Favorite Floor jack
- Thread starter CharlieS
- Start date
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To a high school? Or where?
Same sentiments with Craftsman. We must have had the same floor jack. Mine had been acting up for years, super touchy releasing. When it finally stopped holding pressure, I couldn't wait to get rid of the boat anchor even if it only needed a seal. Too heavy, didn't go low enough, and didnt' lift high enough, with not enough reach. Good ridence.
If I were to buy today, I'd probably go with the Daytona. Important specs to me are min and max height to accomodate a slammed sports car and tall cruiser. Does 3.3" to 24.25"
I have two in the garage both of which I enjoy. Sometime having two can really help. For example lifting the cruiser by the frame, and having a second to adjust the height of the rear axle for suspension work.
Arcan XL3000 3-ton from Costco that's been holding up great and a pleasure to use. Lifts from 3" to 19.7" which is great for my lowered car, but can be just a hair short at times at the upper end with a modified 200-series. A 2x4 solves that.
Arcan lightweight aluminum 2-ton, @46 lbs. Lifts 3.54" to 19.88".
CharlieS
GOLD Star
- Thread starter
- #24
Not interested in this but ran across it when I was searching for a jack extension.
You can buy parts to make your own big wheel offroad jack. BW-3TAA-2-3 Ton All Aluminum Arcan - Big Wheel Conversion - https://www.911motorsports.net/3-Ton-All-Aluminum-Arcan--Big-Wheel-Conversion_p_1120.html
You can buy parts to make your own big wheel offroad jack. BW-3TAA-2-3 Ton All Aluminum Arcan - Big Wheel Conversion - https://www.911motorsports.net/3-Ton-All-Aluminum-Arcan--Big-Wheel-Conversion_p_1120.html
Yeah, that or even your local 4x4 club. A thriftstore would work too. Just leave a sturdy note on it so the next owner knows it needs seals. I would have loved to find something like that in college.
Love my badlands jack. Its not great in tight spaces, because it only wants to roll straight, but its still my go to jack.
Pictured here next to my unknown brand 3.5 ton low profile and the classic craftsman 3 ton.
it rules in the dirt.
And you can even ride it like a scooter.
Pictured here next to my unknown brand 3.5 ton low profile and the classic craftsman 3 ton.
it rules in the dirt.
And you can even ride it like a scooter.
How does the badlands release under load?
I have an older craftsman aluminum low profile that does it great… of course wood blocks can get sketchy pretty quick so I supliment with my safe jack bottle jack.
Just changed out the leafs on a LR series 3, and used all of them (and another…)
I have an older craftsman aluminum low profile that does it great… of course wood blocks can get sketchy pretty quick so I supliment with my safe jack bottle jack.
Just changed out the leafs on a LR series 3, and used all of them (and another…)
bloc
SILVER Star
You can recover that height easily!
On top of the cylinder body somewhere will be a screw you can remove or maybe a round hump.. that's a rubber plug. Remove the screw or plug, and fill that cavity with hydraulic oil. I've used ATF in a pinch. TBH I'm not sure if it's even supposed to be hydraulic oil, but it's just a hydraulic pump and cylinder in one.
If you can fill it with the jack down you are good. If the jack has to be up, it'll over flow to the correct volume when the jack lowers.
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In oz, I like my 3t kincrome , cheaper version of sidchrome. It is low profile, but with 550mm lift, so handy for lower cars too. Been rain weather abused and stored outside for years and still works a treat.
FYI, I have a new Craftsman jack from Lowe’s and it’s possibly the worst 3 ton jack ever.
I think a bottle jack goes up quicker and there is zero chance of a slow release, all while trying to keep the handle from falling out.
I think a bottle jack goes up quicker and there is zero chance of a slow release, all while trying to keep the handle from falling out.
So far nice and smooth. It also pumps up wicked fast.
Thank you I will probably pick one up then
CharlieS
GOLD Star
- Thread starter
- #34
The jack works the same as it ever did. Just since I lifted the 200, I need to add additional spacers (2x whatever I have handy) to get enough lift to get the front off the ground. It maxes out at about 19". 22" or 24" would be deluxe. Plus it lacks the quick lift feature a lot of newer jacks seem to have, making it quicker to get to the initial contact (instead of 50 pumps).
bloc
SILVER Star
Ah, makes sense.
For anyone else stumbling upon this if your floor jack won’t hit the height it used to it’s lost fluid causing the issue. I’ve rehabbed a number of jacks doing this.
fjc-man
SILVER Star
I bought this Astroline (made in Japan) in 1980, it’s a keeper 
Describes my old craftsman jack to a T. It's a design that needs to die. Can't believe they're still so slanging it.
as a professional mechanic that has been using ICON brand harbor freight tools on a daily basis, this chart really needs updating. Their sockets, ratchets, wrenches, even their 1/2" impact gun (earthquake) has been excellentView attachment 3279420
I get to "Will the performance of this tool decide the fate of a track weekend", answer "no" and get cleared to buy the Badlands lift. But with jack stands, that's a definite "Buy Craftsman or Equivalent".
kcjaz
SILVER Star
I just got the Badlands Jack. So far, I like it a lot. It’s a pretty big and heavy piece of gear to take on a trail but, depending on what I was doing, maybe. I just really like the height of it compared to my low profile jack for shop work on the LC. No more 2x6 cribbing. Works great to lift both wheels on one side from the slider.
