Recall! Harbor Freight Jack Stands (1 Viewer)

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the chinese factories are delivering exactly what most US customers are demanding and buying: Lowest possible cost stuff. That usually means low quality. No big surprise.
 
$52 for the 12 tons is a good price. Besides sturdiness, one of the advantages of those that I like is the wider base and therefore better stability over the little guys.
My 12 tons are probably a good 10 years old, maybe 15. So hopefully, those were built with reasonably new tooling still... Somehow I don't think they change the tooling every week out there... :)
And given the propensity of chinese factories to churn generic stuff to be rebranded, I wonder if other brands have the same issues potentially...
I checked the Princess Auto site when I read this and they have nothing listed about a jack stand recall. I'm certain that these all come from the same factory.
 
Thanks for posting. Looks like I’ll be returning mine.

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It is worth noting that if we are to trust their description of the problem, the pawl may disengage under shifting weight. Meaning the vehicle moving around on the jack stands. If that happens, that is bad news with any jack stand, whatever the brand, and I hope I never get to experience that. And also why I always have a backup support and never have the truck fully up on just 4 stands. The latter, in particular, strikes me as a highly iffy proposition.
 
Yea I am done with any HF jackstands or anything I am trusting my life to. Some may think thats a knee jerk reaction but I used these stands several times and now there is a recall.

I am fine with paying more for a piece of mind.
 
Yea I am done with any HF jackstands or anything I am trusting my life to. Some may think thats a knee jerk reaction but I used these stands several times and now there is a recall.

I am fine with paying more for a piece of mind.
I believe I'm moving in the same direction...perhaps NAPA, maybe. I dropped off 2 6-tonners at Horrible Fright in Boise this am. Of course they have no replacements in stock and no idea when replacements arrive. It's "call after opening on Monday and maybe they'll be on the truck". I'll take the $50 gift card and get a couple of no-flat tires for a hay cart...about the only thing I can think of that's bulletproof from HF.
 
If you order stands from another company, you'd want to evaluate what that actually means. If NAPA, say, orders from the same chinese factory as HF under the same QC protocol, but maybe with just a different coat of paint, that really would not make any difference in terms of safety, of course. Just a different sticker. You'd want to have a company that actually imposes higher QC criteria on their chinese factory. But that's hard to figure out. Or buy from a company that actually makes the stands in the US, under high fear of lawsuits and under higher standards, meaning better QC and so safer. But then it'll be 5x the price.

It would be really nice to understand the problem with those recalled stands, maybe with some pics, so we can look at all our other stands and confirm they are safe. Anybody?
 
I'll fix this.
's***ty Chinese tooling manufactured at the lowest possible cost paying workers the lowest possible wage using the lowest quality materials.'
This cheap throwaway Chinese s*** is f***ed. The whole world needs to wake up and stop buying this junk and go back to manufacturing quality stuff that lasts
. Something like Jack stands used to be made and they would last a life time. Now they are designed to throw in the bin and buy a new set a few years later.
These HF ones are made to end a lifetime
 
If you order stands from another company, you'd want to evaluate what that actually means. If NAPA, say, orders from the same chinese factory as HF under the same QC protocol, but maybe with just a different coat of paint, that really would not make any difference in terms of safety, of course. Just a different sticker. You'd want to have a company that actually imposes higher QC criteria on their chinese factory. But that's hard to figure out. Or buy from a company that actually makes the stands in the US, under high fear of lawsuits and under higher standards, meaning better QC and so safer. But then it'll be 5x the price.

It would be really nice to understand the problem with those recalled stands, maybe with some pics, so we can look at all our other stands and confirm they are safe. Anybody?
The problem is "manufacturing, operating, business integrity" it's really not in their DNA. It's understood when you choose to produce there, and if you are a quality driven brand, you put procedures in place on account of that. You can spec a high quality china made component, but if you're not regularly checking, inspecting quality of output, they'll start cutting corners in the most discreet ways. In this case what I understood was that the tool that stamps/forges the parts was way past its life cycle- the tool was worn out and they continued to churn out parts despite the issue.
 
well, I went to have a look at my older orange 12 tons. I did some measurements, and used Dykem and tape to figure out how good the engagement of the pawl into the teeth is. As far as I can tell, the pawl does engage pretty much all the way into the teeth upon locking, a good 1/3 inch, and it takes about 11 or 12 degrees of handle rotation to free the adjustable arm, which is quite a bit. So that's good. Although I was disappointed to see that the contact seems rather uneven due to rough castings. I also tried to move the arm in all directions and it did not unlock. A good quick check to do, that one. I will say, though, that there is plenty of play in the lifted arm, which isn't great. But I think that a thin shim between the adjustable arm and the base on the opposite side wrt to the pawl will likely reduce that play a lot. I may do that.
 
$199 for Jack stands! That's exactly why people shop at Harbor Freight!
I go to estate/garage/yard/going out of business sales and auctions to buy American made tools
 
I'll fix this.
's***ty Chinese tooling manufactured at the lowest possible cost paying workers the lowest possible wage using the lowest quality materials.'
This cheap throwaway Chinese s*** is f***ed. The whole world needs to wake up and stop buying this junk and go back to manufacturing quality stuff that lasts. Something like Jack stands used to be made and they would last a life time. Now they are designed to throw in the bin and buy a new set a few years later.
Clearly you failed Consumerism 101 ;)

I once worked for a company that had some of their aluminum extrusions made overseas. One 40' container full of said extrusions was out of spec. They didn't want them back, it wasn't worth the shipping for the raw aluminum! So we scrapped I don't know how many tons of aluminum on their dime. Head of QC told me that with their vendors it was a cycle. They'd start out making exactly what you had asked for. Slowly what was delivered became less and less what you asked for until you called them on it. Then the process started over. It was a game to them, one that without diligent and anal QC folks they would easily win every time.

Here’s a US made 6ton stand: MSRP $199

Worth the extra $150 over the import junk


On their own store page their 6 ton stands are only $160 as of today, not $200
 
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It is worth noting that if we are to trust their description of the problem, the pawl may disengage under shifting weight. Meaning the vehicle moving around on the jack stands. If that happens, that is bad news with any jack stand, whatever the brand, and I hope I never get to experience that. And also why I always have a backup support and never have the truck fully up on just 4 stands. The latter, in particular, strikes me as a highly iffy proposition.

I would agree that it'd be rare for a vehicle to shift weight while already on stands. But, how do you account for the weight shifting when you've got one stand in but need to move the jack around to put one on the other side? Weight's shifting there, it needs to be able to handle that. Not everyone (I assume very few) has/uses a jack extension to lift both sides of an axle at once.

I have HF 6-tons but they're not the ones recalled. I may look at some others, especially bigger and taller anyway.
 
^ that's true, of course there is some weight shifting when you lift the truck up. But that is usually controlled and progressive. And you are hopefully not under the truck when that takes place anyway. I am thinking the more dangerous scenario is if you're tugging on stubborn bolts with all your might and things are shaking and moving about and a poorly engaging pawl -perhaps- lets go. But then again, I don't know yet for sure what the problem with those specific stands is.
 
I have a 'proper' set of stands from Germany that I have had for donkey's years. I also have a small set similar in design to these HF versions being recalled, I am not sure where mine came form but will check when I get a moment, what I would say though is that there is a safety bar that is passed through the jack body preventing any movement of the pawl once the weight is on the stand, that is what is missing on the HF versions......why?

Cost cutting!!!

What does surprise me is that the US being such a litigious country that they even got landed let alone sold! Does no one give a **** any more?

EDIT:

Just went and checked the stands I have presently holding my van up as I wait for replacement parts. They are branded Michelin, and made in the PRC.

PRC is 'code' that many do not understand it means Peoples Republic of China!

To be completely honest they must have been given to me and I guess seeing 'Michelin' I did not give them a second glance, I mean they are a trusted brand right? They are rated at two tons, and I have used them for the odd job at the house but never bothered with the safety bar that is fitted! :doh:

So, I just slipped the safety bar though, it is completely impossible the for the pawl to disengage now, having said that it does not look like any shift in the vehicle position would allow the pawl to disengage anyway, the tolerance to be fair is pretty good.

If nothing else has been learnt when using them, USE THE SAFETY BAR DAVE!!

regards

Dave
 
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I find these kinds of discussions to be mildly amusing, but I am never swayed from this basic principle: there are many things where cost and economy are valid considerations, but if it's something upon which my life could depend, then cost and economy be damned; I want the best that I can buy, and if I can't afford good quality then I'll save up until I can. Tires, brakes, gubs, and safety equipment all fall in this category for me. YMMV.
 
I've just had a gut full of this race to the bottom mentality. Everyone keeps making stuff cheaper and cheaper and the only way to make it cheaper is to cut wages, materials and safety.
The only way this stuff can be made so cheap is to do it in some **** hole country that treats their workers like slaves, has zero safety standards and has zero environmental protections and pollutes the hell out of the joint.
The amount of waste and pollution that goes into this stuff is mind boggling.
Its dug up as iron ore in Australia, shipped by train and truck to the docks in Western Australia. Shipped half way across the world to China, turned into steel then freighted to wherever their manufacturing area is and pay some guys a bowl of rice to make this stuff, and if they get hurt or killed in the process then who gives a s*** coz there is another billion of them waiting to fill their position. Its then sent back to the docks then shipped all over the world, where its unloaded and trucked all around the country. To be sold for next to nothing then fail a few years later and thrown in the bin. Then the whole process starts all over and you buy another set.

We're destroying the place flooding it with cheap throwaway crap. I'm just using jack stands as an example but it can be said the same about just about anything. Stuff was built to last, whether it was a fridge or washing machine, the old ones were bullet proof. Now your lucky to get 5 years out of it and we just accept that as normal.
We all own and work on Landcruisers so most of us have an understanding of quality, 40 series landcruisers are still being driven and they are still repairable nearly 50 years on. I dont think we'll be seeing many Kia's, Hyundai's or Great Walls making it to 50.

Ok rant over. I think this Covid stuff and the Chinese government always acting like a bunch of assholes has made me think more about how all this stuff works and I'm sick of supporting them and their cheap s***.
 

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