How I almost killed myself with my E30's E-Brake

[88e30is]

This thread is worthless with out pictures.

[SamE30e]

Well I don't have a girlfriend, so I guess in this situation I'm fucked.


Good to hear your o.k..

And I guess I'll say it.. Picture of said girlfriend or GTFO

[z31maniac]

Precisely why I don't do anything under a car by myself.

Glad it turned out OK for you.

[mrsleeve]

Glad you are ok, and you G/F is willign to help out, mine only comes to check on me if its 2 am and I still out there and have fallen asleep under the car. Be safe is all I can say

[EvoStevo]

Wow! Glad you're ok, man. I really need to teach my gf how to use the jack. How would the e-brake keep the car from settling all the way?

[Stephen]

I lost the ability to go under my car long ago... But yes dont do that ^

And while that is ideed scary, i dont think it's all that uncommon for cars to do that

[Beach Bum]

I'm sure some of you know that due to the suspension design of our cars, if you leave the e-brake on while jacking the car up and letting it come back down, the car will actually be suspended a bit higher than normal ride height. I did not know this when I was in the process of replacing my shifter plate bushings, or rather diagnosing why my car was stuck in reverse.

It was just after the bushings had broken, and I was under the car trying to feel around with what went wrong. Not comfortable under just the jack, I let the car back down and tried to get under it without the jack, and discovered I could in fact get under the car! As I had not tried before jacking the car, I did not know that the suspension oddity was what was really holding the car up.

My girlfriend was sitting in the passenger seat moving the shifter back and forth while I was under the car, and then it became hard to breathe. I realized that the car was coming down on me and told her with the last of my breath "GET THE JACK, GET THE JACK NOW NOW NOW!" At that point the car had settled almost completely back to ride height, except now my chest was holding up some of the weight. This is very painful. It was very scary. I expected to die, for I could not breathe.

Thank the stars I trained her well for when I'm working on the car. She fairly levitated out of the car and grabbed the jack from where I'd left it next to the car, spun it to frame height, and in under 30 seconds had it cranked off of my chest so that I could get out. My sternum and ribs still hurt, but I am alive, thanks to my lady. I am very lucky. We just sat in the bed for the rest of the day, and she would not let go. I wasn't letting go either.

Let this be a warning to you all. I was unaware of this quirk with these cars. I was not being stupid, I was merely ignorant, but that'll kill you just as dead. I post this to make sure everyone else knows of this quirk, so that you never make the same mistake I did, even if you think your E30 has 4x4 suspension height. Beware. Do not put anything under the car unless it's off the jacks, jackstands, and the e-brake has been released. MAKE SURE OF THE E-BRAKE. It nearly cost me my life. Don't let it cost you yours, or your buddy's, or anyone else's. Spread the word.