Widowmaker strikes again

[alexza4]

Since my car is too low, i always have to start with the widowmaker to get it up a little before i can use my big jack... Yesterday the widowmaker lived up to its infamous reputation. Popped at full force as i was jacking the car up. I still can't believe Audi includes this crap so called jack with a car...

[AudiA4_20T]

nice, is the car alrite?

[kwimberly]

That's some scary shit. Did it slide on that concrete floor?

[alexza4]

nice, is the car alrite?

yea, thankfully i was just started to jack up, the wheel was only about an inch of the ground so it landed right back on...

[alexza4]

That's some scary shit. Did it slide on that concrete floor?

Nope, just outright FAILED! Fucking piece of shit. The peice that you see in the middle just got torn out of the holes its supposed to be in.

[Sharkfin]

happened to me and almost killed me too, i hate that thing

[alexza4]

happened to me and almost killed me too, i hate that thing

Holly shit! Were actually under the car using that piece of garbage???

[AudiA4Turbo22]

user Maclem had one fail and caused the whole car to fall on top of his chest while he had a rotor on his chest and it cracked a couple of his ribs.

[fitch303]

user Maclem had one fail and caused the whole car to fall on top of his chest while he had a rotor on his chest and it cracked a couple of his ribs.

Working on a car without jackstands is pretty foolish, even with them doubled up I'm nervous.

[Sharkfin]

Holly shit! Were actually under the car using that piece of garbage???

I was taking off the wheels, as I turned a bolt a little it just snapped and luckily there was another bolt holding the wheel on or the car would have landed on me. I had a leg on each side of the wheel under the car

[sc_flaw]

holy shit, to think i was under that thing when i took off my bumper!

[IVRINGS]

This is why I like to keep wooden steps to drive up on before having to jack up the car. Cause no matter how low you are you can fit a 2x4 under it to drive up a little and then have a 2nd one nailed or screwed down about 1/2 or 3/4 of the way down it to get you 4" in the air for a jack.

[QTC]

This is why I kept a light weight floor jack in the trunk. Glad to see you're ok and there was no damage or bodily injury. Write a letter to AoA and see what they say

[OneBadAudi]

I have never liked those damn widowmakers....they always sketch me out if i have to use it. I guess it is for good reason to..glad to see your ok.

[T0M3K]

One almost decapitated me when I was trying to swap rear brake pads, not surprised it has a nickname of widowmaker. It bend that metal disk behind the rotors, but otherwise car was fine. We should class action suit audi for that.

[alexza4]

One almost decapitated me when I was trying to swap rear brake pads, not surprised it has a nickname of widowmaker. It bend that metal disk behind the rotors, but otherwise car was fine. We should class action suit audi for that.

I would agree, that thing is a real hazard. I do believe there's a disclaimer in the manual saying that it should not be used for serious repairs or something like that, but nevertheless that thing should not be used period. I'm considering writing them a letter or maybe having my attorney do that...

[turbo kraut]

mine slid while i was trying to take a wheel off..... came out from under the car and ripped my door blade

[Dolphin18T]

Holy shit. I've never had problems with mine but I've only used it a couple times in emergency situations. Both times I had to use it I crossed my chest just for good measure.

[orzech]

i have never and will never use a factory supplied jack. they are just trouble waiting to happen. not really sure why anyone would use one at their home either. spend the 50-100 bucks and get a nice jack. and take the 2 seconds to at least slide some jackstands under your car. anyways if you are too stupid to do this, then i guess darwin's theory will come into play sooner or later.

NOTE: comments not directed towards OP.

OP: just go out and get youself a nice low profile jack. they are sooo nice when you dont have to worry about clearance anymore with a lowered car.

[vtecgreen]

Mine fell on a smooth concrete surface, scratched my "lower" on my door. No worries, its unpainted. Still scared the S$#T out of me. Went to sears and got a nice expensive floor jack (low profile) and a AAA card.

[turbo kraut]

pretty much same thing minus the aaa card

[Maverick]

lol, I fucked up two OEM jacks already. I thought OEM was the best. haha

[skeeball]

Please don't ever get under the car when using the widowmaker. It should be for changing wheels in an emergency situation. And even then be wary. Also it's always good to slide the spare under the car once you jack it up and are taking the flat off. That way if/when the widowmaker tries to earn it's name, the car won't come completely crashing down.

[reapersa4]

same shit happened to us when we put 19" HRE's on my dads RS6. scratched the side skirt a little D:

[JMRQuattro]

Damn, the previous owner of my car probably took it out or broke it already when i got the car. Glad i have a pretty decent jack though, that is some scary shit. I really want to go get a NICE low profile jack though and some heavy duty jack stands. I have some that supposedly support like 4000lbs each, but they still seem smaller than other jack stands i've seen and they still freak me out.

[mrbacardi35]

holy shit batman. mine collapsed this weekend luckily i have a something else under. it is some scary shit.

[Audi-2NR]

yea i have never trusted the stock jacks. when its made of cheaper aluminum than a honda civics body i will never use it. low pro floor jack is definitely the way to go. may cost some coin for a good one but def worth it when ur life is on the line.

[alexza4]

i'm actually pretty amazed to see how many people actually worked on the car using a widowmaker... wow folks, c'mon please have more sence, this can cost you your life!

yea, i never, ever would get under a car even when using my big jack as soon as soon as i jack it up i slap a stand under . even when the car is in stands sometimes it feels a little iffy... for the matter effect, i will try to avoid using jack and will use ramps when ever is possible.

but yea, just like skeeball said, NEVER, under any circumstances get under the car when using an OEM jack, i'd think twice even getting under with a nice expensive jack.

Stands are cheap and heck of alot more reliable then any jacks you may have!

[audistheonlyone]

i know this is bad, but ive used my oem jack to lift up my car and swap rims before.. and it worked perfect. but i remember on my moms xc90 we had to change the tire in the driveway cause it somehow went flat and we used the OEM volvo one cause we couldnt find the big normal one, and the jack snapped and the car came tumbling down. so we took it to volvo they gave us a better jack and paid for the damage to the car, and the wheel for free.. all because we showed them what happened to the jack.

[Sharkfin]

I used it because I didn't have my other jack at college, what a mistake. I know carry the new jack in the trunk at all times.

[A4 TSCHUSS]

This is why I like to keep wooden steps to drive up on before having to jack up the car. Cause no matter how low you are you can fit a 2x4 under it to drive up a little and then have a 2nd one nailed or screwed down about 1/2 or 3/4 of the way down it to get you 4" in the air for a jack.

Exactly. That is what I do. I am not lowered (just sport suspension) but my Rieger side skirts are to low to slid the floor jack under. I keep a 2x4 in my trunk too to drive on if I had to on the side of the road to get more clearance for a jack.

[Jesus]

Nope, just outright FAILED! Fucking piece of shit. The peice that you see in the middle just got torn out of the holes its supposed to be in.

ouch!

[nein-reis]

I refuse to use that thing. I carry one from a different car.

[BNZ TOY]

I try to get the car on the jackstand as quickly as possible when using this deathtrap and it still almost got me once.

I was bringing car up so I could get at the DV and i was parked beside the pole in the underground parking. The jack FLEXED OUT and dropped the car sideways! Almost into the pole. Literally missed the pole by < 2 cm!

[nananana4k]

Damn, that IS pretty scary. Glad to see you and the car are alright.

It makes you wonder about jacking it up on the side of the road when you get a flat.

[rhumen]

agreed, i'm glad no one got hurt... this time...

i usually keep a few large steady blocks of wood around to stabilize until i can get a proper jack under... all my cars have been low, but the "widowmaker" doesn't only apply to the audi's OEM jack... toyota, mazda and ford all have pretty sketchy supplied jacks... i don't trust any of them.

[JBM]

The only stock jack that I would ever trust my life to if I had to would be my Volvo 740 jack. That thing was built solid and it worked everytime...

[alexza4]

Now, i wonder what kinda jack she's using...

[rhumen]

LOL.... air bag jack for secondary support... way better than pieces of wood or jack stands :)

[377Z]

Nope, just outright FAILED! Fucking piece of shit. The peice that you see in the middle just got torn out of the holes its supposed to be in.

This is about to happen to my '04. I saw it as I was putting it away after using it to pull a wheel to measure the brake rotor dia. when I was away from my tools.

I can't believe that threaded pivot rod the screw threads through is just crimped in. I checked the jack on my wifes '05.5 & its still cheesy aluminum, but it looks like they realized the crimp is grossly inadequate, since the design is a bit different.

Searching around to see if there's any solution other than driving around with a) no jack, b) floor jack/bottle jack knocking around the trunk, or c) some jack from another car knocking around the trunk.

The OEM design isn't really so bad, save for the alumium construction ffs.