[VW2010]

Also, thats a silly looking jack for a 2 ton Merc costing 1C!!

The silly looking jack is such a treat to use. Its so easy to operate and basic knowledge of jacking your car helps you avoid some nasty situation.

- Checking the ground if it can hold the car with Jack. f
- Ensuring the jack sits in its alloted slot.
- Jacking few threads and checking if the jack is holding good.
- Checking if the car is in a slot and ensure brakes are used properly.
- Most importantly practicing once or twice to ensure you have enabled yourself for emergency.

We changed tires in the most unusual place. The first few rotations told us the soil wont hold. We picked rocks and created a solid platform for the jack to stand.

[Swanand Inamdar]

Ouch! Thats one flat tyre gone wrong.
Looks to be a clear case of incorrect jack mounting. These puncturewallahs are usually careless in mounting the jack.
Would it have helped if the ground was different? Also, isnt that jack quite silly for a car of that value?
The expenses on this would be quite high.

[GordonGekko]

I don't like the merc jacks at all. I find them very flimsy. This guy has a proper jack, yet he decides to experiment with the merc one.

[Tejas Ingle]

Originally Posted by ajmat

1: Did they use the correct jacking point?
2: Was the transmission in Park mode and handbrake activated?
3: Was the ground uneven?

1. From the arguement, I could make out that the jacking point was incorrect. The petrol pump guy was yelling at the driver 'you should know the proper jacking point for a Mercedes'.
2. Yes, the transmission was in P and the handbrake was active.
3. The ground was firm, even and flat, composed of interlocking blocks.

Originally Posted by VW2010

It almost appears the Jack was mounted on the sides of the car than the actual mount point which has a slightly different texture(solidity) with a groove for that jack to sit.

Also crashing down and breaking the side skirts does look like the job of the Jacks positioning and not from the crash itself.

I dont know where exactly was the jack positioned as both car and the jack were on the ground when I got a closer look. But the skirt has been damaged by the crash. The car rested on the skirt after the jack slipped. The jack may have contributed to the damage.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

The only way this could have happened is the handbrake not deployed, right?

OT : is the side-skirting made of fibre? Shouldn't it be metal?

The handbrake was deployed. The car didn't move at all. Its the jack that slipped out of position. The side skirts, which are a part of accessories in most cars are made of fibre.

Originally Posted by mayankk

PS:that jack came with the merc?
its base is already rounded.
made of mercury or what?

Originally Posted by Swanand Inamdar

Ouch! Thats one flat tyre gone wrong.
Looks to be a clear case of incorrect jack mounting. These puncturewallahs are usually careless in mounting the jack.
Would it have helped if the ground was different? Also, isnt that jack quite silly for a car of that value?
The expenses on this would be quite high.

Yup, its given by Merc. It looks small but it does its job if used correctly.
@Swanand: The puncture guy was not only careless but also untrained for the job. The ground was perfect. It was only the improper use of jack that caused the accident.

Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl

There is a slot under the car where you slip the top of the jack in so that it doesn't slip.

Originally Posted by k_nitin_r

I fail to understand why they used the jack provided by Mercedes when they had a 'crocodile' jack available.

Out of curiosity, how would you jack up a car that is resting on its underbody and discs?

The proper manner of using a jack is to ensure that the vehicle is on level ground, the gear is set to park (for AT) or neutral (for MT).

Agree with that. They should had used the hydraulic jack.
The jack was applied on the lower arm as it was high enough to allow the jack. This position too is wrong but they had no choice. ATTACHING PIC.
Why would you prefer neutral for MT vehicles? I have always used the 1st gear while jacking the car.

Originally Posted by black12rr

Also a spare wheel was not put under the car when it was jacked up .It would have prevented this .

That would had damaged the car and the spare alloy wheel but it would had also reduced the severity of impact and reduced the chance of severe injuries by some margin. These guys were lucky to not be injured.

[Durango Dude]

If you pay peanuts you'll get monkeys, so goes the saying. Probably the owner was not paying that much so he got a monkey that didn't know how to jack up the car and change a tyre.

[filcord]

Yep, I've seen almost the exact thing. We were driving with a friend, my family in the SX4 and they in a Merc C200. My friend did not bother to check his tyre pressure, as apparently the Merc is equipped with some intelligent tyre caps that warn you of low pressure. (They never warned him BTW) After a 500 km highway drive, the Merc got a flat.
The Merc jack could not be used to raise the car, granted the ground was a little uneven, and thankfully we did not persist in using it or we might have had a similar fate as the car in this thread. Finally we had to call the closest puncture wallah who used my SX4 jack to raise the MErc and finish the job.

[BuRnT RuBbEr]

driver's carelessness.


Also, I have lately been wondering if i should keep a small wood plank platform in the car in case i need to jack it up on a bad road? 8"X12"X1" hardwood. Think I'll do it now.

[pranavt]

That hydraulic jack looks way too small and underpowered to lift an S class. Perhaps that's the reason why they used the jack provided by the car manufacturer.

[Tejas Ingle]

Originally Posted by BuRnT RuBbEr

driver's carelessness.


Also, I have lately been wondering if i should keep a small wood plank platform in the car in case i need to jack it up on a bad road? 8"X12"X1" hardwood. Think I'll do it now.

Thats very innovative I would say. Thats what crane operators do to get a firm base for their crane's built in hydraulic jacks.

[BuRnT RuBbEr]

Originally Posted by Tejas Ingle

Thats very innovative I would say. Thats what crane operators do to get a firm base for their crane's built in hydraulic jacks.

not my own. got it from 4X4 forums here.


btw, my linea has clear markings in the floorboard for jack placement. not there on an s-class? 'amusing', shall we say?

[Tejas Ingle]

Originally Posted by BuRnT RuBbEr

not my own. got it from 4X4 forums here.


btw, my linea has clear markings in the floorboard for jack placement. not there on an s-class? 'amusing', shall we say?

Dont know about S-class but I have worked on C-class and it has clear markings for jack pacement. I assume the same for the S-class. But who cares to see? Everyones in a hurry to get the job done.

[Mr.Boss]

A costly mistake!!!

BTW, Jack base rounded? (or curved?)
I've seen a quite range of Cantilever jacks but none with this kind of curved base. Normally the base will be pivoted, refer the below picture


The yellow line is a link rod connecting the jack arm and the base to adjust the jack such that the load falls exactly on the base to what ever height the jack is lifted. But with a curved base there is a big question of stability.

PS: For some countries Jack is a safety critical item and should involve 8 bench tests ans 6 vehicle tests where the stability of jack is tested under all possible worst cases.

[Tejas Ingle]

Originally Posted by Mr.Boss

A costly mistake!!!

BTW, Jack base rounded? (or curved?)
I've seen a quite range of Cantilever jacks but none with this kind of curved base. Normally the base will be pivoted, refer the below picture

The yellow line is a link rod connecting the jack arm and the base to adjust the jack such that the load falls exactly on the base to what ever height the jack is lifted. But with a curved base there is a big question of stability.

This jack stands on its toes as the vehicle is raised. I mean like we stand on toes to raise our height by a few inches. Its rather difficult for us to balance for a long time in that position. Cant comment about the stability of this jack.
The jack that you suggest or a conventional scissor jack will accomodate some imperfection in application. This jack though will never forgive you for an incorrect usage.

[filcord]

Originally Posted by Tejas Ingle

....... Cant comment about the stability of this jack.....This jack though will never forgive you for an incorrect usage.

I agree.
This was our personal experience, everytime we tried to lift the C200, we saw the jack slipping, and hence quickly brought it back down. No matter how we tried to adjust the jack, put stones, etc, the same thing was happening.

Mercedes has made this jack apparently for the perfect billiard-table surface of the German autobahn.
Indian "autobahns" are much more challenging! This Merc jack is just rubbish.

[SirAlec]

Jack like any mechanical device can fail. It also depends upon the usage. If handbrakes were used, a stone or brick is used on tyres as stopper. If the car was in low gear.

I have a habit of putting the spare tyre below just for safety reason, even if it comes crashing down, i can recover from it easily.