Don't use the Harbor Freight jack stands

Originally Posted by IMSA_Racing_Fan
How many have failed?


It's a good question but since it's something that can affect their reputation, a handful would be enough to take action.
 
Darn! I've got four of the 61196. Kind of freaks me out to think I've been crawling around under a car supported by 4 of these things! Thanks for posting.
 
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
These ones appear to be American-made:

https://www.amazon.com/US-JACK-D-41610-Garage-Stands/dp/B00P248NYO#detail-bullets


Only $235. Buy once, cry once.

I might just get rid of my small ones and use cribbing instead.

[Linked Image]
 
Originally Posted by PowerSurge
You get what you pay for. 25 bucks for Chinesium jack stands. No thank you.


thumbsup2.gif
 
What he said, always have a jack somewhere under the vehicle as insurance.
A few months back I had [censored] with a rusted CV axle nut on a Ford Aspire that my air impact wouldn't budge. My neighbor brought over his Snap On rechargable and it LIFTED the car off the jack stand in my hands. The car shifted the stand when in landed but not totally off the frame. What I'm saying is never trust any floor jack stand with your life.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by IMSA_Racing_Fan
What he said, always have a jack somewhere under the vehicle as insurance.
A few months back I had [censored] with a rusted CV axle nut on a Ford Aspire that my air impact wouldn't budge. My neighbor brought over his Snap On rechargable and it LIFTED the car off the jack stand in my hands. The car shifted the stand when in landed but not totally off the frame. What I'm saying is never trust any floor jack stand with your life.

+1

I always have a couple of wheels under the car for insurance.
 
".....

These stands consist of a stamped metal four-leg base, into which slides a vertical, toothed lift post. A pawl assembly built into the metal base engages with the teeth on the post, permitting height adjustability. The design of these simple, rugged jack stands is ubiquitous; the same basic stand type is produced by a number of manufacturers (in fact, Harbor Freight's stands come from several sources, not all of which are impacted by the recall) and sold at just about every hardware and auto parts store in America. Unless stated otherwise on the box or label, there's a very good chance they, like Harbor Freight's, came from a supplier in China.

In the case of the recalled Harbor Freight stands, the problem is not inherent to the design of the stands themselves. Instead, the retailer says that "aging of the tooling and inconsistent location indexing of the pawl armature hole" has led to a condition whereby "the ratchet teeth on the jack stand lifting extension inconsistently engage the pawl to sufficient depth." This potential lack of positive engagement means that the stand could fail suddenly and without warning; a small shift in the load on the stand could be enough to trigger the the failure.

...."

https://www.autoweek.com/car-life/d...called-failure-risk-see-models-affected/
 
Originally Posted by doyall
".....

These stands consist of a stamped metal four-leg base, into which slides a vertical, toothed lift post. A pawl assembly built into the metal base engages with the teeth on the post, permitting height adjustability. The design of these simple, rugged jack stands is ubiquitous; the same basic stand type is produced by a number of manufacturers (in fact, Harbor Freight's stands come from several sources, not all of which are impacted by the recall) and sold at just about every hardware and auto parts store in America. Unless stated otherwise on the box or label, there's a very good chance they, like Harbor Freight's, came from a supplier in China.

In the case of the recalled Harbor Freight stands, the problem is not inherent to the design of the stands themselves. Instead, the retailer says that "aging of the tooling and inconsistent location indexing of the pawl armature hole" has led to a condition whereby "the ratchet teeth on the jack stand lifting extension inconsistently engage the pawl to sufficient depth." This potential lack of positive engagement means that the stand could fail suddenly and without warning; a small shift in the load on the stand could be enough to trigger the the failure.

...."

https://www.autoweek.com/car-life/d...called-failure-risk-see-models-affected/


Right, which points to wholly insufficient QC, otherwise this would have been caught before people were using them. Not surprising for something sold from a broker of whatever the cheapest Chinese garbage they can stock.
 
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Right, which points to wholly insufficient QC, otherwise this would have been caught before people were using them. Not surprising for something sold from a broker of whatever the cheapest Chinese garbage they can stock.


Let's just hope that all jack stands, under whatever brand name sold, made by this manufacturer come under scrutiny.
 
Originally Posted by doyall
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Right, which points to wholly insufficient QC, otherwise this would have been caught before people were using them. Not surprising for something sold from a broker of whatever the cheapest Chinese garbage they can stock.


Let's just hope that all jack stands, under whatever brand name sold, made by this manufacturer come under scrutiny.


Agreed.
 
I purchased used Craftsman Made in USA ones as I would not trust a car over me with Chinese made. Cheap stuff makes sense but not stuff that can kill you or touches you.
 
Originally Posted by supton
But dang it if they don't just look the same to me!

What HF typically does is designs a "widget" and then has one or more manufacturers produce it for them, hence they will look identical. The different manufacturers of the "same" item are why they frequently have more than one item number. This also allows them to trace things, i.e. defects that result in a recall, so they know which specific ones are necessary to take care of.
 
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