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Craftsman Floor Jack Funnies...

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Hiball

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There has been some recent Craftsman Jack discussion here at GJ, So today i decided to tear down 1 of the 2 customer jacks i have in my shop. When the Customer brought his jack in i was at first puzzled when i seen that the tag referenced it as a 4 Ton Jack.. Here is the Link, You will notice it has a 1.5 star rating out of 74 reviews.. Hmmm...

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00950156000P?keyword=4+ton+floor+jack&prdNo=2&blockNo=2&blockType=G2

craftsman.jpg

DSC01347.jpg


After tearing into this jack my Puzzled feeling was quickly replaced with Concern. Ill let the Pictures do the talking, Above you will find 3 Piston style Ram cups. From Left to Right you have a 2 ton (Actually OLD 1 1/2 Walker size also) Walker/Lincoln Floor Jack Ram Cup, Next is the Sears "Professional" 4 ton Jack and Last but not least the Walker/Lincoln 4 ton Ram Cup. Do you see anything that looks ODD? If not a brief Non Engineering Degree explanation on what affects Tonnage. The Larger the Diameter of the Cup/Ram the More Tonnage it can handle, this rings true in all Hydraulic applications from Cylinders to Bottle Jacks to Floor Jacks. Still dont think this is a big deal? The Walker/Lincoln 4 ton Ram size is Nearly 35% bigger than the 4 ton Craftsman. I think this story goes alot deeper and is probably related to the Hp related fiasco Lawsuits that is hitting everyones door in regards to Lawn Mowers. In General People are Dumb and infactuated with Numbers. I can fix this jack as it has a Split Ucup but im not gonna touch it, The Design is too bad for me to even think about allowing someone to attempt to raise 8000lbs with this jack. I know that people are gonna come in here with there "If it wouldnt Lift 4 ton Sears couldnt sell it" My Response: Good Luck with That theory
 
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kornjulio

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I bought a 3T Sears Chinaman about 15 years ago. I've gotten my money out of it.

Sad to say MADE IN CHINA ain't what it used to be....
 
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Hiball

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Cryptic1911 said:
could it be that the angles / leverage of this jack doesnt require as big of a piston to move the same amount of weight?
Click to expand...

NO.. it is no different than any other Import jack 4 fasteners at the Rear and your typical ladder style linkage. It has nothing to do with leverage, As explained it is all about the diameter of the Ram Cup in ALL aspects of Hydraulic Service and how far you can spread the PSI out to lift the load.
 
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Diesel_Crawler

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Had a guy at work almost lose his legs because of a jack rated way above what it could take. It bent the damn thing right over, If I think of it I will have to snap a picture.

I trust nothing to jacks anymore, the incident just reinforced it more. I raise the equipment high enough to put the low profiles under the axles and then work my way up, no rushing customer or boss will ever make me change that. Its mah life!


PS Hiball you should do a "what it takes to kill the craftsmen jack video"and use a train no less. :bounce:
 
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Hiball

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TheGrooveking said:
The other side to piston diameter equaling tonnage, is PSI, now HiBall have you found a wide range of pressures used in hydraulic jacks or does there seem to be an industry standard?

TheGrooveking
Click to expand...

5000-6000 PSI rated seals in Floor Jacks utilizing Ucups, 10000PSI in some of the Higher end Porta Power rams. Im not sure how close it gets to the Max PSI, I just know what the Mininum requirements are.
 
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Jeeper

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Good to know figuring I have that craftsman 4ton. Not too worried since I always use jack stands if i am underneath.

Hibal - how do the seals compare to a Hein-werner 3 ton?
 
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Hiball

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Jeeper said:
Good to know figuring I have that craftsman 4ton. Not too worried since I always use jack stands if i am underneath.

Hibal - how do the seals compare to a Hein-werner 3 ton?
Click to expand...

Well as far as the Ram cup goes it uses a Poly Ucup, Essentially the standard in Premium floor jacks. It does use a oring on the Pump which is what seperates the Hein Werner models from the imports, as they use Vee-packing. I would like to add, the Sears jack in question isnt the long frame service jacks.. It is actually your average short framed garage version, And its the ONLY one ive ever seen from any manufacturer that is rated at 4 tons.
 
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speed bump

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If you are curious whether or not it can hold 4 tons send it to me in the next 2 weeks. I have multiple machines that are freshly calibrated at my disposal to test things up to 500,000 lbs.
 
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Hiball

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speed bump said:
If you are curious whether or not it can hold 4 tons send it to me in the next 2 weeks. I have multiple machines that are freshly calibrated at my disposal to test things up to 500,000 lbs.
Click to expand...

I have Pressure testing stations set up in my shop, These are very accurate and are used to pressure test jacks and set the Proper overload spring tension. I have no interest in repairing this jack, I will send it back with the customer with a clean bill explaining whats wrong and if he wishes to fix the problem its his baby.
 
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moparmuscle88

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i have a very old black hawk jack

its a 4 ton and it is strong, will lift a 1 ton dump with no trouble

made in usa, seems that the 4 ton is the minimum rating
 
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DavidB

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Hiball, we need a top 10 best and a top 10 worst jacks. Then I can have a list to keep in my pocket when I hit up flea markets and garage sales. On the back I'll have ones to run like mad from.
 
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Hiball

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DavidB said:
Hiball, we need a top 10 best and a top 10 worst jacks. Then I can have a list to keep in my pocket when I hit up flea markets and garage sales. On the back I'll have ones to run like mad from.
Click to expand...

I want to be clear im not bashing all Sears Jacks, But they are off there rocker in reference to this Jack design and rating. Yes... there Jacks are Imports but with some Maintenance and care they can get the job done. As far as Top Ten jacks it goes like this: Weaver, Walker/Lincoln, Old Hein Werner, New Hw (which is actually Walker/Lincoln) Milwaukee and then Blackhawk. I have picked these jacks in order of Longevity, Parts available Soft and Hard along with Ease of rebuilding. You have to be carefull on the older Walker/Lincolns with the Spanner tank nut, because they are a bish to get off without making a tool or getting lucky.
 
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DavidB

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Hiball said:
I want to be clear im not bashing all Sears Jacks, But they are off there rocker in reference to this Jack design and rating. Yes... there Jacks are Imports but with some Maintenance and care they can get the job done. As far as Top Ten jacks it goes like this: Weaver, Walker/Lincoln, Old Hein Werner, New Hw (which is actually Walker/Lincoln) Milwaukee and then Blackhawk. I have picked these jacks in order of Longevity, Parts available Soft and Hard along with Ease of rebuilding. You have to be carefull on the older Walker/Lincolns with the Spanner tank nut, because they are a bish to get off without making a tool or getting lucky.
Click to expand...

I know you're not bashing all the Craftsman jacks. I didn't mean it to sound that way if it did. I have two import Craftsman jacks myself and they work fine for me. I agree the claim on that jack is ludicrous. I have a craftsman jack about the size of the one you spoke of earlier and it is marked 2.25T. I don't know if I'd ever try that on it though. My other jack is their 1.5T aluminum jacks and it works well for me.

Thanks for the list. I've always got my eye out for jack.
 
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