I need a new jack... Yes or no?

[jdl25]

https://raleigh.craigslist.org/tls/d/raleigh-floor-jack-mac-21-2-tons/7024849885.html

I could go to harbor freight and get the Daytona top model or northern tool and get the yellow jacket jack....

My 10 year old orange harbor freight jack locked up on me this fall. Fixing it is also an option assuming parts are available.

I'll probably try to fix the old hf jack even if I buy a new jack.

What y'all think?

 

[81turbota]

Ask the seller what “needs some tune up” means exactly. It looks promising but very likely needs more work than your seized jack.

 

[zkling]

Pass on that Mac, that is a rebadged japan jack sold by sears and the like back in the day. The Daytona units are a great value when you factor in lift range, especially min height.

BTW, rebuilding jacks is not an easy task. They are not complicated, but depending on the design require some high torque to open and close.

 

[justgurn]

For $60 I would buy the Mac even if it needs rebuilt.

 

[kctyphoon]

Dude - go buy a new jack...
is the confidence NOT worth the extra few $$?

 

[Indexmill]

As ZK said, that jack in Raleigh is nothing great. Nothing like a HW or a Lincoln. I'd pay 20 dollars but no where near $60.

 

[joe_pinehill1]

Buy a new HF jack.

 

[mike93lx]

i wouldn't buy some old, unknown history rust bucket. the HF jacks are a great value and you should be using stands anyway

 

[driz]

NO WAY. When I see “needs a little” it’s time to run. Do some simple math . Take value X (a little). Then square it[emoji848]= the answer Y ( worn out, trashed, seals worn out probably unavailable)
That’s about all the fancy math I know but in this situation it works just fine. At best it’s going to cost you screwing around finding O rings with your fingers crossed. At worst you’re going to end up with three dollars worth of scrap steel. Exactly a great return on a 60 buck investment.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Fulcrumz]

i wouldn't buy some old, unknown history rust bucket. the HF jacks are a great value and you should be using stands anyway

Here's your old, unknown history rust bucket before and after. Sometimes all you need is a little vision.

That being said if it's not a Walker/Lincoln I would not spend the time to fix it up.

 

[zendriver]

"Do I need a new jack, or do I need another project?"

That's my mindset, when I consider buying used ****.

A 10 year od HF jack I'd pitch on the scrap pile and buy a new one.

 

[jdl25]

Sounds good to me. Thanks guys.

 

[emeraldcoupe]

if it were a simple fix the seller would have done it already, just go buy a new one.

 

[Radio Flyer]

if it were a simple fix the seller would have done it already, just go buy a new one.

Exactly what I was thinking.

 

[Fulcrumz]

if it were a simple fix the seller would have done it already, just go buy a new one.

Au contraire. You would be surprised what people sell expensive items for thinking they are damaged, when it’s a simple fix. It pays to do your research.

 

[kctyphoon]

The ONLY thing that has you intrigued is the BRAND name that old thing has on it. If it were the same jack under any other name you wouldnt have even thought about it. I didnt wanna post it before, but like someone else posted - what you were thinking of was nonsensical. “I have an old jack that doesnt work right, should i buy a new one, or try to replace it with another jack that doesnt work right (cause it says Mac on it)”..

Invest an extra $100 and to save yourself another headache and at the very least have some piece of mind.

 

[joe_pinehill1]

Buy a HF and if you want a project offer the Mac $10 as a project, its not going anywhere.

 

[jal395]

you should be using stands anyway

And how do we get our cars up on the jack stands?

 

[mike93lx]

And how do we get our cars up on the jack stands?

i pick my car up by hand and kick the stands into place. why? how do you do it?


i was speaking to a frequent distrust of harbor freight products.

 

[Hiball]

I wouldn’t give $60 for it, The seller is banking on the Mac brand recognition. I’d give $20-30 for it yesterday as long as the rod surface’s looked good and had good casters/wheels. The soft parts are readily available, the obsolete comments come from dealers or don’t want to mess with it due to the lack of profitability then it filters down to message boards etc. It’s why the kits for those older Yasui jacks from suppliers are priced upwards to $50. It’s not like people are beating down there door for the kits so they need to mark them up to cover any loss in there inventory. There is a reason the older Yasui based jacks are still in service in a variety of colors, they are built like tanks with quality components, not to be confused with the knockoffs. Whether it’s something you want to mess with, that’s a personal decision. If your handy with a Mic and understand how seals are sized I suspect one could reseal that jack for $20 or less via some online outlets. It’s not terribly difficult, the majority of problems come from removing the tank nut and with a good vise it’s not a issue on those models.

Unfortunately when buying any used equipment, sometimes things aren’t what they seem and when you get inside, things can get ugly and one should factor that into there decision.

 

[ChrisLS8]

https://raleigh.craigslist.org/tls/d/raleigh-floor-jack-mac-21-2-tons/7024849885.html

I could go to harbor freight and get the Daytona top model or northern tool and get the yellow jacket jack....

My 10 year old orange harbor freight jack locked up on me this fall. Fixing it is also an option assuming parts are available.

I'll probably try to fix the old hf jack even if I buy a new jack.

What y'all think?

The Daytona jack is 10x the jack as that old CL beater which isn't anything special to begin with even when new

 

[Stingrayraleigh]

Do yourself a favor, buy an entire seal kit. I didn’t know my model number, as the decal has disappeared over the years, so I ordered the seals individually from Hydraulic Parts Supply. For three seals I paid more than I could have got the entire seal kit from Lazzars

 

[Kc Dickey]

If you are thinking of buying a new jack, the Arcan floor jacks from Northern Tool are and excellent option. I have four of them floating around and love them. Only downside is they are heavy.