briggy Posted September 5, 2017 Share Posted September 5, 2017 Right, I decided to change the oil on my 987.2 S. Simple job yes? Well, it would be if I'd jacked the car up properly. I'll spare the details, but I forgot the chock the front wheels, so when the second rear wheel left the floor, the car pitched and the jack slid under the car and embedded itself there. It went inwards i.e. not forward or backwards. It was on the driver's side front. My question is, other than the plastic cover, what's under there that I may have damaged? BTW, other than my pride, I'm not injured, so I'm expecting some banter along with any answers. Cheers, Bryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 Ohhh..... glad to hear you are okay! That could have gone very south indeed... Where about's were you jacking the car, you said that both rear wheels were lifted, but sounds like the jack was on the offside front? Is there any visible damage on the inside of the car that you can see or feel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founder Beanoir™ Posted September 6, 2017 Founder Share Posted September 6, 2017 It really depends where on the car it ended up, can be more specific? I'd get under there (chock the wheels!!) and have a good look. Get some photos up so we can try and help if you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpannerMan Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 Oh dear... If it's the plastic under tray then it's the front of the car, as you say. Assuming you've checked the front boot floor and no obvious damage there then it sounds like it's lodged just aft of that. The steering components are located there, the rack, I think some brake lines... Get it checked out if I were you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briggy Posted September 6, 2017 Author Share Posted September 6, 2017 Really appreciate the replies folks. I wasn't in any personal danger as I was still in the process of getting everything in place, so I wasn't under the car, but it does prove that you should NEVER trust a jack. I've got some drive-on ramps, so I'll get the front driven onto them and have a proper look, either tomorrow or Friday. The only reason I didn't use them for the oil change is that the car has to be level. The good thing is that there are no fluids leaking onto the garage floor and I can't see any internal damage in the footwell etc. Will keep you posted with what I find. Cheers, Bryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briggy Posted September 7, 2017 Author Share Posted September 7, 2017 Ok, time for full disclosure. What I was trying to do was jack up the front at the jacking point, which in turn raises the rear on the same side, enabling me to slot the axle stand under the rear jacking point. Repeat on the other side. This would mean that at no point would the jack or any axle stand be placed anywhere except on a jacking point. So, I jacked up the passenger side front, which also raised the passenger side rear and I slotted an axle stand under the passenger side rear jacking point. So far, so good. I then lowered the passenger side front, which didn't really go down at all. I then jacked up the driver side front, expecting the passenger side front to lower and the driver side rear to lift. This didn't happen, so I realised something was wrong and dropped the jack down slowly. As it was reaching the bottom, the jack slipped and I ended up with it embedded to the side of the jacking point. The car also moved slightly to the left, so I was lucky I didn't also lose the axle stand on the passenger side rear. Anyway, below is the damage All the pictures are taken under the driver's side cill, the left of the picture is towards the inside, so the jacking point is on the outside. You can see the cracked plastic cover which is NOT directly over those pipes. I would guess that the pipe on the left is a brake pipe (as it was warm) and the other is a fuel pipe. There is some moisture on there, but it looks, smells and tastes like water, so I'm happy with that. My wife has always told me I'm a lucky boy and it seems she was right! Cheers, Bryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whaleblue Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 I have to say I utterly admire the way you've handled this. Very laid back considering what happened, and might have happened. Good luck getting it sorted, and hope it's just a cracked bit of plastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3 akr Posted September 10, 2017 Share Posted September 10, 2017 it looks like you've been very lucky there! From the marks, the jack seems to have come off the jack point and skipped over the area where the pipe run (just). I'm glad for you that it didn't go badly wrong and that luck was on your side! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founder Beanoir™ Posted September 10, 2017 Founder Share Posted September 10, 2017 close shave!! Glad it's not done much damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLAT STICK Posted September 10, 2017 Share Posted September 10, 2017 (edited) Sorry to see your problem, but why would brake pipe be warm? are you sure its not a coolant pipe or air con pipe? Edited September 10, 2017 by FLAT STICK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briggy Posted September 10, 2017 Author Share Posted September 10, 2017 1 hour ago, FLAT STICK said: Sorry to see your problem, but why would brake pipe be warm? are you sure its not a coolant pipe or air con pipe? To be honest, it was a guess. Having previously boiled brake fluid on a track before (different car), then I would assume they gain some heat during normal usage too. As neither pipe is damaged, I can kind of stop worrying about what they're for. Cheers, Bryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLAT STICK Posted September 10, 2017 Share Posted September 10, 2017 or maybe heater pips? only guessing but look a bit big for brake pipes but like I say only guessing. Dean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briggy Posted September 12, 2017 Author Share Posted September 12, 2017 Only(!) £83.40 for a new under tray, which is pretty much £100 including VAT. Say £70 for oil & filter etc and it's still cheaper than an oil change at OPC. Now, let's hope I don't mess it up when raising the car to fit the new under tray.... Cheers, Bryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 What jack are you using? I always use a trolley jack with a rubber on the contact face to prevent slippage. It can also happen if you jack the car too high though. Also, I'm sure there's some sort of grommet in the jacking point on my car. I'll check this later and verify. But, nonetheless, extremely fortunate turnout! Lucky indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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