Dumb floor jack question

[MrBreeze]

After having a Craftsman "racing" style aluminum floor jacks, I invested in a Hein Werner 3 Ton floor jack
http://heinwerner-automotive.com/ProductDetails/Hein-Werner/3TonServiceJack/HW93652/523

One thing I noticed that was different than what I have used before, is when jacking, the actual lifting doesn't begin until the handle end is about 3 feet from the floor (maybe 30 degrees). The lifting stroke of the cheaper Craftsman was much longer - from the handle being nearly vertical to the floor (90 degrees)

A lot more strokes on the HW to get the same amount of lift than the Craftsman "racing" jack. Is this difference due to the "racing" style of the aluminum jack - a few strokes with a lot of lift per stroke - vs a standard service jack like the HW?

 

[firworks]

I think that might be the "racing" nature. Have you ever seen how the Nascar jackmen run the jack? They start with the handle pretty high up and basically dive to kneeling and lift the car in one stroke.

 

[MrBreeze]

I think that might be the "racing" nature. Have you ever seen how the Nascar jackmen run the jack? They start with the handle pretty high up and basically dive to kneeling and lift the car in one stroke.

Thanks. That was my first thought. I'm curious if all "non-racing" style jacks have what seem to be a short lifting stroke as the HW or if there might be something wrong or in need of adjustment with mine.

 

[GTA Matt]

Many of the steel floor jacks have the characteristics of yours. I also have the craftsman aluminum jack and the steel OTC1526 jack which has near identical jacking characteristics of the cman.

 

[firworks]

I kinda like that all the lifting is low on my HF 4-ton. It means I can be laying on my back reaching under the car on stands and position and use the jack to lift an engine/transmisson and operate the jack while laying on my back. It's a bit of an arm workout though pumping the jack in that configuration but I would have had a hard time figuring out where the subframe was binding on the body as I was trying to lift to replace a transaxle mount if I wasn't laying on the ground.

 

[MrBreeze]

I kinda like that all the lifting is low on my HF 4-ton. It means I can be laying on my back reaching under the car on stands and position and use the jack to lift an engine/transmisson and operate the jack while laying on my back. It's a bit of an arm workout though pumping the jack in that configuration but I would have had a hard time figuring out where the subframe was binding on the body as I was trying to lift to replace a transaxle mount if I wasn't laying on the ground.

Good point, and I agree, when the jack is far under the vehicle, there isn't much handle travel room to begin with.

The PIA is when I'm going from fully lowered position up the several inches to meet the axle/frame/etc that it seems to take forever - numerous short strokes rather than a few long ones to span the gap until making contact.

 

[Hiball]

The HW pump contact/angle is so you "can" use the Jack more effectively when it's under the vehicle, if you look at the pump piston you will see its angled. This allows you to get full travel, thus pull more oil into the pump cylinder, versus clanging the handle against a bumper and only utilizing <50% of its pump capacity. The HW is also a single pump/single versus a lot of your answer quick lift jacks.

 

[GRX]

Second on that is the nature of the "racing" style jacks. You will probably notice it takes more effort to push the handle too. My heavy steel jack will pump with slight movement from total horizontal. One aspect I look for when buying.

 

[atech]

I wondered the same thing with my new HW 2 ton jack. I found it very odd that there is no pumping action the first 50-60 degrees. One reason I don't like it is if the handle is bumped it will fall down since the pump pressure can't hold it up. The other problem is if I had to jack something close to the wall I would have to angle the jack sideways to clear the wall. I wish I wold have known this or I wouldn't have bought the jack.

 

[Tinner]

I love my HW 3ton. Smooth, strong and stable. Money well spent.

 

[Hiball]

I wondered the same thing with my new HW 2 ton jack. I found it very odd that there is no pumping action the first 50-60 degrees. One reason I don't like it is if the handle is bumped it will fall down since the pump pressure can't hold it up. The other problem is if I had to jack something close to the wall I would have to angle the jack sideways to clear the wall. I wish I wold have known this or I wouldn't have bought the jack.

Like I said earlier, if you ever found yourself under a vehicle with a deep pickup point, you will quickly figure out why the Jack was designed that way. As far as that goes, all your Newer imports outside of the yasui based models all,adopted the low angled pickup point, the main difference is that "quick lift" is extremely common, so most don't realize it.

 

[Denwad]

try bleeding the jack? My aluminum 2.5ton jack lifted from vertical all the way to horizontal, until i stored it vertical for a day or so, then it would only pump at the last 20 degrees of travel.

 

[atech]

I bled the jack right away following the instructions. The jack works great, I can tell air isn't an issue, it does a great job lifting the car, just that I have to bend over while I jack the car up.

 

[skruft]

I think it is typical of older style jacks to have little or no pumping action until the handle is quite a way down.