A big sheet of corrugated cardboard makes a surprising difference in the comfort of sitting on the ground and is easy to slide around on too.
A big sheet of corrugated cardboard makes a surprising difference in the comfort of sitting on the ground and is easy to slide around on too.
Mechanicing muscles are different than workout muscles so if you only do it occasionally some soreness is to be expected. However, it's still worth making the effort to be more comfortable. I can't kneel anymore so I have a couple of low rolling stools similar to the one Tom_Spangler posted and jack stands the get the vehicle up high enough that I can comfortably work on it. I also have access to a lift but it's 30 min away so for pretty much any maintenance type work it's quicker to just do it in my home shop.
Toyman01 + Sized and said:I have spent a fair amount of money to be comfortable working on cars. This was probably the best money spent.
That looks awfully unstable with the lifts not bolted down. Like it could be pushed over if the center of gravity is a little off center of the support's centerline..
In reply to jharry3 :
I see two bolt heads for sure in the far post and it looks like part of a third is poking out around the corner of that post as well.
The best way to be comfortable is with a lift, bar none. I just put a Titan 6600 pound scissor lift in the shop and it is life changing. What I discovered is that it's not just about being able to get under the car without crawling on the ground. When I was doing some work on the window regulator in the door on the Neon I had the lift control box right next to me. I would raise or lower the car to the point where the bolt I needed to work was right where my arms felt most comfortable. When it was time to do the other bolt at the bottom, I hit the button and put the whole car up higher so that bolt was at the perfect height for working on. Running the accoutrements for the oil pressure gauge through the firewall and up the dash went the same way. Instead of laying upside down on the stupid seat with my head under the dash, I was able to put the car at the perfect height to just reach in and drill the hole in the firewall. Then I could raise and lower it as needed to get things run through the dash.
Another nice thing about the scissor lift is that it doesn't require a lot of concrete work and it's super portable. It can be a pain to figure out how to get the arms to swing just right and lower cars will need some help to get up over it, but after that learning curve, it'll be the best couple grand you ever spend.
Beyond that, having heat available is the other big life-changer. If you've got to be crawling around on the ground it's just better on the old bones if you're not doing it on ice-cold concrete.
This isn't an ergonomic suggestion, per se, but something that I did that made things much easier was getting in to the habit of putting every tool back in its spot every time. I like to roll the toolbox over and as soon as I'm finished with a tool, I put it back in its spot right away, even if I know I'm going to need it again right away. When I'm under the car and get get back and forth as easily, I like to have a tray of some sort and I keep the selection of tools to an absolute minimum. Either way, as soon as I'm finished with a socket, it goes back on the rail in its spot. At least, that's what I aspire to; it doesn't always go to plan! I've found that if I do that, I'm not lying on my tools or having to contort myself around to try to find the tool I just had in my hand a second ago. The frustration of being in an uncomfortable position doesn't get compounded with the frustration of not being able to find something so it makes the aches and pains a little more tolerable.
In reply to CarKid1989 :
At my age (72) unless I can work comfortably I won't work. Damage done to my body will hurt me the rest of my life.
So I build stands so I can sit on a rolling office chair comfortably. Then I put the pieces up on the stand and start welding it together as a car.
The JaguarXJS will get stripped and put on a rotisserie so when I'm working I can use that same chair
Brakes are among the worst on jack stands. I think half the problem is that they seem like they should be so much nicer than exhausts, driveshafts, other all-the-way-under-the-car gubbins. But the fact is that they're low enough that you have to sit on the ground to get at them properly, and half the pain in the butt is that it's rare to have everything you need right there, so it's on the ground, off the ground, on the ground, off the ground... I sporadically use an adjustable-height rolling stool, but most of the time that places me too far above the brakes.
I'm looking forward to joining the 2-post lift club. I've used them, and I never wanted to go back to doing without. I'm pretty sure it makes you 2-3 times faster for anything brake/suspension/undercar-related, never mind the "How the berk did I bruise myself there!?" aspect.
I am in the butt on ground club, though I do use a rolling stool sometimes. Engine bay work onthe other hand kills my back after a while.
No lift and being the world's worst mechanic means being 'comfortable' involves paying someone else to do most anything more complicated than brake pads or oil changes.
Not worth the suffering.
Aaron_King said:Engine bay work on the other hand kills my back after a while.
This is the one that really gets me. I think most of the time I don't feel too bad while I'm doing it. Then if I don't do some yoga* I will seize up badly.
* I can't begin to explain how weird it is to me that I "do yoga."** I do clinical, video-led, non-woo-woo, zero-spiritual-aspect yoga that might be better described as "structured stretches," but there's no denying it has radically changed the amount of pain (or lack thereof) I have on an ongoing basis.
** I just hear Dan Akroyd in Grosse Point Blank saying "Don't say 'do it,' because I don't 'do it,' I ingest it, on orders of my neurophysiologist."
I sit on an old floormat, the other big thing is I'll lay out the tools I need next to me to cut back on the up and down. I'll check the bolt heads or bring the whole wrack of sockets down, grab any of the wrench sizes I need and lay them all down next to me.
I still use the Craftsman mechanic's stool I bought 40 years ago, it's basically the old version of the stool Tom Spangler posted above.
If I were to buy something today, I'd look at the products aimed at gardeners - there are low tractor-style seats on pneumatic tires, various kneeling pads, and so forth that weren't around back then.
I finally broke down and bought this last week, for use with the MaxJax (Amazon like $100) My 20 year old rolling stool was a wee bit too tall for comfortable rolling around under the TR6 and track rat. Well, and I may have dropped the lift with the old stool under one of the arms. So far I like it. Working on jack stands is just that, "work", and when tinkering on cars becomes "work" for me, I send them off to a shop.
Assuming you've got smooth concrete in the garage, I like my 3 position creeper a lot.
1) lay down creeper for under vehicle stuff
2) reclined chair with your butt a couple inches off the ground for things like brakes
3) rolling stool about chair height if you've got the height to sit higher
In reply to wake74 :
Can I get a link for that?
I may be in my mid 30s, but my backs bad enough I've had surgery and a recent cortisone shot.
Before I hurt myself and before the lift, cheap harbor freight packing blankets with cardboard or tarps under likely fluid leaks. Tarp for sure for oil changes, wipes up easy and you can hose it off too.
Add me to the sit/lay on the floor list. Worst thing I've done to date was severely tweak my back the first time I attempted doing a string alignment. I was laid up for about a week afterward. Not sure exactly what I did but I've done alignments since then without much issue.
Look at you all, with your fancy concrete and milk crates and robot stools. Why, back in my day (last weekend) I was doing brake jobs in the dirt (gravel, actually) with nothing more than jeans to save my knobbly knees (I was too lazy to drag out the cardboard) and I liked it!! (No I didnt)
But soon, very soon, I too shall have a shop fit for a king! Hahahaahaaa!
In reply to Jesse Ransom :
Tell me more about these clinical, non-spiritual yoga videos. Where do you find them?
In reply to thatsnowinnebago :
I got them as part of a cycling training plan package from The Sufferfest. The yoga videos themselves come from Yoga 15, though the last time I think I looked this up for someone, access there cost nearly as much as getting them through The Sufferfest, making the latter much more bang for the buck if you ride and want the workout stuff... They also have some strength training stuff in bite sized pieces, mostly body weight.
Quickjacks to lift the car fairly high.
and then I sit on the tire. Works perfectly!
I've been thinking about a rolling stool as well.
I'm a 5'10" manlet though so YMMV.
A few ideas I use. A "bone" style low creeper. A mechanics chair, and a few of these carpet mats. These mats are way better than cardboard. You can also get high density foam kids play floor mats.
Apexcarver said:In reply to wake74 :
Can I get a link for that?
This link should get you to the stool. I hate hitting the "Orders" button on Amazon, yup, that's depressing....
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0875QRCMT
Toyman01 + Sized and said:I have spent a fair amount of money to be comfortable working on cars. This was probably the best money spent.
What do you do to protect the lift from the weather?.
In reply to dean1484 :
I take it down and store it inside. Both columns have wheels so you can roll them like a hand truck. The arms have a furniture dolly they are stored on. The pump is mounted on a cart and the hoses have quick connections. It takes about 10 minutes to set it up and another 10 to take it down.
This is probably the best ~$2,000 I have ever spent. I have one of those cheap, height adjustable harbor freight rolling stools for work on cars that are tall enough to that I can't get them high enough to stand under. Before the lift purchase I was in the butt on the floor with legs under the car camp for brakes.
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