Good Floor Jack

[ducttapebandit]

Any suggestions on a good general purpose floor jack. I guess they don't make them in the states any more.

[trovato]

I just got a Norco Air/Hydraulic floor jack. It seems well made and I'm pretty happy with it so far, but it's not even a week old. They also make a hydraulic only version. This is what I got: http://standardus.com/stdshop/product.php?productid=4294&cat=411&page=1

[kvom]

I have had a Torin "Big Red" for a couple of years, and like it a lot. Heavy duty and lifts 22". Got it with 2 jackstands at NT.

[Brandon_Lutz]

U.S. Jack and Milwaukee Hydraulics still make floor jacks here in the US. They also make their jack stands here too.

Hein Werner makes their stuff here to in the US, but they are owned by a Chinese company.

I got my U.S. stuff from: www.jackxchange.com

[eschoendorff]

I'm using a couple jacks (2.25 ton and a 3 ton ) that I bought at Harbor Freight (which, incidentally, makes me a total asshole) and they have served me very well.

[MAD]

I bought a Larin 3 ton model # HNY-6000 in 1995 and it is still going strong. I do not know if these are good jacks or I am just lucky but I have used the heck out of this jack with no problems.

[nissan_crawler]

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/photos/42800-42899/42820.gif
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=42820

I know, I know, but it works great. My only complaint is that it doesn't have the handle that locks for moving the jack around. However it appears that adds about $150 to any other jack, so I dealt with it.

[rsanter]

I have the long frame HF unit and it works fine. I also have 2 other standard units from HF and they are fine as well (but one does not pump up when it is very cold in the garage)
I also have 3 of the Cman jacks. one old one that is my favorite and 2 of the newer ones that work fine

bob

[MarkH]

After seeing the accidents from the medical side jacks are one item I will not nickel or dime my purchase. The tool may be warrantied but but that does not cover what it hits.

Getting cautious after visiting friends who had stands or jacks break, I had my own incident with what looked like a quality constructed jack. It dropped during the final couple pumps of raising a car at home. I had two not one very heavy jackstands as well as the jack under the car.

So instead of a Camaro crush all that I had was a raised heart beat. The stands that caught it are old, made here and tested to see what would happen by dropping 16,000 lbs of farm tractor 6 inches onto them. They look very rough compared to what you see in the stores, but I learned years ago not to judge by appearances. Some very nice looking jewel polished tools were among the worse scrap I ever bought.

So we ended up getting what we can used and rebuild and will splurge on what is frequently the most expensive tools, jacks. We use Wrights and similar for wrenches, sockets, etc to cut the cost and still have decent tools.

[eschoendorff]

After seeing the accidents from the medical side jacks are one item I will not nickel or dime my purchase. The tool may be warrantied but but that does not cover what it hits.

Getting cautious after visiting friends who had stands or jacks break, I had my own incident with what looked like a quality constructed jack. It dropped during the final couple pumps of raising a car at home. I had two not one very heavy jackstands as well as the jack under the car.

So instead of a Camaro crush all that I had was a raised heart beat. The stands that caught it are old, made here and tested to see what would happen by dropping 16,000 lbs of farm tractor 6 inches onto them. They look very rough compared to what you see in the stores, but I learned years ago not to judge by appearances. Some very nice looking jewel polished tools were among the worse scrap I ever bought.

So we ended up getting what we can used and rebuild and will splurge on what is frequently the most expensive tools, jacks. We use Wrights and similar for wrenches, sockets, etc to cut the cost and still have decent tools.

Once again, I have never had any of my crappy HF jacks fail on me. That said, I do not get under the car while I am jacking it up, and I use jackstands once the car is at the desired height. So, if anything falls, it's not the end of the world.

Spend your money the way that you want... but from a personal experience point of view, I just don't see how throwing $$$$ at a jack is going to make it work any better or keep you any safer.

[nissan_crawler]

After seeing the accidents from the medical side jacks are one item I will not nickel or dime my purchase. The tool may be warrantied but but that does not cover what it hits.

Any idiot that gets hurt when a jack fails was being just that...an idiot. A jack should NEVER be relied on to hold something up. As for failing jack stands, if your friends can't look at a jack stand and tell it's poor quality, they need to get a new hobby.

[chavist93]

I use AC Hydraulics jacks and jack stands and wouldnt have anything else.

[rsanter]

I used to own a auto repair/streetrod/resto shop. I had an employee that would constantly get under cars held up by the jack alone. I would constantly have to tell him to put the jackstands under the car and put the car down on them. he would grumble and do it but then the next time....
one day I really got onto hima about that and he told me that jacks were made to hold the car up and jackstands are not needed. then told me that the only thing that jackstand are goor for is if the car slips off the jack. I proceeded to point out to him " and you dont have any under the car" followed by an " I am tired of telling you this, your fired..."
some people are their own worst enemies

bob

[MarkH]

We normally get lucky, but accidents do happen and going as far to prevent them as possible is important. If you notice I stated jack stands & jacks were in use and broke.

For my friends, one pickup on jackstands just like I see everywhere. When I saw the casting that broke, you could see there was a bubble in it that was big enough to cause it to be weak. Effect even with jackstands pickup fell. Defect unobservable to naked eye. Others may have X-Ray vision. He now uses doubles per axle.

Next one similar with a crack in the casting. A nice heavy coat of paint hid it. He also uses doubles per axle too.

Mine we have a crack and tear in a pivot area, The crack is both old and new. Again hid by a thick shiny coat of paint. Caution is why we for years have used 4 jackstands per axle. ie jack up some, slide a stand under it at its lower level, then raise it more, slide next stand under at a higher level until we are at the right height. That way if anything crashes we never have a drop that can cause injury.

Over the years I have found that everything is usually never as simple as it sounds and even the careful can have close calls. Think how do those jack stands get under the vehicle. I always preferred using them on tractors there is no way any part of my body has to get in even a temporary dangerous situation.

So I will do what I need to do for my situations.

[wrenchr]

Lets also remember they are hydraulic and a seal could fail @ any time. Jack stands are where I would spend the most$$$$$$$$. It only takes one failure to ruin your day and or life............imo.

[Merkava_4]

Jack stands are where I would spend the most$$$$$$$$.

I agree. :)

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n284/MACDRIVE/TOOLS/1582_3453.jpg

[nissan_crawler]

Think how do those jack stands get under the vehicle.

I don't know about yours, but mine get under there with a stick. I'm making my own stands currently. I'm not too worried about them failing.

[Merkava_4]

I like a floor jack with a rubber pad cover. :)

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n284/MACDRIVE/TOOLS/1739_3582.jpg

[nissan_crawler]

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f56/chevyman_57/House/DSC00671.jpg

The nuts/rod on the bench are the adjustable part, I'm using receiver tube for the rest of it. The bottom will be adjustable in 6" increments, the top will be infinitely adjustably for 6". This will let me level them all for jigging frames and fabricating.

I'm using 1 1/4" acme thread. I'm welding one nut into the receiver tube, one nut will be a jam nut with 1/2" rod welded on for handles, then I'm making v plates for tube, and regular ones for frames, and welding nuts on the bottom of them so they screw on and are interchangable. As an added bonus, the legs will be pinned to fold for storage in my small garage. It's going to be a project.

[eschoendorff]

I used to own a auto repair/streetrod/resto shop. I had an employee that would constantly get under cars held up by the jack alone. I would constantly have to tell him to put the jackstands under the car and put the car down on them. he would grumble and do it but then the next time....
one day I really got onto hima about that and he told me that jacks were made to hold the car up and jackstands are not needed. then told me that the only thing that jackstand are goor for is if the car slips off the jack. I proceeded to point out to him " and you dont have any under the car" followed by an " I am tired of telling you this, your fired..."
some people are their own worst enemies

bob


You probably saved his life that day! :thumbup:

My experience has been that if jackstands fail, it's usually because they were not centered well and the load was not properly placed on them. A few more second of preparation and common sense can go a long way....

[MarkH]

I don't know about yours, but mine get under there with a stick

When possible, but bad floors, location, design issues at times make that impossible. I was suprised to see how may people do not think about the danger of placing the stands.

Is anyone using the OTC stands, we did not have a local dealer and I have seen them on the web. They looked like they did not have that thick shiny coat of paint that could cover defects. A current frustration to make them look more polished. I also was thinking that the way the support is placed would limit size but be highly unlikely to break. Else we may think about making some of our own also.

It is not always needed to go to the highest name brands, but going with a good reserve on jacks. We have a couple lesser names, but they are rated much much higher than we need. Was a mid priced compromise at a couple locations.

[eschoendorff]

It is not always needed to go to the highest name brands, but going with a good reserve on jacks. We have a couple lesser names, but they are rated much much higher than we need. Was a mid priced compromise at a couple locations.

My HF jack stand are rated at 6ton each... and generally 4 of them hold a 4000 lb. car... that's a 6 to 1 safety margin....


Better yet, whenever I inspect them, they look good (no cracks) and they don't let things fall and - my favorite - they have a nice wide base that gets in the way during oil changes!

[SteveU]

Some 20 yrs ago we switched engines in a 78 LTD & had the back end jacked up doing something. When we went to release the jack & lower it, it dropped like a rock & landed so hard that the jack actually put a hole in the gas tank. That jack went to the gun range & was used for target practice after that. That was one time too many for having something like that happen, good thing neither of us was reaching up under the car to get to the jack.

[Merkava_4]

I gotta have the jack stands with the pins going through; I don't trust those other kind.

[Charles (in GA)]

The original poster, asked about a floor jack. Somehow, this degenerated into a jackstand discussion.

This same question came up last September. Do a search for NAPA floor jack and the thread will come up, titled as "recommend a good 3 or 4 ton floor jack"

I have two floor jacks. One is a Sears Craftsman, made in the late '60's and early '70's by Blackhawk. It is a brute and I like it. Leaks down slightly, even after having it rebuilt several years ago. My second jack is nearly identical in physical size and is a NAPA jack. I bought it in a special packaging with two 4 ton jackstands, for $199. This shows up about once a year. The jack alone is $269 and the stands are $76 a pair, so this is a real bargain if you can find this special packaging. The jack is large and comparable with my old 1970's Sears (Blackhawk made) jack. I actually like this jack more than the old Blackhawk/Sears. It takes less effort to pump it and the pad is removable to allow for installing a transmission jack adapter or fabricating your own adapters for special jobs. Oil the wheels and it rolls very smoothly, this is ever bit as good as any of the older American made jacks. A Chinese company makes the Hein-Werner jacks, here in the US, one of the few US made jacks. There are some made in Denmark which are supposedly pretty good if you can afford them, given the exchange rates right now with the Euro.

From my September post about this:

I don't care for Chinese but for some things, the choices are limited, and they do make some good stuff occasionally. NAPA has a special deal going, a 3-1/2 ton floor jack and two "4" ton jackstands for $199. I saw a whole stack of them in my NAPA store the other day. I bought this same deal about two years ago.

Its this jack here, which is regular $269

http://www.napaonline.com/MasterPages/NOLMaster.aspx?PageId=470&LineCode=NLE&PartNumber=7916420&Description=Floor+Jack

http://partimages2.genpt.com/partimages/40030.jpg

and these jack stands, which are regular $76

http://www.napaonline.com/MasterPages/NOLMaster.aspx?PageId=470&LineCode=NLE&PartNumber=7915050&Description=Jack+Stand

http://partimages2.genpt.com/partimages/40019.jpg

For $199, a real bargain, even if their regular prices are inflated, the $199 is a deal. The jack is large and has a wide spread between the casters and wheels, very stable.

I called my NAPA store and the part number for the special is 899-6420. This shows a jack only, but if you read, it shows "stand, rachet action height" a weight of 138 lbs (stands and jack) and a price of $273.99. My store in Newnan, GA has a whole stack of them for $199 and I think this is a promotion price.

This is a large jack, not one of the minature floor jack wannabee's. The stands are well made and much heavier, thicker steel than some identical looking stands I've seen elsewhere. Quality of this stuff does vary in China, depends on what the purchaser specifies. You want heavy steel... we give you heavy steel......

Charles

[Merkava_4]

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n284/MACDRIVE/TOOLS/1532_175.jpg

How about a racing jack?

[eschoendorff]

I have a racing jack... looking back, I wouldn't have wasted the $$$$. I use the regular heavy duty style (like the NAPA pictured above) all the time anyway.

[ducttapebandit]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I have decided to go with a Hein Werner W93642 "True Blue 93642" 2-Ton Hydraulic Service Jack. Its made in the USA and around $300. I'm getting it a carquest.

[beardking]

Anyone know anything about these jacks (http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200303997_200303997)? I need something that will actually lift my 2004 Dodge Ram Quad Cab. The cheap Wal-mart floor jack I have now barely gets up high enough to do anything and once it does, it doesn't have the balls to do any lifting. Ended up having to get out the jack that came with the truck and that took FOREVER to get anywhere. I know this jack isn't anywhere near top of the line, but for occasional use, it looks like it might be just about what I need.

[nissan_crawler]

Anyone know anything about these jacks (http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200303997_200303997)? I need something that will actually lift my 2004 Dodge Ram Quad Cab. The cheap Wal-mart floor jack I have now barely gets up high enough to do anything and once it does, it doesn't have the balls to do any lifting. Ended up having to get out the jack that came with the truck and that took FOREVER to get anywhere. I know this jack isn't anywhere near top of the line, but for occasional use, it looks like it might be just about what I need.

THat one in particular, no. However, my experience is when you get a jack like that at pretty much max height and with a heavy vehicle, they get damn sketchy to use, even if it's only for long enough to get stands under. That's why I got my 2.5 ton long frame HF jack, no stability issues.

[Uncle Buck]

It usually begins with the size of the lifting pad for me. If the pad is less than about 6" I avoid the jack, which unfortunately seems to include most of the new offerings today!

[64merc]

It usually begins with the size of the lifting pad for me. If the pad is less than about 6" I avoid the jack, which unfortunately seems to include most of the new offerings today!

You know, I never thought about that before. Now that I think about it, all of my grandfather's old jacks had fairly large pads. That's a good point.

[Danglerb]

I don't care that much about the pad as supplied, I want a standard mounting hole so I can use whatever I want.

[Uncle Buck]

I don't care that much about the pad as supplied, I want a standard mounting hole so I can use whatever I want.

You mean for attaching somthing like a transmission lift adapter or the like I assume, what else would you possibly use in the pads place?. So the small pad is of little relevence for you when using the jack as originally configured/ as a traditional car jack? :headscrat (man I dispise tiny lift pads!) :pimpflash

[Danglerb]

http://www.928motorsports.com/parts/jackadapter.php

Fits into the thing on the bottom of my car. A $35 thing for the tranny is also a LOT easier to store than full fledged tranny jack.

[lucasd2002]

Is this (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130136003813&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:MOTORS:1123) any better than a HF unit?

[Brandon_Lutz]

Is this (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130136003813&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:MOTORS:1123) any better than a HF unit?

Probably not. I have that exact same jack but it says craftsman on it. Mine works fine, but others have had issues from what I've read online. Made by MVP in China and just kind of a low quality jack. Mine has problems with the wheels wanting to roll off when I roll it around on the shop floor.

I'd stay away from those quick lift jacks.

[gotmud13613]

I have had nothing but great luck with my 15 yr old HF Jack, It has served me well and I sure got my money out of it. Not once has it let me down.

I bought it back in 93 and has been used everyday for something. The only thing I have done to it a few times is replace the fluid with fresh stuff and I sandblasted it a couple years ago and gave it a fresh coat of paint. It has been used for everything between lifting a ATV, numerous cars-trucks and Jacking up my 1960 (hunting camp) house trailer.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=4172

[64merc]

I was at HD yesterday and a guy was returning a very similar Husky jack because one of the welds was broken when he bought it. The lesson is to inspect your new jack before you use it.

[lucasd2002]

I need a new jack - the last one I had was a craftsman professional bought around 2002 but was stolen out of my car trailer in Atlanta. I actually kinda liked it. It had the feature where a single pump brings the saddle up to the chassis which was nice. The saddle seemed pretty large and substantial.

A friend brought his "Pep/Advanced/Zone/NAPA" jack over to the house a few weekends back and it was much worse than the CP I remember. It actually twisted under load lifting one wheel off the ground. That's when I decided I should pay a little attention to what I buy for a floor jack.

I'm not sure when or if craftsman still sells the Craftsman Professional lines of jacks - they weren't on the site the last time I looked.

I need the jack for my Rover which has a couple inches of lift so the "Low Profile" jacks are lost on me. I need one that has a high max lift.

Who knew finding a floor jack would be this difficult?