Take a close look at your trolley jack

I know a lot of us have floor or trolley jacks for our vehicles. A couple years ago, I was jacking up my truck and the pump handle socket broke off. I noticed the socket was fastened on by two hitch pins. The hitch pin (or pins) actually dislodged and fell out while I was pumping. The socket was bent beyond repair, so I bought a new trolley jack

My current trolley jack has the same lousy hitch pins. I pulled on these pins and was surprised how they came out with very little force. The manual doesn't say anything about bending the hitch pins to tighten either. I attached a photo of the hitch pins.

I removed those hitch pins tonight and replaced them with real cotter pins. I know these won't fall out. Suppose someone's car fell off the jack stands, and they couldn't raise their car in a hurry because the jack failed from a loosened hitch pin? Maybe this should go under the safety awareness forum.

 

A car should never fall on a person if used with jack stands. No need other need for safety beyond that.

I have never found these type of hitch pins to be faulty or able to come out on their own. However I have had them damaged or stretched out and reused. If they are sized correctly it should not be a problem.

 

Both of my jacks had cotter pins in the hitch pins to prevent them from falling out. I can't believe your's didn't have something to hold them in place.

 

Those two clips with bends you see in the photo are the hitch pins. Those two little bolt things used to attached the socket are also called pins....just a different kind. What you see in the photo is how the jack came new out of the box.

You say your jack had cotter pins in the hitch pins? I'm not sure I understand. Why wouldn't cotter pins be enough?

 

My first floor jack was a trolley jack that I bought close to 40 yrs ago. It still works although I'd have to go out to the shop to verify how it's put together. I don't recall ever having the pins just slip out.

 

I was not very good about giving my old trolley jack a visual check for defects before using it. I probably could have replaced the part before it broke.

 

Are the hitch pins long enough to add flat washers behind the retaining clips? Flat washers might help reduce the rotation of the clips.

 

Hi Wirepuller,

I replaced he hitch pins with cotter pins for that purpose. I can bend the ends of the cotter pins to make sure they don't fall out. It's the same thing people do when they use cotter pins for wheel bearings, steering linkage under car, etc. Thanks for suggestion,

 

what kind of wheel bearings have cotter pins?

 

I haven't packed a wheel bearing in decades but I think he means that big nut you remove to pull the hub off, that has a cotter pin through it.

 

I had a heck of a time finding a video, seems most cars nowadays don't have these anymore. This is a 98 S10.

 

I had forgotten about the cotter pin on the nut