So let me tell ya what happened....

[OrangeCrush]

Yesterday, I got my Cognito upper control arms, Bilstein shocks, Fabtech tierod ends and Cognito sway bar links in.

I started about 5:30pm last night and started taking stuff apart. About halfway through it, Tim (TTKresurfacing) stops in to bs (and help, he never just watches.... always jumps right in. Thanks Tim btw)

While on the lift, somewhere as we're lowering the truck onto a dead man, the weight of vehicle comes off the lift and it balancing itself on the dead man and one arm of the lift.

Then BAM, the truck spins and drops onto the stepbars. I immediately hit the up button and jam the lift into anywhere it will grab onto the bottom of the truck just to stabilize it. Nothing like having an 8000+ lb truck pivoting on two points.

We get the truck stabilized even though one extension of the lift is supporting the weight of the truck on the cat. converter. Needless to say, we lower the vehicle and secure it so it is stable. Crooked but stable.

Anyway, by 9:00pm, we get the wheels and tires on and realize that I forgot on of the little bumpstops one the left side that should have been attached to the Cognito control arm.

Not being able to "slide" it in, we decide to undo the balljoint and one side of the upper control arm so we can install the bumpstop.

Of course, now the nut on the balljoint is being a bitch, it's spinning and no matter how we apply pressure to make sure the balljoint doesn't spin, it doesn't help.

After fighting with a variety of swivels, extensions and the such, I manage to get a swivel socket on the end of an extension on my 1/2" impact gun.

I'm undoing the nut and finally it grabs. When it does, it unscrews and the pressure from the suspension hanging off the upper control arm FLINGS the socket, extension and nut directly into my mouth.

So a few chipped teeth and a fat lip later, my truck is still on the lift, for some reason, the nut is stripped so today I'll try to find a replacement. I'm sure NAPA should have one or at least another balljoint assy.

And that's how my night went...

Mark

[HummerMann]

Glad you weren't seriously hurt!!! My old ZR1 slipped off the jack onto my safety stands while I was rotating my own tires years ago. My air gun hit me in the arm with a good bruise, but my pants were never the same.
You're experienced as I am with working on vehicles, doesn't that make you wonder when you see someone working on a car sitting on concrete blocks! Yep, jacks and lifts are dangerous, especially when you have lots of clearance under the vehicle before you even start jacking or lifting. Stay safe!

[OrangeCrush]

Originally Posted by HummerMann

doesn't that make you wonder when you see someone working on a car sitting on concrete blocks! Yep !

I'm with you... I can't believe when I see some of these guys with stacks of firewood crisscrossed to hold up the front end of a car... freakin' idiots.

It's dangerous enough with the right tools and precautions, let alone doing some halfazz job.

I go out of my way not to use my swivel sockets and even more so not to use swivel extensions but sometimes you have to and last night was one of those times.

I replaced the nut today and sent the truck off to get an alignment so hopefully we're done.

Mar

[SummitUp]

How not to....
Plus he's arc welding by the gas tank!

[ROX]

Have fun at the dentist

Glad you weren't seriously hurt

[DRTYFN]

Impact gun + swivel attachment + socket + tight space = OUCHIE!!!!(That's a flap of skin that folds all the way forward)

[KenP]

Damn, that really sucks.

[Intercooled]

Ouch!!! I here you bro. I'm a plumber and Ive gotten a few wrenches in the face, not to mention solder splatter in my eye. And its always the one time that you knew you shouldve used those safty glasses!

[OrangeCrush]

Originally Posted by DRTYFN

Impact gun + swivel attachment + socket + tight space = OUCHIE!!!!(That's a flap of skin that folds all the way forward)

OUCH. I would rather have a broken bone than pinch a piece of skin like that. That shiet hurts forever.

For those of us that wrench on our own vehicles, we all have had stupid crap happen.

I was checking fan blades on a car once where a rock had hit the end of the fan blade. It broke off a piece so the blade looked like Captain Hook's hook.

As I told my friend to bump the engine over so I could check it out, he started the car and the hook ripped my palm right under my thumb.

That was almost 30 years ago and still have the stitches on my hand to remind me not to trust anyone else while working on a car.

Mark

[Decade]

I'm a firm believer in jack stands now. While in high school I was pulling the motor out of my car, with no jack stands. Needless to say the car fell on me and crushed my shoulder. Fortunately i'm still here to talk about it. Definitly a hard lesson learned...