Ford Fiesta versus 3000kg chinesium axle stand

[willie.macleod]

@Nauticus @a111r @daleyd yes it is "virtual manufacturing" by Sealey, someones jig wasn't up to scratch and they welded the saddle top onto the bottom of the pin. Really well built though apart from that! Must admit until I lined it up with the others (3 sets were bought) missed it, it didn't catch my eye on assembly.

 

[daleyd]

@Nauticus @a111r @daleyd yes it is "virtual manufacturing" by Sealey, someones jig wasn't up to scratch and they welded the saddle top onto the bottom of the pin. Really well built though apart from that! Must admit until I lined it up with the others (3 sets were bought) missed it, it didn't catch my eye on assembly.

That is a shame, as you say they look pretty decent otherwise!

 

[willie.macleod]

That is a shame, as you say they look pretty decent otherwise!

It's fine, the local car parts shop took them back and swapped them out for me no problem. If anyone is in the market for a new trolley jack and axle stands then they were bought as part of this deal, all of it is pretty good value for money - https://www.ffx.co.uk/tools/product...511248517-3-Tonne-Trolley-Jack-Axle-Stand-Set

 

[Mikes]

Those axle stands are marked 'Premier' hate to think what's wrong with the 'standard' grade ones ! Just goes to prove the point about certification and inspection. Definitely missed the quality control section.

 

[a111r]

@Nauticus @a111r @daleyd yes it is "virtual manufacturing" by Sealey, someones jig wasn't up to scratch and they welded the saddle top onto the bottom of the pin. Really well built though apart from that! Must admit until I lined it up with the others (3 sets were bought) missed it, it didn't catch my eye on assembly.

Yep, you should take them to task for putting their sticker on that. A poorly designed production jig, if it accepts incorrect orientation. Or maybe they don't have one.

Half a lifetime ago, I used to audit automotive mfrs, all over. ISO9001 / BS5750 / AQAP4 QM systems, all pretty similar in concept. Western QC principles in the early 90s were still 'quite alien' to Eastern manufacturing concerns.
One that springs to mind was a Company (it was probably in China) producing, of all things, inflatable child seats, so needing Type Approval.

When asked about their 'corrective action' procedures for non-conforming goods, they pointed to a board on the wall that named the operative who had made the most mistakes that week.

 

[earthman]

Many people have there castings done in China, JCB have there own factory there so quality shouldn't be an issue as they all have rejects and by there very nature they are tested and then rejected.

Ford, Mitsubishi, Citroen, Peugeot, Vauxhall, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, and indeed most manufacturers have cylinder blocks and heads cast in China. What sets them apart are there quality standards and companies such as Mitsubishi, Toyota and several others have had castings made there for years, they have high standards and there producers have to get it right as to many rejects means profits turn to losses and the companies go elsewhere so the onus and incentive is there to get it right.

I'm sure you are correct there, you just can't say that every factory in China produces bad/poor quality products because that's simply not true.
It is difficult to know exactly what you are getting though, until you have it in your hand/can test it.

 

[Matchless]

I heard a similar story about ECUs for cars, the boards and boxs are made in the middle east and then assembled in Germany so the whole unit could be marked as made in Germany.

Quite a while ago, pre joining this forum I sold my fathers old 1930's? lathe, nothing special, split bronze headstock bearing, it had a gear train cover stating "made in England" so a guy bought it to fit into a ww2 mobile workshop for display, didn't have the heart to tell him I had been told the only English part was that cover,

 

[willie.macleod]

Standard practise unfortunately, the last place they undertake the last manufacturing process is the place they could stamp it as "made in ******".

This kind of thing is not legal in the UK and if anyone is aware of it still going on then it should be reported to your local Trading Standards office. Since 2008 such practices are likely to be deemed misleading under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading regulations and offenders run the risk of a criminal prosecution.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Should just have to add the percentage of the item that is "made in". Am sure some suitable basis can be determined.

"100% Made in England" for example.

 

[Bryan Williams]

these are knocked out by lidl periodically for about 12quid, collapsible axle stands sounds a bit of a contradiction though..

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

I've always avoided collapsible stands...just because it sounds totally wrong!

I did once find a company making screw stands ...they are excellent because they can be adjusted perfectly. Problem is they are very expensive....a thing of beauty though.

That top weld is a critical point though....I think they were £450 a stand...I couldn't justify that.

 

[James1979]

One of the German cars used to have screw bottle jacks in the tire kit I think. I have one I use for spreading etc. It came from a scrappy so dunno what breed it is but merc rings a bell. Always seemed better than hydraulic especially for folk who don’t really know what to do when jacking.

 

[Cobbler]

One of the German cars used to have screw bottle jacks in the tire kit I think. I have one I use for spreading etc. It came from a scrappy so dunno what breed it is but merc rings a bell. Always seemed better than hydraulic especially for folk who don’t really know what to do when jacking.

How about a jack from a CA Bedford? That isn’t going to collapse in a hurry.

 

[James1979]

How about a jack from a CA Bedford? That isn’t going to collapse in a hurry.
View attachment 256246

I don’t need that but I want it!!

 

[colnerov]

One of the German cars used to have screw bottle jacks in the tire kit I think. I have one I use for spreading etc. It came from a scrappy so dunno what breed it is but merc rings a bell. Always seemed better than hydraulic especially for folk who don’t really know what to do when jacking.

Hi, There's a whole website devoted to such things.

http://www.classic-british-car-jacks.uk/vehicle_jack_index.htm

Colin

 

[mtt.tr]

I've always avoided collapsible stands...just because it sounds totally wrong!

I did once find a company making screw stands ...they are excellent because they can be adjusted perfectly. Problem is they are very expensive....a thing of beauty though.

That top weld is a critical point though....I think they were £450 a stand...I couldn't justify that.

Looks like an underpinning prop with a nice base

 

[Cobbler]

I don’t need that but I want it!!

Think of the postage! Off a 1961 Bedford CA van, you wound it up with the starting handle swinging it side to side & it ratcheted up. Took a while though, almost a family heirloom now. The van rusted away as you watched, lasted about 7 years & was beyond repair.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Looks like an underpinning prop with a nice base

Agree...and I went out and bought a bunch of underpinning props to convert into stands. They're in my loft.....you just reminded me . Props have a huge load capacity too.

 

[a111r]

One of the German cars used to have screw bottle jacks in the tire kit I think. I have one I use for spreading etc. It came from a scrappy so dunno what breed it is but merc rings a bell. Always seemed better than hydraulic especially for folk who don’t really know what to do when jacking.

I found one two weeks ago, Daimler Benz, rated at 1.8T. Probably from a pre-Sprinter light commercial?

It was in one of those enticing carrier bags full of old rusty tools from a dismantled shed or suchlike, left out near someone's bin.

 

[willie.macleod]

Its perfectly legal in all of Europe and has been since the 1970's when Ford built cars in Spain and shipped them to Germany to have the last stage of there manufacturing process undertaken, remember that European Legislation is the primary legislation here and not UK legislation as all EU legislation is automatically ratified into all member states legislation, irrespective.
They are not deemed as misleading as the EU had a case over this and as long as the company concerned had a manufacturing schedule listing each stage of assembly and the last stage of assembly was the country of the last stage happening then it was classed as that country.

I'm not wrong. We have specific UK legislation, which I quoted - and it is quite clear if you mislead a customer for example in the case of where an item is produced that this is a criminal breach of UK law. The example of "Sheffield Steel" being marked on an item, a customer might reasonably expect that to be made in Sheffield, England. To name a place in China "Sheffield" and sell metal goods in the UK marked up as "Sheffield Steel" is quite clearly a breach of the CPR 2008 regulations. We don't need to refer to Europe, we have (relatively new) UK law and whoever it is that is selling it in the UK can be taken to court by their local authority trading standards department and be charged.