Harbor Freight Jack Stand recall

I didn't see this posted anywhere and after all the fuss about how dangerously my Dakota was lifted, I'm kinda disappointed it hasn't.


One of many links >> Jack Stand Recall Linky

Be safe everyone.

Should I admit or lie that I have four of those recalled jack stands in my garage

I had one of the ears snap off on one of those HF stands, luckily the truck (2500 Cummins) was held up by the other ear. I immediately removed both of them and they went in the scrap pile. The upper part was made of cheap cast iron.

Seems China has been trying to kill some of us way before Covid-19.

I wonder if the same chinese stsnds sold by other stores have the same recall. You'd think so but haven't seen anything about it.

Good point. The only difference is the sticker slapped on it.

There is a You Tube vid showing and explaining the problem a little more detailed than just saying its Chinese trash.

Because I am afraid of crawling underneath my 3500 lb Plymouth supported by ratcheting jack stands, I paid a premium to get these. Made in USA.

Nice! Where did you get those if you don't mind my asking.

Available from Grainger...


Just my $0.02...

no hobo fright stands here. all are hein-warner, and are at least 40yrs old.

Hm. The basic design looks almost identical to my mid-1990's Craftsman-branded ratcheting jackstands. Never had an issue with them--hopefully the materials are better in my brand-name older stuff...

I have always had bad dreams about accidentally kicking one of those release levers while under the car, so I always put a tire/wheel under the car or a second jackstand to back it up....

I'm going to then need wider wheels, I guess.

What did Forest say??

$25 from Harbor Freight is one thing, but should it really take $350 to get a safe pair of stands?

https://www.grainger.com/product/GRAY-7-1-2-x-7-1-2-Pin-Style-Vehicle-11N147

Kind of rings of the old 'buy a $40 helmet for a $40 head' theory.

Not really. Making a good jack stand doesn't cost anywhere near $350. The pile of 4x4's someone posted will do the job more than adequately and costs nowhere near $350 to make. Can't do that with a welding helmet.

That helmet would be overkill for some posters here!

To sOmEoNe I’m familiar with .... a 20$ piece would be oVeRkILl !

I jsta picked up on a CL deal and got THREE sets of Hobos.... 2 3 tons ... 1 6 ... gonna haveta check this out ..,

THX ferr da HEADS UP .... Satty7!

Sooooo ... you’ve had them for waaay more than HALF your life ??!!

Is this the video? If so it seems pretty easy to check non harbor freight ones.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqvEA74-Edw

The problem with sourcing from China is monitoring the production process, associated materials and subcontractors. Many buyers get burned by not reviewing the production process closely, and validating a products' specifications before releasing any shipments. But then these steps cost $ and many sellers just push for the lowest cost and what they get is junk.

Just my $0.02...

I saw this posted a while back on the HAMB. Checked my four stands and three had the recall part number. Then I did some more searching and found that they weren't actually recalled. Has that changed?

ETA: Never mind, I see them now on the HF website so it's finally official.

This is the one I saw. More detail of the failure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwcWdKwPvhI

I have some cheapies here. Probably Chinese. Older stuff. Been using them for years but did an inspection anyhow.

After reading all of the posts here, I have been doing some research. Looks like I don’t need that expensive 2-post Bendpak Lift after all.

Concrete block, $2.13 at Home Depot.

By that logic, when, if ever, does the price become unreasonable?

And gravel creepers. The good old days.

"I have always had bad dreams about accidentally kicking one of those release levers while under the car, so I always put a tire/wheel under the car or a second jackstand to back it up...."

Can that actually happen?

While I don't have a picture handy, my stands are over 30 yrs old, they came with a car I had bought for parts. They were like new when found, but had no stickers on 'em, and probably are china units, just old(er) ones.

With mine, when you lift the lever to disengage the upright, it actually lifts the upright a little before releasing. To 'accidentally' disengage it, you'd essentially have to lift the car in the process. If with no real weight on it, just blocked from moving up, they will not disengage.

Regardless of who made them, they were a HUGE improvement over these suicide stands I originally had (pic pulled from web)




I had them under a '68 Valiant, the ground wasn't perfectly level, they twisted just a wee bit, and folded. I wasn't under the car, had just set the car on the stands, but the jack went all the way down and I couldn't get the jack back up fast enough to catch it.

This was probably what got me in the habit of throwing the removed wheels under the car for back up.

I checked my Harborfright jackstands and they do not have those part numbers.

Years ago a buddy had a set of these ramps below. I went to the SteelStore and got some steel straps and welded them on like picture #2

i have a set of walker stands ive had longer than i can remember,aint used them in years!,also have a set of stands made from old ford rear axle halves,non adjustable,anyone remember those???,maybe its a regional thing?

I have had these for 35-40?+ years. They have never let me down. I remember buying them at K-Mart. Pretty sure they were made here.

Bought them directly from Gray...a little over 2 1/2 years ago. Paid $285.00 per pair.... with no sales tax and free shipping to my door step. I agree with BSharp and Sniper about the cost, but I felt like I had no choice. Either the Chinese junk or over pay for a safe set of jacks.

I negotiated the price with the salesman at that time.

David

HERES A PAIR .... if you don’t think kRoys are safe !

I found these at a garage sale... bought them for FIVE BEANS ...

Scarey HUH ?

I wouldnt use those with rolled flanges on them.

So Harbor Freight gave me a gift card on the recalled stands not knowing when they would have any type of jack stands in stock

No jack stands in the store

Time to go shopping

Bought a big screen TV last year - got a new set of gravel creepers, now living the life of luxury!

I don't know. If in a crash, you trust your head to a $40 Injection molded helmet? If so, have at it. Then you have set the value of your head at $40

I agree that the cheapest safety equipment is not the way to go, but when does the best helmet cost too much? $1000? $50,000? Your life is still worth more than that, right?

and yet, i'm still here !

I have a bend one just like those pictured and one even had the hole where the pin went though elongated and the frame bracing broke. So I still have 3 thanks to the 2 I got from my Dad when he passed away that looks like they were never used. Yes as you can see made in the USA and bought in the early 70's

YEARS ago I bought a (one crash helmet.. thats what I call them).. it fell off the seat of my of my motorcycle
and hit the pavement.. it split right in half... the last helmet I bought was a Bell full face type which is
mandatory in the class of racing I run(full face type)
EDIT
when it comes to HF stuff just look at what your buying.. 99% of it is the cheapest stuff out there.. spend
a few bucks more to save your butt

Pguy ...was that helmet AT LEAST dot approved ?

Since most of my tools WERE STOLEN or LOOTED up in the northern Michigan abode .... I am replacing much of my needs with Hobo Fright or eBay China mart stuff. I have never broken any tools yet EXCEPT for drill bits.

A few bucks more for like Snap on ?

A late tool purchase comes to mind ... that specialty cable hose clamp plier ?

China mart .... 9$ - DELIVERED TO MY DOOR !!

SnapOn ... $159.00

Yes it was approved.. still have it and its currant but getting close

These don't seem to be the recall ones. Anyone care to verify? I haven't use them because my jack can't get my cars high enough!

Those don't look like the hardbor freight ones. That was my whole point in my earlier post- what about stands that were sold by companies other then harbor freight. They might have the same defect.

I took mine and raised them and put some weight on the top with my hand and shook the hell out of them and they didn't budge so I'm guessing they're OK.

Those look like a set I have.. forgot where I bought them

I just returned a set, they gave me a Hobo freight gift card for the value.

Maxed out

I checked...Amazon.

Back when I bought mine Amazon wasnt in existence back then, I've had mine for
for over 30 years

Wow, he's not even married to her. What a champ!

Article posted today... from "The Drive"

https://www.thedrive.com/news/33679...kstands-show-just-how-dangerous-they-are

This got me thinking about the plastic ramps I have. I only put one end of fairly light cars on them, but it would still leave a mark if one or both failed at a bad time. So I cut chunks of 2x4 that slipped nicely into the pockets on the bottom. Four of them have got to add a substantial amount to the load capacity, and I don't see a downside other than adding a couple of pounds to each ramp.