JustAFooL

iTrader: (45)

A buddy was putting a new suspension under his car this past weekend and was having problems with the front springs. When I got down there, he had the car placed on top of centerblocks, stacked 2 high on each corner!! I told him that I would never do that and he claimed that he has seen people do it all the time..

I work for a general contractor and know that block is the basic foundation of a house. However, I have never seen anyone do this. Luckily, nothing happened and everything turned out fine, but he thought I was crazy because I wouldn't even stick my legs under the car.

Is there anyone here that does this or has any good explanation of why/how it can be safe??

SippiSpeedhawk

iTrader: (21)

Do you mean cinder blocks? If so, yeah they are fine as long as you have the hollow side up and down. I usually have a 2x6 laid across the top to help distribute the weight better. If you lay them with the hollow side out they will crush though. I have had my 240 sitting on blocks for the past 3 months and I'm under it several days a week.

srbliss

And lots of people get hurt - bad. Don't do it. A set of proper jack-stands will last forever and cost one hell of lot less than an ER visit and time off from work - if your one of the lucky ones. I heard of a guy trapped under a little Porsche 914 for several hours when his 'blocks' crumbled. Good thing for him the car was 'only' putting 400ish pounds on his chest.

Zlow28

iTrader: (11)

Do you mean cinder blocks??

tell him theres a reason martial artists choose to break cinder blocks over jackstands using their hands

JustAFooL

iTrader: (45)

Wow, a year of trades school and still didn't know thats how it was spelled.. Classic..

They were layed hollow side down, but it still didn't seem safe just to look at it. After a few people get on here and talk about his stupidity, I'm going to let him read this..

Zlow28

iTrader: (11)

unfortunately some people are very stubborn when it comes to their safety. Since lots of other people use them succesfully, they think it is automatically safe. I know this older man who used to be a mechanic, one time he was working on a lowrider car with hydraulics and he had the car raised on something other than jackstands (forgot exactly what was raising it). Anyway, he thought it was safe cus he had been doing it for years, and one day the car fell on top of him. He was hospitalized for a while and wasnt able to do much physical work afterwards. He hasnt worked on cars since.

PS as long as theres no grammar ***** around, spelling doesnt really matter

murphinator

iTrader: (2)

I use 6x6 solid wood blocks all the time to support cars especially when I am pulling the cradle with engine & trans on it out from under a car - jack stands dont go that high. after spending 12 years in the marine industry we always use wood blocking to support boats

I would think twice about doing the same on hollow cinder blocks though...

samckitt

iTrader: (5)

No way in hell would I set my car on concrete blocks & get under it. Jack stands are like $15 a pair, buy some.

Fry_

Most people get hurt from stacking them the wrong way. When I was a few years younger I did it all of the time. But it's still a better idea to just go to harbor freight for a set of $15 2ton jack stands.

mikedamageinc

iTrader: (49)

Cinder blocks with boards over to distribute the weight may be okay to change wheels or something but I would not get under it. The reason they can hold a house is the stacking and weight distribution but one pr two blocks can crumble since a car frame or whatever will focus the weight in a small area.

Be careful with wood too it can split (had it happen before). Like it was said, jackstands are not expensive. Even some good ones for 50 bucks which is better than lost fingers, limbs, etc.

Zlow28

iTrader: (11)

agreed, if your using em to change a tire, then i guess theres nothing wrong with that, but if youre crawling under the car, invest in good jackstands. you never know when a earthquake might hit

T AM

iTrader: (5)

I've seen a guy work under his truck with the front wheels off and he had nothing but a sketchy jack hodling it up. Now cinder blocks? That's hillbilly! You can buy a pair of jack stands for $25.

01ssreda4

iTrader: (96)

Pretty sure cinder blocks that hold up houses are filled inside with concrete. Doing that would significantly increase their strength. I wouldn't use them to hold up a car regardless. When safety is at stake, and you have a choice in my garage to do the safe or unsafe thing, I always make the statement, "you wanna go to the hospital or do you wanna go home?" The person always chooses the right way and we've never had an accident.

(Variation from Training Day).

pewter2002

iTrader: (4)

The strength/load that cinderblocks support is immense - in a wall. Typically, these walls use a "running block" configuration so the load is distributed throughout the entire structure uniformly. This is what the blocks were designed for, not a point load, even if the block was put down (oriented) that way it was intended to be which typically they are not, using one or two blocks stacked etc. The blocks could crumble/crack etc at any time and give way. Just b/c they held once does not guarantee they will hold again or that the next block will. Use the right tool for the job (jack stands here) it is faster safer and easier.

Nowhereman

Yup, wood works great, has for years.
Jack stands are soo damn cheap now, anyone could buy em though.
I will never use cinder blocks because they are not made of reinforced concrete.
They are good for their intended use and it's not blocking up cars.
My life an limbs are more important to me than a few bucks.

srbliss

I came into work and my boss had his 85' T-bird up on jack stands (this was my college job.) The jack stands were those orange jobs and they were all the way up. Before I went under the car to remove all of the suspension I gave the car a bit of a shove and it fell of the jack stands! My boss was royally pissed at me and was cussing me out when I said 'would you rather be paying my ER bills?' He got real quiet at that point.
Don't screw with this stuff or ladders for that matter. Thousands of peeps get way f-ed up in December putting up Christmas lights using (or abusing) ladders. Get some quality jack stands and use them. If you can't afford them save up a few $$ a month and buy some. Having a car fall on you will really mess up the rest of your life and we like having you here.

my bandit

iTrader: (10)

never ever use them to support a car unless you know the compressive strength of the concrete used. my thought is, if you can throw it on the ground and it shatters into pieces, i wont trust it to hold up a car that i am crawling under

wav3form

iTrader: (1)

A lady at work had her son get paralyzed when a car he was working on supported with cinder blocks fell on him. It's a stupid way to get hurt/killed.

Starz T/A 17

iTrader: (6)

I always keep 2 jack stands under the car with the jack still under the car. I don't understand why people shortcut safety with what takes 5 minutes max and $30 in parts. Sure it MIGHT work for a while but do it enough and odds will catch up with you, better off being safe and doing it right

sreve

iTrader: (3)

I wonder if this guy is still alive?