Trust your LIFE with???

[Kestas]

The problem with ratchets is that the corner on each step gets rounded off - either by use or by the way it was manufactured. The fact that these steps each have a very short flat surface puts much, if not most, of this flat surface in the round. It's a recipe for disaster if you're depending on the ratchet to hold.

 

[Sumerduckman]

This thread piqued my interest, so I went to the garage and took a look at my four ratcheting type jack stands.

One set is about 4-5 years old, and the other is at least 10.

I do ALL of the maintenance and repairs on a fleet of five vehicles, three of which have a combined mileage of almost 750k miles, so they see a LOT of use.

The ratchets on all of them look like new, with no wear at all on the steps.

Upon closer inspection however, the pawl that engages the ratchet is only attached to the lift bar by a 1/8" steel roll pin.
So it looks to me like that little roll pin is what is really taking all of the weight when they are in use. Not good. Gives me the willies thinking that my life depends on a couple of 1/8" roll pins.

I will seek some new stands very soon.

 

[i30krab]

I appreciate everyones concern about the jack stand issue. Believe me I have thought and worried about it many times!

But, When is the last time you've heard or read about someone dying under their car because of a faulty jackstand! Remember I'm not including using only jacks or all the other insane things some people do to support their cars. I sure hope they don't depend on their wives holding up the car unless the life insurance premiums are in arrears!!

 

[doitmyself]

Quoted by superduckman:

"Upon closer inspection however, the pawl that engages the ratchet is only attached to the lift bar by a 1/8" steel roll pin."


Unless you have some really bad stands, that roll pin doesn't support ANY weight. Look more closely - the pin only attaches the pawl to the lever to disengage the ratchet. The ratchet and pawl would hold WITHOUT the roll pin by design (wedge together).

OTHER POINTS: A stand rated at 4 tons is probably tested at double that.

AND......think about a class 4 or 5 receiver hitch on a pick up truck. You can pull trailers weighing over 12,000 lbs. (pushing, pulling, jerking). The real weight bearing structure is a measely 1/2" diameter pin!!!!

 

[Bret Chase]

quote:

---

Originally posted by doitmyself:
The real weight bearing structure is a measely 1/2" diameter pin!!!!

---

5/8" pin actually and if it's hardened to gr 5, it's good for about 33,150lbs in shear. if it's hardened to grade 8, it's good for 40,222lbs. not so measly, now is it?

 

[toocrazy2yoo]

I have a 6000lb hydraulic jack I use to raise the car just enough to unload the suspension a few inches, but the wheel doesn't come off the ground but is JUST enough to get the drain pan under the Fumoto valve. No tugging, and no jiggling the jack. The filter requires so little torque to loosen, there simply isn't any risk never mind the fact the wheel doesn't even come off the ground. But every notch higher with the jack rolls the hydraulic jack 2 inches as it loads up. Taking the car up high enough to get the stand under it feels riskier than just a few inches of suspension compression. But all I'm doing is a simple OCI, if I were doing something serious enough to rock the car, I'd do the stands for sure..

 

[Sumerduckman]

quote:

---

Originally posted by doitmyself:
Quoted by superduckman:

"Upon closer inspection however, the pawl that engages the ratchet is only attached to the lift bar by a 1/8" steel roll pin."


Unless you have some really bad stands, that roll pin doesn't support ANY weight. Look more closely - the pin only attaches the pawl to the lever to disengage the ratchet. The ratchet and pawl would hold WITHOUT the roll pin by design (wedge together).

OTHER POINTS: A stand rated at 4 tons is probably tested at double that.

AND......think about a class 4 or 5 receiver hitch on a pick up truck. You can pull trailers weighing over 12,000 lbs. (pushing, pulling, jerking). The real weight bearing structure is a measely 1/2" diameter pin!!!!

---

You are correct sir. I went back and looked without the benefit? of the 103 degree fever from the bout of pneumonia I am fighting, and yes it just holds the pawl onto the release pin.
I stand corrected.

I am still not crazy about the overall design of the things ( ratchet types), though. But that seems to be about all they sell, except for some high end stuff.

edit: I had a link to a page with some nice pin type stands made by AC Hydraulic , but then read that they ( site admins) don't want any links to non-sponser sales pages ,so it was removed.

[ August 01, 2006, 05:06 PM: Message edited by: Sumerduckman ]

 

[Master ACiD]

my dad uses tripod jackstands he MADE in shop class back when he was in middle school. theyve held up fine and are almost twice as old as i am.

he recienly bought a hydraulic car lift because in his ripe old age his back is somewhat failing on him and also car lifts are just plain cool

 

[9296D21B14]

Last weekend I made a set of wooden stair step type ramps from stacked and nailed 2x12's based on a tip I saw here. They weigh a ton. Well, almost. The new Mz3 has a low profile front not well suited to Rhino's and I could not bear the thought of jacking up my new car like I do my beaters and bending/scratching jack point metal, etc. They give me about 7" of rise plus the regular ground clearance and all wheels are basically still in contact with terra firma. I still chock the rear wheels and use the parking break. I felt much safer than with the jack stands when I did the first oil change last weekend. When I did use the stands before, I also had 15" diameter tree logs standing on end as backup. And this all takes place on a large level concrete slab that served as my son's basketball court in the backyard. I have a set of metal ramps I used once and they are now waiting for the recycle bin at the landfill. The metal ones just gave me the creeps. Just so much easier to drive up and down these new ramps than crank the jack lever, set the stand, and reverse to remove. The wooden ramps are painted sky blue as I had some leftover porch ceiling paint. No wasp nests on my new ramps! Total cost $20.