I hate to admit this.

The owner's manual says to change the brake fluid every three years. It also says to use only Acura brake fluid. Whatever. It requires two 12 oz bottles for a thorough flush.

So, I bought one of those one-man bleeder doo-hickies from Bennett Auto Parts and set aside today for that purpose.

I couldn't get the thing on the bleeder valve without removing the wheels. That's OK. The back of the wheels, suspension parts, and fender wells were due for a detailing anyway.

I used the OEM jack. I've used it before when I painted the calipers gold when the car was new. The rear wheels went well.

EDIT: Shop manual says start with Front Left, then Front Right, then Rear Right, then Rear Left.


I then jacked up the right front. My driveway is relatively flat so I didn't block the wheels. Besides.... it was in Park.

Big mistake. The 5AT doesn't have limited slip differential and Park works on the front wheel(s). After removing the RF wheel, hooking up the bleeder into a bicycle water bottle, I jumped in the driver seat to pump the pedal. CRASH!

Oh, shit! The scissors OEM jack just slipped sideways and the car slammed down on the asphalt with a sickening noise.

LESSON: Park will NOT hold with one front wheel off the ground. Use the hand brake and block the wheels.

It landed on the brake rotor and dust shield. Also scraped the aluminum sub-frame a little. No damage to sheet metal or plastic parts. Only a few minutes before it fell off the jack, I had my head inside the wheel well wiping down the suspension parts.

LESSON TWO: The OEM scissors jack will crank down to about 3 inches which is small enough to get under the front jacking point while resting on the brake rotor. TG!

The old brake fluid was brown and yucky so I'm glad I changed it before the wheel cylinders corroded. And this is beautiful, tropical Florida with only 12k miles. What would it look like in Minnesota after 50k miles?

The only thing ruined is my pride.

 

It's happened to me before and I know others that have had it happened also, the good thing is you were not hurt.

On the brake fluid question, since Florida is a hot humid state it is actually a worst place for DOT3 brake fluid since it is hygoscopic and will abosorb water more water in Florida than Minnesota were the humidity is lower.

 

 

holy shit Dave, I didnt click on the link you pinged me with till now.

Im just glad you were not hurt bro...

 

Howd you get the car back up?

 

The only thing stupider is when it happened to me, even with the hand brake on-- but my excuse is that I was only 17 or 18 at the time.

You're unhurt and the car is none the worse for wear, so live and learn.
Time for a new jack, by the way?

 

joey,etc: See Lesson Two above.


Xpditor: I was going to do this this weekend. At the very least, your post may have saved at least a small part of whatever pride I've got left ...

 

DAMNNNNNNNNN.....got lucky!!! reread it thanks...=)

 

Lesson to All: When you use a jack of any type: place a block, wood- rubber- whatever, at the opposite end of the car and opposite the side being jacked up.
Look at which way the car would roll, and place the stopping device in front or behind the wheel to prevent that. rf jacked up--- lr, block behind it.
If in doubt- put a block on BOTH sides of the farthest wheel from the jack point being used
The issue is weight transfer to the opposite side and end of the car- that is how the suspension/sway bars work- shifting weight around.

Hydraulic jacks lose pressure with no notice- I have seen it and had to rescue more than one person in my lifetime- thats 2 too many
Think of them like a TL transmission,,, fail without warning
Screw jacks get knocked over easily as experienced by this threads OP.

NEVER EVER get under a car on a jack without stands under it!!!, 1 stand right where you are working if only 1 corner raised.

Its not the crushing weight that is the bad part- its the removal of the weight that releases pressure on your crushed internal organs. Then you hemmorage and go into shock~ if you're lucky- according to my wife the ER Nurse.
What happens to the unlucky ones you ask? They stay awake and feel the pain while having to admit to the stupidty of the accident to a local tv news crew
If you are thinner than the car sitting on the rotor- disregard the above advice~

 

Honestly I'll DIY the shit out of my car, i've done timing belts, balancer belts, water pump, engine mounts, drive shafts, coil overs etc...... but for the 80 bucks the dealer charges for a brake system flush I'll spend it. My dealers poster price is 85 If memory serves me correct, which is less than a normal hour of labor (95). I think thats the one thing I'm fine with paying for.

Glad to hear both you, and your car are ok! time to spend a few bones on a decent hydraulic jack and stands. I bought a 2 1/2 ton trolley jack and 2x2ton stands for like 60 ish, well worth it IMO. I'm now considering getting a lower profile trolley with more lift, if you do buy something try to get beyond the 4-5' my POS offers.

 

Glad you're ok.

And I can't believe you raise and lower your car with the scissor jack.

 

glad you didn't hurt yourself

 

 

LESSON TWO: The OEM scissors jack will crank down to about 3 inches which is small enough to get under the front jacking point while resting on the brake rotor. TG!

 

I do almost all the work on my car. I should know better. I DO know better.

I was going to try and do it without taking the wheels off but there wasn't enough room to get the tool on the bleeder valve.

Since I wasn't going to be under the car, I decided to take the easy way.

WRONG.

I baby my car so much that I would have been more devastated if my car had been damaged than if I had smashed some fingers.

I'm buying a better jack today. I have a hydraulic jack (small) and jack stands. I also have brand new wheel chocks. I just didn't use them.

 

Glad to hear you were not hurt Dave!

 

Once I get some cash saved up, that's exactly what I'm getting .. new hydraulic jack and jack stands ..

 

Thank you all for your concern.

 

I just picked up a 2 1/2 ton (4,500 pounds) Craftsman set (Jack + 2 Stands) from Sears for $29.99; Reguar $60.

IOW - you shouldn't need to "save up" long.

This one:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...Lift+Equipment

Perfect for light/home use DIY. Also check AutoZone, Pep Boys, etc for simiar sets and prices.


Expediter: Glad you are OK and thanks for sharing. Your "mechanics pride" might have taked an hit, but you can take real pride in the fact that you may have saved someone else from a very serious injury.

 

Accidents make the best educational tool for others
Thanks for sharing your story

 

the important thing is you're ok and the car's ok.

but Im with you - id be more pissed if my car was damaged over having crushed my fingers.

 

wow. could have been alot worse

ever since i started modding any of my cars... i went out and purchased a 2 1/2 ton hyrdraulic jack... got it on sale @ autobarn, for like $30-40 (a few years back, i cant remember)

this thing has saved me HOURS or hand cracking the crap OEM jack.. my explorers used to come with the same kind of jack. Imaging jacking up an SUV, with one of those things... ugh....

i will never put my car on jack stands, and trust it with my life (being under the car) but when i am pulling off a wheel to do work, i put the jack stands in place and leave the car on the jack.. this way, if the jack fails, ive got a back up

 

buy a jack that offers 15'+ lift, take the thickness of your body and add like 4' to make being under the car comfortable add another 2' if you use a creeper.

 

Noob! Haha just kidding

I really need to change my brake fluid!

 

Hey guys,
I missed this board for a few months, was busy moving my family from Jersey to Colorado, selling and buying a house etc.
Now I have a 3 car garage instead of 2 in our old home, so I decided to shop around for a good light (aluminum) car jack for two reasons:
1. more room in the garage
2. my wife got a Christmas present from me - 2008 MDX, so my old cheapo jack is out of business on SUV - too heavy - about 4450 lbs or 2 ton, and also, the jack doesnt go high enough for SUV


I looked at Sears 3 ton jack, but people complain about its quality. I don't wont to spend more then $200 if it is possible.
So what type/brand jack do you use to work on your car(s) ?

Also, what should be a jack's working height to satisfy both, TL and MDX
?

Thanks!

 

shop lift... lol

 

I bought a craftsman for 40 bucks. works great. Sometimes I need it to go a bit higher but I manage.

 

I bought one of the sears SUV jacks when I had my expedition since my other jack wouldn't even get the tires off the ground.

Works great - and it's got the feature where it lifts to the frame in 1 pump. Only issue I've had is that the kotter pin broke between the handle-shroud and the actual hydrolic post.

Probably didn't explain much, but if you put your handle in the jack and pump it, it moves freely now instead of being attached to the jack itself. I just need to buy a $.03 cotter pin and I'm all set.

 

Holy crap, that must of been scary as hell.
Glad you're OK.
I only use OEM jacks in emergencies, those these scare me. How did you jack it back up?

 

Glad to hear you are ok.

On the side note, hows the braking compared to before? Do you feel a firmer pedal and better grip?

 

dont forget u can always put a piece of 4x4 on the stand part for those extra couple of inches =)

 

yea man thank god u werent under the car and ur ok...no worry about pride dude ive got some bad stories myself....lol we can all relate. and im in jupiter right now... and thanks for the reminder im gonna bang mine out too.... the brake fluid that is.

 

i too have a craftsman. its been pretty reliable

 

Jacks always scare me.
Whenever you're lifting tonage with machinery that isn't bolted to the ground or heavier than what you are lifiting, it terrifies me.
I always try to find a double post auto lift.

 

I have the big Craftsman jack, too. However, it isn't light nor is it made of aluminum as requested. In fact I try to not pick it us as I have a bad back. It just stays parked under one of my workbenches until I roll it out for use. It can lift my wife's GMC Yukon just fine, though.

 

A 1957 weaver that I modified with 6" urethane wheels.

 

How did you get that price? Was there a local sale? Is it over?

 

I don't notice any difference in the already perfect brake feel. Perhaps a touch more solid but that might be in my head.

As noted, the brake fluid absorbs moisture and gets dirty or algae grow in it or something to discolor it. Acura says to change it every 3 years regardless of miles. When I saw what came out, I'm glad I did.

Hopefully, this prevents corrosion in the master cylinder and the wheel cylinders/calipers.

NOTE: I have merged two threads together as someone started another thread on jacks.

 

And prevents corrosion of the brake system VSA/ABS pump/modulator which isI believe is more expensive than all the other components combined.

Once those high pressure valves get some corrosion the only solution is to replace that assembly (it cannot be rebuilt). My 1989 Legend had leaking valves and the pump would run every half hour to maintain the reserve brake pressure.

 

I have an old Craftsman floor jack; my dad had it for years and gave it to me when he bought a new one. My jack stands (4) are Big Red or something like that from Pepboys...3,500lb capacity, I believe.

My brake fluid was still relatively clear after three years (only 24k miles or so), but the flush didn't hurt.