Make sure you get a jack you can work under without jack stands 
Just KIDDING!
Make sure you get a jack you can work under without jack stands
Just KIDDING!
Teh E36 M3 wrote: I have the heavy steel orange HF jack. 14 years. No problems, no bleeding.
I think this x-mas will be my orange steel hf behemoths 17th birthday. It has spent a lot of that time outside uncovered and it just started to leak down if you leave it holding something for an hour or so.
Damn thing won't die
I got this one a few years back and it's served me well.
http://www.southwestspeed.com/?sec=view_menu&cat=Tires%20And%20Wheels&sub=Jacks%20And%20Jack%20Stands&ssub=!Economy%20Jacks
The price was good and it doesn't seem to mind being tossed around.
Toyman01 wrote: I picked up this one almost a year ago: http://www.harborfreight.com/automotive-motorcycle/floor-jacks/2-ton-low-profile-heavy-duty-floor-jack-rapid-pump-68050.htmlNo problems so far. I freaking love it. Low profile so it will fit under the Abomination, 23" of lift and strong enough to pick up either end of the SC in one lift. It weighs like a bull moose at close to 100 pounds. Since it never leaves the wheels, that's not a problem. I've got one of the little aluminum ones for hauling around. I know you don't want HF, but I thought I would throw it out there.
I just bought that jack 2 weeks ago for like $150. It went on sale for $80 on black Friday. Oh well. It replaced the HF aluminum "racing" jack that gave up on me after about 5 years.
It worked well for a while, and then I used it to jack up just the front end of my 8000 lb excursion. Once the weight was on it, it pushed the jack back down, and its never worked well since then. It won't hold pressure and it won't lift as much weight. I really wouldn't think there would be more than 6000 lbs on that front axle. So I can't really recommend that one either.
The aluminum rail jacks look like theyd fail in the side to side direction before the up and down direction based on what ive seen watching them. Honestly, that jack coming down slowly with 'only' 6000 lbs on it probably saved your ass from it coming down fast and killing you later. IMO you got lucky nothing went MORE wrong from even trying that.
Ive got a 15 year old 3 ton craftsman that weighs too damn much and looks like total crap after sitting outside but still works ok. I have the 1.5ton ~27lb $59 hf aluminum that i carry around with me everywhere and use constantly. You have to be careful not to side load it too much but its SO nice to move around and has been working for probably a good year now. It does act funny if you leave it on its side for a while, but what i mean by act funny is you have to jack it up to something and then pump the handle an extra time or two before it starts lifting again. Ive never had to bleed it.
The next jack i purchase will be the t-handle low-profile HF jack with foot pedal shown above. In fact, this reminds me to ask for some HF gift cards for Xmas. 
Sears Craftsman. Had mine for a few years now and works great on lowered Miatas, RX7s BMWs etc.
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-4000-lb-capacity-aluminum-jack/p-00950239000P?prdNo=6 http://www.sears.com/craftsman-1-2-ton-jack-with-led-illuminated/p-00950242000P?prdNo=12
AC Hydraulic if I had the money.
http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/Tools/AC-Hydraulic1.htm
Since I don't, I'll buy the HF t-handle when my racing budget exceeds zero. Otherwise the aluminum Craftsman I have had for 8 years works fine. Though the ESCO jack stands with the flat tops are very tempting.
heyduard wrote: AC Hydraulic if I had the money. http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/Tools/AC-Hydraulic1.htm
I have an AC. It's awesome. I anticipate having it for basically the rest of my life.
In reply to Dr. Hess: I got the same one with coupon and 3 year replacement warranty for 110.
So far, I love the thing. Had it since spring with no issues and have used it heavily. The foot pedal rocks for taking up slack.
I had the 2.5 low-pro from HF for at least a year now and it hasn't broke yet. Granted I've never taken it out of the box and I have only used it as weight to apply pressure to a fiberglass floor I was putting in my boat.
heyduard wrote: AC Hydraulic if I had the money. http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/Tools/AC-Hydraulic1.htm Since I don't, I'll buy the HF t-handle when my racing budget exceeds zero. Otherwise the aluminum Craftsman I have had for 8 years works fine. Though the ESCO jack stands with the flat tops are very tempting.
that DK20 at under $400 is nearly a bargain
I've been using this Arcan Floor Jack for the past 6 years:
http://www.amazon.com/Arcan-ALJ2T-Aluminum-Floor-Jack/dp/B00132CGEW
I bought it at Costco for around $100, and never thought it would last as long as it has, but I've been thrilled with it. The rubber pad came off the saddle after a few years, but other than that it's been durable and hasn't required any adjustments.
Vigo wrote:It worked well for a while, and then I used it to jack up just the front end of my 8000 lb excursion. Once the weight was on it, it pushed the jack back down, and its never worked well since then. It won't hold pressure and it won't lift as much weight. I really wouldn't think there would be more than 6000 lbs on that front axle. So I can't really recommend that one either.The aluminum rail jacks look like theyd fail in the side to side direction before the up and down direction based on what ive seen watching them. Honestly, that jack coming down slowly with 'only' 6000 lbs on it probably saved your ass from it coming down fast and killing you later. IMO you got lucky nothing went MORE wrong from even trying that.
where to begin. lets see. first, the aluminum rail is pretty thick. Its not the construction of the frame that failed, just the hydraulics. What probably "saved" me was NOT EVER WORKING UNDER A VEHICLE SUPPORTED SOLELY BY A JACK. Just how exactly are you working on things, jacking them up and hoping for the best? USE SAFETY STANDS! sheesh.
And I don't think its unreasonable to buy size 11 shoes and expect them to fit my size 11 feet. I expect an 8 foot long piece of lumber to be at least 8 feet. And I expect that a 6000 lb rated jack be able to reliably lift 5000-6000 lbs without falling apart.
Youve got to put a jackstand under it at some point. Unless you slide the jackstand under it with some sort of long pole so that not even your arm is at risk..
It's your prerogative to blithely attempt to take a harbor freight jack to its absolute rated maximum on an expensive and heavy vehicle. I personally love harbor freight and my harbor freight aluminum jack, but there is no way in hell i would use it to jack up the front of a diesel excursion. I call my position using discretion, you can call yours high consumer expectations. Aint no skin off my back either way. 
I've got a pair of cheapo HF jacks, and they work great on the Miata. Don't think I would try to pick up the F250 crew cab with it though.
I've got the heavier built HF aluminum 1.5 ton model, not the one that usually goes for $60-70 and it's lasted for about 8 or 9 years now. If I crank it to max height in cold weather it will ruin the piston O-rings, but they're easy to replace. I think it must not have the pressure relief set below the amount that the O-rings can tolerate.The light weight 1.5 ton looks too flimsy for my liking.
Vigo wrote: Youve got to put a jackstand under it at some point. Unless you slide the jackstand under it with some sort of long pole so that not even your arm is at risk..
clearly you are not a superduty owner. I can lay under the truck. before I jack it up. lol
My arms (or any other part of my body) are in no danger reaching around a sketchy jack to slide jackstands under the axles, and especially not in anger poked them under the frame, which runs directly under the doorsills.
I have two that I use. The oldest one is a Craftsman that my parents got me for me in like 1993, it is still going srong. The other one is one of the big orange HF monsters. It belongs to FIL but it lives at my house so I can work on my wifes rig.
For picking up something big and heavy I do not want to trust my head to a jack that justs meets the weight requirements.
What is this HF T-handle jack everyone is talking about? I need new jacks... we have two huge heavy-ass dead ones in the garage that MIGHT be ok with a rebuild, but i'm too lazy right now.
92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: What is this HF T-handle jack everyone is talking about? I need new jacks... we have two huge heavy-ass dead ones in the garage that MIGHT be ok with a rebuild, but i'm too lazy right now.
It's the HF low profile 2 ton hotlinked above.
Interestingly enough, the aluminum racing jack I was about to throw away? It was leaking at the pump piston, wouldn't pump up anymore, etc. I poured in some oil seal rejuvenater and ATF and it didn't help at all, tossed it outside and bought the big T handle HF rig. Came back 2 weeks later and the pad had lifted itself up and the damn thing works now. So, back in the garage it went and now I have one more.
I've had 4 jacks so far in my automotive life:
Cheap, small Craftsman jack: You know, the ones that come in the plastic cases and usually come packaged with some jack stands for around $50? That one. It's very basic, but it still works.
MAC Tools single pump jack: This is a larger service jack. My dad got it with some really nice jack stands right off the MAC Tools truck that used to visit his old buddy's motorcycle shop, and I don't even want to know what he paid for it all. The stupid thing didn't even last a year before it started to leak.
It's still sitting there in his garage, and we have no clue how to fix it.
The $59 aluminum Harbor Freight jack: You know the one. I bet 75% of you have it. It still works fine, but it's so short that jacking up cars to put on stands results in the jack severely pulling the car toward you. Makes putting a car on stands a little harrowing. Nice little jack for track days though.
Large Craftsman service jack: This one was about $90 last year on sale around Xmas. It's a big service jack like the MAC one I had, but it's not a one-pumper. The thing is a big, heavy beast, and it gets the job done. I have friends that have the same one, and theirs have been through hell and back and still work 100% fine.
SilverFleet wrote: Large Craftsman service jack: This one was about $90 last year on sale around Xmas. It's a big service jack like the MAC one I had, but it's not a one-pumper. The thing is a big, heavy beast, and it gets the job done. I have friends that have the same one, and theirs have been through hell and back and still work 100% fine.
I have no good experiences, but I guess I'll share the bad. I have been through two or three of these and they have each been crap.
clearly you are not a superduty owner. I can lay under the truck. before I jack it up. lol My arms (or any other part of my body) are in no danger reaching around a sketchy jack to slide jackstands under the axles, and especially not in anger poked them under the frame, which runs directly under the doorsills.
Oh noes, you caught me! Your explanation assumes things will go your way, mine assumes they wont. Maybe that has something to do with my being an actual automotive technician for the last decade and having a huge data set of murphy's law experiences to extrapolate from...
Im not going to argue with you about how safe you THINK you are. Clearly you're still alive so as far as you are concerned your approach is flawless, but if you created a poll that asked, verbatim, "Would you trust a harbor freight aluminum jack rated 3 tons to lift 3 tons if being wrong COULD kill you?", I think most peoples' responses would mirror my own, and you are a brave man if you dare to say that it COULDNT (jinx).
I've had this OTC jack for 3+ years still going strong, I really like the two piston design (makes is easy to pump with one hand):
http://www.amazon.com/OTC-1533-Aluminum-Anniversary-Edition/dp/B002QMV70M
pn 1533 includes the stands, 1532 is the jack all by itself...
Of course if you really want to go baller:
http://www.brunnhoelzl.com/
when only the best will do...
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