A buddy of mine had a one of those h.f. aluminim "racing jacks." I never thought it was very comforting that the warning label on it was misspelled "WARNIG!" haha. it later slipped of a rear end and pinned my arm under the u-bolts. thankfully just some knarly bruises resulted.
i bought an offshore one 30 years ago now, i leave it outside all the time, the only thing i have ever done to it is oil the wheels, $89, i think i was a lucky one.
I bought 2 1/2ton (2 1/4?) hein-werner at Napa sometime during the late 80's. Never had a problem with it yet. Cost was close to $200, or just over at that time. Most useful addition to the garage I've gotten. Alex.
old american jacks are great. if you can find one.i have one from back in th forties. i also have a truck full of el cheapo's and truthfully, i use one of them more often than not because they are lighter and smaller. regardless of what you jack it up with, make sure you have the best stands you can afford to buy or build. just my 2cents.
I have an old Harbor Freight jack. Its going on 26 years old and starting to leak oil. I think I paid $60 for it and two huge jack stands on sale. My brother took my walker jack its been rebuilt but still works.
I bought a Snap on 2 1/2 tom about 20- -25 years ago and I have done nothing with it besides oiling the wheels when I have left it out side for a while. Donn
I was kidding...as if Canada would ever make and sell something...We make it, sell it cheap to the U.S., and they sell it back to us for triple. Gotta love that free trade...
One of the best places to buy a good used one is from a shop that rebuilds them. Quite often, the guy that brought it in disappears and they sell them reasonably to get their money back out of 'em.
I bought a walker in the late 70's for around $300 still have it and abuse it, rebuilt it once. The nice thing is it has a full length 1 piece handle which is great for pulling cars around.
I use this Marquette, it's about 60 years old...quite a bit older than me. Finding a good American made jack that suits your needs won't be cheap, used is a good idea as long as it can be rebuilt.
Hein Werner and Lincoln were bought by a Chinese company. They made the Lincoln jack outside the USA for a few years starting in the late 90s. In what must be one of the only smart decisions made by a Chinese company they realized that rich americans were prepared to pay up for good USA made jacks. The result is that they make Hein Werner 2 and 3 ton jacks in the USA, I think in Tenn. They look like the old Lincoln jacks but are branded as Hein Werner. The same company makes other jacks and stands made in China. I wouldn't touch those.
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