Mechanical floor jacks that do not use hydraulic fluid still made?

[A&P mechanic]

Are mechanical floor jacks still made that do not use hydraulic fluid?

Are there any floor jacks that would last a lifetime? I feel like mechanical would last longer than hydraulic as the seals in a hydraulic jack would eventually go bad even it was well taken care of.

I am planning to buy another floor jack that goes higher than 14.5 inches as that the height of the jacking point on my truck. I have a made in China Michelin jack from Sam’s that is 20 years old. Today, it went out and would not lift my truck back off of the jack stands. I have a back up Torin jack that is 16 years old and that went out also today. The last time I used that jack was when I bought it 16 years ago and kept it in my truck in case, I ever needed it. Well that one started squirting fluid out the top and went bad too, at least I did not figure it out on the side of the road.

Recommend me a floor jack please. I would prefer not to replace it 20 years. Thank you!

 

[American Locomotive]

I have never seen a mechanical "traditional" floor jack like your blue Michelin, but I have seen mechanical bottle jacks. Simplex manufacturers a line they call "Super Jacks". https://www.tksimplex.com/en-sx/super-jacks/super-jacks/JJ2510C

Just be prepared, because they are not cheap.

Edit: Some cars also come with mechanical bottle jacks, but they aren't the greatest.

 

[FMB4]

Mechanical bottle jacks can be found at most any wrecking yard. Jacks will not, of course, be found in and around the yard. They are often at the front in a bin or cart (if not, just ask an employee). I have one that's pretty big and very sturdy. I had dig out from under a bunch scissor jacks, but at $5 it was worth it.

 

[A&P mechanic]

Wow you were not kidding Locomotive, $1700+ for a mechanical bottle is expensive. FMB4 I will consider that and thank you for the info.

I read some older threads on GJ and found that mechanical screw scissor jacks are a good choice for longevity. One of the threads mentioned military surplus jacks are the best value. Another thread mentioned “Quadro” mechanical scissor jacks are upgraded versions of the surplus military jacks. I sent them an email inquiring about price. I think I am going to look into a mechanical screw scissor jack as it looks more stable than a mechanical bottle jack.

 

[ajchien]

At least those jack stands will last your lifetime.

I haven’t seen a modern new mechanical floor jack. Every once in a while, I’ll see a 1940ish Walker 740 long frame or equivalent for sale on the secondary market. Something like this: (if you’re in the southern california area) https://offerup.com/item/detail/1215949308?q=floor+jack

Certainly screw jacks are still made, such as the simplex ones AL suggested as well as scissor jacks. I believe you can find Hummer H1 scissor jacks for sale on eBay, which I think are rated at 3 tons.

I am of the opinion that all hydraulic jacks will eventually leak and be in need of repair. I really do not like having downtime because of a jack. As such, I currently choose my jacks based off of reputation of reliability and ease of rebuild, but that is a whole different topic from mechanical jacks.

 

[A&P mechanic]

Hi AJ, I agree and after more research I like the H1 M998 military surplus jack the best. There's an adapter by agile off road for $115 shipped, which is steep for an aluminum adapter. The adapter flips to let you cup the rear differential or you can flip it to go into one of the holes in the truck frame. I am leaning towards this jack, not sure if I want the adapter or not but I am going to look into it more.

 

[ajchien]

Hi AJ, I agree and after more research I like the H1 M998 military surplus jack the best. There's an adapter by agile off road for $115 shipped, which is steep for an aluminum adapter. The adapter flips to let you cup the rear differential or you can flip it to go into one of the holes in the truck frame. I am leaning towards this jack, not sure if I want the adapter or not but I am going to look into it more.

FWIW, I do think you hit some bad luck having 2 hydraulic jacks go bad in a single day. I can’t quite imagine using a mechanical jack as my primary means of lifting vehicles though. Although more reliable than hydraulics, they’re just less convenient to use.

 

[A&P mechanic]

I chose a new old stock H1 scissor jack. The Humvee jacks that are painted green have less of a weight rating. The jacks that are painted black have a higher weight rating. I also bought an aluminum axle/frame adapter that sits on top of the jack post, you can flip it to jack up the axle or flip so it sits flat. The adapter was pricey, it was almost double the price of the jack itself but I like the adapter. Lastly, the 3rd piece of equipment is an adapter to use a ½” impact gun. That ½” adapter is chrome vanadium and made in China. I drilled a hole through the bolt and put a cotter pin in. I am intentionally wearing safety glasses when I use an impact as I can envision that cheap Chinese ½” drive adapter disintegrating while in use one day.

Overall, I am satisfied with the H1 scissor jack and adapter plate. The ½” Chinese socket adapter is just mediocre. Hope this review helps someone else in the future. Thank you for the suggestions a few months ago.

 

[Snapped-off]

What's the lifting height of that jack?

 

[American Locomotive]

IMO, an impact is not the tool to use on those types of jacks. A regular power drill is far more appropriate.

 

[A&P mechanic]

I will find out the max height tomorrow.

The jack is supposed to use a “J” hook to raise and lower it. While a drill would be better, there would have to be an adapter or something for the drill to grab onto vs the adapter with a 1/2” drive female end. I had the impact on setting 1 until it wouldn’t raise the truck then setting 2 and finally setting 3 with a constant light trigger pull to raise the truck fully.

 

[American Locomotive]

If the impact is "impacting", it's likely going to harm the screw overtime. If the impact is able to raise/lower it without the impact mechanism kicking in, it will be okay.

They sell 1/4" hex to 3/8" and 1/2" square drive adapters at just about any home improvement store. They're normally used to be able to put sockets on the smaller consumer grade impacts meant to have 1/4" screwdriver bits. But they work just fine in drills.

 

[MushCreek]

I have an old mechanical jack roughly the shape of a typical low hydraulic jack. I've never figured out how to lower it with a load on it, though. All of my hydraulic jacks leak right now. They do seem to all fail at the same time.

 

[Dave455]

In the U.K. the off road enthusiasts all seem to use these ratchet jacks. Some farmers use them on agricultural equipment too. Simple things, but seem to work well.

They definitely have the edge on uneven ground, but are a bit more bulky to carry around, and only work on vehicles with decent ground clearance. Not the thing to carry in the Lamborghini…!

 

[kelpaso1]

In the U.K. the off road enthusiasts all seem to use these ratchet jacks. Some farmers use them on agricultural equipment too. Simple things, but seem to work well.

They definitely have the edge on uneven ground, but are a bit more bulky to carry around, and only work on vehicles with decent ground clearance. Not the thing to carry in the Lamborghini…!

Those things are useless on most cars and trucks these days.

 

[RTM]

Commonly called Widow Makers around here. I have 2.

 

[dnschmidt]

You can buy a decent floor jack at Harbor Freight for $100-200. Here's a solution buy two (I actually have four) and if one breaks bring out the second one. That gets you up to 40 years. How long do you intend to live? If I make it another 20 years it will be a miracle.

 

[sweet victory]

If I make it another 20 years it will be a miracle.

That's what happens when you keep buying HF jacks.

 

[gtae07]

screw scissor jacks are a good choice for longevity.

I had one collapse on me when I was about 14 (well, not on me, but while I was using it to rotate my mom's tires). Stripped the threads right out about 20 seconds after I finished jacking. Had only turned it using the built-in handle, no power tools.

Fortunately I hadn't yet removed the wheel so the van just landed back on the tire.

I don't trust scissor jacks for more than occasional use.

 

[autobon7]

Mechanical bottle jacks can be found at most any wrecking yard. Jacks will not, of course, be found in and around the yard. They are often at the front in a bin or cart (if not, just ask an employee). I have one that's pretty big and very sturdy. I had dig out from under a bunch scissor jacks, but at $5 it was worth it.

Look for the Ford Super Duty ones that are yellow. Excellent and never have to worry about oil leaking or keeping them upright. Toyota made some good ones too. A few sellers on ebay sell both of these.

 

[Dave455]

Those things are useless on most cars and trucks these days.

I would agree, but the O.P. did want purely mechanical, and there are not many options.

You wouldn’t get underneath a vehicle held by one of these, but you might change a wheel. And you can change one on rough ground where most other jacks don’t work at all.

I thoroughly dislike scissor jacks. When I got my first car my Dad demonstrated how easily they could tip by jacking the car on a (very slight) slope. I’ve seen this happen to others since.

 

[A&P mechanic]

The maximum height you asked for is 19” to the bottom of the stud. The adapter plate is 19 7/8” to the flat side or 20 1/8” to the axle side.

I picked up one of the drill to ½ inch drive adapters today at H.D. Good point for recommending a drill instead of an impact as that would make the jack screw last longer. I will use my ½” Milwaukee corded drill to raise and lower the jack at home. Since it took power setting 3 with an impact to raise the truck, I suspect a battery drill will not be able to lift the vehicle.

I will leave the ½” drive socket adapter on permanently as I will keep this jack in my truck tool box. I have a long ½ drive ratchet that I leave in my truck for potentially changing a tire on the side of the road and therefore, I will leave the socket adapter on.

I will keep your experience in mind with the threads stripping out on a scissor jack. This jack seems robust since it’s for a larger vehicle (H1) and I expect it will last a long time.

 

[American Locomotive]

You will find a drill will lift the jack much easier than the impact. Impacts are not meant to continuously spin things under high load - It's meant to hammer something that's not moving, and then quickly spin it out once the friction has broken.

Most modern cordless drills will deliver 90-110 ft-lbs of torque - roughly the same torque to put a tire on. It doesn't require that much effort at all to turn the jack handle.

 

[kbeefy]

I've been meaning to pick up a scissor jack for my sxs and trailer for a while. Thanks for posting about the H1 jack.

<<< Also an A&P

 

[racecougar]

I had one collapse on me when I was about 14 (well, not on me, but while I was using it to rotate my mom's tires). Stripped the threads right out about 20 seconds after I finished jacking. Had only turned it using the built-in handle, no power tools.

Fortunately I hadn't yet removed the wheel so the van just landed back on the tire.

I don't trust scissor jacks for more than occasional use.

I recently had a similar experience, though the jack lifted the car and then stripped the threads right out of the nut on the way down. It was "rated" for 5k lbs, and only had about 2k lbs on it. I wouldn't mess with a scissor jack for regular use.

 

[tjansson]

I broke a "lead screw" style Volvo jack using a impact on it - I had welded a nut where the handle should go. Roll pin holding the angle gear broke.

I use a stock scissor jack w/ a nut welded on, with an old Hitachi drill on the low gear setting for jacking up my Volvos on occasion. I did crack a drill handle once doing this - there's alot of torque to resist.

Nissan Hardbodies have neat little telescoping mechanical bottle jacks too.

I wanna see a real cordless jack from a power tool company. M18 Bottle jack, that would be sweet... Floor jacks are a pain when you don't have alot space to run the handle.

edit: whoops, didn't know I was bumping this old thread

 

[racecougar]

edit: whoops, didn't know I was bumping this old thread

Eh, since it's bumped, I'll use it as an excuse to show off my latest "mechanical floor jack that does not use hydraulic fluid". I don't intend to actually put this one to use though.






Since the "scissor jack incident" I relayed above, I've bit the bullet and converted over to a legit bridge jack for lifting cars on my 4-post.