Good Floor Jack?

[AadosX]

I need to finally bite the bullet and buy a floor jack. I used to have one of those crappy $30 ones that you have to remove the handle to lower the car with. I'm in the up to $150 budget so here are a few I have my eyes on. Any of you have any experience with any of these? The Craftsman ones have TERRIBLE reviews on Sears website but I'm not sure what that's worth. I'm also looking at one from NAPA. At first I was concerned with whether or not they are rebuildable, but I heard it can be more expensive to rebuild one of these (comparably) cheap jacks than to just replace it.

Napa NLE5201007 - On Sale for $150 (http://www.napaonline.com/MasterPages/NOLMaster.aspx?PageId=470&LineCode=NLE&PartNumber=5201007&Description=Floor+Jack)
Craftsman 4 ton Floor Jack - $130 (http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00950156000P?vName=Tools&cName=Mechanics+Tools&sName=Lift+Equipment)
Craftsman 3 ton Service Jack - $60.. So cheap!! (http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00950139000P?vName=Tools&cName=Mechanics+Tools&sName=Lift+Equipment)
Craftsman 4000 lb. Capacity Aluminum Jack - $180 I couldn't care less that it's lighter, but if it works better then great. It also goes a lot lower which is a huge concern to me. (http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00950239000P?vName=Tools&cName=Mechanics+Tools&sName=Lift+Equipment#descriptionAnchor)
Craftsman 1-1/2 ton Aluminum Jack - $170 (http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00950242000P?mv=rr)

Any other suggestions? I saw a few at Advance Auto and about to go check O'Reilly and AutoZone.

My biggest concern is how low the jack can go because I deal with a car that's already just under 6" from the ground at stock height, which will certainly be lowered at some point. Most of my cars are small too so I doubt the lifting capacity is of much concern.. but if you are nowhere near a jacks max capacity, does that allow it to last longer? I definitely want one that the handle stays attached to and spins to lower the car.. and it has to be bought locally to avoid shipping.

Thanks,
John

[jsta240]

get the cheap jack and a set of jack stands. i have used one like that 60 dollar craftsman for three years at my moms. only to put it on the stands though.

[AadosX]

I have had stands for years...

I'm more concerned with the jack going bad and the fluid leaking out, and it not being able to pick the car up again more.. i.e. a failed jack.

[AlmosN8kd]

I have the 4000lb all aluminum Craftsman floor jack. Love it. Recommend it.

[AadosX]

Good to hear. I just went and checked it out at Sears... looked pretty good. Still pretty heavy which I like.. I want something at least sturdy.

I don't mind spending the cash as long as it will last.

[VitaminT]

I have a low profile Craftsman jack, probably about 2 years old and am about to throw it away. It isn't the ~$200 aluminum one but looks almost identical to it except it is heavier. It is leaking badly and now won't hold pressure.

My brother has the all aluminum one and hasn't had any problems for years now.

Interested in others' suggestions as well as I am in the market.

[Byrd]

I bought myself this one: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00950244000P?keyword=floor+jack

and it's incredible. As much as I jack my car up anyway (DSM :rolleyes: ) it's already paid off. Do it right the first time!

[Skip]

Thanks for posting, my $30 POS won't lift enough to fit the jack stands under anymore. Keep in mind, if your looking at the more expensive ones shipping may be less than sales tax.

[Drew]

I got one of the low profile jacks from harbor freight yeeeaaars ago and it's still going strong. Cheap yes, gets the job done? yes.


Edit: Those 2 aluminum craftsman jacks are going to be your best bet for low car lifting. that's exactly what mine looks like and my old jack (whcih I still have) looks like the others and it couldn't come remotely close to getting under a low car.


Edit 2: Here's the one I've got.


http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=91039

[CPMaverick]

I have the 4000 lb Craftsman one too. It has been a good jack. I haven't used it too much but I've had it for almost 4 years and it doesn't leak, no problems. The only thing I don't like about it is the handle doesn't go all the way down, it stops at abuot 150 deg. So even though it's low profile, if you have to stick it way under a car it stops on the jack handle. And then you can't pump it. I saw a shop that had the same one and they busted the stops off to get more travel.

Even though it's a Craftsman, it's still made in China (I think), which is a bummer. The thing I always like about Sears is they support their own branded stuff. it's important to me that I can get parts for my shit if something little breaks in 10 years, my experience with Sears is that they can get pretty much any part from one of their old products and that's a big plus.

[Mowgli87]

I have one from Harbor Freight too. Mine is the rapid pump version (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=47246) of Drew's jack. Although, I'd be interested to compare the two back to back to see the difference. I can get a corner of my car off the ground in about 4-5 pumps (coming from full drop). Not sure about the regular one, but IIRC people reported about 3-4 more pumps than the rapid version. I don't know what's better...fewer pumps from mine, or less effort from Drew's

Honestly I would have settled for the regular one, but it was a gift from my sister's in-laws for helping them build a new deck last fall. I had the regular one on the counter, but he insisted on me getting the more expensive one :rolleyes:

EDIT: Sorry, mine isn't exactly the same as Drew's. Dimensions are different...
Drew's jack
min height: 3"
max height: 14 3/4"
Handle: 35 1/2"
Jack: 19 3/4"L X 9 3/8"W X 8"H
24.2 lbs

My jack:
min height: 3 1/2"
max height: 17 1/2"
Handle: 47 1/4"
Jack: 23.6"L X 11.8"W X 6.1"H
35.4 lbs

[linuxman51]

got one of the aluminum jacks in the shop (roommate's) as well as one of the uber cheap cast iron break your foot jacks. both from harbor freight. only problem I've had with the really cheap heavy one is the valve assembly got stuck after I left it holding the diff up for about a month and a half, some fiddling and profanity brought it back in line. the alu jack works well but I think the seals finally have started bleeding out just a bit o' pressure (hell its only like 5 or 6 years old).

[Drew]

the only beef I have with mine is that it doesn't lift high enough sometimes when I want to have a bit more room to work with. I need to get a block of wood or something.. maybe screw a couple of 2X4 blocks together to get more height.

[Nstig8r]

We have three types of jacks at work:

1) UBER expensive ($1500, IIRC) aluminum race jacks that raise a race car in two pumps and get maintained after every race.

2) Cheap, aluminum "race jacks" that most non-mechanics think are the shit, but are really honestly VERY unstable with only one big roller on the front. They also will NOT take any side loading (like if you are trying to reposition a car), and tend to always have bolts coming loose on them. They also creak, groan, and pop when loaded, enough to the point that just sliding a jackstand underneath is a crapshoot with your life.

3) Old school, heavy steel jacks that will lift up a tank, hold a car in the air for hours with nary a complaint (enough to where a jackstand is just a secondary thought), and last for 25 years with only a valve rebuild every ten years.


You can guess my preference... :D What do I recommend?? See Page 3 of this pdf... (http://www.ohiohydraulic.com/catalog/hein-werner/Hein-Werner_2005_Catalog.pdf)

[AadosX]

I would never consider getting under a car for even a few minutes while it's on a hydraulic jack... or any jack for that matter. I only need something to lift the car so that I can get it on a stand... I'm definitely not repositioning anything heh.

[AadosX]

Just picked up the 4000 lb. Craftsman Aluminum one for $179+tax minus a $5 off coupon heh.

Read the owners manual and when I checked the oil level it was already below spec.:rolleyes: Now to go buy some oil.

Hopefully it will last me.. it sure is pretty and pretty damn light too.