How to choose a new floor jack?

[4FLATS]

I had to leave my floor jack behind in my last move. Honestly I've never had to buy one as most seemed to last forever. (Good ol' days I know) With all the new "Junk" on the market how do I choose a good quality floor jack?

Might as well buy some new jack stands too, same question.

 

[skidplate]

I'm sure someone with a lot more money than me will give you a different reply. However, I bought a 3 ton rapid lift floor jack from Harbor Freight that jacks from about 3" to 19" in just a few pumps. I got it with coupon for around 75 bucks. I watch a lot of those "car build" shows on TV and always see one of these jacks in the background. My .02

 

[bigredmachine]

agreed with the harbor freight floor jack. will it last a lifetime, probably not, but for the 70 even if it only lasts 4-5 years thats not bad.

 

[76FJ40]

X3 for the HF jack - one of the few tools they have worth buying.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

I have had bad luck with the HF jack and considered it dangerous and gave it away. It lets down instantly, at least mine did.

But I've had great luck with the "Arcan" jack I got at Costco. Would get another.

 

[Mudder]

I run one of the ones from Napa that support our troops.

 

[theQuaz]

I had a similar question...

Everything I read here / elsewhere on the interwebs said your jack capacity needs to be no less than 75% of vehicle weight. Couple of other posts put a fully loaded '80 at about 6000 lb, and GVWR of about 6,500 lb, so 75% of that is 4,875 lb jack rating - 2.4T. Rounding up comfortably gives you 2.5 - 3 ton as the minimum jack capacity to use.

From there, i went looking for the best value 3 ton floor jack out there. All signs point to ... Harbor Freight, Pittsburg Heavy Duty.

I have had bad luck with the HF jack and considered it dangerous and gave it away. It lets down instantly, at least mine did.

But I've had great luck with the "Arcan" jack I got at Costco. Would get another.

With regards to letting down instantly ... just means you have air in your system which is being compressed. If you're able to get your hands on a manual, it's really easy to show how to let air out.

HTH all.

 

[hj 60]

Quick lift is a must, so much easier to align and I never used that but and from 3000 kilogram or more type makes it easier to lift.
I like the teflon wheels on flat concrete but always afraid they will bust outside on stone, (but no damage yet) I think steel wheels are really indestructible?
Always plenty of safety support because a failed jack is sometimes in the newspaper and I don't want to be that guy.

 

[half k cruiser]

I had a similar question...

Everything I read here / elsewhere on the interwebs said your jack capacity needs to be no less than 75% of vehicle weight. Couple of other posts put a fully loaded '80 at about 6000 lb, and GVWR of about 6,500 lb, so 75% of that is 4,875 lb jack rating - 2.4T. Rounding up comfortably gives you 2.5 - 3 ton as the minimum jack capacity to use.

That's interesting that the suggestion uses the entire vehicle weight. Since you are jacking from a corner or side, at worst the jack would have to handle less then half of that.

As other's have mentioned the HF 3 ton is a good deal. I bled mine off as soon as I got it home, it specifically lists this step in the setup process. I also use jack stands regardless. For those I would suggest buying something high quality or drastically bigger then what would normally be used. HF also has a newer yellow jack with steel wheels that looks pretty sweet but was closer to $300 last I checked.

 

[MTKID]

My 3 ton was originally purchased from Costco probably 10 years ago and thankfully has an extended reach for “SUV’s”. It works fine, but it is a pig to pick up and take to a friends house if needed. If I had the budget I would love an aluminum one with as much capacity and reach as mine, but thankfully, I don’t have to pick it up often.

 

[4FLATS]

Thanks for the insight, I think I'll go shopping Costo and HF