I'm sure this has been discussed here to every imaginable end. However I'll ask for my self. What floor jack do you guys use or recomend? I have an almost 4000 lb. car so safety is a concern. I'm currently using an import, off brand and feel it has seen better days. I,ve had it for 14 years and it makes evil creeking noises when under load.
GET THE BEST HEAVY AMERICAN MADE UNIT YOU CAN AFFORD! sorry about the caps. my buddy think hes saving tons of money buying "el cheapo jacks" but he buys a new one every 6 months. i have a old 1930s vintage "walker" mechanical jack that i've used to lift my 6500 lb tow-truck. and it's still in good shape after 25 years of heavy use. . a GOOD floor jack will cost 3-4 times what a harbor freight cheapo unit will, but it's your life on the line. plus, you'll end up with a bunch of old dead jacks to trip over. This is one area when buying it once, and buying it right will pay off. Always use jack-stands!
I have a 36 year old American made floor jack that has been through all kinds of situations and never has failed me. Can't recall the brand name, but Hein Warner and Walker make good jacks. Go American, won't dissappoint.
Honestly when I was in a pinch a couple years ago with a gas tank that had come loose halfway home, I bought a $20 Wal-mart "GM Goodwrench" floor jack to help get the thing back on. Since then I've used it under 4500-lb Suburbans and vans to change tires or pick them up for a jackstand, when my buddy was moving some stock cars into the one garage we used it under the rearends to make them easier to roll around, and it's been fine. It was easier to use this than dig out the factory jack. Maybe I just got lucky with it? The only thing I kind of wish now is I had bought the next size up, it only lifts about 12 inches or so. I also figured for the $20 if it blows out or stops working, I can throw it in a scrap car and just buy another one. When you're going under a car or doing much more than change a tire, you're going to use a jackstand anyways. And for tough spots I have an old A-frame rotary screw bumper jack that does the job. She'll go three feet in the air if you need it.
I got an overhead electric chainfall that rolls on a big peice of I-beam, I use that when what I'm working on doesn't have a frontend/bed/body on yet. Jacks shouldn't be used to support weight. Besides being unsafe it wears them out prematurely.
Bought one with my Dad in 1967 From Sears,... replaced the seal in late 80's,.... And I still use it.
I bought a older AMERICAN MADE heavy duty floor jack at a swap meet(came from a ford dealership) and spent $130 having a shop rebuild it.I'm into the jack about $165 and KNOW Ive got a very good piece of gear I can trust,along with HD Jack Stands!,,,,,,,,,,
Yes I want an American made but don't know which. I just saw a thread on another board "Garage Journal" about rebuilding the off shore but I'm not interested in band-aids. I want a one time purchase with confidence I'm getting a safe jack. By the way I always use stands, even for a tire! One of my friends dads died working on a motorhome supported with poor quality stands and too small of jack, pined him under the rig when he was tugging on something.
I guess you missed the part where I was sitting in a parking lot with my gas tank (and fuel pump, because it's injected) dangling about to fall off because of a broken strap, and I needed something right then and there at 8:30 at night to fix it? Buy American is great and all, but I wasn't going to fuck around under there with a coil of bailing wire and have the thing maybe fall right off in the middle of nowhere going on home and at best strand me, at worst catch fire and kill me. I honestly have no idea where the jack was made, but I figured at least GM would get a few cents out of it from the licensing fee. I do have an old, US made one, but it needs a seal or some thing, it's ridiculously heavy, and it basically takes up space in the garage.
found a 2 ton lincoln in an abandon part of the ford rouge plant spent about 140.00 to have it rebuilt,,hard to find anybody to do it any more...its the best jack..rolls great will lift anything...lot of people think once the seal blows just throw them away..but there really meant to be rebuilt and last forever...
I have a 3 1/2 ton jack that I bought from my MAC dealer about 10 years ago. It is also stupid-heavy and has the one pump to load feature. Well worth the $$.
Make sure ya' don't arc weld on the car supported by a chain. I've seen the arc jump the links in the chain, cut the link, and after that ya' knows what happens.
I recently bought a Hein Werner #93642, 2 ton jack for my son-in-law. I ordered from one of the sites 1oldtimer gave me, tooldiscounter.com. It came to $306.26 with shipping. It is made in the USA. It looks like a slightly better version of the 2 ton USA made Lincoln jack I bought about 12 years ago. Lifts up to about 20" and has a larger saddle than the cheapy 2 ton jacks. You can't spend too much on your own safety!
maybe it's old school but, I can't stand those fast stroke foot pedal jobs (feels funny) the features I like are a u-joint instead of the star-wheel and a 4"-6" wide saddle and some knurling on the handle instead of the plastic grip
I bought a heavy duty aluminum one from sears a couple of years ago and I will never go back to a steel one. I love how easy it is to pick it up and carry around my cluttered garage or throw in the back of my truck. I used it to do a bunch of work to a '62 Galaxie and it had no trouble with the excessive weight.
Mine is a 4000 pound Napa unit. Had one of those quick-stroke pedals on it. I finally took the damn thing off because I didn't like it.
You guys are great. I just started this thread and it's already back on the third page I guess it is passed up by more important things like traditional rods!!! I Thank all of you for your input. I'll be checking out the tool sites on the web for a good deal on a new jack
i have a harbor freight aluminum one and love it, not sure the fear everyone has of using harbor freight jack...jackstands are your friend.
"maybe it's old school but, I can't stand those fast stroke foot pedal jobs (feels funny) the features I like are a u-joint instead of the star-wheel and a 4"-6" wide saddle and some knurling on the handle instead of the plastic grip" The HW I bought has those features and no foot pump. It also has a wide base to stop tip overs. I think the U-joint versus the star wheel is one of the signs of a quality jack.
The HF jacks are actually nicer than the more expensive Craftsman ones! Buy a decent one and be happy you did
Any jack will kill you if you're foolish enough to slide under a car only supported by a jack. Like rusty said, a jack is to put a car on jack stands. Heck, I don't even trust jack stands too much. The best floor jack I have is one I found in the trunk of a car I bought at auction. I have no idea what kind it is (probably an import) or how old it is but it has given me many years of service. Just buy the best jack you can afford and don't do anything stupid and you'll be okay.
I bought an aluminum one from COSTCO 6-7 years ago for $235, before the cheaper ones arrived on the scene. When they did, I bought a $100 from the traveling tool folks from HOMIER. For a 1 1/2 ton jack, I doubt I'll go back to steel. But if I buy a 2-ton or larger it will be. Prices of jacks have actually come down through the years. I bought a light weight 1 1/4 ton Hein Werner in 1973 and it cost me $110. I rebuilt it 3 times. Finally, part of the lifting frame broke. I still might try to repair it if I can find the parts. It was a good one. LINCOLN &WALKER made some real good steel jacks. They had a wide base. Think they were the same jacks. The current Hein Werner 2 ton jack looks the same as them. Maybe Hein Werner bought them out. Harbor Freight sells a small aluminum jack. I'd pass on that unless all the cars I worked on weighed 1 ton or less. That HOMIER aluminum jack leaks and I can't see a way to rebuild it. I just add fluid and keep on jackin' .
I have one of the Harbor Freight aluminum jacks that I carry in the trunk if I'm on a road trip. Pull the handle off and it stores easily. Better than a bumper jack. In the garage at home I have two steel units from NAPA; a 4K and a 6K, and a dozen or so jack stands.
Hate to be negative but STAY AWAY FROM AUTOZONE JACKS!!!! I am a Former employee. They have recalled their jacks like 5 times in 3 years that I know of... last time they were pulled off the shelves completely and the note attached explaining why said because they were being tested by an independent laboratory. To top it off half of them do not work out of the box.... they're worse then harbor freight...
I got a Sears one back around 1982 and have been using it since. Its been to stock car dirt pits, junk yards, rolling around in various car trunks in lieu of a bumper jack. I keep it greased, never played with the fluid in it, just keep it happy and clean. Bob
The Jalopy Journal
