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Need a new floor jack

20K views 20 replies 17 participants last post by  Fast Orange 
#1 ·
I was stupid a couple weeks ago and left my floor jack in the back of my truck. It got stolen. I've been looking at new jacks since then and am very disappointed in what I've looked at. My old jack was a Craftsman 3 ton that I bought about 25 years ago. It probably would have lasted the rest of my life. Nothing I've looked at is nearly as well made.

I also try to buy American made when I can so I am willing to spend more money for quality. Locally I can only find the usual chinese brands. So my question is do I buy a cheap jacks from Harbor Freight and just keep replacing them as they go bad or do I step up to professional quality. What do you guys have for floor jacks? Does anyone have a recommendation? Between my project cars, odd repair jobs, and my company trucks I use my jack a lot. I do have a couple trucks that are pretty heavy when loaded with tools if that matters.
 

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#2 ·
jacks

it sure sounds like u gonna beat a jack to death... so u may really want to side with a really good jack.. maybe snap-on or other good tool companies... i have a H/F with no problems, then again i don't use it often. if a quality jack cost $600 bucks u can buy about 8 H/F jacks for the same money.. if they last 5 yrs apiece thats 40yrs of use....long time.. coin toss....
 
#5 ·
Axis_of_Evil said:
I recently bought a nice Norco floor jack.... should have done it years ago.

Get a good one, you'll be glad you did. You will enjoy using it.

I'm trying to break the habit of buying cheap tools.
Norco is one of the brands I have been looking at online. I think the lifetime warranty and online reviews have me sold on it. Right now it's between the Norco, Milwaukee Hydraulic, and Hein-Werner. Where did you buy yours at?
 
#6 ·
American made

I've been following the "made in America" segments on, I thing, ABC Nightly News. I try to buy American made when ever I can, But it's hard to find some tools I need right away in the big box stores. Where do I go on line to find American Made only tools?



"If the engine starts, you're half way home."

Bob
 
#7 ·
I buy Arcan hyd. jacks at Costco, have a steel and alum. model, they are usually $99-$115 depending on sales. I've had the steel one probably 7 yrs and lifts the front of my F-250 diesel with no problem.........and yes, it's most likey made in China, what isn't?
 
#8 ·
47dodge said:
Norco is one of the brands I have been looking at online. I think the lifetime warranty and online reviews have me sold on it. Right now it's between the Norco, Milwaukee Hydraulic, and Hein-Werner. Where did you buy yours at?

-----------------

I saw an ad in CraigsList for a local distributor. He had a small repair shop also. Drove over to hsi shop and bought it.
 
#9 ·
I bought a cheap Costco jack almost 30 years ago for $35. It's my main jack and is used all the time. Still works flawlessly!

Picked up this Hein-Werner 1-1/4 ton off of craigslist for $25. Rebuilt the ram, cleaned it up and now I have a quality jack in case my Costco piece bites the dust! Craigslist is loaded with cheap jacks all the way from chinese made garbage to quality american pieces!



 
#11 ·
OldDonV said:
I sure would appreciate knowing a good source for Hein Werner floor jack parts. I can't seem to keep one of mine from constantly leaking?

Over on GarageJournal.com HiBall is the undisputed hydraulic floor jack guru! He keeps a full stock of all Hein-Werner rebuild parts on hand and can answer any jack tech related question you may have!
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/member.php?u=34969
 
#12 ·
Don't buy the big box store jack. Will leak after a few uses. That craftsmen you had was probably on its way out as mine did after 30 years. The seals go and can't get new ones.
I researched as u are ding and found out the American made are great and usually for shops as they are very pricey'
The harbor frieght is the 1 I ended up with for low cars. I think it goes down to less then 3 " and up to 15"
The plunger is made in Japan and is the best chrome moly whatever. and was much less money. It don't leak
I hated to buy foriegn but could not see spending more for a jack that sits around most of the time..
The only thing about it is it comes down to fast so you have to be easy on the release. Oh, and the handle don'tm collapse.
 
#13 ·
Another vote for Costco jack...the Arcan 3.25/3.50 ton. I have 2 and a friend of mine has 1 also. Paid $99 and they work great. Low profile too so I can use them for my Kwik Lift.If they ever bite the dust I dont have a lot of $$ in them but after 1 year they still work great. They lower smoothly unlike my old craftman jack that is too jerky and sometimes downright scary if there is something heavy on it. Regards.
 
#14 ·
I'm going to add my vote for the Arcan from Costco. You can also by the same jack from Northern Tool but it's $50 more. I previously had a Craftsman SUV jack that failed after 2 years. The Arcan is very well built but it is heavy so it it is not easy to pickup. I view that as a positive.

In addition to easily lifting my Tundra pickup, it controls lowering very well. I wish I would have bought a good jack years ago. I have had this jack for 2 years now and it works as good as new.
 
#15 ·
#17 ·

NAPA had a SUPER deal on this 3.5 ton professional series ($199.99 CAD)
PN 791-6420. Check with your local store ... perhaps he still has some remaining stock?

Another suggestion would be to ask the opinion of a tire shop and/or a hydraulic jack repair shop.

You'd want to buy a durable jack that CAN be repaired.
So many of them are throw-aways these days.

The 2-stage "2-3 pumps until it contacts the frame" ("speed jack") feature is desireable as well.
 
#19 ·
My dad had a near death experience with one of those shortie floorjacks. I talked to a couple guys in the shop and got 3 recommendations for the heavy duty HF jack. Its NOT aluminum (they have trouble with leaks) and it probably weighs 80 pounds or more; but its smooth, low profile (won't fit under my uncles vette though) and easy to move around. The release, as said before, is a bit touchy. And the handle is big, has deep knurling, however theres no cap on the end of it and it doesn't collapse. I used the 20 percent off coupon in one of the magazines. It was less than 100 after tax. (We don't have costco here)
 
#20 ·
Hi,
I bought a taiwanese 2 ton floor jack from shucks in about 1987 it still works well but is really too small to easily lift my 3/4 ton pickup, so found an old Gray air over hydraulic end lift at the Portland swap meet 5 years ago and thought that would be the cats meow. After using it I have found I dont use it, as it is too heavy, hard to move , takes up too much space and needs more than 125 psi to work very fast.
About a year ago while perusing Craigslist I found an old Walker 5000 lb floor jack. It is over 4 ft long has a handle that is about as long and just works great. The handle has three positions where it meets the body so the handle can be lowered to push the jack further under a car. The handle has a tee on the end so it is easy even to pull it out onto the grass in front of the garage. It is maybe four inches high to maybe twenty five inches. Even as big and heavy as it is it's easier to maneuver under a car and around the shop than the little one, ( i dont have to bend over to pick it up) the big handle gives a lot of leverage. It only cost $175 and even if it didn't work perfect it would be worth spending money on to rebuild. It's one of those things I should have bought many years ago and saved myself a lot of work. It is designed for the job it does and works so well it is a pleasure to use.
 
#21 ·
I used to have to work on a fleet of P30 Chevy "bread trucks".
After blowing out several 2 ton professional floor jacks,I bought a 5 ton long frame jack-that counts as one of the best tools I ever bought,even though my boss cried about spending $500 for a jack.
Just knowing that the jack isn't going to give up during the few seconds when you're crawling under a 10,000 lb truck to set up the jackstands is worth every penny.....:mwink:
 
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