Harbor Freight Jack Stand Recall on 3 & 6 Ton Stands

[Dmitry at Pelican Parts]

Hey Everyone,

Just a heads up on something important and safety related:

Harbor Freight recalled their 3 ton AND 6 ton jack-stands.

Check out the article for all the details HERE

If you're wanting to pick up some excellent, quality jackstands, check out these from ESCO - click here.

[ian c2]

So does this mean we get a refund or a replacement ?

[Bli8]

Originally Posted by ian c2

So does this mean we get a refund or a replacement ?

Taking mine back soon, suppose to get a refund at full retail in form of store credit and I also received a 20% Off coupon toward other stuff. No receipt needed.
I never trusted these jack stands and always have a second jack stand or a floor jack as a backup.

[ian c2]

I’m going to check exactly what mine are shortly .
I bought 4 small ones and 4 big ones when I raised up my chassis dolly .

[LUFTKUL]

The 12 ton models are the only HF models to own.

[FrenchToast]

Good heads up. Reminder to ensure your lifting equipment is in proper working order, regardless of the brand.

Consider making this thread a sticky on all subforums.

[stownsen914]

For what it's worth, I've heard that the ratcheting model that also has the safety pins may not be affected by the recall?

Personally I'd never trust a jackstand that didn't have a pin as the primary or secondary means of securing the height adjustment.

[Sajan]

I got to get a quickjack one of these days and avoid this jackstand mess altogether.
Half my fear of working on cars comes from raising it up properly.

[LUFTKUL]

Quickjack/Bendpak are made in China as well, but I hope they're QC is much better than HF.

Hard to know the metallurgy quality of any of it. I believe ESCOs are made "overseas", but not sure what country. I'm not inferring anything made outside the US is inferior or junk, I'm simply saying it is hard to know the quality of the manufacturing of any foreign made jacks. I've seen plenty of pure junk stands sold under Craftsman, Napa, AC Delco, etc. For all I know they're all made by the same Chinese mfg. co in the same factory with different paint and stickers. HF just sells more of them than any of the others.

[Prsh356]

Don't ever get under anything being held up by something from Harbor Freight !

[2jmotorsports]

I like the pin securing method of the ESCO stands but I dont know how I feel about the tripod base. I mean, 3 legged engine stands are sketchy too. Any current owners care to chime in?

[Locker537]

Originally Posted by 2jmotorsports

I like the pin securing method of the ESCO stands but I dont know how I feel about the tripod base. I mean, 3 legged engine stands are sketchy too. Any current owners care to chime in?

I had the same thought until I saw them in person. They are massive compared to conventional 3 ton ratcheting jack stands. I can snap a picture later for you.

I ordered a pair of the rubber flat top ESCO stands awhile ago. I should have ordered the low profile ones are honestly they are tall enough to be a bit inconvenient with a lowered car.

I have a pair of the axle top ESCO stands on order. I want to use them with the rear torsion bar covers and other cars as well.

[autojack]

I checked and confirmed that I have a pair of these stands. Now that I live in Australia, they'll just have to go in the trash. No regrets.

Someone on Reddit tested the defective HF stands to illustrate the problem. They put marker paint on the lever side:

https://m.imgur.com/5p6wsBz

And then put the post in and checked transfer of the paint onto the teeth:

https://m.imgur.com/xxL6hGr

Y I K E S.

I never go under the car without an extra jack in place for safety, and not until I've pushed on the car a good bit to make sure it's stable.

[gduke2010]

Originally Posted by Dmitry at Pelican Parts

Hey Everyone,

Just a heads up on something important and safety related:

Harbor Freight recalled their 3 ton AND 6 ton jack-stands.

Check out the article for all the details HERE

If you're wanting to pick up some excellent, quality jackstands, check out these from ESCO - click here.

Bought a pair of ESCO from pelican last year. I have a 1/4" per foot sloped garage floor and they are solid.

[Bucketlist]

I'm not currently using mine so I may wait until this develops a little more.
I have 2 of the 61197 6 ton from HF with recall
and also 2 of the 69597 3 ton with no recall. (look just like the others)

Then I have 2 of the 56371 3 ton that I bought at Lowes that I haven't seen recall notification, but they are on the HF recall.??

May buy some ESCO's just to be safe....

[Cory M]

[rnln]

Hi guys, how do I know which model that they are recalling?
Thanks.

[rnln]

got the models in case anyone need:
56371, 61196, 61197

[blink997]

Yep - I have these, Thank You for posting! They are OUTTA HERE.

Quote from Jalopnik: “If your job or your life depends on it, don’t buy it from Harbor Freight.”

Recall Notice: https://images.harborfreight.com/hftweb/recalls/Jack-Stand-Recall-56371_61196_61197.pdf

[walt]

Report of a replacement set of Harbor Freight jack stands failing almost immediately.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/34038/harbor-freight-customers-replacement-jack-stands-immediately-failed-too