Quickjack Cautionary Tale

[canuck coupe]

I just had a sobering experience with my Quickjack BL-5000SLX lifting my G37 sedan.

This is only the fourth time I've had the car on the Quickjack. I got it all lined up with the lift points, then raised it until the lift blocks made first contact. Went around and checked all four lift points to ensure they were well positioned. No problems identified. Then I raised the Quickjack to the first locking position and lowered it to lock. Checked the right side (locked) and was going around to check the other side when the left side jack SQUIRTED out from under the car and the left side fell to the ground! Right side still up on the jack. The jack SHOT out from under the car with its full weight on it. The front shot sideways about 4 feet until it hit my workbench. The rear followed and ended up about a foot away from the car. The Quickjack was still standing. It didn't tip over. It didn't collapse. The locking bar was locked, and the hydraulics were still connected. No leaks. Even if it had leaked, it was in the locked position. To get it to go down, I had to stand on it while my son pushed the down button on the other side of the car. So there was still plenty of hydraulic pressure in it.

If it had happened 3 seconds later, my face would have been right there checking the lift block, and it would have taken the full force. No apparent damage to the car.

There was nothing wrong with the jack itself. It was locked as intended, and showed no evidence of failure. The lifting blocks were also fine, and the grooves crushed into the blocks by the pinch weld showed that the positioning was within a quarter inch of the center (i.e. properly positioned).

It's pretty disconcerting to think that I spent a few hours under that car on that Quickjack last weekend. I will never trust it again, unless I can figure out how/why it happened. So far, I haven't managed to do that. I've read the owner's manual again, and I've Googled "Quickjack failures". No clues were forthcoming.

My only thought is that my garage floor has plastic tiles. They're pretty slippery. Sliding the Quickjacks to position them is pretty easy. But for it to squirt out from under the car with about a ton of weight on either side seems unlikely. There had to be a significant lateral force involved. But from where? With the jacks and blocks properly positioned, virtually all the force should have been vertical.

I'll have another look tomorrow. Until I figure it out, it's back to floor jack and jack stands!

If any of the engineers out there have some thoughts, I'm all ears!

 

[matt_i]

Do you bolt it to the concrete?

Edit: I see no, you have plastic floor tiles.

https://www.quickjack.com/car-lifts/bl-5000slx/

Its not totally clear to me how it builds up friction on the floor. And that's the root cause in my mind, you need something like wood or leather or pressure points on the steel frame (probably out because of damage to the tiles) that will do a better job.

Definitely the loading is non-centric and that's what's causing it to side-shift.

 

[PWC Repair]

I'm not sure I follow. Are you saying the hydraulic cylinder shot out loose from the jack frame assembly? Leaving the steel jack frame UP, still supporting the car?

 

[mrvm]

I had a negative experience with the QJ sliding out of position on smooth concrete minutes after raising the vehicle as designed. The QJ lift experience quickly turned negative as I was contemplating using a few jack stands under the vehicle for extra safety. One side of the QJ quickly and silently slid under the vehicle and was off the frame rail. I needed two floor jacks to safely lower the vehicle. Stacking the blocks as per manual probably contributed to the issue as using single blocks seemed to be much more stable. The Costco purchase made the QJ return uneventful. I lost faith in the QJ product and sticking with floor jacks and jack stands until I invest in a "real" lift one day.

 

[eacmen]

This is very concerning. Never had any failure on our QJ.

But we just had the floor epoxy’d, they used some grit to make it not slippery, but its smoother than it was before.

Only thing I can think of is that in the process of lifting the QJ tilted and one side of the car fell off the blocks.

I have had one case where lifting the car the QJ shifted with a little toe out in the front. This was due to poor alignment of the blocks. I lowered it, fixed it and it was fine.

I always lift it a little (before first lock but after the tires are just off the ground) and just look to see if its lifting straight. If so i continue the lift.

I will never stack two blocks with this thing, seems fishy.

 

[mishkaya]

Only time I have had an issue with the Quickjack shifting position (only an inch or two in my case, still scary though) as when I did not have the quickjacks parallel to each other when raising the car. I have lines on the floor now to make sure this issue never occurs again. I have been using mine since shortly after they came out, and short of a real lift, which I do not have space for, I feel this is a suitable replacement.
Glad no one was injured, and hopefully no damage to the car...

 

[RumRiver5.0]

Wow. F that. I almost bought one of these with that same concern in mind! Thanks guys.

 

[dragonballz]

I put a set of jack stands inside the Quickjack's frame. Just incase.

 

[moab11]

You mention that the blocks were placed centered under the lift points, but were the quickjack frames parallel? If not, the misalignment of the frames and the slippery floor could be what caused the frame to slide out from under the car. The part about the front of the quickjack frame hitting your workbench first, followed by the rear seems to support this theory(front slipped out followed by the rear)

I have a BL7000SLX and have lifted a bunch of different vehicles on it, and sometimes getting the frames parallel to each other and hitting proper lifting points can be tough.

 

[nodoor]

Were you using the QJ pinch weld lift blocks or blocks with a slot in them for the pinch weld?

I have a BL-7000SLX on a Race Deck floor. I use Schwaben pinch weld protectors on top of a standard QJ block, never had an issue lifting multiple cars. You could even use hockey pucks with a slot cut in them.

I happen to have the Schwaben protector and jack stands prior to the QJ. Protech #1006 floor jack pinch weld pads are also useful, for me.

 

[Garett]

My bro is always looking at these. Thanks for the warning.

 

[Git]

Wouldn't a couple of chains/safety straps/etc help out? First of all it would help insure that both were parallel when setting them up and it would also prevent a 'kickout'?

 

[gatewaysysop]

I had briefly considered gifting one of these to someone. Not so much anymore.

One other comment: why no pictures? Would make it much easier to explain to people what happened, with the benefit of adding tons of credibility.

 

[ChevyEFI]

There is a fairly large amount of lateral and fore-aft weight transfer with any lifting of a mobile object. By the same token, you can take an adequate floor jack and put one end of a vehicle in position when needed. The convenience of placing two side lifts in place and it working as safely as possible isn't reality. If you don't need to access the entire length of the undercarriage, lock them together with steel at two points. This is inconvenient, of course. Just like any other tool, they aren't ideal for every single process, procedure, or job. And sometimes, they seem like a good idea, but just don't work out as well in practice as in theory.

I had briefly considered gifting one of these to someone. Not so much anymore.

One other comment: why no pictures? Would make it much easier to explain to people what happened, with the benefit of adding tons of credibility.

OP wrote clearly what happened, but I'll admit I googled the product to see design.

 

[nyy845]

Damn, I am curious to see the cause here. Thanks for posting.

I was highly considering these since my ceiling is too low for a traditional lift...

 

[PCMusicGuy]

That sounds pretty scary. I think that if the QuickJacks are pretty close to parallel and you have a car on it, there should be enough friction to keep it from sliding, even with some plastic flooring. Can you post some pictures of the plastic floor?

 

[Paycheck]

Pics and how many blocks were you using. Never had a problem on a concrete floor.

 

[MarlynOC]

could it have been something to do with the way the QJ rises. It moves the car forward as it goes up and the support points move . Could it have been that your desired point of "impact" was no longer the same as when you lined it up flat on the floor? The point that the jack blocks touch the frame are much different than where they are when it flat on the floor.

 

[MarlynOC]

Also you state lift blocks-did you have on stacked on top of the other?

 

[rburke65]

It’s a shame you don’t have photos of this event.

 

[Plastikosmd]

Phew
You are lucky!

 

[eacmen]

Also you state lift blocks-did you have on stacked on top of the other?

for the record quickjack states in the manual that you can stack blocks. I personally would never do it but they claim its safe to do so.

 

[BonzoHansen]

I've been using my 7000 all weekend working on my 67 Camaro. I had a 4 speed trans in and out if it a few times. Its tight but I can. Not sure I'd be able to do that with the much bigger T56 in my 77.

After using mine now for a few weeks I can't really figure out what happened to the OP. I can't picture it happening. (Not saying it didn't happen, saying I can't visualize it)

I'm still learning how best to use this thing. I don't love stacking blocks but have trying to level things. Like the Camaro is on it now with single blocks on the back and stacked blocks up front.

I had trouble trying to pick up my kid's challenger. I tried to use blocks on the frame rails but it wanted to slide off as i raised it. I need the pinch weld blocks for that car.

Its a compromise for me. No room for a lift. I like it, I don't love it. I wish the controller cable was longer (or wireless). And it's heavy. I still think I might have liked the max jack better, but I doubt my floor is adequate.

 

[BonzoHansen]

the grooves crushed into the blocks by the pinch weld showed that the positioning was within a quarter inch of the center (i.e. properly positioned).

Wait, so you used the regular blocks on the pinch welds, not the pinch weld adapter they sell? If so I wonder if the blocks rolled over starting the event.

I can't imagine a slippery floor caused any issue. With 4000 pounds on it it isn't just sliding on the floor.

 

[ItsNemo]

So it literally pushed out sideways with centered weight on it? I'm not sure how the physics work for that, it would take an immense amount of force to push the jack sideways with the weight of a car on it....can you "stage" an after picture of how it was sitting?

 

[PeterN]

Have you contacted Quick Jack on this issue? I have the SLX7000 EXT and every vehicle I have put up on them seem very stable. Initially when I got the jacks I pushed on the vehicles side to side and never had any movement of the jacks. I'm also wondering if you used the flat blocks on the pinch weld. Any vehicle I have lifted on the pinch weld have used the intended slotted blocks and I haven't had an issue.

 

[canuck coupe]

To answer a few questions:

Yes, I stacked the blocks. Small on top of large. That's the first thing that came to mind after the incident. I wondered if I shouldn't have done that, but I reread the manual, and the manufacturer says it's not a problem.

I was using the standard blocks, not the pinch weld blocks. Quickjack only started offering those in 2017. For the first 4 years or so, everyone used the flat blocks or they cut their own grooves or used hockey pucks with grooves.

Pictures: I haven't tried to figure out how to post pictures on this site. Looks like I need to use Photobucket or something similar. Right now, I don't have time to learn how.

I did shoot a video in the immediate aftermath. I posted a frame from that video on myg7.com. Not much to see in that picture. Here's the link:
https://www.myg37.com/forums/g37-sedan/298456-quickjack-cautionary-tale.html

For those of you who don't want to follow the link, here's what I learned today from further investigation.
The front left block was misaligned. Yesterday when I inspected the lifting block, I only looked at one side. The grooves from the pinch welds were right down the middle. But I didn't look at the other side. That side has angled grooves. Misaligned. Toed out. The pinch weld was sitting in the middle at the back and closer to the inside edge at the front. (pics on the myg37 site)
As the inside edge compressed, a small angular force would have developed. Combined with the slippery floor, it was enough to spit the jack out.

I'll be cutting grooves (or buying Quickjack's "accessory" blocks [they really should be standard issue since most cars have pinch welds these days].
I'll add some friction material to the bottom of the Quickjack.
And I'll never go under the car without good old jack stands!

 

[sps4runner]

You shouldn't be lifting / jacking from the bottom of the pinch welds. They're not designed for that and can crush.

 

[Bill Bowman]

I have a Quickjack system, and have not had an issue. It sounds to me as though using the blocks under the pinch weld is a contributing factor, especially if the blocks don't have a groove to stradle the pinch weld. The groove in the block should keep the block from sliding around during the set up. While I haven't used the pinch weld area to lift (my avatar has a full chassis), I still check and double check my "rigging".

Glad no injuries.

 

[engineer2]

I would probably fabricate a crossbar to tie the Quick Jacks together.

 

[pepi]

Lifting point being a pinch weld ......... what could go wrong with that ?

Glad the op didn't get hurt, but they're really in not much to the reason as to the why.

 

[eacmen]

Lifting point being a pinch weld ......... what could go wrong with that ?

Glad the op didn't get hurt, but they're really in not much to the reason as to the why.

Pinch weld is a common factory lifting point for unibody vehicles. What would you suggest op use instead?

 

[MarlynOC]

As the jack goes up it moves forward at all points so does the car move forward to compensate for a difference? Is the car free to roll as the jack comes up? Maybe that is the problem with a pinch weld. If the weld stays at one point and the jack moves forward past that point something has to give. Look at the videos of the QJ to se how the impact point is always in motion

 

[WES51]

Pinch weld is a common factory lifting point for unibody vehicles. What would you suggest op use instead?

Something like this works:

 

[Plastikosmd]

Despite the puck pictured I would still pucker

 

[slowpoke]

I am considering purchasing one of these, can someone comment on moving the jacks> I probably will buy the 3500lb unit as all of my vehicles weigh under that. At 60lbs each I wonder how easily I can do that.

 

[eacmen]

I am considering purchasing one of these, can someone comment on moving the jacks> I probably will buy the 3500lb unit as all of my vehicles weigh under that. At 60lbs each I wonder how easily I can do that.

They are heavy but you can lift one side and there are casters on the other to move them around the garage. When I (rarely) need to load them in the truck I usually get a second person to help.

Pay attention to where your vehicle lifting points are. Our car is light enough for the 3500, but the spacing of the lifting points wouldn’t work. So we needed to get the 5000 lb version.

Personally I like having the extra weight capacity even if i’ll never use it.

 

[Colin Len]

I have had a Quickjack for a few years now and used it quite a bit. The car on it most of the time is a unibody with pinch welds that are made for lifting. I use both the regular blocks and the pinch weld blocks. There is really no difference between them in my application - neither is safer than the other and honestly, the regular block does a better job at ensuring the full force is on the pinch weld and not up higher on the body. Don't let anyone tell you not to use the pinch welds, they likely just don't have the experience with a car that was designed that way.

If being used per the instructions I can't see how this failure would happen. There's no reason there would be enough side to side forces to cause something like this.

Keep in mind that the blocks DO NOT need to be parallel to the car. It would be wise to do so for maximum contact and ease of lining things up. But, a block that is out of parallel should not cause an issue. The frames being out of parallel would be an issue. Theoretically you could have the frames parallel you could place the blocks at any rotation and it should lift fine. Conversely, you could have the blocks lined up parallel to the car with the frames out of parallel and then run into issues. Personally, I ensure that my blocks and frames are both parallel. I always push the blocks up against the frame to ensure the block and frame are parallel. Then I line the blocks up parallel with the pinch welds. This ensures everything is dead on.

Stacking the blocks does make me a bit nervous sometimes and I generally trust it. I wouldn't want to be under it during an earthquake though.

As some of the others mentioned I think it's an issue with the frames not being parallel. One other outside chance... is there any way that you accidentally had one frame facing one way and the other facing the opposite way? If you did it that way the car would essentially rotate off of the jack as you lifted it.

Looking at the photos of the blocks I think there may be an interesting clue. There should be ONE indentation in the block from the pinch weld. But instead we're seeing multiple. This could just be multiple layers of metal that make up your pinch weld. But with my car it makes a pretty defined, single line. Seeing multiple makes it look like the jacks kinda shimmied under the car. Which I think would be congruent with misaligned frames or if they were not facing the same direction.

 

[428PI]

I've never had any issues but when lifting my 2000 Explorer with my ext 5000 lift it's hard to get the lifts parallel to one another and still haven't had an issue yet it does have some side to side wobble. I've spent days working under it to do oil pan gasket etc. without issue. I wonder if it's possible that your lift contacted your front tires when lifting?

 

[Chuckster in NJ]

A combination of two things caused this....... A "slick" Race Deck floor and Blocks NOT "centered" properly on the lift pushing down on the lift and creating a lateral force on the inside load point that most likely created lifting on the outside of the QJ on the slick floor therefore pushing the entire assembly from out of the car.

Thank You OP for posting this problem and hopefully everyone with a QJ reads it and takes the time to TRIPLE check everything before they get under their car.

BTW! I love my Race Deck floor!