Good, Reasonably priced Jack & Jack stand.

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insomnia

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Instead of borrowing them from my friend that lives 10miles away. I've decided to buy my own set before the end of this year.

So how's the duralast/HF/ACDelco jacks & jack stands? IIRC, there's a pair of 3tons jack stands on sale in HF for $13 on labor day. Is it too good to be true?

Or, even walmart brand jacks & jack stands? Or do I have to go to sears and get craftsman?

Also, my car is only 3000lbs will a 2.25 ton jack be sufficient?

Thanks
Jim
 
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I use the HF jack stands (with rubber adapters) on my bike. They seem fine.

As for the jack, the 2.25 one should be plenty. You're not lifting the entire car with it all at once. I think I have a Craftsman 2.25 one that I got for $30 from Sears some time ago. It's been fine. My car weighs around 3500 lbs.
 
I have the 3 ton floor jack from Harbor Freight, I got it on sale, I think it was $59.00. It works great, it is about 4 years old now, no problems yet, lifts my truck just fine, truck weighs about 4300 pounds. I can not use the smaller (less expensive) trolley jacks they sell at Walmart or other stores, my truck is too high off the ground. I do have an old Torin trolley jack from years ago, it still works OK for small lifting jobs or supporting of parts, steering/suspension components, etc.

I also have a set of the 3 ton jack stands from HF, they are good too but they don't have quite as much lift height as I would like. So far that has not been a problem. I have a pair of stands I bought at Advance that go a couple inches higher. No trouble with those, either.
 
Just my experience on my car but I bought a 3 ton jackstand set from HF when it was on sale last year and the grooves on top were too wide and deep that it would hit/crush other parts of the car (body panels, hoses etc) before it engaged the structural beam that I'm suppose to use to jack the car so I went and got a 3 ton set from lowes ($20+tax). I also got a husky brand 3 ton jack from home depot (I think it was $50+tax but I don't know if they still have this particular jack for sale).

Link to 3 ton $20 kobal jackstands at lowes http://www.lowes.com/pd_94338-33680-T-9360_0__?productId=1114067&Ntt=jack&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Djack&facetInfo=

Keep an eye out for the combo jack/jackstand that autoshops run sometimes, usually for like $39 you get jack and jackstands, but I think it's 2 ton or 2 1/4 ton sets that usually go on sale. And walmart also has some low price jacks and jackstands.
 
And make sure you get jacks/jackstands that can get under your car to begin with...some jacks/jackstands will be too high to even get under the car at their mininum/lowest points.
 
Originally Posted By: wkcars
And make sure you get jacks/jackstands that can get under your car to begin with...some jacks/jackstands will be too high to even get under the car at their mininum/lowest points.


Thanks for the tip. I just want to make sure I don't end up buying something that breaks after once/twice.
 
A good quality jack is at Summit. They sell some decent ones, and a really nice low profile one that is great if your car scrapes the road like mine.

I would be cautious getting under anything held up by HF stuff!
 
No offense but I have had zero problems with my HF jack and jack stands. The saddle on the jack fits perfectly on the lifting points on the frame of my truck and the gf's car too, never any damage at all from the use of the jack. The jack stands are very heavy, solid and sturdy. If I ever need another set I would not hesitate to buy HF stands again. My jack is 4 years old now and still works just as well as the day I bought it. It also fits under my gf's Honda Accord just fine as well. I agree, some HF products are absolute junk. However, I have had no trouble at all with their jack and jack stands.
 
Ive had 2 Duralast (Larin) jacks. First one leaked after 6 months, warrantied. Second one lasted 13 months (1 month past warranty) before leaking. I replaced O rings in it 3 times, making it last 2 years. Finally got rid of the piece of junk.

I now have a 3T orange HF jack. Bought it for $80. Been okay for 6 months so far... Im hoping this lasts a while...
I also have a 2T antique Walker jack, bought it for $50 off craigslist and put $300 into it for a complete rebuild. Been okay for 2 months ... Im expecting this to last a while...

For
 
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Originally Posted By: wkcars
Just my experience on my car but I bought a 3 ton jackstand set from HF when it was on sale last year and the grooves on top were too wide and deep that it would hit/crush other parts of the car (body panels, hoses etc) before it engaged the structural beam that I'm suppose to use to jack the car


That's what 2x4's are for!
grin.gif
The first part of my life I moved houses (not furniture... we actualy moved the HOUSE. My family's business has been moving structures for over 100 years) One of the first things I ever learned was to never have a steel jack's surface contact be in direct contact with more steel. There always needs to be a wood buffer to not only prevent slippage, but also provide a barrier not to mar/crush the surface of the item the jack is lifting.

Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190
No offense but I have had zero problems with my HF jack and jack stands. The saddle on the jack fits perfectly on the lifting points on the frame of my truck and the gf's car too, never any damage at all from the use of the jack. The jack stands are very heavy, solid and sturdy. If I ever need another set I would not hesitate to buy HF stands again. My jack is 4 years old now and still works just as well as the day I bought it. It also fits under my gf's Honda Accord just fine as well. I agree, some HF products are absolute junk. However, I have had no trouble at all with their jack and jack stands.


I'm with you, Jimmy. I got the older version of this jack http://www.harborfreight.com/automotive-...jack-68049.html when it was still painted orange. I got it over a year ago now and have used it probably 3 dozen times and it has been excellent. Smooth, easy action up and a very controlled, gradual let down that is not notchy or jerky. The biggest thing I've lifted with it is a Suburban.

I took advantage of a compound sale and coupon to get the jack for just $53. I'm happy!
 
Interesting. I just checked the HF site, they no longer list the equivalent of my black and yellow Central Hydraulics 3 ton jack. That one you have looks good too, I may borrow HF's idea and find some foam to put on the handle of my jack so it won't damage the finish of the vehicle I am lifting. That has not happened to me yet, but it's a great idea.

Looks like HF has changed their lineup of floor jacks to the Pittsburgh brand and they all look pretty good to me from here. I think my jack might have a somewhat larger saddle though. Just about all of the Pittsburgh brand of tools that I have used really are excellent quality, every bit as good as Craftsman, Husky, Kobalt, etc, maybe even better. Definitely a better price anyway.
 
I was going to buy the HF 3 ton jack for $69 as I have a coupon, but I see Sams has a 3.5 ton jack for the same price. I would assume the quality at Sams to be slightly better than HF.
 
I just went through this exercise when I found my old jacks were shot and not repairable.

I looked around, read the reviews, talked to a bunch of guys in the Sports Car Club (SCCA) who have jacks, and many said most are junk, but are cheap, and come from the same few companies in China that make them. Most last between 6 mo to 12 mo. Most of the online reviews were pretty negative.

So, I thought about it. Get a cheap one and replace it regularly or find what the service guys use and see if it is affordable. Then I thought about is the injury worth it and possibly damaging the car when it fails.

The two companies that got good recommendations for a reasonable, but not cheap price and have serviceable hydraulics (seal kits) are Ranger/Bend-Pak and OTC.

I couldn't move the big steel jacks around in my small garage, so I went with the aluminum jacks (a Ranger) - both it and the OTC got very good reviews and have service support. I know a guy who's hand a OTC and said it is no comparison.

About $200-$275 is what you'll need to spend, but think of it as investment.

Amazon sells the OTC and Automotive Service Equipment sells the Ranger.
 
Originally Posted By: Donald
I was going to buy the HF 3 ton jack for $69 as I have a coupon, but I see Sams has a 3.5 ton jack for the same price. I would assume the quality at Sams to be slightly better than HF.


Not necessarily. Shinn Fun of America makes pro-lift jacks and I know that one of the HF jacks looked exactly the same as my 15 year old Pro Lift that still works.

The higher rating though may be promising as a better jack.

You already know about needing jack stands. The HF ones look the same as many others out there. I'm guessing only a few companies make jacks and jack stands.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Dan55
Costco has a jack for $99 its heavy duty and safe 3.5 ton http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36136

That's a nice jack!


I have this jack and it's VERY nice. Low profile to get under my low-slung cars and as enough lift range to get the SUV up as well.

I've had it for two years and my only complaint is the casters are squeaky and the spinny-release-thinggy get bound up occasionally. However I don't really fault the jack as my garage gets very damp in Winter-Spring, not to mention the dirty salt water that drips off the cars. A few squirts of WD-40 takes care of it.

I highly recommend it, and if there's no Costco in your area you can order it from Northern Tool, though not as good of a deal as Costco.
 
Originally Posted By: Donald
The first is the SAMS club, the second is the HF, same price, will get one this weekend. I belong to Sams, so no problem there. I would use a (69.95) coupon at HF and the in store price at Sams was $69.95.

Which to get?

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=prod3490133&navAction=push

http://www.harborfreight.com/automotive-...jack-68048.html


The cheap-[censored] in me will probably go with the HF one, because I always have a 20% off HF coupon. Thanks for the suggestions. I don't know why but I just keep getting them in the AAA magazine.
 
I guess it's all about your choice, which one you like better since the prices are the same. Personally, I have had great service from my HF jack. If it broke into a zillion pieces tomorrow I would still have gotten my money's worth out of it, plus some. I sm pretty sure I only paid $59.95 for it, it was on a really good sale at HF down in Tampa about 4 years ago, I think the original price was $89.95 or maybe $99.95. Mine is the old HF brand Central Hydraulics, and it has worked great every time I have used it. Now HF is selling the Pittsburgh brand of floor jacks, I am sure those are just as good, probably even better than Central Hydraulics. HF seems to be doing a lot better now with the quality on a lot of the tools they sell.

I don't use my jack every day or even every week, but it works just fine when I need it. If I were a professional mechanic or had my own shop where I needed a professional quality floor jack, then I would look for a professional quality jack and pay the best price I could find. As it is, my HF jack works great for what I need it to do. The HF jack stands work just as well too. I have had no problems at all with them and they cost a lot less than most other brands.
 
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