# Shade tree mechanics, don't forget to put the wheel under the car for safety **URL:** \ **Category:** Safety\ **Created:** [January 4, 2023, 12:46pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/shade-tree-mechanics-dont-forget-to-put-the-wheel-under-the-car-for-safety/188307 "2023-01-04T12:46:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![PvtPublic](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/pvtpublic/32/13089_2.png) [@PvtPublic](https://community.cartalk.com/u/PvtPublic)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 12:40am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/shade-tree-mechanics-dont-forget-to-put-the-wheel-under-the-car-for-safety/188307/41 "2023-01-06T00:40:54Z")
> [@xuandy129\_181104](#): > > it’s possible to strike the lever on the jackstand hard enough to make the lever move and the jack collapse. Then those jack stands suck They should positively lock. Mine you have to lift the vehicle (all weight off the stand) then you can lift the handle to retract. , ---
**Author:** ![PvtPublic](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/pvtpublic/32/13089_2.png) [@PvtPublic](https://community.cartalk.com/u/PvtPublic)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 4:27am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/shade-tree-mechanics-dont-forget-to-put-the-wheel-under-the-car-for-safety/188307/42 "2023-01-06T04:27:28Z")
![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/3/e/3e5157f405e274855b81c32344ec66d656d9770c.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Purebred](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/purebred/32/46796_2.png) [@Purebred](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Purebred)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 11:33am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/shade-tree-mechanics-dont-forget-to-put-the-wheel-under-the-car-for-safety/188307/43 "2023-01-06T11:33:41Z")
I would think a cut log (“tree trunk”) of the right size, perhaps 12” diameter by 12” tall would be a lot more cumbersome and likely heavier than a Jack stand, ---
**Author:** ![JoeMario](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3bc359/32.png) [@JoeMario](https://community.cartalk.com/u/JoeMario)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 1:58pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/shade-tree-mechanics-dont-forget-to-put-the-wheel-under-the-car-for-safety/188307/44 "2023-01-06T13:58:11Z")
RE: Concrete blocks Early in my years as a mechanic in a dealership, an elderly man came in for car service. His face was severely deformed. He made it a point to pull me aside to explain why he was lucky to be alive. And it was because he used concrete blocks to support a car he worked under decades earlier. I never forgot that message or his sincerity. Back to the topic, while I always use good jackstands, if I’ll be under the car for any length of time, I’ll usually put something else next to the jackstands, like blocks of wood, a wheel, or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![eddo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/eddo/32/2594_2.png) [@eddo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/eddo)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 4:48pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/shade-tree-mechanics-dont-forget-to-put-the-wheel-under-the-car-for-safety/188307/45 "2023-01-06T16:48:03Z")
> [@xuandy129\_181104](#): > > An important fact I’ve heard about jack stands is that if your car is light enough, it’s possible to strike the lever on the jackstand hard enough to make the lever move and the jack collapse. [https://youtu.be/G7\_Aa8pbM7Y](https://youtu.be/G7_Aa8pbM7Y) the audacity of using a Pittsburgh jack stand to talk about jack stand failures… 🤣 🤣 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![PintoKid](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/pintokid/32/45996_2.png) [@PintoKid](https://community.cartalk.com/u/PintoKid)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 4:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/shade-tree-mechanics-dont-forget-to-put-the-wheel-under-the-car-for-safety/188307/46 "2023-01-06T16:57:38Z")
I think the idea of putting my $400 wheels under the car is insane. And for newer cars where there are no aftermarket versions available I’ve paid as much as $800 to a dealer. Better to use a decent jack stand. [![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/1/f/1f771de253593e407f4a7465b2174a99c1363433.jpeg "Cheap Jack Stands Dangerous? Let’s find out! Daytona, Husky, Pittsburgh, Arcan, TCE, US Jack") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6ufAL5R0mg) ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 8:55pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/shade-tree-mechanics-dont-forget-to-put-the-wheel-under-the-car-for-safety/188307/47 "2023-01-06T20:55:47Z")
> [@PintoKid](#): > > I think the idea of putting my $400 wheels under the car is insane Agree…100% ---
**Author:** ![keith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/keith/32/5518_2.png) [@keith](https://community.cartalk.com/u/keith)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2023, 1:20am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/shade-tree-mechanics-dont-forget-to-put-the-wheel-under-the-car-for-safety/188307/48 "2023-01-07T01:20:31Z")
Any of y’all remember the “Andy Letter”, the one about the cattle car call? [https://www.cartalk.com/radio/letter/andy-letter](https://www.cartalk.com/radio/letter/andy-letter) ---
**Author:** ![ken2116](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f19dbf/32.png) [@ken2116](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ken2116)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2023, 2:46am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/shade-tree-mechanics-dont-forget-to-put-the-wheel-under-the-car-for-safety/188307/49 "2023-01-11T02:46:10Z")
To bcohen2010: floor jacks and other hydraulic jacks can blow a seal without warning, it’s happened to me. Use them only for lifting and place a good set of positive locking, appropriately rated jack stands to hold the car (mine are welded, and I inspect them). Years ago a neighbor was killed under his car, I live in earthquake country, someone might bump the car in my driveway, I don’t completely trust any one system and so place an old wheel under the frame near where I’m working as insurance, filling space with plywood squares (not solid lumber which might split). ---
**Author:** ![xuandy129\_181104](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/96bed5/32.png) [@xuandy129\_181104](https://community.cartalk.com/u/xuandy129_181104)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 2:12am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/shade-tree-mechanics-dont-forget-to-put-the-wheel-under-the-car-for-safety/188307/50 "2023-01-29T02:12:37Z")
I mean there’s stories of cars that are very light, e.g. Miata, where somebody was able to accidentally disengage the jackstand. ---
**Author:** ![xuandy129\_181104](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/96bed5/32.png) [@xuandy129\_181104](https://community.cartalk.com/u/xuandy129_181104)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 2:13am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/shade-tree-mechanics-dont-forget-to-put-the-wheel-under-the-car-for-safety/188307/51 "2023-01-29T02:13:08Z")
Honestly, I got Walmart jackstand but that’s why I put the tire under the car 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![xuandy129\_181104](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/96bed5/32.png) [@xuandy129\_181104](https://community.cartalk.com/u/xuandy129_181104)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 2:14am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/shade-tree-mechanics-dont-forget-to-put-the-wheel-under-the-car-for-safety/188307/52 "2023-01-29T02:14:23Z")
Thank you. I figure it is not to use as a jackstand, but to be a safety mechanism. It sure would be a bother to move though. You’d have to roll it [Previous page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/shade-tree-mechanics-dont-forget-to-put-the-wheel-under-the-car-for-safety/188307.md?page=2)