Older HF Jack stands

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Donald

Donald

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I have older HF Jack stands maybe 15 yr old (maybe 20). But they have that lever that engages/loosens the paw to hold the shaft that goes up/down. Are any of them with that lever and paw safe? Is a pin the only safe design. A lot of weight on the pin.

Not sure I can read the model numbers for my older HF Jack stands.
 
They just recalled 1.7 million jackstands. I have a set like that not sure if I'll keep them or toss them out.
 
I have a set of yellow ones that are 20yrs old. Curious to know if they are good or not. I guess the only thing to do is toss them and get a new set.
 
The ones in the Northern catalog have the lever and paw but also a pin as a second safety.

All jack stands listed on current HF websitethe have the lever and paw locking mechanism. No safety pin. So what was the issue with the recalled ones?
 
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I checked mine last night, I cant really remember when I bought these, but I'm thinking around 2014. No pins in this one, just the lever. Orange base, white top.
[Linked Image]
 
The recall is only for newer ones made or sold since Jan 2020. The problem was blamed on worn tooling at that factory that did not cut the teeth deep enough and may have drilled the hole for the pivot too far out so that if the car moves and wiggles the stand with the teeth it could disengage and fall. No matter when you bought your stands though it would be a good idea to check them for wear or cracks and make sure the paw fully engages the notches.
 
Originally Posted by samven
The recall is only for newer ones made or sold since Jan 2020. The problem was blamed on worn tooling at that factory that did not cut the teeth deep enough and may have drilled the hole for the pivot too far out so that if the car moves and wiggles the stand with the teeth it could disengage and fall. No matter when you bought your stands though it would be a good idea to check them for wear or cracks and make sure the paw fully engages the notches.

Some of them go back to 2013.
 
Originally Posted by jkasch
Originally Posted by samven
The recall is only for newer ones made or sold since Jan 2020. The problem was blamed on worn tooling at that factory that did not cut the teeth deep enough and may have drilled the hole for the pivot too far out so that if the car moves and wiggles the stand with the teeth it could disengage and fall. No matter when you bought your stands though it would be a good idea to check them for wear or cracks and make sure the paw fully engages the notches.

Some of them go back to 2013.


Worn tooling for 7 years sounds like a lame excuse.
 
A recall is great, it is the right thing to do by HF, and shows that they do care about the quality of their products.

The bigger issue, I think, is that jack stands by nature are dangerous. I would wager that incorrect use of the jackstand is likely behind many of the failures. When I say incorrect use, I mean uneven loading, shaking or moving of the vehicle, or using them on an uneven surface. Add to this that the average HF jack stand user is not a professional car mechanic and uses them seldomly with minimal training.

So many variables that can make the vehicle fall. Always place a secondary safety under any car that is lifted in the air. Even then, shake the vehicle before getting under it to check for movement.

Pinned or not, a shifting weight balance can occur on any lifting mechanism.
 
There are many different manufacturers of lift equipment, domestic and foreign (of different countries) that make both ratcheting and pin type jack stands. I would think that the manufacturers and the regulating bodies currently believe both types are "safe".

IMHO, the harbor freight jack stand recall is due to a lack of proper quality control, either from the manufacturer, exporter, or importer of the stands.

I don't think the design is in question, But for me, the question is - are there any other importers that used the same source for the jack stands?
 
I've never been a fan of the lever style. I have Larin stands that use pins.

It's my understanding that the HF stands only failed when the load shifted on them? That sounds like an issue in of itself.
eek.gif
 
Originally Posted by dlundblad
I've never been a fan of the lever style. I have Larin stands that use pins.

It's my understanding that the HF stands only failed when the load shifted on them? That sounds like an issue in of itself.
eek.gif


I bet it is user error at the root.
 
You've had them in use for 15 years, possibly 20 and you're asking us if they are safe? Come on now.
 
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Originally Posted by stanlee
You've had them in use for 15 years, possibly 20 and you're asking us if they are safe? Come on now.


I have had them that long but they don't get used very often.

Mostly I do brakes and push the wheel under and don't get under the car doing brakes. So only a jack most of the time.
 
Originally Posted by stanlee
You've had them in use for 15 years, possibly 20 and you're asking us if they are safe? Come on now.



confused2.gif
Age now has something to do with safety? I would say that the older the better, in terms of metal quality..
 
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