I will say like some stated back when I was a kid, 60's the bumper jack was the deal, then I upgraded to a screw type bumper jack and my jack stands were basement concrete blocks, then upgraded to wood blocks. Looking at your pics, a side load broke the cast pieces, jack stands are not made for a side load and guessing the quality was questionable. Glad you were not hurt and luck was on your side. I'm a very lucky man, times when "Shit Happened" I was not injured.
I did check and top off the hydraulic fluid (it was not very low), didn't make any difference. Changing out the current fluid for fresh is likely the next step, but I'm not so sure I can do that without dissembling the entire jack. Back 30 years ago I took a couple jack cylinders apart and resealed them, I'm not sure I'm up to that at this point, and I'm not so sure seals and packing is available for these jack cylinders. Things like jack cylinder seals are not as available as they were even just before covid, let alone was was available 30 years ago. Back them everyone had such things in stock, now no one stocks much of anything. By the time I buy the replacement seals and pay for shipping them here, it may have been cheaper to buy a throwaway jack. If it makes it 10 years, I'll be in my mid 70s. I'm not doing much these days, I suspect I'd be doing a lot less in 5 -10 more years.
I'm still using my Sears floor jack I bought for the 1983 racing season. $99 on sale, haven't done a thing to it except a shot of grease in the 2 fittings. I just jinxed myself. I helped someone rebuild an old Blackhawk jack over 45 years ago. Kits were available at the time at good parts stores. No big deal, just keep track of everything and make it all squeaky clean when it goes back together.
Had a friend the worked at Hein-Warner. They stopped selling jack stands when the “cheap” Chinese ones flooded the market. H-W had to pay for very high liability insurance…the Chinese companies didn’t. It’s virtually impossible to sue anything/anyone in China! Thank the stupid/corrupt leaders of our Country, for our international trade deals.
My luck with hydraulic jacks has been when they start leaking or quit picking up, to toss them. Parts for most are nonexistent, even if you have the pretty diagram with the labeled pictures. If you get a few years out of one, you got your money’s worth. Last couple I’ve bought came from HF, they look just like the ones everyone else sells. Wouldn’t doubt the only difference is color and stickers. I use stands, wood blocks, and or steel ramps when I have to get under something. I also leave a jack on the side I’m on as a backup. Might not do much if it tries to fall to the side, but might give me another second or two to scurry out.
I picked up a HF floor jack as part of an estate-sale lot. Well... it looked good. It always has a spongy feel to it. I carry it in the trunk of my Ford, even made a box for it so it stays put. I do not trust it much. I have loaned it out at car events to people who had problems. I also carry 2 small jack stands I insist they use, made in the US, no Chinese junk.
I had to buy a new set of stands to work on my dad's Coupe DeVille last year, and I got a set from Northern Tool that I really like, the bases are very wide and they have both a ratchet and a pin, so if one fails, the other should hold it up. They're very tall, I was able to get around under the car with the centers only extended out like one or two clicks. I don't trust any jack stand extended out to the max, or even half way, those center posts get awfully wobbly once they're out a bit. I use wood blocks whenever I can, I call it the Po-Boy lift, which is great for building exhaust and doing floor pans and stuff, not only can it not fall off, but it keeps the suspension loaded so things don't move around once the car comes down. But it only works if all 4 wheels are on the car and don't have to come off.
Man, times have changed in the realm of Hein Werner jacks and the supply chain, and what the costs are now when its time to buy a new floor jack. I did a little research through one of the company's I used to work for. I could buy anything through the store for cost plus 10%. I went to see if there was such a thing as a good American made, 2 ton hydraulic floor jack for around $200.00 Dream on buddy. All of the cool older favorite brands such as Blackhawk, Walker, Hein Werner, either don't exist, or the Chinese have bought them out. I was shocked at what it cost's to buy a floor jack now. I could have gotten it cheaper from a company in California, but then I would have to pay the freight charge which was high. I needed a jack and just bit the bullet and went to my local O'Reillys and got it. You get an American flag sticker, and it says, assembled in America, with parts from global parts, blah blah blah. It's a good jack, beefy and not flimsy, but every time I use it, I just scowl and mumble to myself, " cant believe I paid this much for your sorry ass " You can see the date that I bought it, I bet its even more now. I just wont buy from Harbor Freight when it comes to stuff like a floor jack. Your results may vary.
And where, exactly does one buy jack stands, or jacks, or most anything not made with chinesium parts and materials? The above posted Hein-Weiner jack is made with Chinesium parts, assembled in the USA and it looks exactly like my 3 ton Harbor Freight 10 year old floor jack that I bought for around $100.
And like my ungodly heavy, assembled in America with foreign parts, 30-year-old Craftsman 3 ton that I paid around $80 for. I hate it but it still works.
You can obsess over where your parts or equipment come from all day OR You can just buy the best you can afford, take your time over the setup and cover yourself with a back up. I'm willing to bet that there's a good chunk of far eastern made or assembled items that are just as well or better made than something with an american flag sticker on it. look at the equipment, assess for yourself it quality then do or do not buy, simple. As I said before, the key is a careful setup on a stable flat area!!
I got 3 ton stands that are old , not sure brand but are my dads hand me downs so 70’s for sure . Also have a set of 6 ton stands they work well when you need the extra height . Also have some big 12”x12” hard wood cribbing . I use stands , plus keep the jack under the car , if I’m not working by a wheel and have space I’ll put the wheels under as well . When I was an apprentice, a guy a couple shops down got crushed and killed crawling under an old Chevy to take the fan shroud bolt out and the jack collapsed . he was working outside in the parking lot in a nice summer day . Sad part this was in an automotive strip mall with 4 shops side by side so probably 15-20 mechanics plus customers etc . No one saw or heard anything , not sure how long he was under there . Really sad . as has been said , because we do this for so long we get compliant and forget the rules ,
I love my 40 year old Craftsman jack, my brother got one too. Since he stashes his tools at my shop, having 2 comes in handy. I would be in a quandry if I had to buy another jack right now. But I would bite the bullet and buy a US one if it were available.
As posted above, ramps, cribbing older known good quality jackstands. I personally use a combination of stands, blocks and ALWAYS throw a spare wheel and tire under whatever corner of the car I am working on. I also keep a jack under the car.
Only put what body parts need to be under a vehicle under a vehicle. Ones legs don't need to be under a car in order to change the tires, for example. Adjustability. The pin type like you show have other potential issues. Often times they have spindly little legs and may have dubious welding attaching them to the main tube.
I made jackstands using old agricultural disks with 3-inch pipe welded vertically and gussets. Since my '29AA frame is much higher off the ground than the typical hotrod, I need taller jackstands. I don't need them most of the time since the frame is so much higher off the ground and I can roll underneath the truck with a creeper and do pretty much anything needed without placing more than a ton of lethal steel over my body.
Let’s not get out of hand here.. there is spending on quality safety equipment.. and there is forcible penetration by a dude in a polo shirt with a 50 dollar haircut..
I always leave my hydraulic jack just under the car.. to whatever jack point I'm at just in case the jack stand does that.. glad you ok.
Another thought about safety with these types of stands. The OP said these were used on an inclined driveway. We don't know the setup or the exact angles, but do know that cast iron stand supports won't withstand much of a side load. We also know that you're not supposed to use stands on an incline, but rather a level surface. Everyone wants to blame these types of failures on offshore stuff, but if you're not using it properly anything can break.
Frankly, I have looked at a lot of these in various shops and stores. The castings look so cheap that they scare me on a nice flat surface!
Young know-it-all kid comes by, drops a couple of names. Was wearing a 'PHAROAHS' jacket... "Come over and look at it before I make some mistake?" I said "O.K., I'll drop by on my way back from town..." I turned onto the street he mentioned, and there in front of his house was a '56 Pontiac, on 4 pin-type car stands, two on asphalt and two gutter side. The car had a Gawd-awful 'lean' to it, then I saw why. One of the pins had sheared off, (right rear) and now the big Poncho sat on 3, the fourth was down halfway. I asked, "Those the original pins?" He chortled, "Ha, nooo... I replaced the pins with good Tractor Supply bolts! Like, so cheap I bought 'em by the pound!" He had bought the Chiny grade -3 bolts...(I use 'em in the shop to bolt stuff to the drill press table sometimes, or just temp. clamps... I didn't chastise him, for it's every young man's dream...to become a PHAROAH! But I DID help point him in the right direction... (wood IS good!)
Don't forget that he said he had these for 10 years and had much heavier loads on them than he did the day this occurred.
Glad you are ok...looks like a close call. I always have a plan B support when getting under a car. I'll stack some wheels underneath or something that will keep me from getting crushed. I do not buy jack stands from HF. I have a set from NAPA which honestly are probably not much different these days. Years ago, I knew a guy who had a car fall off stands and pinned under a car for hours before they got him out. he was not the same afterwards mentally and physically. That really had impact on me and started me on the path of figuring out the Plan B option.
The Jalopy Journal
