R.I.P. Jack

My floor jack croaked. At least it didn't suffer.

It was a standard-issue, heavy as hell, 2 1/4 ton, cheapo - purchased for roughly $60 from a Costco type place (at least) 15 years ago.

Looked exactly like this:

So I went to Harbor Freight to buy another one, and they were out of stock.

The cheapest aluminum ones looked scary. The somewhat more expensive aluminum one looked like it might be able to hold up a car, but I dunno.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=47246

What's the floor jack equal to the Manny, Moe & Jack / Goodyear cordless impact? Is there such a jack, or are they all crap?

I really would like one that could be lifted and carried more easily.

my imitation 3 pump nascar jack pooped out in 1 summer!!

I have one of these: http://www.napaonline.com/NOLPPSE/(S(lazczuq0zgqcmdus2tjrgpy2))/Detail.aspx?R=NLE7916402_0006396327

Not worth the price of admission but it is an awesome lifting device.

BOTH of my jacks failed on me yesterday. Must be something in the air. I'm using a 50+ year old bottle jack now that my girl's grandfather bought new Little bugger works awesome (is it just me, or is there something about old tools that makes them better?).

So yeah, any lead on an affordable aluminum jack that's low enough to slide under an RX-7 and strong enough to lift a P71 that will last longer than a year would be greatly appreciated!

I got a semi cheap Harbor Freight style aluminum jack about eight or so years ago and it's still holding up fine. The pad on the lifting plate came off, and most if not all of the little prongs on the edge of the plate have broken over the years, but it's held up surprisingly well. I'm pretty sure it's about the same as this one. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=47246

My autocrossing friend Josh bought that one last year and it's dead already. My $20 CSK jack outlasted it

Harbor Freight used to have really awesome stuff, now the quality is very spotty and mostly bad. Makes me want to search out used HF stuff like the one you have Corey.

P71 wrote: is it just me, or is there something about old tools that makes them better?

It isn't just you. There seems to be no shortage of truly ancient stuff that is still very functional while all the lowest cost "made in X" crap of today will barely last a few limitted uses.

"whoo a hammer with a harmonica as a handle, bet that will last!!"

I have had the HF jack you linked to for the better part of a decade. Used it mostly for race cars, but I have lifted the Jeep (much heavier) with it and it never broke a sweat.

It leaks oil, but they all do that.

Dude, I have a floor jack that will lift God. It's a Blackhawk with a cast iron frame and a cylinder bore of about 3". It's got a lift arm about 30" long and the handle is at least 48", with 5 adjustable positions. The base part is about 48" long as well and has 4 huge steel wheels.

It came from my grandfather's Chevrolet dealership in the '30s. Of course, it weighs about 150 pounds. But it's never met anything it can't jack up.

Those little blue anodized harbor freight aluminum jacks seem to be the semi-official jack at every autocross I go to. I've been using mine for years to lift 2-ton cars and never had problems with it. Definitely worth $79, anyway!

well i use this 2 ton jack that weighs more than my car, and a quick lift used on formula cars. might have to invest in another aluminum jack...

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=91039

I bought this featherweight aluminum jack about 2-3 years ago because HF had it on stupid sale ($40 as I recall). Turns out, it's a darn good jack.

I need to get a lower-profile jack. I have a bulky, el cheapo Duralast 2-1/2 tonner that won't fit under the nose of my RX-7. I need to jack the car up first with the scissors jack before I can slip the floor jack underneath it. It's pretty annoying.

The scissors jack that came with my RX-7 is nice. It's aluminum, fairly stable, and has a brace drill-like handle with cushion grips. Wish I knew about it when I had my Saab- the peg-leg jack that came with that car sucked something fierce.

John Brown wrote: I have one of these: http://www.napaonline.com/NOLPPSE/(S(lazczuq0zgqcmdus2tjrgpy2))/Detail.aspx?R=NLE7916402_0006396327 Not worth the price of admission but it is an awesome lifting device.

That jack looks and sounds a whole lot like an American Forge & Foundry 200T. You can find them online for under $200. I was looking at the 200T last year but my stuff doesn't sit low enough to need it. I went with their 350SS instead.

My original floor jack looked like the one bludroptop has pictured. Lasted around 20 years then croaked. I couldn't bring myself to chuck it. It's sitting in a corner now. The Craftsman one I replaced it with lasted less than 2 years. I'm going practice some plasma cutting on that one.

-Rob

I used one of them Duralast aluminum "racing jacks" until the thing just dissapeared. They are decent jacks, cost around $125. The guy the I rent a garage bay from, organzied the place a little bit to make some room, and now my jack is gone. I gotta get another one, but now they come with LED's in the pad...not sure how long those will last.

For shop/garage purposes the AC Hydraulics is my favorite, I've had it for 6 years and I think it'll be around for at least another 16. If you want something lightweight then it's NOT the one for you. I have HF aluminum one and it works OK. It's my 2nd one replaced under warranty for losing air over time but this one does the same thing. Like if I leave it under the car within 20 mins the car lowers an inch automatically. Sure I put the the jack stands under the car (actually now I just use my Bendpak lift ) but still if you're rotating wheels or something quick you want a good quality jack. I have friends that use the HF jack as their primary floor jack and don't have the issue I do and it's lasted them many years but that's not surprising - HF stuff varies in quality, one batch good, one batch bad and so on.

foxtrapper wrote: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=91039 I bought this featherweight aluminum jack about 2-3 years ago because HF had it on stupid sale ($40 as I recall). Turns out, it's a darn good jack.

I've got the same one - had it about 3 years now. It'll lose some altitude when it's cold but other than that it's been great (knocks on wood so I don't sabotage myself.)

It's lifted anything from a Miata to a newish RAV4 around my house and it's done fine.

I still have one like the OP shows too - I think it came from Northern Tools somewhere around 1984. One of the reinforcing ribs broke out of it about 8 years ago and it's developed an o-ring leak recently so it doesn't go or stay up too well any more. I'm keeping it around until I find something decently heavy-duty to replace it with. It just makes me place the jackstands a lot faster.

Duke wrote: Dude, I have a floor jack that will lift God. It's a Blackhawk with a cast iron frame and a cylinder bore of about 3". It's got a lift arm about 30" long and the handle is at least 48", with 5 adjustable positions. The base part is about 48" long as well and has 4 huge steel wheels. It came from my grandfather's Chevrolet dealership in the '30s. Of course, it weighs about 150 pounds. But it's never met anything it can't jack up.

I have a similar Blackhawk that was my wife's grandfathers. It recently died and I was thinking of replacing it when I found a guy that repairs hydraulics. He said that the jack is the first model ever made by BH and dates back to the early '40's. BH still makes repair kits for them and it cost as much as a new unit to repair it but it works great again. Well worth it.

Cool! That's great info. Mine leaks a little, of course, but I add a little hydraulic oil every couple of years, and it holds fine. A little slow in February, but working great.

I have a "mini-jack", basically a 2.0T and in a very small package. Works great on my MGBGT. Something like $25 on sale at an auto parts store. Still very heavy for its size. Kind of in the spirit of this product, but without the carry case and maybe not as small.

http://www.tnatools.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=47&products_id=1231

The jack of all jacks http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/in+your+garage/jacks+%26+stands/2-ton+floor+jack.do?search=basic&keyword=77739&sortby=newArrivals&page=1

But unles you have a trailer its to big and havey to bring to an autox

So far, the better HF job looks like the leader.

I went to Northern today. They have the jack I used to have for $90. But I want something more portable. They also have this for $170, but they are out of stock. It is rated for 4500# and the HF is 3000#.

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200221974_200221974

The Craftsman $200 jack gets horrible reviews, and is at the extreme upper edge of my budget.

Rob_Mopar wrote:

John Brown wrote: I have one of these: http://www.napaonline.com/NOLPPSE/(S(lazczuq0zgqcmdus2tjrgpy2))/Detail.aspx?R=NLE7916402_0006396327 Not worth the price of admission but it is an awesome lifting device.

That jack looks and sounds a whole lot like an American Forge & Foundry 200T. You can find them online for under $200. I was looking at the 200T last year but my stuff doesn't sit low enough to need it. I went with their 350SS instead.

NAPA sources their professional jacks through Sunex. IIRC the warranty is two years direct replacement (not repair and return)

Sears is having a 2 day sale on a ton of stuff including jacks.

Sears Jacks