Molal24 Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 So after consulting some of you guys on here about the oil and stuff, I decided to go with what I use for my Honda, Valvoline Synthetic. I buy the stuff from AutoZone and pull the Subaru into the driveway. I pull out the never used spare tire jack to crank the car up a bit. Place that sucker in the right place and start pumping up the car. I grab a jack stand to place under the car because i just don't trust those damn jacks. As I peek under the car with my head under the engine, I notice that to put the jackstand under the car, I need a couple more cranks to pump the car up a bit more. The second I take my head from under the car to head over to the jack, the car comes falling down. I was literally 2 seconds away from being able to see the light of death. I peek under the car and there it is, the jack failed me. The base of the jack is still flat but the rest is all bent and pretty much garbage. I grab the jack from my Honda and pump up next to where the Subaru jack was. I grabbed the messed up jack and took a look at it. Garbage. I decide this is not fair. I called my Subaru dealership and they told me to call 1-800-Subaru3. I did and the lady was not helpful. She told me that since the car was no longer under warranty, she couldn't help me. I'm like WTF does the damn jack have to do with warranty? You make then last 36k and then let them fall on the people using them? She told me that I could buy one from the dealership and then fax her the reciept so that their investigation team could look at it. WTF! I'm now stuck with no jack. Anyone got any advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metal2You Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Wow, that sucks. Glad you're OK! Get a good hydraulic floor jack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Law Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Buy a real jack? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Put jack stand under the car before sticking your head under the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whatisit Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 the trunk jacks are for emergency use only. i wouldnt trust them on an ongoing basis. get a good hydrolic floor jack, or use some garage floor ramps. (thats what i use) http://img.alibaba.com/photo/51165519/Garage_Car_Ramp.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scoobydoobie Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 use ramps, much safer/sturdier than jacks/stands IMO. Glad you are alright, that's something I've always been paranoid of when using jackstands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 use ramps, much safer/sturdier than jacks/stands IMO. Glad you are alright, that's something I've always been paranoid of when using jackstands. No! Good jackstands are safer. Especially non-ratcheting ones - i.e. ones with slide lock pin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRSCobra Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 4 post lift or nothing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gire Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 get another cheap spare scissor jack from a wrecker's lot. throw it in the trunk and never expect to use it again... Then go and buy a good hydraulic pump jack from an autoparts store. Best hundred or so bucks you'll ever spend. Unless you live in an apartment and don't have the storage space... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tachikaze Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 spare tire jack yeah, when you're changing a tire you only have to jack the car a couple of inches. OPERATOR ERROR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOMSWGN Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Did you use the scissor jack on a flat surface? Using them on any sort of a grade will cause failure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
problemcat13 Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 On the one hand, I used my scissor jack on my 99 Forester for years, on unlevel surfaces, and never once had an issue (with much more lift = opportunity for failure). Always pulled the emergency brake. Worked under it like that (used a jack stand part of the time). On the other hand, my 99 Forester had enough ground clearance that I could move around under it without a jack so no worries. So yeah, my lowered 04 XT will ALWAYS have a jack stand for working under it. Goes with the territory. Glad you weren't injured, and this is a good reminder to me that I don't want to chance it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJS5689 Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Get a real jack. PS. The Subaru jack is alright compared to the VW widow maker. Anyone ever use one of those? Damn the VW jacks were SCARY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeFromPA Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Have any of you guys ever driven OVER a pair of ramps? I have....was a big-ass pair of ramps (yellow metal) and a buddy was guiding me up. I wasn't quite in the cradle and he waved me forward a little more. Next thing I know, I feel the guy go down, up, and then start to go down again....I slammed on the brakes. I was HOLDING MY CAR while the tires were literally over the other side of the ramp. I don't know how the physics of the tires/ramps allowed the car not to fall and destroy the undersides of the car. Anyway, he told me to attempt to back up. I slammed it into reverse but couldn't finagle the right amount of pressure and started to fall forward. I made my friend run to get a jack and jack me up so he could remove the ramps. I've been scared to death of ramps ever since. Lesson for me: Buy a freaking jack. OP: I've used a $20 2-ton pepboys jack and 2 jack stands for multiple years without issue...the primary problem with it is that it doesn't get up as high as a more serious jack will. It's heavy. It takes many pumps to lift hte car. I'm going to Harbor Freight to buy a 3-ton Aluminum Jack for about $100 because the 2-ton jack strains alittle bit on the Legacy GT (which is ~700 pounds heavier than my SI). The aluminum one will jack up the car faster, safer, and be easier to haul around. I live in a townhome without a garage....you should be able to figure it out. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregsbuzz Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 road side assistance FTW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamw001 Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Glad that you are ok. $100 to $200 for a better quality jack as compared to your life. Make the right choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spec B Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Jeez..I always use the spare tire jack and climb under the car to place the "emergency" jackstand in there as a backup. Never doing that again! Glad you are okay. I love ramps but my car is way too low to clear them..I guess i will buy a hydraulic jack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireB Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Spending money on a good jack will always be better than getting squashed for sure. I always have a spare jack stand on the frame just to be sure. You can never be 100% safe so minimizing the risk is the best thing to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAyala Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Wow that crazy Thank god You alright Man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack ffr1846 Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Being that I AM jack..... I use this to change my oil. I don't know how I survived before buying it..... http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r127/Jackffr1846/crx.jpg jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
underpowerd Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 yeah, when you're changing a tire you only have to jack the car a couple of inches. OPERATOR ERROR +1, emergency jacks get exponentially dangerous with every increment of extension. no good for anything but the few inches required for a (very level) roadside tire change. it's hard to believe until you see one or two melt right in front of you... or worse. glad you're ok, OP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikvcl Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Have any of you guys ever driven OVER a pair of ramps? I have....was a big-ass pair of ramps (yellow metal) and a buddy was guiding me up. I wasn't quite in the cradle and he waved me forward a little more. Haha, yea. I've done that before. The car was a '79 Porsche 924 that I had in high school. Unbelievably, the car wasn't damaged at all -- I just jacked up the car, removed the ramps, and tried again. I don't use my ramps now because the plastic insert that lessens the angle of incline broke when I didn't have it positioned correctly and the weight of the car cracked it. The angle is too steep for the cars we have. So now, it's a floor jack and jack stands for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowfiend Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 I'm going to Harbor Freight to buy a 3-ton Aluminum Jack for about $100 because the 2-ton jack strains alittle bit on the Legacy GT (which is ~700 pounds heavier than my SI). The aluminum one will jack up the car faster, safer, and be easier to haul around. I live in a townhome without a garage....you should be able to figure it out. Joe NO! avoid harbor freight at all costs. The jacks are cheap chinese parts and will fail on you. I had that exact one you were thinking of getting and was jacking up my friends Buick, and noticed a fluid dripping from the jack. a few moments later, the car came slamming to the ground when the hydraulic pump let go. go to sears and get a better craftsman one for a few dollars more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlerob904 Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 HAHA nice. I've grown up using ramps and never had a problem. The obvious scare is that you will drive over them. I'm generally extremely cautious when driving up as its better to break early and check your position rather than take a guess. Although once you do it a few times it's like riding a bike. I used the the spare tire jack to rotate my tires, but I wouldn't dare get under the car with that thing. I don't care how safe some jacks / jackstands are. If my head is under the car, I prefer a ramp, they don't fail. User error when getting the car on them is a different story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opie Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Did you use the scissor jack on a flat surface? Using them on any sort of a grade will cause failure. Correct! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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