(Mis)Adventures at Harbor Freight (Jackstand Recall)

In response to the jack stand recall many of us have seen, I made a trip to Harbor Freight yesterday to exchange some stands that I had that fell in the affected P/N list.  Specifically, I had 2 sets of 6 ton stands and 1 set of 3 ton stands.  The first store I went to offered me store credit, as they did not have any stands in stock.  I told them that I wanted to do an exchange, and get new jack stands, so the cashier checked in his computer and found another store on the other side of the city that had stands in stock.  I jumped in my little blue Mazda3 and sprinted around the beltway to the Northwest side of Baltimore. 

When I went in that store, the clerk told me to toss my old stands into a shopping cart, go get the new stands, and bring them to the checkout for the exchange.  While I was there I grabbed a few other small items as well.  When I got to the checkout, the cashier rang me up and the total seemed...high.  I asked him if the jackstands were an even exchange, and he said, "well, these stands are more expensive, so you have to pay the difference".  I told him they were the exact same stands- 6 ton and 3 ton steel jack stands.  Nope, he said, they were $10 each more expensive for the 6 ton, and $5 more expensive for the 3 ton, so I had to pay the extra $25.  After refusing to do so, I told him to call the manager over.

After explaining to the manager the situation, he told the clerk to do an even exchange.  Phew. 

Part Two:  I get home and unpack the new stands.  Now that this recall has made everyone concerned about the shape of the teeth on the jack stand uprights, I inspected them.  They really didn't appear to be substantially different than the teeth on the ones I'd returned- still cast, and not particularly sharp.  I set up a stand and pushed down on the top with one hand while flicking up the release lever with the other, and I was able to collapse the stand doing that.  Just for reference, I tried that with an older, non-recalled stand I had in my garage, and with one hand pushing on the top of the stand I was unable to lift up the lever. 

So now I'm not sure I trust even these new stands. 

With the same thought about how the newer stands are probably still not great, I took the store credit for my recalled ones and went home with a portaband instead.

See if the return will get you the $10 and $5 more. 

I think the learning here is the stands with a "easy drop lever" may do exactly that and drop easy.   I like my old stands that require the placement of a cross pin

Anyone got some suggestions on better stands?  I'm seriously considering returning these.

The receipt shows the new stands "discounted" to the same price as the returned ones. 

I exchanged my 3 ton stands and I did inspect the new ones. The old ones were indeed sketchy casting. The new ones are much better.

I never trust a stand or jack by itself anyway. I use both if I'm under a car and I'll throw the tire under there too. Not gonna drop on me.

For you have Northern Tool near?

They offer a $45 six ton and $25 three ton but with a cross bolt.

https://m.northerntool.com/shop/tools/category_automotive+jacks+jack-stands

In reply to volvoclearinghouse (Forum Supporter) :

I use their 3 ton aluminum jack stands for most things. They have been pretty awesome for about 10 years now.

In reply to John Welsh (Moderate Supporter) :

I was just looking at those.  I don't have a NT nearby, but they do ship.  I've generally been impressed with NT, more so than HF.  Thanks.

I'm thinking any sort of double-locking type is the way to go.  I wouldn't be surprised if the "flippy pawl" type gets banned at some point.  Not saying it's inherently dangerous, as I have some older ones that seem to be better designed, but having a redundant locking mechanism seems safer.

The US Jacks ones seem pretty good, unfortunately they're backorderd till July. 

http://usjack-com.3dcartstores.com/6-Ton-Garage-Jack-Stand--BACK-ORDERED-UNTIL-MID-TO-LATE-JULY-_p_41.html

I use any jackstand that has the pen going through, no way they can slip. 

Lowes and Depot have more on their sites than they do in their stores.  

John Welsh (Moderate Supporter) said:

Lowes and Depot have more on their sites than they do in their stores.  

They do, but sold out of anything double locking, unfortunately.

I just ordered a set of the NT ones.  And a set of the ones from Amazon, though they were backordered too. 

I think I saw a story about someone that already had a car fall with the replacement HF jacks.

In reply to Mr_Asa :

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/replacement-harbor-freight-jack-stand-180000215.html

Different failure mode, but yeah, scary. 

In reply to volvoclearinghouse (Forum Supporter) :

Not sure if a different failure mode or the same would be more scary

Remember that the stand's most likely failure is still user error. I'm not saying it's a bad idea to inspect one part of the system. But the whole thing IS a system and tunnel vision on one part is dangerous. 

1. banging on release lever while car is on stand
2. set stand on soft ground so it can tilt/slip
3. move car allowing stands to tip over
4. place stand under something that you are working on or can move, like a suspension arm or subframe
5. place something relatively soft between stand and car that could shift or break, like a block of wood or pad
6. you name it

There are many ways to break a hammer or hurt yourself with it. Few are the responsibility of the hammer manufacturer. 

Proof that even double locking stands are not idiot proof.....

In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :

A guy I know was crushed to death while raising the engine on his Corvair with a jack while the car was resting on jackstands. He inadvertently jacked up the car off the stands, it shifted, the jack fell, and he was under the whole mess. It was terrifying.

Slight hijack, but jack stand related.  What does everyone use to decide how big of a jack to buy?  Is it kinda like buying a tow vehicle and bigger is just better?  My truck weighs 3 tons and I never have all four wheels off the ground, rarely do I even have two off the ground.  I need a new set of jackstands, but can't come up with a "just safer" reason to get 6 ton jacks v. 3 ton.  Plus, the bigger the jack, the taller it is, so they wouldn't work well on a smaller car.

-Rob

In reply to rob_lewis :

Generally just to get more height. Bigger/heavier jacks lift higher, and bigger jack stands go higher (and are more stable than a smaller stand set at it's max height). The three ton jack stands would comfortably hold my full size pickup off the ground, but at their max height they don't get it far off the ground. I use a set of 6 ton stands under the two Lemons race cars (one ~3000lbs, the other ~1600lbs) just for the height, not for load capacity. 

When I was in high school shop class, my teacher showed us a set of jack stands that they used to build as a student project (way back in the day). Wonder if a set of drawings for homebuilt jack stands is still floating around somewhere?

when do they turn into hammers?

I agree, return them for store credit.  No way I would put my body between the car and the ground with them in between.

newrider3 said:

In reply to rob_lewis :

When I was in high school shop class, my teacher showed us a set of jack stands that they used to build as a student project (way back in the day). Wonder if a set of drawings for homebuilt jack stands is still floating around somewhere?

TBH, I trust my own welds far more than I trust a disgruntled factory worker in China.