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I just had a sobering experience with my Quickjack lifting my G37 sedan.
This is only the fourth time I've had the car on the Quickjack. I got it all lined up with the lift points, then raised it until the lift blocks made first contact. Went around and checked all four lift points to ensure they were well positioned. No problems identified. Then I raised the Quickjack to the first locking position and lowered it to lock. Checked the right side (locked) and was going around to check the other side when the left side jack squirted out from under the car and the left side fell to the ground! Right side still up on the jack. No apparent damage to the car.
There was nothing wrong with the jack itself. It was locked as intended, and showed no evidence of failure. The lifting blocks were also fine, and the grooves crushed into the blocks by the pinch weld showed that the positioning was within a quarter inch of the center (i.e. properly positioned).
It's pretty disconcerting to think that I spent a few hours under that car on that Quickjack last weekend. I will never trust it again, unless I can figure out how/why it happened. So far, I haven't managed to do that. I've read the owner's manual again, and I've Googled "Quickjack failures". No clues were forthcoming.
My only thought is that my garage floor has plastic tiles. They're pretty slippery. Sliding the Quickjacks to position them is pretty easy. But for it to squirt out from under the car with about a ton of weight on either side seems unlikely. There had to be a significant lateral vector involved. But from where? With the jacks and blocks properly positioned, virtually all the force should have been vertical.
I'll have another look tomorrow. Until I figure it out, it's back to floor jack and jack stands!
If any of the engineers out there have some thoughts, I'm all ears!
Last edited by canuckcoupe; 01-10-2021 at 08:22 PM.
I have a set as well. If I'm understanding this correctly it SHOT OUT from under the car? I can't even think of how that would be possible. Did the lift collapse back down? Did the hydraulic fitting shoot off?
Interesting... Would’ve been nice to see a pic or two about what happened, but I’m sure you had other things in mind at that moment than taking pics.
So, what you are saying is that the right side just slid out from under the car with the hydraulics still in the raised position? I’d imagine the tiles were a contributing factor. Probably shouldn’t have done it, of course, but slippery tiles aren’t helping.
Yes, iCrap, those lifts. Specifically, Quickjack BL-5000SLX.
And yes, again. The jack SHOT out from under the car with its full weight on it. The front shot sideways about 4 feet until it hit my workbench. The rear followed and ended up about a foot away from the car. The Quickjack was still standing. It didn't tip over. It didn't collapse. The locking bar was locked, and the hydraulics were still connected. No leaks. Even if it had leaked, it was in the locked position. To get it to go down, I had to stand on it while my son pushed the down button on the other side of the car. So there was still plenty of hydraulic pressure in it.
If it had happened 3 seconds later, my face would have been right there checking the lift block, and it would have taken the full force.
And a third yes: even after watching it happen I'm having a hard time figuring out how it was possible. I'll be examining everything again today, and I'll post again if I find anything.
Tsuintx: I shot a video of the aftermath. I'll try to post it later.
As for a cause, the only thing I can think of is the plastic floor.
The friction at the top of the jack would be very high with a rubber block on a pinch weld. (small surface area and about 1800 lbs (3700 / 2)
BUT the bottom part of the jack has a much more area and is on a slippery plastic floor.
Does the bottom of the quickjack have rubber feet?
SonicVQ: the back of the jack has wheels for moving the jack around. They don't slide well. The front is a painted metal hinge. It slides very easily across the tiles. I was awake half the night thinking about this, and one decision I came to is that I have to add rubber feet to the front, perhaps some shaved hockey pucks in true Canadian fashion!
I'm trying and failing to upload a video of the aftermath. It's 90MB mov file that should upload as an attachment. I get all the way to the upload phase, but nothing uploads. No attachment appears. Any tips would be appreciated.
Here's a frame from the video. Not much to see:
Last edited by canuckcoupe; 01-10-2021 at 10:56 AM.
Is there anyway you could possibly buy some thin rubber matting to lay beneath the jacks to provide grip on the bottom? That's a scary episode. I'm happy you didn't get hurt.
I wish there were more places that rented time on two-post lifts (at a reasonable rate). There was one near me for a while, but they closed before I had a chance to use their services. My neighbor used them to put an exhaust on his WRX.
I've never been comfortable with the DIY-methods of lifting and supporting a car. Ramps, maybe, but they're only good for jobs that don't require the wheels to be removed.
Personally, I wouldn't use those Quickjacks again. I'd take what happened as a stern warning. Maybe you can get a refund.
Yup, with the floor you have, it probably would be a good idea to have some slip-resistant material under the QJ. Even then, after what happened to you, it might take a little while until you go under there. At least it would for me.
I mean it shouldn't actually matter how slippery the floor is because there should be zero lateral force at all when using these. I would really like to know what happened as well, since I have used my quick jacks literally hundreds of times and never had a single incident like this.
Literally all I can think of a possible explanation to this is that a line was pulled tight, and got tighter as the jack when up and potentially pulled the entire jack out from under the car.
I mean it shouldn't actually matter how slippery the floor is because there should be zero lateral force at all when using these. I would really like to know what happened as well, since I have used my quick jacks literally hundreds of times and never had a single incident like this.
Literally all I can think of a possible explanation to this is that a line was pulled tight, and got tighter as the jack when up and potentially pulled the entire jack out from under the car.
I agree, but for them to shoot out, there was a lateral force... somehow.
Looking forward, I don't see how you could ever trust these again. I couldn't...
I will stick to my 25 year old 6 ton stands for my 2 ton car. (and I still put something under the frame rail (tire or 8x8 wood block), just incase.
I did a thorough inspection today.
The only damage done was to my work bench. It's constructed from old kitchen cabinets. One of the drawer faces (5/8" solid oak) was split by the force of the jack hitting it. That could have been my face!
Car is perfect. No scratches or dents. Took it for a drive. No pulling, no vibrations or clunking. All good.
The Quickjack is fine. Not a mark on it. I tested it by lifting the car (just enough to get all four wheels off the ground and no more!!). No problems.
I think I now know how it happened. Yesterday when I inspected the front left lifting block, I only looked at one side.
All the grooves from the pinch weld go down the middle as they should.
But the other side of the block is a different story:
It was misaligned, and I missed it despite two inspections. As the weight of the car compressed it, a small lateral vector was created. Combined with the slippery floor, it was enough to spit the jack out.
Problems and Solutions:
Problem #1: Misalignment of lifting blocks
Solution #1: Quickjack sells a pinch weld lifting block with deep grooves cut to accommodate the weld. They didn't do that for the first 4 years or so. They only started offering them about 3 years ago. Everyone just used the solid blocks. They're an extra-cost accessory. They really should be standard since most cars have pinch welds.
Problem #2: slippery floor
Solution #2: add some rubber under the Quickjack. I will try gluing on a strip of old inner tube.
And finally, I'm never going under the car again without the added security of jack stands!
Last edited by canuckcoupe; 01-10-2021 at 08:23 PM.
01-10-2021, 12:31 AM
Quickjack Cautionary Tale
Right side still up on the jack. No apparent damage to the car.
