QUOTE(911GT2 @ May 20 2020, 04:26 AM)
QUOTE(Steve @ May 19 2020, 01:24 PM)
I know this has been discussed before with some gruesome pictures... but who in there right mind would use ratcheting jack stands? Most people use the ones with the pins. To easy to kick that lever and have the car fall on you.
I use them all the time. Without any problem.
You can't kick that lever as the lever forces the support up. So then you would be kicking the car up. Unless you're Gary Anderson I don't see that happening any time soon.
Believe me I've tried more than once in the name of speed to do it that way, it will not happen!
Almost certainly not the same brand, and appear to be designed a little differently (the levers on mine come down much closer to the legs of the stand when the pawl is fully engaged), but I’ve been using my pawl type stands without a problem for more than 25 years ... on the probably more than 20 cars / pickups I’ve owned in that time. I 100% agree it’s impossible to kick the release lever up with the car’s weight on them.
I ALWAYS check very carefully (visually and by feel) when setting them that the pawl and tooth are fully / properly engaged. Then after the car’s up in its final working position, I ALWAYS grab the car by the body, engine, or ??, and give it a healthy shake to make sure nothing moves. Only THEN do I go underneath.
Back in the ‘70’s a couple of buddies and I R&R’d transmissions on our Chevy’s together using tree stumps as jack stands ... no more!
And there was also a time when I crewed for TransAm Camaro at Lime Rock in 1972 ... being one of the last to arrive at the track our only option in the paddock was an uneven spot and being early May the ground was still a little wet. During prep for the race I was under the car a bit; changing oil, etc. Then soon after finishing some of my work, the car slipped off the stands!
As I read in the R&T article, the problem is due to old / worn tooling used in manufacturing.
I’m very curious ... does anyone on here have stands that fall within the recall? And if so, could you please have a close look and report anything that looks suspect? Photos maybe??