Harbor Freight jack stand recall issued

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Thanks for the info.........very considerate of you!  WEW..... not mine, thank goodness. I did notice my 3 ton stands are grey but the picture shows 3 ton red and 6 ton grey. Might be another identifier if your #s are gone.

Peace  :)

 
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Just checked and I do have the recall models.  Called Harbor Freight and they are out of the replacements right now.  Will give gift card as mentioned in recall.  Just finishred up the exhaust so I'm done under the car.  Thankfully I survived the past 3 years working under the car without a mishap.



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Thanks for the info. I've been using the 3 ton recalled ones over the past 3 or so years.  Usually when I have to crawl way underneath, I also put an additional set of Sears 3 ton stands to make it safer.

Interestingly enough, the local HF here (upstate NY) has red 6 ton stands for $50, labeled as 'NEW' and grey 6 ton stands for $40, labeled as 'CLEARANCE'. Wonder what those are??

If I'm buying new ones, what are some brands that are better quality and recommended?

 
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Thanks for the info. I've also been using the 6 ton recalled ones over the past 3 or so years.  Usually when I have to crawl way underneath, I also put an additional set of Sears 3 ton stands to make it safer.

Interestingly enough, the local HF here (upstate NY) has red 6 ton stands for $50, labeled as 'NEW' and grey 6 ton stands for $40, labeled as 'CLEARANCE'. Wonder what those are??

If I'm buying new ones, what are some brands that are better quality and recommended?
I have a pair of Hein-Werner Automotive 6 ton Jack Stands and they are clearly beefier and better made than the other ones I have.

I had a pair of the 6 ton harbor freight ones I bought about 3 years ago.  I got rid of them after taking a close look at the sawtooth part of the casting that engages the pawl.  The casting was so poor there were many heights that you could set it where the pawl wouldn’t engage fully.

 
I am shocked. No, not really. Harbor freight sucks. I never buy their products. Why: China.

 
I haven't had any issues with mine putting the Mustang up, but I think I'll be looking into replacing them anyway, because: Harbor Freight.

I'm going to be need taller ones anyway since I'll be needing to put my Jeep up on 'em now and then - it's got a little farther to fall than Frank does. ;)

 
I haven't had any issues with mine putting the Mustang up, but I think I'll be looking into replacing them anyway, because: Harbor Freight.

I'm going to be need taller ones anyway since I'll be needing to put my Jeep up on 'em now and then - it's got a little farther to fall than Frank does. ;)
You need to just go ahead and put in a lift or if you do not have enough ceiling height go with a pit in the floor with a cover when not in use. I use my 2 post lift when I am just wiping the car down saves my acing neck and back. 

I looked at the stands I have and not HF but also cheap ones. I did notice I have never bent the tabs over on the side that they say to bend.

 
I am shocked. No, not really. Harbor freight sucks. I never buy their products. Why: China.
Trouble is, a lot of stuff comes from China.

Since I'd like to buy a new set, with better quality, I'm trying to find jack stands made in the US and they are in short supply or really expensive. I dont mind paying more since I really dont want the car to fall on me when I'm under it.

I have seen some jack stands that have an extra pin that is inserted to keep the ratchet from moviing, so they look safer.

 
Thank you very much (Horsin Around) for posting this information. We have a total of four of the recalled jack stands in the family. Chuck

 
I haven't had any issues with mine putting the Mustang up, but I think I'll be looking into replacing them anyway, because: Harbor Freight.

I'm going to be need taller ones anyway since I'll be needing to put my Jeep up on 'em now and then - it's got a little farther to fall than Frank does. ;)
You need to just go ahead and put in a lift or if you do not have enough ceiling height go with a pit in the floor with a cover when not in use. I use my 2 post lift when I am just wiping the car down saves my acing neck and back. 

I looked at the stands I have and not HF but also cheap ones. I did notice I have never bent the tabs over on the side that they say to bend.
Not everybody lives in the boonies and has a giant building for their garage with enough space for their toys and to become the next Booster King - nor, I'm sure, would everybody want to (Me, for one - the Carolinas are pretty and nice to visit... but they're all yours).  Some (most) of us have 1-, 2- or 3-car garages attached to our homes with 9-foot average ceilings.  Sure, I suppose I could raise the ceiling, but doing that with enough clearance for a vehicle on a lift under a pitched roof turns my 2-car garage into a 1-slot shop (I suppose I could stuff 2 cars in if I stack 'em, but why would I want to?).  Being 6'5", raising the ceiling a couple feet just won't cut it - that lift needs to run up to full height sometimes... and with a 6-tall Jeep or Ram pick-up on top of it, there's 12 feet right there.  I'd wager the peak on the roof over my garage isn't even 16 feet - not enough room for a lift to run up to full height, defeating the purpose.  Digging a pit in a 22x24 two-car garage space in a residential area is also one of the single most 'not smart' ideas I've heard in a LONG time.

Besides, I have the Auto Hobby Shop on the base pretty much whenever I need it - which makes me more fortunate than most because I actually DO have a lift at my disposal.

Geez - I just mentioned needing a new set of jack stands (just like most others on this thread), and now the 'sage advice' is saying I need a lift or a pit in my residential 2-car garage.

Wow.  Talk about 'out of touch.'

 
I have to agree with David. Lift is so convenient. I know several guys that have them in their two car attached garages.
How do you like yours?  

:whistling:

I'm not saying it's not doable, just not so much for the average guy.  I haven't even used my jack stands probably 3 times since I bought them in 2014.  Granted, I used the lift at the shop a few times for the things I needed to do, but to dump North of $8K in construction costs plus the cost of the lift itself just to use it now and then is not practical or on most people's to do list.... especially not when we're talking about simply replacing a set of cheap jack stands.

 
I love my lift. Use it almost daily. 4 post drive on with a sliding trolley jack.
That's awesome!  Drive-on lifts with trolley jacks are the best!  ::thumb::

Even if I were retired and had a lift in my garage, I wouldn't use it even almost daily - maybe monthly... maybe not even that often.  Working on cars is fun, but not something I want [or need] to do on a daily basis.

Yours isn't by chance in a 2-car residential garage with 9-foot ceilings is it?  If so, I'd love to see some pics with a car in the air and how that all works.

 
Yeah, I don't have anywhere near that amount of ceiling.  My Jeep is 6'6", barely squeezes through the door, and the door opening is roughly a foot lower than the ceiling - so I have something more like an 8 foot ceiling (I keep forgetting I can easily flat-foot touch an 8-foot ceiling... not so much a 9 footer).  Even a tall set of jack stands would have the roof of the Jeep up against the ceiling for any kind of height over a foot (just enough elevation to take the wheels off).  Fortunately, I don't need any more than that, since all of the underneath stuff has been done.  Even changing out a transmission or transfer case doesn't need a lift, let alone fluid changes.

 
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