Finally got my new HF jack, and it’s bad

[ScottsGT]

Tried waiting on the store to get one in stock for two weeks or more, finally gave up and ordered one. Back ordered for two weeks. It finally arrived today.
Pulled it out of the box and I’ll be damned if the frame isn’t warped. One wheel sits 1/8”-1/4” high in the front. Dragged it to different areas of the garage floor to see if it was just the floor. Nope. Jacked up one of our cars to see if it would settle. Nope.
So now I sit here bitching because I can’t get the HF website to open up.

Anyone know if stores will take back web orders?

EDIT: This is the new long reach low profile in green.

 

[6PTsocket]

Tried waiting on the store to get one in stock for two weeks or more, finally gave up and ordered one. Back ordered for two weeks. It finally arrived today.
Pulled it out of the box and I’ll be damned if the frame isn’t warped. One wheel sits 1/8”-1/4” high in the front. Dragged it to different areas of the garage floor to see if it was just the floor. Nope. Jacked up one of our cars to see if it would settle. Nope.
So now I sit here bitching because I can’t get the HF website to open up.

Anyone know if stores will take back web orders?

EDIT: This is the new long reach low profile in green.

Funny about the web site. I was having trouble yesterday, too. A call to your local store should answer your question and in the jack literature there must be a phone number for HF.com. I bought and returned a tractor lift that had a bent part that I straightened, along with a bad hydraulic cylinder, that was the last straw. No quality control is part of their business model to keep cost down. They would rather refund or exchange than pay for tighter inpection. You can get whatever you are willing to pay for in China.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[ScottsGT]

Just got off the phone. They will take the return at the store, but now I’m back to no jack for only God knows how long. I might go ahead and put it to quick use though so I can finally adjust the parking brake on my Mustang. I’d prefer to have the yellow Daytona, but I really don’t want to have to use 2X12 “ramps” every time to just jack up the car.

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Craigslist.

 

[DerekV]

That’s annoying. I love my 3 year old gray Pittsburgh long reach. If it broke today, I’d pick up one of the new ones in a heartbeat. I’m sure you just got a fluke.

 

[isb cornbinder]

I bought a really nice floor jack at NAPA. It was not in stock at the store. The parts delivery car dropped the ********, at my home shop, in less than an hour after I had paid for it at the store.
My friend Robert was critically injured 25 years ago when "an economy" jack failed and crushed him. Rob was putting the axle stand under the vehicle when the jack dropped and tipped. Rob has never walked since. He lives a life of 24/7pain.
The subject of lack of quality and the possibility of little or no factory standards has been mentioned and understood. You cannot make chocolate cookies out of dog poop. It is time to walk away, while you can.

 

[Sevenhills1952]

I bought a really nice floor jack at NAPA. It was not in stock at the store. The parts delivery car dropped the ********, at my home shop, in less than an hour after I had paid for it at the store.
My friend Robert was critically injured 25 years ago when "an economy" jack failed and crushed him. Rob was putting the axle stand under the vehicle when the jack dropped and tipped. Rob has never walked since. He lives a life of 24/7pain.
The subject of lack of quality and the possibility of little or no factory standards has been mentioned and understood. You cannot make chocolate cookies out of dog poop. It is time to walk away, while you can.

Great advice. And use several (I use 6) jack stands...on level concrete. One mistake changes your life. An injured person would have paid $1,000 if only they could turn back the clock.

Sent from my SM-S320VL using Tapatalk

 

[ScottsGT]

I’ve got some very serious jack stands. One set is reportedly former military issue. Soon as the car is high enough, stands are in place.
When I was much younger and working in a body shop the owner had some of those POS round tube types with the pin. Almost had a car fall on me using those. Told the shop manager he better buy new stands if he ever expected me to get under one of his cars again.
I quit shortly after that.

 

[ptschram]

They would rather refund or exchange than pay for tighter inpection.

By the time you get to the end of the line it is too late

“Quality can’t be inspected into a product.

The quality, good or bad is already in the product.”

Harold Dodge

 

[ptschram]

I bought a really nice floor jack at NAPA. It was not in stock at the store. The parts delivery car dropped the ********, at my home shop, in less than an hour after I had paid for it at the store.
My friend Robert was critically injured 25 years ago when "an economy" jack failed and crushed him. Rob was putting the axle stand under the vehicle when the jack dropped and tipped. Rob has never walked since. He lives a life of 24/7pain.
The subject of lack of quality and the possibility of little or no factory standards has been mentioned and understood. You cannot make chocolate cookies out of dog poop. It is time to walk away, while you can.

The biggest difference between a Snap-On jack and a Harbor Freight (mind you, I own a Daytona jack) is that Snap-On has insurance should you be injured using one of their tools.

Good luck with HF

 

[30cal]

Re: Finally got my new HF jack, and it’s bad

It's overused, but "you get what you pay for" sure fits here..HF is good for sandpaper and toy tools, that's about it. No amount of Chinese magic will ever change that..jeez, if you can't trust a jack out of the box, or while you put stands under, it's no jack at all

 

[driftpin]

You have to use common sense. If you try to use one of those small 1-1/2 or 2 ton jacks, the ones that have something like a 15" lift, and use it on a sloping, crumbly, surface, then jack it up to its highest point, until the jack stops rising, while you watch the frame of the jack twist and distort, and then have the car fall-off the now-collapsing jack, well, not a good outcome can be expected.

I carry one of those small floor jacks for when I tow my 4' x 10' utility trailer, and a jack stand too, if I have to change out a flat tire on the trailer.

Not having a lift, I have a large floor jack for vehicles, and more-than once I've had to stop and reposition to be able to make a safe lift. I'll never get under a vehicle when only a hydraulic cylinder is holding it up.

 

[Farmall450]

They'll take care of you. I love my original yellow one (although my dad bought it off me shortly after we got it out of the box).

 

[30cal]

I've never seen a quality jack "twist and distort". Ever.

And no, you should not use one on a mountainside, or the middle of a river..

 

[Motorman55]

Just got off the phone. They will take the return at the store, but now I’m back to no jack for only God knows how long. I might go ahead and put it to quick use though so I can finally adjust the parking brake on my Mustang. I’d prefer to have the yellow Daytona, but I really don’t want to have to use 2X12 “ramps” every time to just jack up the car.

So you know its bent and your going to use it anyway?

 

[Fluelikesymptoms]

Tried waiting on the store to get one in stock for two weeks or more, finally gave up and ordered one. Back ordered for two weeks. It finally arrived today.
Pulled it out of the box and I’ll be damned if the frame isn’t warped. One wheel sits 1/8”-1/4” high in the front. Dragged it to different areas of the garage floor to see if it was just the floor. Nope. Jacked up one of our cars to see if it would settle. Nope.
So now I sit here bitching because I can’t get the HF website to open up.

Anyone know if stores will take back web orders?

EDIT: This is the new long reach low profile in green.

I remember you from a previous thread, I'm the guy who got criticized for saying I've seen too many HF Jack's be junk to ever purchase one and I would only buy the yellow Daytona from them or I would go to napa instead.

I'm only here to gloat and tell all the others " I told you so."

I am however sorry for your misfortune and that is not a laughing matter. I would demand your money back or a quality inspected replacement. Hopefully it doesnt take weeks for you to get a replacement if that's what you choose to do.

 

[ChrisLS8]

I remember you from a previous thread, I'm the guy who got criticized for saying I've seen too many HF Jack's be junk to ever purchase one and I would only buy the yellow Daytona from them or I would go to napa instead.

I'm only here to gloat and tell all the others " I told you so."

I am however sorry for your misfortune and that is not a laughing matter. I would demand your money back or a quality inspected replacement. Hopefully it doesnt take weeks for you to get a replacement if that's what you choose to do.

You are going to gloat over a jack that missed the mark out the tens of thousands or more working day in and out for years? Weird flex but ok

 

[Fluelikesymptoms]

Just got off the phone. They will take the return at the store, but now I’m back to no jack for only God knows how long. I might go ahead and put it to quick use though so I can finally adjust the parking brake on my Mustang. I’d prefer to have the yellow Daytona, but I really don’t want to have to use 2X12 “ramps” every time to just jack up the car.

Just how low does the mustang sit

 

[BDT/NWMN]

By the time you get to the end of the line it is too late

“Quality can’t be inspected into a product.

The quality, good or bad is already in the product.”

Harold Dodge

I am going to print this and frame it.

 

[ScottsGT]

Just how low does the mustang sit

The 2015 and up only has 4 jacking points at the pinch weld. Cannot place the jack under the rear end center section since it is an IRS set up. Front crossmember is also very low and I installed Steeda springs that brought it down 1”. And since the factory jack points aren’t floor jack friendly, Steeda also makes “jacking rails” that bolt onto the bottom of the rockers. These hang down about an inch below the pinch weld.
I have right at 3 3/8” room to fit a jack in there.

Last night I put the jack up on my bench and blocked it up off the wheels with some ply scraps. The twist is only about .030 from what I can tell. But sitting on the floor and with the play in the wheels, it really rocks bad.

As far as using it once, it’s not like it’s a death trap ready to tip over, but it’s just not right. Weighing which is more dangerous. Out of adjustment parking brake or jack that rocks around when pushing handle side to side.

 

[ScottsGT]

 

[tym]

The 2015 and up only has 4 jacking points at the pinch weld. Cannot place the jack under the rear end center section since it is an IRS set up. Front crossmember is also very low and I installed Steeda springs that brought it down 1”. And since the factory jack points aren’t floor jack friendly, Steeda also makes “jacking rails” that bolt onto the bottom of the rockers. These hang down about an inch below the pinch weld.
I have right at 3 3/8” room to fit a jack in there.

Last night I put the jack up on my bench and blocked it up off the wheels with some ply scraps. The twist is only about .030 from what I can tell. But sitting on the floor and with the play in the wheels, it really rocks bad.

As far as using it once, it’s not like it’s a death trap ready to tip over, but it’s just not right. Weighing which is more dangerous. Out of adjustment parking brake or jack that rocks around when pushing handle side to side.

If it's a tension adjustment, you should be able to do that
from inside the console--at least that's how it is for my S197.

 

[visionguru]

The biggest difference between a Snap-On jack and a Harbor Freight (mind you, I own a Daytona jack) is that Snap-On has insurance should you be injured using one of their tools.

Good luck with HF

Are you sure about that? It's against common sense.

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Are you sure about that? It's against common sense.

I'm betting you'd have to prove proper use of the tool caused an accident. In some cases, easy, in most cases, probably not so easy.

 

[SGKent]

I get my jacks from the JackXchange in Santa Ana CA. Never had a problem. A jack from HF usually lasts thru the first job, maybe the second but by the time it is on the third it starts to leak down.

 

[ChrisLS8]

I get my jacks from the JackXchange in Santa Ana CA. Never had a problem. A jack from HF usually lasts thru the first job, maybe the second but by the time it is on the third it starts to leak down.

Lol what?

 

[Fluelikesymptoms]

The 2015 and up only has 4 jacking points at the pinch weld. Cannot place the jack under the rear end center section since it is an IRS set up. Front crossmember is also very low and I installed Steeda springs that brought it down 1”. And since the factory jack points aren’t floor jack friendly, Steeda also makes “jacking rails” that bolt onto the bottom of the rockers. These hang down about an inch below the pinch weld.
I have right at 3 3/8” room to fit a jack in there.

Last night I put the jack up on my bench and blocked it up off the wheels with some ply scraps. The twist is only about .030 from what I can tell. But sitting on the floor and with the play in the wheels, it really rocks bad.

As far as using it once, it’s not like it’s a death trap ready to tip over, but it’s just not right. Weighing which is more dangerous. Out of adjustment parking brake or jack that rocks around when pushing handle side to side.

I think napa has a good Jack for your car under the Carlyle brand that is around the price point that'll work with your vehicle. That's if you dont want to wait on a new jack

 

[Fluelikesymptoms]

You are going to gloat over a jack that missed the mark out the tens of thousands or more working day in and out for years? Weird flex but ok

I say that because I've seen more hf jacks that are bad than I've seen hf jacks that are worth it.

Out of the tens of thousands or more of hf jacks, the only one I've ever saw that is worth consideration is the yellow Daytona. Because of that if I used one that did seem just fine, I still wouldn't feel safe or comfortable using it

 

[ChrisLS8]

I say that because I've seen more hf jacks that are bad than I've seen hf jacks that are worth it.

Out of the tens of thousands or more of hf jacks, the only one I've ever saw that is worth consideration is the yellow Daytona. Because of that if I used one that did seem just fine, I still wouldn't feel safe or comfortable using it

I would venture to say they are the MOST USED jack made by a large margin

 

[ChevyEFI]

Sounds like dropping the jack on a corner so it bends back into shape, followed with some fine tuning with the 20 ton Harbor Freight press is in order.

 

[Handyandy23]

I say that because I've seen more hf jacks that are bad than I've seen hf jacks that are worth it.

Out of the tens of thousands or more of hf jacks, the only one I've ever saw that is worth consideration is the yellow Daytona. Because of that if I used one that did seem just fine, I still wouldn't feel safe or comfortable using it

Does this mean you've personally seen tens of thousands of HF jacks in use?

I've used some pretty low quality jacks in my day, and have since moved on to better, but if you're using a jack properly I'm not sure you should ever feel unsafe. You jack one corner, install a jack stand, lower onto the stand, repeat for other corners. Leave wheels on until you're secured on stands. Don't put your body parts under the car when it's on the jack only.

 

[fang123]

I say that because I've seen more hf jacks that are bad than I've seen hf jacks that are worth it.

Out of the tens of thousands or more of hf jacks, the only one I've ever saw that is worth consideration is the yellow Daytona. Because of that if I used one that did seem just fine, I still wouldn't feel safe or comfortable using it

And you have used them all I suppose ? ******** getting deep here.

 

[Skin]

Just got off the phone. They will take the return at the store, but now I’m back to no jack for only God knows how long. I might go ahead and put it to quick use though so I can finally adjust the parking brake on my Mustang. I’d prefer to have the yellow Daytona, but I really don’t want to have to use 2X12 “ramps” every time to just jack up the car.

Why not just keep using it until they have a replacement in stock? They're going to drop that thing right in the trash anyway.

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Does this mean you've personally seen tens of thousands of HF jacks in use?

Exactly. I love it when people pull sh/t out of their *** when they're trying so hard to make a point.

 

[tonyciambrone]

Yeah...that *****. You have to take it back to the store and have a new one sent out. Or you could just get your money back.

I would second that HF is the most used jack in America. probably the most used stands too. I am perfectly happy with my $70 low profile grey one.

 

[ChrisLS8]

Exactly. I love it when people pull sh/t out of their *** when they're trying so hard to make a point.

Exactly maybe they saw a jack or two go bad, no other details. Maybe it was beat to **** in a tire shop. Maybe it never happened and they are just making **** up, people don't understand scale of failure rates.

If these were being handbuild meticulously in a cleanroom in Japan by techs I'd expect zero failure, these are assembled in a factory at a huge scale being pumped out. Millions of HF jacks out there and guess what? There will be a few bad apples and yet the failure rate in the scale is still extremely low.

Yet somehow he's seen dozens or hundreds of bad HF jacks lol

 

[Fluelikesymptoms]

Does this mean you've personally seen tens of thousands of HF jacks in use?

I've used some pretty low quality jacks in my day, and have since moved on to better, but if you're using a jack properly I'm not sure you should ever feel unsafe. You jack one corner, install a jack stand, lower onto the stand, repeat for other corners. Leave wheels on until you're secured on stands. Don't put your body parts under the car when it's on the jack only.

No I've never even saw ten thousands jacks im saying that all the jack's ive seen out of the tens of thousands stated by someone else are usually junk, if not out of the box, shortly after. I'm not arguing that nobody has ever gotten a long lasting Jack from hf, I'm saying I've seen too many bad to ever consider it personally. Even though it may not be a problem with every hf jack on the market, it is obvious there is a quality control issue.

You may or may not get a good Jack from hf, but if you do get one that lasts, it still wouldn't convince me to buy one.

I'm sorry to say it I know people get upset when you say something bad about hf, but a hf jack is just not on my hf shopping list. That's not to knock everything about hf, just the jacks.

 

[Fluelikesymptoms]

Exactly maybe they saw a jack or two go bad, no other details. Maybe it was beat to **** in a tire shop. Maybe it never happened and they are just making **** up, people don't understand scale of failure rates.

If these were being handbuild meticulously in a cleanroom in Japan by techs I'd expect zero failure, these are assembled in a factory at a huge scale being pumped out. Millions of HF jacks out there and guess what? There will be a few bad apples and yet the failure rate in the scale is still extremely low.

Yet somehow he's seen dozens or hundreds of bad HF jacks lol

Not hundreds, but a dozen plus yes I have.
I worked at a dingy tire shop for a little bit when I was younger followed by two dealerships where we often had bays filled and a car out back jacked up for small things like tires, we went through damn near just about a dozen hf jacks getting beat to **** at the tire shop. No they did not last. The yellow Daytona faired however which I personally own and napa jacks did good as well. There was also a blackhawk that held it's own.

In fact not only have I seen bad hf Jack's I've also seen a few with the same problem stated by the original poster. When your jacking up a car with a cheap hf jack and one of the wheels wants to always wobble of the ground, you get a bit skeptical even just putting the stand under the car.

 

[ScottsGT]

Jack returned last night. And no, I didn’t adjust my parking brakes yet. Yellow Daytona is 3 3/4” low, going to cut a wood block and verify it won’t fit. If it does, I’ll consider it as an option. Also planning a trip across town to the NAPA warehouse store to check out their jacks. NAPA seems to be 10 years behind in website development.

 

[danski0224]

If Harbor Freight hydraulic jacks are to be considered "bad", then what is good?