A Word About Safety for DIY-ers
 

I debated whether or not I should post this because I loath when people do something stupid, then spread it all over the Internet with sensational subject lines in an attempt to get attention.

But then I figured that maybe someone could learn from my mistakes. And my mistake this time is that I sent myself to the emergency room a couple of weeks ago after getting hurt working on a car. Now, I've been working on cars for close to 25 years, and have gotten hurt before. Who hasn't? But it's never been anything so serious that it couldn't be dealt with by a careful selection of curse words and a couple of Band-Aides.

I've been chasing oil and coolant leaks on my 2002 X5 4.6is after an epic timing chain guide replacement project and three attempts to correctly set the timing. To locate the latest leak, I had removed the aluminum skid plate from under the front subframe (again). I traced the oil leak to the O-Ring at the bottom of the dipstick tube and was in the process of buttoning it up.

If you've ever had to remove/replace the skid plate, you know that it's an awkward job with difficult access. If you haven't done the job, there are six 16mm bolts holding the plate to the underside of the front subframe. Each one passed through the plate and subframe, and then has a nut on top of top of the subframe. You have to hold that nut with a wrench while tightening the bolts from underneath. Access to the bolts is easy - they are all exposed. But the nuts are a different story. There is a lot of stuff in the way, and you have to really contort yourself to get a grip on a couple of them.

I had managed to get them all tight and was checking the torque when, on the last one, the 1/2" drive socket wrench I was using slipped off the bolt head and hit me in the upper lip - just below my right nostril. I knew it was bad because I tasted blood almost immediately. But I had no idea what had actually happened.

To her credit, my wife was a model of composure when I came running into the house spewing blood and expletives. It was obvious that something was wrong and she calmly asked if I would be requiring assistance. Um, yeah! She took one look and in a very uncharacteristically assertive tone, informed me that we were going to the ER. I didn’t argue. By this time, there was blood all over the bathroom sink, but I was able to use a paper towel to keep pressure on my lip and slow the bleeding. It was about 5:00PM Sunday afternoon.

I kicked all my tools and assorted gubbins into the garage, closed the door, and she took me to the local Med Stop. We waited for an hour and a half to see a doctor, and in the meantime the shock was wearing off and it was really starting to hurt like a mofo. The doc took one look at my lip that was split open and insisted that we go to the ER in Macon - about a 35 minute drive. My wife doesn’t like to drive on the Interstate (especially at night), so we debated going to a closer local ER. But ultimately decided to take the doctor’s advice. I’m glad we did. The wait was very short and Dr. Hatchcox demonstrated superb skill and bedside manor.

At 45 years old, I’ve never had stitches and didn’t know what to expect. Let’s just say it’s an unpleasant experience. In fact, the entire experience was very unpleasant and inconvenient. I ended up with 5 stitches in my lip, but thankfully no loose teeth or other significant injuries. I was very lucky. I could have easily knocked out a tooth, or broken my nose. I’m thankful that it was a relatively minor injury.

So when you’re working on a car, do pay attention and be aware of what you’re doing. I should have known I would be in the path of any suddenly freed tools and been more careful. In fact, I did know it. But I was so close to being done and just wanted to get that last bolt snugged up.

The attached photo was taken 5 days later just before the stitches were taken out. I must say that I’m pleased with how well it’s healing. I’ll probably have a permanent scar, but two weeks later and it doesn’t hurt and is almost completely healed.

Oh, and I couldn’t shave for the last 2 weeks, so I thought I’d see how I look with a goatee. I’m not a fan!

I know that feel. Never had stitches but I have smacked myself pretty good in the face with either tools or parts. It's always good to know where your local ER is when working on your car haha.

Thanks for sharing this. Important topic that is often ignored by people.

I always:

1. Use 2 jack stand under subframe: one 4-leg jack stand + a screw-type jack stand. Once the car is lowered on to the 4-leg jack stand , I used the screw-type jack stand and nudge it up a bit. This way the load is shared by 2 jack stands. I post photo of this setup in bimmerfest E39 forum.

2. Always chock the diagonal opposite wheel. If you do brake work on RF wheel, then chock the LR wheel: both the fore and aft parts of the tire.

3. When using drill, air tool (hose can burst), looking up at chassis from under the car, or any job that stuff can fly into the eyes, I wear goggles!

4. Always wear work gloves when dealing with ratchet, breaker bar. The potential for slipping is there as you learned just now. Always make sure the nut/bolt head is in good shape, if not, it can slip. Make sure the socket sits nicely in the bolt head! Check to be sure it is the proper socket, don't use a 22-mm socket in a 21-mm bolt! It will slip...

If possible, push the breaker bar AWAY from you. If you pull it toward you, have a plan B ready "what if it slips, where does it go...hopefully not the lip or nose or eyes".

(Well, many years ago, the breaker bar slipped and it hit my chest, right on the sternum, it hurt like h#ll...).

5. Always have a cell phone nearby...

6. Watch out for earthquake if you live in that zone.

For every job in car repair, there is always a precaution, the best defense is the internet, look up the potential hazard of any job (whether it is brake pad or coolant change etc.) beforehand, and you will be happy you did!

Been there!

I was working under my '79 Trans Am one Fri afternoon in the early '80s, had an exhaust header collector bolt snap & the butt of the socket handle smacked me in the right eyebrow.

I butterflied it, my GF at the time was the daughter of a Dr. in North Brunswick, NJ, when they arrived at their shore house that evening he took one look at it and was pissed I didn't call him and have him bring a stitch kit down.

He made a call to a friend (also a doctor) in Forked River, got him to meet us at his office after a 30min drive in the worst thunderstorm/downpour rain I've ever seen in my life. Ended up getting 5 stitches.

Glad you're ok. Lessons learned are always good to share.

My friend, the Mercedes master tech, early on encouraged me to always push the wrench away from my face. I don't always remember it, but it has come in handy.

The bright side is that's going to be a cool scar :D

Glad you're alright. Fortunately, I've not had anything quite as serious as this happen... but I scared the sh&t out of myself once using brake clean. I was using goggles under an e30 (doing driveshaft, CSB, and flex disc) lifted about 3ft with jacks stands on 4 corners.

So I was underneath cleaning all the leaked trans fluid with the brake clean and sprayed a little too close to the back of the trans and the blow back was intense. I was wearing goggles (not full goggles though :() and I took a decent squirt to the eye. You guys know how cold it feels to use the stuff and it burned like a mother!

So I read the MSDS for the product and flushed the hell out of my eyes for like an hour. It freaked me out because for the next 2 or 3 hours one of my yes was fairly blurry. Lesson learned... I always use full coverage goggles now when there is a chance of liquid contamination of some sort reaching the eyes.

Be safe everyone. :thumbup:

Glad you're ok!

Been wrenching my own cars for years....I'm nearly 50 years old!

What used to be a 10 minute job.....now turns to an hour or so.

NOT because due to age....becoz....I'm wearing glasses now!

Couldn't focus on the size of nuts and bolts.....or whether it's a phillips or a hex screw.

My vision has deteriorated..:(.... but can still comfortably lift anything less than 20 kilos.



I'm slowly teaching my 16 year old son....to understand... fixing cars, carpentry and plumbing.

So he can then ....assist me and he gets to learn new things.

Be careful and be aware.......and take your time.

Glad your ok. Safety first!

I've done almost the same. Now my knuckles will ALWAYS take the hit as yours will too:)

I can remember my dad rushing in as a kid from working on the car. We ended up calling the paramedics. He had some how sprayed himself with gas while working on the carb of our ford farmont! He had gas in his eyes and the medics flushed them for him.

Another caution!
 

There's still another risk not yet mentioned here.

A number of years ago, a friend who was a professional garage mechanic, inadvertently touched a hot under-hood wire with his steel wedding ring. Not sure to this day where he was grounded, but the hot wire turned his wedding band into a red hot iron that very nearly burned his finger off. He went immediately from the shop to the ER where they cut the ring off and treated his whole hand for burns. He was out of work for a month while it all healed, and never wore his ring again!

At age 80, I no longer do my own work, but after that, whenever I did - guess what? I slipped the wedding ring off!

Best bet? Think ahead and stay safe.

Zen:wow:

Good point about removing rings. I always take my wedding ring off when working on stuff. My dad taught me that rule when I was a little kid.

I couldn't resist:

^x3 on the wedding ring working on cars, if you knock your hand with a ring on it always hurts more - I always wear nitrile gloves just because I like having tactile feel when working on them and my hands get sweaty so it doubles as a "non slip" work area

I'm always mindful now of not being in a rush to get things buttoned up and if my wife says its 3 hours until dinner, if I can't reasonably take my time, including getting tools cleaned and put away and all work area cleaned up within 4 hours, I don't do the job. Whenever I rush, I break something, strip a bolt head, etc

I had a bad one about 3.5 years ago - replacing rear sway bar bushings on the X5 and stripped a bolt out because I was in a rush on the bracket holding the bushings. Stupid me tried to drill out the broken bolt but I wasn't wearing safety glasses, just thought I could squint.

Well 2 days later after my eye constantly tearing and washing it out and nothing else happening, finally went to my eye doctor and she said "oh yeah you have a small piece of metal stuck in your eye and it started to rust" - luckily it wasn't near my iris and came out cleanly with her little pincer, then she had to almost dremel the rust out and said there was a tiny little crater left in my eye which would fill back in eventually - but I had to wash my eyes 3 times a day for a couple weeks after that and they were hyper sensitive after. Now I'm always wearing safety glasses ESPECIALLY when working under the car.

My neighbor used to tease me about wearing eye and hearing protection when cutting my grass. I explained that I didn't want to speed up the natural process of going blind and deaf. He thought I was making a joke. Later, he started a lawncare business and manages several of the houses in our subdivision. I noticed that he now uses ear and eye protection. I guess he finally figured out what I meant.

Anyway, the point is that I think a lot of people don't take basic safety seriously when working in the garage. As I've gotten older and gained experience, I've established a set of rules that include nitrile gloves at all times. If I don't need the dexterity of the thinner gloves, I wear heavier work gloves. Safety glasses are a must whenever air tools are used, or there is any possibility of flying debris or liquids.

I don't have a cavalier attitude about safety and I still managed to get hurt. It just goes to show that sometimes basic caution isn't enough.

^True and great post and points. I landscaped and did construction for about 8 years since I was 17 years old, 3M Earmuffs are a must whenever a machine (mower,trimmer,backpack blower, snowblower, diamond saw, etc) is in use, even your standard orange earplugs do the trick) - The first year in the business I probably didn't do it ever but pretty soon it was standard practice, I value my hearing.

A summer or two without sunglasses when doing hardscape work also did a number on my eyes so now whenever its anything brighter than mostly cloudy, I have sunglasses on outside - even on hazy days I need them (blue eyes = most sensitive to light of all colors, little known fact)

Sometimes you can't be safe enough.

I was removing a through the wall AC unit. Brick wall. AC unit is 220v and is probably from sometime 1950 build date. So it was perma rusted in there. It was The day before Christmas. My guys were off, and only my father in law and I. We needed to get that AC out and lay brick so that the inside could get insulation and Sheetrock ASAP. So we pull the AC out, we get the cage out, but the amount of shit falling off this thing is wild. Socks, panties rubbers, everything was jammed in this guy to keep the cold out I guess. Pops in law goes outside grabs a ladder and goes to the hole from outside. I'm on a latter inside. When he ran out, he forgot to close the door. And as soon as his head popped in the hole where the AC was, a huge gust of wind blew through the door and through that AC opening right into his face.

Washed him out and all that shit. Next day his eyes look like raw meat. I spent Christmas Eve with him in ER. He had metal, rock, and other shit. Rust. They could not get it out with pincers. They carved it out with a needle. This went on every 3 days for the past month. Plus antibiotics, and lots of eye cremes. They are saying it's mostly out now, but he needs to go back in 2 weeks. They are waiting for a few last pieces to make it closer to be able to get it removed. He finally got back his day vision. He was super sensative to light. Like in pain for about a week when looking at light.

My lesson is to wear goggles every time you step into a construction zone. You just never know. And chances of some sort of airborne shit are high.

nice info guys, I have had a few "surprises" in the past too.
I refuse to buy/use cheap tools. Ive had a few sockets break and leave me on the brunt end of the excess torque. most recently was a water pump pulley wrench used to hold the waterpump pulley while a wrench on the fan clutch can pull the fan loose.
broke the pulley and the water pump holder wrench. and ended up smacking myself in the face. no stitches just a few butterfly closures ! I grew up running with scissors, and not wearing a helmet! Ive got scars (adventure marks) all over the place! :) they make for great stories!
that said, there's a "stupid line" that shouldn't be crossed when it comes to safety. ie, ALWAYS use Jack stands even if they are just pieces of firewood rounds that can hold the weight of the truck should it come down. Ive gotten into the habit of placing the wheel on the ground under the running boards to mitigate a total failure of the jack and the jack stands (earthquake??)
Pushing on the wrench instead of pulling is a good one too! sometimes its not always possible!
safety goggles for anything more involved than changing an airfilter!
nitrile gloves (gorilla brand are my fav) helps the clean up too! and keeps nasty chemicals off your skin! now if they ever came up with an "armoured" variety that might end my black and blue fingernails! !!!
moral of story, have fun but be safe!

Good point about using a wheel under the car in addition to jack stands. I do that too!

Glad you are still here to warn us... but I have to say that I think it is a disgrace that someone could sit in the waiting room of a medical center for an hour and a half, only to be told that you should run to another emergency room.

Aren't there triage doctors or nurses around to make an educated judgment as to who needs to be treated (or at least examined right away)?

Right there with you…