Car Jack-Which One?

[Charlief1]

Think this one goes to 22 inches. It's gonna get a workout tomorrow.

You might want to rephrase that scooby.

My bad. She just told me it's 25 mm. I don't like to brag about nothing.

You should know better scooby.

[Scoobum]

Someone's got way too much time on their hands.

[daveismissing]

I think Charlie is feeling a little better 


Scoob keeps confusing inches and millimeters   

[Scoobum]

I'm still trying to figure out how many kilolitres are in a gallon.

[$1987 GN$]

About a pinch worth, depending on your digits size.

AJ___

[Charlief1]

 

[bryes]

I think a Milwaukee Hydraulic jack is the best quality model on the market. According to http://www.hyjacks.com, They seem to be the only American owned and made floor jack that is offered in a smaller size.  C<heck them out at,
 
http://www.milwaukeejack.com/products.html
Some nice features:
Main saddles heavy duty, appear to be cold rolled steal and are > 3/8" steel.
Steel rear casters feature dual ball bearings (rolling and rotating). Front casters have zirk fittings for lube.
Jack features no less than 5 separate castings.
High lift:
Dual Pistons:
Pistons and cylinders appear hard chromed for wear.
Main ram articulates with lifting arm, protecting sealing surface.
Hydraulics are removable and replaceable with new or rebuilt units from the manufacturer.
Extra long handle for reach.
Release valve is spring loaded to prevent damage from over-tightening
Old school design!
 
 
 
 
The only problems is that they cost about 1/2 of the price of a cheap 2 post lift.
 
A cheaper option is a Hein Werner, who also makes a nice piece for about 350 or so, American made but owned by the Chinese. I bought a pair of  their jack stands and they seem heavier built than most.

[Steve Wood]

my harbor freight race jack has worked as well as anything I have bought.  On the other hand, I tried to pump up chinese tranny jack the other day and it comes down as soon as I stopped pumping the pedal.  I have only used it a few times over the past three or four years.

[SuperSix]

I have one of the older single-cylinder HF racing jacks. It has always worked fine, light, easy to use, etc.

The main complaint I have with it is the limited height, it only lifts to 13".

This is the newer dual cylinder model - on sale for $69.99 - You can't usually use xx% off coupons on jacks there though.
http://www.harborfreight.com/rapid-pump-15-ton-compact-aluminum-racing-jack-68053-html-7814.html

I bought one of these a few weeks ago - primarily for the 20" saddle height, and low profile.
http://www.harborfreight.com/25-ton-heavy-duty-floor-jack-with-rapid-pump-60688.html

[daveismissing]

Basically 17 inches of travel, not bad. Dunno why we need fewer pumps per lift tho,
 we going into Nascar?

[SuperSix]

nope - just getting older.

I have an old 2 ton very heavy Craftsman I used for many years - it's just a beast to operate now, after using these lighter jacks.

[bryes]

I like a jack that has a nice long handle for reaching far under the car. Lifting height used to not be a big issue for me, but I've noticed now that every year I have to pump the jack a couple more times to gain clearance for my midsection


I'm paranoid about cheap jacks and jackstands. Awhile back I had a car jacked up unevenly and the jacks and jackstands gave out. The unbalanced load twisted the saddles where the HF jacks are constructed from thin bent plate. Fortunately nobody was underneath it. I'm don't know that the milwaukee jacks would have prevented the car from falling in this instance, but I'm guessing the 3/8" thick plate couldn't hurt   My thought is that being made in this country and subject to our legal system forces companies to think long and hard about safety. Nobodies ever accused the chinese of considering the well being of the consumer over profits, I've had too many bad experiences to trust my well being to chinese made jacks and jackstands.


For me setting the car, with tires on, down on rims is the safer than jackstands because they are so stable. Space permitting I go with rims + jackstand + jack. But never just the jack.




I'd rather use an old american made jack like this Scott-Atwater that I have in Ohio. They quit making them I think in the late forties and I've seen some really crusty ones that still worked will and didn't leak.