What was your closest wrenching near death experience

I was putting air in a handtruck tire when I noticed the tread start to make a funny noise just a few inches from my head. I started to move my body away just as it exploded. But I'm pretty sure I kept the air chuck on the valve stem. Professional Grade.

I had put new-to-me tires and wheels on my 76 CJ7. Replaced those lame steel wheels with some sweet aluminum bullet hole wheels. Of course I was 16 and didn't know that steel wheels use different lug seating profile than steel wheels. I had maybe 100 miles on it. I had been going down interstate 85 southbound from Charlotte, headed to meet family for dinner. I pulled off interstate 85 at exit 24 in Lowell, NC, pulled into the Hillbilly's BBQ parking lot, and as I started turning into the parking space, I felt the right front drop and watched my wheel and tire disappear over the hill, across the southbound on ramp, across the grass, and stop inches from the white line of the travel lane.

I was working on my TJ in my parents driveway, don't remember the reason. But it was on 4 jackstands with the tires off, like usual (see avatar, too much irony right now!). Their driveway slopes down to the parking area. My buddy Zach came over in his YJ. parked just up the hill, and saw a toad as he was pulling out (you can't make this stuff up, he's a "snake guy" and likes to catch toads to feed to the snakes). So he jumps out, gets the toad, comes over to the jeep and talks for a minute. I'm still not sure what I was working on, but whatever it was, I was laying under the jeep with a battery charger. We talk another minute as I crawl out from under the jeep, then go in the garage. About the time we get inside, we hear a bang, followed by another bang. Apparently his YJ had come out of gear, rolled into my TJ, deflected, and slammed into the adjacent carport pole. Upon hitting my TJ, it got knocked off the jackstands, warped a jackstand, and crushed dad's battery charger, which was right where I had been laying. At the time, since nothing on the jeep was broken, I was just pissed about the battery charger. In hindsight, the battery charger didn't matter so much.
 
Just know that this foam is designed to be aerated to produce a "blanket" of foam that forms a vapor barrier between the oxygen supply and the fuel supply. If not applied correctly, all you're doing is spraying water at the fire, while the foam is rinsed away or burned off.

 
maulcruiser said:
Just know that this foam is designed to be aerated to produce a "blanket" of foam that forms a vapor barrier between the oxygen supply and the fuel supply. If not applied correctly, all you're doing is spraying water at the fire, while the foam is rinsed away or burned off.

Click to expand...

A blizzard wizzard and similar siphon systems do this with a nozzle tip that introduces air. Not as efficient as a Caff system, not as fluffy and thick. But definitely a very big step above plain water.
Think shaving cream all over a chemical fire.
 
Had a torsion bar crossmember on an avalanche blow loose and smash my face. Broke everything, eye sockets, cheeks, bone for nose sticking out, front teeth...ill dig up the pic
 
jimbo92 said:
Had a torsion bar crossmember on an avalanche blow loose and smash my face. Broke everything, eye sockets, cheeks, bone for nose sticking out, front teeth...ill dig up the pic
Click to expand...
Don't... I remember that.
 
A while back I decided to change up the suspension a little bit on the Rubicon by going up about an inch with new coils and some Fox 2.0’s. So I started with the front and knocked it out with no issues and liked the height so on to the rear. So I get the rear up in the air and the tires off and getting the jack stands in place and decided that I wanted to get it a little higher. So I got it as high as my floor jack goes (about 23”) and had the handle parallel to the floor and somehow the jack kicked out and the end of the handle hits me in the ankle and takes me down like a rock. The jack shot back about 10’ more and caved in a metal door on one of my Work benches. The diff took a big chunk of concrete out of the floor and every time I’m in there working I see it and it reminds me to pay attention and focus on what I’m doing at the moment.
 
Changing a clutch out of an '86 F150 I use to have by myself, no one else around ore going to be for a while. Got the transfer case off no problem (aluminum BW something or other) NP435 didn't look too bad either. Trans comes off and is (of course) heavier than I expected. Truck is not on jackstands, but was just high enough, I thought. I couldn't quite manage it and it slowly feel on my left shoulder at my armpit. Could get any leverage with my left arm, which started going numb. Couldn't get a hold of the input shaft with my right arm for some reason either, or roll it off because it got stuck between the engine and frame rail. The jack was at my feet and I was just able to grab it with the toe of my shoe. I scooted it up to my right hand and managed to get it under the input and slowly jack it up. Got out from under it and got feeling back in my arm. It had went totally numb and a little blue. I got help when I went to put the trans back in.
 
I remember when I was a service writer at a small Cadillac dealer a scary incident. This guy named Ray was under a car on jackstands laying on a creeper. The service bays were opposite each other all the way down with nice glass roll up doors on each side of the building. This sales lady hopped in a Grand Cherokee and whipped it around to the bay door opposite of where Ray was working to get it looked at and about the time she reached the closed door Ray slid out from under the car and was just sitting up when...

The Grand came crashing through the glass door, went through the Snapon roll away between bays, came into Ray's bay, pushed the car off of the jack stands out into the parking lot through the other glass roll up door. The Jeep continued down a steep bank then across the street and into a convenience store lot where a bystander reached into it and switched it off with the sobbing salesperson still sitting inside.

They had a recall on them later for running away like that. Ray was very shaken as the thing missed killing him by seconds.

He was arrested by the FBI later for a drug smuggling incident in Mexico and spent a year in Mexican prison (no joke). I was standing at the service desk when 2 guys in suits walked up and asked for him by name. I told them he was working and they showed their FBI credentials... I pointed at Ray. They escorted him out. He came back to work there after his sentence, he was never quite the same jolly guy.
 
Here's a peach. Recently, I was at some asshole's house working on his pile of an XJ. We had cut out some strengthening plates and started welding them in. It was decided to use the torch to heat the plates and then use a jack to press/bend them into the right shape so they would hug the unibody. As I'm heating the steel I start hearing a roaring noise behind me. I thought it was probably the torch and disregarded it. Then I felt the heat. I pull the goggles off to notice the acetalyne line has a hole in it and it's blowing flames out of it melting the line. I'm tangled up in cutting torch lines and I'm yelling to my "friend", "Cut off the fucking gas!!! Cut off the fucking gas!" *crickets*

After I break free, I get to the tanks to cut them off only to notice my "friend" had gone inside to get some water. Obviously, he had worked up a sweat watching me do most of the work :rolleyes:
 
Not a mechanic story, but had a fun ride on a tractor once...

This was a JD ag tractor, 50 or so HP. No rops. Had to run it down the highway a couple of miles. The rear tires were sort of egg-shaped, and not in sync, so it wobbled down the road, like some sort of kids toy. Thunderstorm was coming up, so I was in high gear, full throttle, pushing it as hard/fast as I could before the rains hit. After a half-mile or so, the egg-shapedness of the tires began to synchronize, so instead of a wobbling motion, it started bucking up and down, and it picked it's own lane. Bucking enough for me to be coming a foot or better out of the seat. Held on, cut the throttle, about that time the bottom fell out.

No damage, no blood, nobody saw me. But learned a good lesson that day.
 
Unrelated to wrenching but tractor related. When my dad was growing up, one of the farm hands disappeared along with a tractor. They thought he dipped out and stole the tractor. Later on, they found him and the tractor in the pond under water. Apparently the steering mechanism trapped his foot and he couldn't push in the clutch. Foot still pinned and under the water surface, couldn't be easily found. Also, before I was born, my uncle got killed when a hydraulic line blew on a combine while he was under it. Needless to say, my pops has taught me to be safe around machines and never get under anything without proper safety measures.
 
Several years ago I went to a man that had a truck on jackstands in the back and ramps in the front. He had the rear diff apart and apparently was underneath the axle for some reason. Not sure how it happened but it ended up rolling off the ramps and the jackstands turned over. Unfortunately there was nothing we could do for him. Every single time I get under a vehicle, I remember that man, and I can say with confidence that he has saved my life many times.

I was putting a clutch in an old 7.3 truck in my driveway on a floor jack. First ZF5 I had ever done. I've prob done 100 G56s on my back so I know exactly where to put the jack and have never had an issue. I'm home by myself. Trans ends up walking off the jack and I had to catch it to keep from busting the case which I couldn't afford to replace. So I'm laying on my back in the driveway with a ZF5 and transfer case on my chest trying to figure out how to get out of this situation without having to call the FD. Ended up working my way out from under it and got it to the ground without any damage. Didn't get to the point of it being hard to breath but I was getting close.
 
My worse years ago welding my diff on my rig. Just finished cleaning it all up with probably entire can of brakeclean along with whatever else was in the catch pan. Left oil catch under it (never done that again), got the welder hooked up, mask on and went at it. All I remember is explosion big enough to blow me back several good feet, blew my helmet clean off my head, the oil catch that's a molded one piece plastic blew a hole right through top.
The welding mask saved my face for sure and since then, anytime I weld anything, I'm looking for that pan lol. Shook me up pretty good.
 
Back
Top