Are your Jackstands safe?

[pwd72s]

Don't want to hijack the "scores" thread...but the topic came up when tabs mentioned a curbside find of jackstands. Here's a project farm video I found on the topic...seems to me that as a bare minumum you would want another locking pin.

[URY914]

I use these. They're rated for 25 tons.

[Skytrooper]

I have a lot of jackstands....including 4 harbor freight 6 tons. I used those with my 2 race teams. Never an issue. For the past 5 years I have used them for the 2 ton muscle car, which spends its winters up in the air. I also have 2 -10 ton and 6 1.5 ton stands. I have used all of these for many years and have trusted my life to them.....so far I am still here.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

I use the cheap crap but double up on the number of stands.
I remember once dropping a 911 engine as a teenager. I was under it.
The whole car dropped right at me and got caught by the second set of stands.
"Best not to think about it...nothing to see here..." and I went on with my work.
I've had incontinence issues since.

In that case, the stands didn't not work, if I remember correctly, it was my balancing act of the engine/tranny on the first set of stands. I don't really remember, just the whole car dropped about a foot right at my face.

[pwd72s]

Just...nobody here get squished under a car. I don't want to read about it...

[juanbenae]

if you do a search for harbor freight jackstand failures you will find the unsafe units described very thoroughly. i visited it and both sets of mine were not manufactured by the failing units supplier.

[A930Rocket]

I don’t know about you guys, but when I put my jackstands under the car, I don’t center them like he did. They are wide apart for stability.

[pmax]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Don't want to hijack the "scores" thread...but the topic came up when tabs mentioned a curbside find of jackstands. Here's a project farm video I found on the topic...seems to me that as a bare minumum you would want another locking pin.

[peppy]

My dad used you put huge blocks of wood under cars for me when I was working on them. He didn't trust jacks or jack stands.
I have some good jack stands that i got from Griot's 30 years ago and I still don't completely trust them.
I compare it to being in the ocean and hearing the music and getting the heck out. Sometimes when I'm under a car I get a sense of danger and crawl out for a bit to check.

[Bill Douglas]

Me too. I'd some blocks of old power pole wood that I'd shove under the car in case a jackstand failed.

[stealthn]

That was great info! Another reason I use quickjacks, but I will get some big reds after seeing this.

[HobieMarty]

Whenever I have a vehicle supported on a jack stand, I always have a scissor jack under the vehicle at the jacking point as a safety precaution.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[wildthing]

I think I got my big reds from Amazon. I don't remember if I bought it based on this particular review...

[A930Rocket]

I keep a set of the big reds in totes for the track and I use the Esco jackstands sold by our host at the house.

[masraum]

I haven't ever bought "premium" js like the Escos that Rocket posted above. But I normally buy js that are rated for a much higher rating than I'll ever put on them (6T, I think). It's been many, many years since I bought any, and I don't currently have any, but I'll need some (and a jack) eventually.

I think one of the last sets that I had looked a lot like the green set in the video, and the other set that I had looked like these but were all steel and cast iron and 6ton.


I figure if I'm going to life a 3000-4000# car, I want something designed to hold something 2-3 times as heavy for the wide safety margin.

I usually put something under the car in addition to js. I may leave the jack in place, but with the weight resting on the stands. There have been times that I've taken a tire off and put the tire/wheel, under the edge of the car or something.

I don't want to be squished and take measures. Even when I take measures, if I'm working on brakes or something, I don't even put my legs under the rotor just in case.

Like tires being one of the most important parts of your car, jacks and jack stands are also a place to not cheap out if it compromises safety.

[john70t]

Why do none of them have a rectangle pad for weight distribution with a split down the middle for the body seam?

[astrochex]

This is some nice work by the content developer.

I always chock a tire too, when I am using jackstands.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by astrochex

This is some nice work by the content developer.

I always chock a tire too, when I am using jackstands.

Absolutely, good call!

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

Me too. I'd some blocks of old power pole wood that I'd shove under the car in case a jackstand failed.

My Dad used cinder blocks, the concrete kind.

[Superman]

I actually trust my 6-ton Harbor Freight jackstands, but I also place large blocks of wood strategically just in case. So that the car cannot possibly hit the floor. On those rare occasions when I need to get under a car. I also might jack a car up, then place those large blocks under the wheels/tires, then settle the car down onto the blocks with two wheels chocked on both sides.