Gladiator wrenching, blood and mishaps.

[Summitsearcher]

Yeah unsecured raised vehicles give me the heaby jeabies too. The day after your last day on earth when God asks you what you liked best? Tell him “Bandaids”.

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[ShadowsPapa]

And trim your frickin caterpillar eye brows before taking a picture. Sheesh!

Naw, I just figured you were Andy Rooney's younger brother. (or going for the "Andy Rooney look")

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Yeah unsecured raised vehicles give me the heaby jeabies too. The day after your last day on earth when God asks you what you liked best? Tell him “Bandaids”.

He'll be asking me "what the **** were you thinking",
and I'll have to answer - I wasn't......

Bill you can never be to safe when vehicle or heavy parts are lifted... I had bolt slip / strip out on cross member on XJ then me pinned under it with weight of T-case, transmission and engine on my sternum. I managed to bump a bottle jack over where I could grab it to lift it off of my chest.... working late at night when cool enough for it. So otherwise I'd been found dead when everyone would be heading into work.

Ask my wife about the fellow, I believe he was a cousin, or at least a husband of a friend, my wife knew when she was growing up. This fellow was in his driveway working under his truck.
They had a little daughter I believe my wife, Barbara, said was about 3 at the time.
Mommy tells the daughter go out and tell daddy it's time for dinner.
Little girl returns and tells mommy daddy is sleeping and won't answer me.
You know the rest. The way my wife describes it, it's a scene that would have made me sick for days.
I just have this thing about that sort of thing. Too many times I don't think or pay attention to what's around or close by, but that is one thing II spend a lot of time on.

There is a 24 in pipe wrench in woods behind the house where I thrown it over house after it slipped one time to many. Setting up steering on my XJ. It slipped wracking hand then into my jaw. The brute strength of pain induced things.

Holy XXXX batman! That's a chunk of iron to be tossing that distance!
I guess pain and reflexes can make people Olympians!

 

[WILDHOBO]

About ten years ago, I had a clutch fan wrench slip, causing me to bump the hood prop rod on an '05 Durango. When the hood came down, it caught me right in the center of my forehead. Still have an annoying scar there. The ER doctor gave me a choice of glue or stitches, I told them I didn't care, once the blood level drops far enough it won't matter anymore. In over forty years of working on cars and trucks, I don't think I have ever been without at least one injury that was in some way related to wrenching.

About twenty years ago, I had a 4x4 Ram 1500. It was a great truck, but it needed gears (3.55s stock, swapped out for 4.10s). I have done many gears, so I figured I would do it myself, save the $200 that a local guy got for swapping gears in 4wds. Rear gear was no problem, crush sleeve crushed properly. Front gears were a different story. Everything went fine until time to set the pinion bearing preload. I braced myself against something and pulled on my wrench and something gave way. It wasn't the crush sleeve. I finally got it done, and the gears worked great. The hernia surgery only set me back a few thousand after insurance. But I did save $200.

And the winner goes to….

 

[Summitsearcher]

You ain't trying hard enough until you get life flighted.

Hopefully not!

 

[ShadowsPapa]

About ten years ago, I had a clutch fan wrench slip, causing me to bump the hood prop rod on an '05 Durango. When the hood came down, it caught me right in the center of my forehead. Still have an annoying scar there. The ER doctor gave me a choice of glue or stitches, I told them I didn't care, once the blood level drops far enough it won't matter anymore. In over forty years of working on cars and trucks, I don't think I have ever been without at least one injury that was in some way related to wrenching.

About twenty years ago, I had a 4x4 Ram 1500. It was a great truck, but it needed gears (3.55s stock, swapped out for 4.10s). I have done many gears, so I figured I would do it myself, save the $200 that a local guy got for swapping gears in 4wds. Rear gear was no problem, crush sleeve crushed properly. Front gears were a different story. Everything went fine until time to set the pinion bearing preload. I braced myself against something and pulled on my wrench and something gave way. It wasn't the crush sleeve. I finally got it done, and the gears worked great. The hernia surgery only set me back a few thousand after insurance. But I did save $200.

And there is one reason I put the cylinders on my JT's hood. I've always been afraid of slipping, forgetting, whatever, and having that hood safety latch hit me in the wrong spot in the head (as if there's a right spot).

I have a 3/4" drive set and a looong pipe for the 3/4" breaker bar. Last crush sleeve pinion setup I did was in my SX4 - I used the breaker bar and small hydraulic jack. I've been through that hernia stuff already and the excruciating pain after I got home and those air bubbles move around and up into my shoulder and chest area - I really wanted to scream.
Luckily I haven't had to call the negligence hotline about the mesh moving.

Your bit about stitches reminded me of what happened with my neighbor when I farmed..... John was a hog farmer, hunter, you name it. He butchered pigs, castrated pigs, dressed out deer, never a problem. Then his son was playing in the driveway smashing rocks with a hammer. I think his son was about 4 then.
He wasn't paying attention and brought that claw hammer straight back and right into his forehead. Head wounds bleed.
John rushed his son to the doctor. By the time they got there his son had pretty much settled down and the doctor had cleaned the wound up and was ready to stitch. First stitch, the kid was fine, John passed out in the corner.
I was putting a rubber weatherstrip on my pole barn big doors to help seal them where they came together. I was on a ladder pre-drilling holes for the screw with a 1/8" bit - and wasn't being careful, drill bit broke, the bit went into my thumb next to the nail and out the other side. John walked in just as I mumbled to myself "I think I just drilled through my thumb". He turned white and said "don't ever do that to me again".

 

[Charles 236]

I will probably get a set of the cylinders when I get around to buying a Gladiator. I hate, HATE, prop rods. For a long time after that, I zip tied every prop rod so that it couldn't come out unless I cut the zip ties. I still zip tie some prop rods, especially on Durango hoods.

 

[Holes]

When there's blood on the phone (which is still hanging in the garage as a reminder, even though we have not had a land line for many years), and there's blood on the garage floor, and the first responders come and one of them goes into the garage and is looking around on the floor, like he's looking for some pocket change he dropped........... it's not a good thing. Lucky for me, when they finally convinced me to look away and let them unwrap the red soaked towel from my left hand, the one guy told the other he could stop looking. Still can't use my left index finger completely because of the ER's f-ups.
On the right hand - lost part of the right index finger to a nasty infection I let go way to long until one night while soaking it - the infection finally made it's way out, causing loss of the muscle in the end of that finger. Pinched it in an axle while sliding the axle back into the differential. It was just a small pinch but apparently something made its way inside and my body didn't like it, so attacked.
I'm lucky I still have fingers and thumbs, and most of them still mostly work.
Big scar on my chin from a long crow bar flipping back and smacking me in the jaw, and marks from things I don't remember.........
Countless burns from welding, using a torch for exhaust work, being too quick to pick up that chunks of steel I just cut off, frankly, I'm surprised I'm still alive.
Statistically, I should be dead.
I have twice the likelihood of most of the population of dying early, and am twice as likely to die in an auto crash than others.
So every day I make it through unscathed, I give thanks.

There is one thing I am EXTREMELY paranoid about, and I take extreme measures - and that's being under a vehicle that's secure. If 2 stands are safe, I use 4 - plus the jack stays just in case. Who knows, all 4 stands could give out. I will not get under a vehicle until I have checked it over several times and grabbed it and shaken it with all of my might to make sure it won't budge no matter what, then I check again. If I'm under that vehicle, it means I have made it earthquake-proof.

100%
Don’t want my girls finding a squished daddy.

 

[captain kilroy]

I lost a good buddy a few years ago. He was changing a rear u joint on his car on car ramps. He was by himself in his shop. As soon as he popped the driveshaft the car rolled off the ramps and drug him out of his shop and down to the streeet. His girlfriend heard it and tried to stop the car but when she opened the door it hit another car and broke her leg and he died while she was pinned in by the door. I will never ever use car ramps.

 

[Holes]

He'll be asking me "what the **** were you thinking",
and I'll have to answer - I wasn't......



Ask my wife about the fellow, I believe he was a cousin, or at least a husband of a friend, my wife knew when she was growing up. This fellow was in his driveway working under his truck.
They had a little daughter I believe my wife, Barbara, said was about 3 at the time.
Mommy tells the daughter go out and tell daddy it's time for dinner.
Little girl returns and tells mommy daddy is sleeping and won't answer me.
You know the rest. The way my wife describes it, it's a scene that would have made me sick for days.
I just have this thing about that sort of thing. Too many times I don't think or pay attention to what's around or close by, but that is one thing II spend a lot of time on.



Holy XXXX batman! That's a chunk of iron to be tossing that distance!
I guess pain and reflexes can make people Olympians!

Little girl returns and tells mommy daddy is sleeping and won't answer me.

That poor family.

 

[WILDHOBO]

100%
Don’t want my girls finding a squished daddy.

I couldn’t agree more. The jack always stays put, with just a hair of tension, and always on the end where I’m under it. And I always use a floor jack for maintenance. Never a tippy scissor jack. The only time I’ll ever use the jack without stands is a simple driveway tire rotation. A project where I’m never under anything.

 

[Kindafearless]

Someone told me to put your wheels under the vehicle with you when you jack up the car/truck. I always do this now, in addition to my semi-rated jack stands!

 

[Cavitt]

Someone told me to put your wheels under the vehicle with you when you jack up the car/truck. I always do this now, in addition to my semi-rated jack stands!

Let me guess, the semi-rated jack stands that you forged from the scraps you cut off the ass end of you JT and TIG welded together...

BTW - If you've not checked out this gal's build page you've missed out. The comment will make more sense.

 

[Summitsearcher]

100%
Don’t want my girls finding a squished daddy.

Amen

 

[Summitsearcher]

Someone told me to put your wheels under the vehicle with you when you jack up the car/truck. I always do this now, in addition to my semi-rated jack stands!

I do it too. I’ve seen jeeps fall off of lifts while doing suspensions. Don’t like things hanging above me.

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