder to the ass end. It's just a car.

Did you get a chance to get to those 2 under body porjects I you we're talking about?

eclipse23

No but we have an unfinished discussion LOL love Nextel and I'll call you later on today.

Oh, and do you have any extra powder? I ran out and I just wont feel right going out LOL.

Rock Dog

Well, since it's kinda the same subject. About 2 months back I had a gravel hauler comeing at me on a 2 lane cross the centerline. So I ease right to give him a little more room and BING. I hit a portion of the pavement that had "potholed" agaist the shoulder. So now I feel a little wiggle in the front end. Took the car to my wheel and tire guy, and he says, "yup, there is a slight flat spot in the inside lip of the wheel, and I mean slight. I doubt it is causing any problem." So I decided to order a new wheel anyway. $325 and 2 days later everything is on and spinning fine.

Last Wedsnday I decide that with about 7,000 miles on the car since then. It's time for a rotation. So I figured I would do it this weekend. Not an hour after deciding this some brainless female, in an Excursion no less, decides that she needs to be in the left lane, of the 2 lane, gravel chouldered blacktop we are traveling on. Well, guess who is right next to her. So her she comes heading for my passenger side. I ease to the shoulder and brake slighlty to allow her the room she needs to be a complete anchor on society. and then BANG. I hit a broken part of the shoulder i.e pothole. Only unlike 7,000 miles ago, the car is shaking like hell. And most of you know that I was in the middle of bullshit this week. So now I have to get to the tire guys. But I'm working till 9:30 (at the least), Wednesday and Thursday. No I have to drive this shaking M'r F'r until then.

Hopefully I just threw the weights. The tech calls me into the garage when he gets the drivers corner on the machine. The inside part of the rim has a 6 inch flat on it. GOD DAMN IT. 2 wheels in 7,000 miles. I call the wife and have here get the slighly bent one out of the garage and bring it to the tire store. It now resides at the left rear corner. And everything feels ok.

BUT, DAMN IT. I am taking pictures and contacting Acura. These are with out a doubt the weakest aluminum wheels I have ever had. I have hit bigger potholes and cracks that these before. And these wheels dimple like a pop can.

MikeS 18

I haven't bent a rim yet but I have a nice bubble on the right front. I don't want to get a new tire but its getting bigger every week. Grr!

astro

eclipse: did you have the emergency brake applied? were you on ANY kind of a slope?
these 2 factors could totally be the reason your jack collapsed...the car moved a couple inches when it was up and that caused the jack to bend...

NOVAwhiteTypeS

SHIIIIIIIIIIIIT man, good thing yo ass didn't get hurt.

I use the factory jack to jack it just enough to put my hydro jack under the car since the car is lowred. but man, Im never gonna trust the factory jack.

hope you get yo car fixed soon.

Scorpius

Does anyone make aftermatket jacks that fit in our jack storage thing? I had to change my tire once. But, I only jacked it up until the wheel was a meere inch off the ground. I didn't like the looks of that sheet metal jack either.

Tom2

I'd bet my left nut that it was user error......

BigPimp

There you go starting trouble again.........
Come on man, give em the benefit of the doubt, you were not there. These jacks are not the best thing in the world, but have worked fine for me personally, can't speak for anyone else however.

Rock Dog

My father always said "Don't bet, what you don't have"

Sorry Tom it was there, I had to take it.

snakeiz

just my .02 worth...

I have the same type jack for my Viper and it is so low you have to use the spare jack to start and then put the floor jack under it. I was jacking up the rear end with the spare jack on the side fairing lifting point and the floor jack under the rear chunk. I had went to get the impact gun and heard a crash, went back over and the spare jack had broke and sent pieces flying across the garage. Fortunately the floor jack was still holding the car. Warranty gave me a new jack but didn't get any action from Dodge on the problem. I now drive the car up on boards to get it high enough, I will never use that spare unless I am stuck on the side of the road.

stephen

Tom2

Trouble? Not really......

It's just that I've seen the same scenario time and time again. Too many USERS are too quick to blame a product for their own negligence. I'm not saying that it CAN'T happen, or that Eclipse is lying. But chances are that HE made an error and is quick to blame the jack.

Like Astro said-- being on even a slight incline can easily put a lateral force on the jack and cause it to buckle quite easily.

But all this is moot, because I fully expect an Eclipse response to follow soon stating that he was not on ANY incline and that he knows how to jack up a car blah, blah, blah, yeah....whatever

Rock Dog-- I've got two apples in my bag, a lefty and righty

amir was here

yeah i have also heard the slope thing, also, the e-brake should be on.

nootch

I need to rephrase that. The whole wheel tire and all was coming off of the car. Sorry mother.

eclipse23

Your entitled to your opinion Tom but since you were not there it's just an opinion. No fight from me. I'm surprised you did not use this as fuel to tell us how good BMW jacks are and how when you had your CLS the jack was not as good blah blah blah....

soopa

ERNEST! AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

LOL this is funny shit.

I'm just glad it didnt happen when you were painting your calipers! That way ya cant blame it on me! lol

Anyway, I'm sure Jens can fix it right up for ya.


Stupid Mutt.

eclipse23

LOL!
This morning, now that I have a 3 ton jack, I painted the front LOL. What a day Soopa, what a day!

Rock Dog

Whadya axpect from a guy named For&#$&

eclipse23

Good Point Cock Dog.

MikeS 18

OOOOOOHHHHHHHHH LOOOORRRRDDDDD

KUM BAY YAAAAHHHHH!

Jayru2

I took the time to take a short pic of the car jack. I can easily see where the design flaw is. Please correct me if I am wrong, but did the jack break at the joint assy. (what is what the picture is. See below

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/ViewP...p=53142100&f=0

It seems the metal is not solid all the way around the 1/2" steel pin going through the two portions of the jack. They should have made that hole SOLID, instead of beeing cheep and using some other method.

I would take this maybe to court or something. This is DEFF a safty issue

[ 08-19-2001: Message edited by: Jayru2 ]

[ 08-19-2001: Message edited by: Jayru2 ]