which jack to buy

[1930artdeco]

Hi All,

I am going to be in the market for a floor jack soon and need advice. I would love to get an antique and rebuild it so that I know it is made in the US and has good seals. That is my ideal goal. Barring that I would like a modern US made jack but I don't think I cans swing $400 price tag right now.
So, what is left as far a quality goes? There is Sears made in China stuff, anything else?

Mike

 

[east_tn_emc]

The nice high-end Sears jack I purchased lasted two uses before the seals blew.

I have heard numerous people tell the same story.

I finally purchased a new Hein-Werner jack....wasnt cheap, but will likely last a lifetime.

 

[t100]

if you can save up for a good one, I'd go for an AC Hydraulic DK20, or just get a Costco 3 ton.

 

[signcrafter]

My opinion is that the sears jacks are junk, I've had two 3ton craftsmans fail. Sears doesn't sell parts, just the whole pump for something like 65 bucks plus shipping which costs as much as a new jack when on sale. I believe hiball has kits to rebuild the sears jacks for less. But if you can buy a nice newer jack or a nice older jack that would be the way to go.

 

[AETD]

if you can save up for a good one, I'd go for an AC Hydraulic DK20, or just get a Costco 3 ton.

i have the DK20HLQ and i love it. it lifts just that little higher. and that sure makes a difference.

Don't know what the US price is...

 

[SGKent]

I recently bought a nice American made Hein Werner from John Gaw at the Jack-X-Change. Instead of the two piece handle i requested the one piece handle. It arrived UPS and in excellent condition. I've bought other items through John over the years - when I dropped my USA made Ingersol Rand butterfly air ratchet it broke the inlet swivel. John was the only one who had been in business long enough to still have old stock of that part - and he took the time to look for it and send me a couple. My suggestion would be to just bite the bullet and buy USA made if you can't find a good used one. We looked for about a year for a used one and most everything that came up were worn out Taiwan jacks. I even bought a used one for $15 as it looked like a well known USA one but Eagle Eyes here pointed out it was not so we got like $7 iron scrap value from it. I just couldn't see buying another made in China anything new and used weren't easily available here - besides there are so many Americans out of work that we are tearing ourselves apart as a nation over these issues. We figured the extra cost for the USA made one was an investment not only in the jack but in keeping this country together. Maybe someone can have a job for a few more hours and buy their kid a shiny red bike if enough of us buy USA made. The total with shipping came to under $400 and we are 100% satisfied. The only question we had was on how much oil should go in them as it seemed down a little based on a printout. I called the factory and got a US service tech right there on the spot no wait and they explained that the factory fills them with a preset measured amount of oil and that the question comes up all the time, they need to change their instruction sheet. Well made, sturdy and all four rollers touch the pavement, unlike some of the Costco and other jacks that we considered due to price.

 

[Lkdelta]

Id like to get this unit, ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ nice full size lifting cup

 

[d.mcfarland]

Not for nothing, I have the base model Craftsman unit, now granted, we don't use it on a daily basis, but we also haven't had a single problem.

If you are saving or waiting for a vintage model, the cheaper one may be a good choice depending on how often you use it and how long you want it to last.

 

[t100]

i have the DK20HLQ and i love it. it lifts just that little higher. and that sure makes a difference.

Don't know what the US price is...

$400+ shipping.

I would like to buy one some day.

 

[blue2golf]

Harbor Freight 2.5 ton works fine for me.

 

[garboui]

I recently bought the costco torin black jack 2.5t. As far as operation it works as good as most higher end jacks of friends that are techs. It lowers smoothly and has a reasonable list to stroke ratio. It is a low clearance jack so its effective lifting height is less (much lower than my $20 mini jack (had to get it after selling the lowered car, lol)). That being said its got just enough list to get my element up on stands (at the pinch welds) when lifting from the rear center and front center jack points. This is my one disssapoint with the jack so far that i cant get more overall height. The saddle attaches with a bolt though so I will at some point get around to making a 3-4" riser saddle for it

 

[White 99]

I recently bought the costco torin black jack 2.5t. As far as operation it works as good as most higher end jacks of friends that are techs. It lowers smoothly and has a reasonable list to stroke ratio. It is a low clearance jack so its effective lifting height is less (much lower than my $20 mini jack (had to get it after selling the lowered car, lol)). That being said its got just enough list to get my element up on stands (at the pinch welds) when lifting from the rear center and front center jack points. This is my one disssapoint with the jack so far that i cant get more overall height. The saddle attaches with a bolt though so I will at some point get around to making a 3-4" riser saddle for it

I have one of the costco jacks also and am happy with it. Not American made but good enough for the amount I use it. Around $100 I think. I have not heard of a saddle riser before; can they be bought? Can it be taken on and off between a car one day and a pickup the next?

 

[blk00ss]

I'm sure you guys will laugh at me, but my 3 ton low profile Pittsburgh from HF, has been awesome.

 

[69GSCAL]

I got the 3 ton Hein-Wrner service jack this past summer. When the package arrived, the box was saturated in oil. Unpacked and sure enough oil was all over the thing. Gave it a try nonetheless and sure neough, wouldn't work at all.

So, I go to fill it with oil and upon puting the plug back in the ram i strip out the threads and the plug just spins. Decide this is BS and I'm calling a service rep.

Tell the service rep the story. They want the Serial Number off the ram. Give it to them. They send a new ram with a slotted plug rather than the hexagonal one. That shuold make it harder to strip again. haha

I haven't used it yet since I had to go back to work (overseas) before it arrived. While I can't say anything about the operation of the Hein-Werner, I can say their customer service was second to none.

I look forward to going home in December and playing with it.

*edit* I should add that they didn't ask for me to return the original ram or to cover shipping costs of the new. There were literally no questions asked. All they needed was proof of purchse and the Serial Number to ensure I got the correct ram. The old ram can be fixed by welding in a plug. I just didn't see any reason i should have to when I jsut paid $500+ for it and it arrived messed up.

If I ever need another jack, they will again get my business. Truly a satisfying encounter with their customer service dept.

 

[Zengineer]

I've been using this Michelin 3.5 ton one for a while, pretty happy with it. Looks like Canadian Tire or Sam's Club both carry it. I think it was $89.

If I could afford to, I'd have one of those AC Hydraulic jacks in a heartbeat, they are very nice units.

 

[1930artdeco]

thanks guys. I won't use the jack every day but I am not a fan of poorly made jacks that are holding a car up that I am under. So I think I will save my pennies-and lots of them to get either an antique or Hien Warner.

Mike

 

[Hiball]

thanks guys. I won't use the jack every day but I am not a fan of poorly made jacks that are holding a car up that I am under. So I think I will save my pennies-and lots of them to get either an antique or Hien Warner.

Mike

I Don't care what brand of jack you decide to use, never rely on it to protect you while under a vehicle..... Always use jack stands.

 

[MoparTrucks]

Its made in China but the Kobalt 3 ton I bought a couple years ago has been great for me so far and it cost a lot less than $500. I get frustrated at times because on my budget if I buy new its usually going to be Chinese because thats all I can afford and increasingly people around here are understanding the value of the older high quality stuff and even at farm auctions its hard to find or pick up some of this stuff for a reasonable price anymore.

This is one case though where I am pretty happy with a Chinese product.

 

[e30bradley]

thanks guys. I won't use the jack every day but I am not a fan of poorly made jacks that are holding a car up that I am under. So I think I will save my pennies-and lots of them to get either an antique or Hien Warner.

Mike

umm... The jack should never be holding the car up while you are under it.

 

[pfctblu]

thanks guys. I won't use the jack every day but I am not a fan of poorly made jacks that are holding a car up that I am under. So I think I will save my pennies-and lots of them to get either an antique or Hien Warner.

Mike

I understand what you wrote above. While I too would prefer to buy something domestic, I have to admit that I am entirely satisfied with my Arcan XL35 from Northern. It really is an excellent product and deserves a mention considering price/performance.

I would urge you to check it out and maybe benchmark it. See if you can find something more inline with your wants and within the price that you are comfortable with.

 

[BarnFab]

I have several Costco Jacks and I rate them. Never had an issue, always works well. I have a set of rises from 1" - 6" for them and for the $100 they are a great jack.

(Not my picture, but same jack)

 

[stevelh]

I ended up just saving and buying the best jack I could afford, and I must say I will never look back! Had a 3 ton craftsman and now have a 3 ton hein werner, total night and day difference in the two.

 

[mayday0017]

Other then the 2 looking different, what makes the Werner better then the Craftsman? Just curious as I don't know Jack about Jacks...

Edit: I own the same 3 ton Craftsman jack and have used it 100x or more for all sorts of projects on all sorts of cars/trucks and never had any problems is why I ask. Only complaint is it is to tall to fit under some lower cars, and my work around for this is I drive the wheel(s) up on to a piece of 2x4 to get the clearance I need to get the jack under.

 

[davesnothere]

I've got that arcan jack from costco myself. $100 well spent.

 

[stevelh]

I used the craftsman for close to 3 years. Slowly started to leak and it finally failed. The Werner is so much easier to move around the shop and it just "seems" to lift the trucks easier. Had my crastman not given out I would not have felt I needed to invest in a different jack. Hopefully my son will be using this jack someday and it last a lot longer than a couple years my previos two did.

 

[HandsomeDan]

I've had a few different jacks. I have a craftsman 3ton jack that's heavy as ****, and it's lasted me for years.

i bought a craftsman low-profile racing jack that lasted me all of a year of heavy use, which is what I expected for a chinese made jack.

When that busted, I bought a low-pro race jack at harbor freight for 60 bucks, which I'm expecting to have to replace next year, but whatever, I'll get my money's worth out of it until then, and i'll probably just buy another $60 jack after that.

I keep the big jack in my garage, and i leave the aluminum jack in the trunk of my lowered vw.

 

[zmotorsports]

I have two of the NAPA floor jacks at my home shop. A standard size footprint 3-ton model and the low-profile 2 ton jack. I believe they are manufactured by Hein-Werner for NAPA. They have worked great for the past six or so years and I use them quite a lot. I think they are a very good value and great quality.

I also have the 80th Anniversary OTC race jack that I keep/use in our trailer. That is a nice jack as well. I store it against the wall in a PitPal holder.

Mike.

 

[hammester]

I have several Costco Jacks and I rate them. Never had an issue, always works well. I have a set of rises from 1" - 6" for them and for the $100 they are a great jack.

(Not my picture, but same jack)

I have this jack as well and I love it. It is really heavy but it pumps fast and smooth. Have had it for about 2 years now without any issues.

 

[glntom]

I have this jack as well and I love it. It is really heavy but it pumps fast and smooth. Have had it for about 2 years now without any issues.

Northern Tool carries a Arcan 3.5 ton, prob. identical to this one, 139.00. I love mine, low enough to go under my lowerd C4 corvette
.

 

[Richard D]

I recently got an air-over-hydraulic jack from Greg Smith. Damn, it's nice not having to pump. Nowhere on the jack nor owner's manual does it say where it was made. I've barely used it so I can't comment on longevity.

 

[garboui]

I have one of the costco jacks also and am happy with it. Not American made but good enough for the amount I use it. Around $100 I think. I have not heard of a saddle riser before; can they be bought? Can it be taken on and off between a car one day and a pickup the next?

I have never looked to buy one or if there is such a thing available for these jacks. I was planning on building an intermediate piece that would bolt on where the saddle does than the saddle on to that (or through bolt through current saddle and riser). Or if that doesn't work out just a whole saddle and riser.

 

[JCQuick]

I have this jack as well and I love it. It is really heavy but it pumps fast and smooth. Have had it for about 2 years now without any issues.

I'm another one that bought this jack from costco (sweer I paid more than $99.00) but I love it puts my 3.5 ton craftsman to shame
I learned about it here on this forum

 

[arizonajack]

Add me to the list of Harbor Freight customers.

I have two old steel jacks from HF that I've had for a dozen years and recently bought a pair of their aluminum jacks.

 

[zmotorsports]

I also have an OTC 22-ton air over hydraulic jack and an OTC 10-ton floorjack with 20-ton jackstands for working on the heavy stuff but that is more than likely way overkill for what you are looking for, however, for the record OTC makes some great jacks.

Mike.

22-ton air over hydraulic. Mine is OTC blue though rather than the machinery gray.

10-ton floorjack.

 

[DEEDDUDE]

I understand what you wrote above. While I too would prefer to buy something domestic, I have to admit that I am entirely satisfied with my Arcan XL35 from Northern. It really is an excellent product and deserves a mention considering price/performance.

I would urge you to check it out and maybe benchmark it. See if you can find something more inline with your wants and within the price that you are comfortable with.

I can vouch for this jack. I've owned it for a number of years and no issues. I needed something to pick up lowered cars and race cars. It is heavy and works great all around the shop. I own a couple of the HF ole' cheapos and use them when at the track. I've broken quite a few of them and never get under a car with out support jacks.

 

[123Go]

First go the HW site and check specs to see if its for you. These are wrong. Its 4.5 on low height and 20 high.

Now' If you want it== First' sign up for emails to get 10% off instantly on your first purchase. Then buy this jack.
Best deal I found anywere. Mine was 296.33 to the door and I love it. You might ask Hiball from this forum if theres a better deal around? He might know a better one. He gets around alot. I could'nt find it.

Free 2 day UPS sh.
http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/p-19882-hein-werner-w93642.aspx

One of the highest I found FYI: Same jack, HW only makes 2 smaller floor jacks.
The one ton & two ton.
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/HEINWERNER-Hydraulic-Service-Jack-4CWJ6?Pid=search

Warning Keep this::
Write this sticker number down in 100 places in case you need it. Its the serial number in case parts are needed. Not just an annoying stickers.
http://www.shinnfuamerica.com/TechZone/FAQ/HowToFindSerialNumber.aspx