by mmcdonald » Mon Apr 04, 2005 9:23 am
I worked at a dealer in the late 1970's and we had a Jag XJS up on a lift with the front end loose at the end of the day. The tech had left a transmissions stand with a valve stem in it to hold up the front end, and left without putting the lock on the center column floor lift.
As the pressure leaked out of the lift system, the stand receded into the floor. Problem was, the car's hood was laying on its roof, and there was another Jag XJL parked behind it. The XJS came down on its rear bumper, with the front of the car hanging by the trnasmission stand, and the hood slid off and pranged into the rear quarter of the XJL.
It took us about 45 minutes to slowly lift the XJS up back into position, fretting all the time that the transmission stand would pop out, or the valve stem would break.
It was a real treat to see that expensive car resting on its rear bumper, all tires off the ground, and the front end held 6 feet in the air on a flimsy jack stand.
I don't think we told either customer.
I also did something WAY foolish to a 12 cyclinder E-Type, beautiful white convertible. I started it in a paint prep stall IN GEAR (back before neutral lock outs) and it jumped forward into a 35 gallon barrel of paint thinner that burst and ran all over the floor under the car.
Well, I am still alive, so it didn't blow, but man, were my sinuses aching.
We didn't tell the customer either.
I also turned on an air lift to UP that had been holding a XJL for about two months. It wouldn't go up, and then suddenly sprung up to the top of its travel and tossed the Jag about a foot into the air at the top of travel. No lie. It came right back down on the jack pads, and didn't fall off.
Okay, I did a couple stupid things. The first one wasn't my fault.
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