Floor Jack?

smooth_eddy · smooth_eddy's Garage

It is time I finally bought a floor jack. I see they are all made in China. What kind should I buy? Auminum or Steel? How high should it go and how short does it need to be to get under my 914. It would be nice if it jacked my toyota 4X4 too. On eBay they go for $10-200. What is with that?

Dave at Pelican Parts · Dave at Pelican Parts's Garage

Some jacks are simply crap. I wouldn't expect anything from a $10 jack--not even that it work. Most of the aluminum ones that fit into a reasonable budget are less than entirely great--the good ones tend to go for serious bucks.

I had good luck for several years with a Costco-special $50 floor jack. It worked pretty well for me for about three or four years, but then I started to get annoyed with it. (The casters started being reluctant to turn, the release got a bit spotty, etc.) So I bought a Lincoln on special for a couple hundred bucks and haven't regretted it at all!

I like the jacks where you twist the handle to release the valve and lower the vehicle; I think having to move the handle to a release is a cumbersome step that I'd rather not have to go through. (Besides, sometimes you want to change from going down to going UP in a huge hurry! Don't ask how I know that...)

Having a jack that gets down to 3-4" is quite nice, and having one that goes up quite high is also nice. But how much money is that worth to you?

Many jacks that are half-decent are not very portable. The easily-portable ones tend to be the so-so aluminum type, or the cheapie separate-release type.

Pelican does sell floor jacks, I think through our DriveWerks subsidiary. I don't have any of those (yet!), but some of them look pretty good! In particular this one, though it isout of the price range you list. Still, it can get under very low cars and can lift quite high (almost 30"). And a 2800-lb capacity means it can pick up at least one corner of just about any vehicle you'll own...

--DD

lapuwali · 09-12-2004, 05:28 PM

I've actually had decent luck with the larger Harbor Freight jacks. The twist-handle 2 and 3 ton units are reasonably priced, and mine has endured frequent use and abuse for the last 6-7 years. Only recently has the pump section appeared to show any sign of wearing out (increasing "dead" handle movement before it pumps). Meanwhile, a much newer (much smaller) Craftsman 1.5 ton jack has already shown signs of internal leakage after only 3 years (will slowly sink with weight on it).

The Al jacks are cute, but my floor jacks are all for garage use, so I really don't care how much they weigh, so long as I can still drag them around on the floor.

Unless you've lowered your 914 a good bit, even pretty big jacks should still fit under the engine mount bar, which is pretty much the lowest commonly used jacking point. I've found it very handy many times to have two jacks, so you might look at getting one that's low and one that goes quite high, and you can use both when needed, but still have one for the truck and the other for the 914 for most uses.

Alfred1 · 09-12-2004, 05:58 PM

I was thinking about buying some of these wheel dollies just to be able to move my car around as needed to make space.

SteveStromberg · 09-12-2004, 06:35 PM

I use piano Dollies I got them fot $15 each at the hardware store. When I am not using the for the car I can put a motors on em and move them around.

As for floor jacks Harbor Freight is the way to go I got 2 of the 3 ton Garage Floorjack( that baby is about 70 lbs of steel) on sale for $30each

lapuwali · 09-12-2004, 07:05 PM

Go to most hardware stores and you'll find a range of appliance dollies in various sizes and weight capacities. Most are cheaper than those dedicated units. I've got one now that's served to wheel around an A-series engine/gearbox, and an Alfa transaxle, and I'll probably use it to hold the 914 engine/transaxle when I pull it. The smaller appliance dollies could easily be used under a wheel, and the medium sized units could be used under the tub itself.

smooth_eddy · smooth_eddy's Garage

I read a few reviews on the haror freight and most people have complained saying early failure. It looks like it cost big bucks to get a USA jack. I saw poor reviews on the Chraftsman too.

bpgreer · 09-14-2004, 08:09 PM

I purchased a floor jack at costco and so far it's been great. It's a heavy duty 3.5 ton one, but it goes surprisingly low. It's been great so far(had it for about a year and a half). I've used it on a 66 vw and now on my 914 with no problems. I think it cost around 70-90 bucks. It's definately not a flimsy unit and you twist the handle to lower it. I'm no specialist, but I like it.

Brian

smooth_eddy · smooth_eddy's Garage

I did see that one at Costco Brian. It is made by Arcan (if it's the same as yours). That is the one I am leaning towards buying. THe range is 4-21 inches. I think that will work for my 4X4 too. Eddy

bpgreer · 09-14-2004, 08:48 PM

I'm sure thats the same(blue one). It should handle just about any normal vehicle. I have only used it on the bug and the 914, but it's smooth and easy to operate. Also, with costco, if you have any problem with it, you can return it. I think they give you 6months plus no questions. The only negative to that one is that it is pretty heavy. As long as you keep it in your garage, not a big deal. Personally I wouldn't want a flimsy feeling jack.

smooth_eddy · smooth_eddy's Garage

I looked for the weight on the box and it was not printed. My guess is the jack is about 90-100 lbs. It will just be used in my garage and I should only have to lift it one time to get it home. Yes, Costo has a better return policy then any other store. I just hate the idea of buying a China tool.

Dave at Pelican Parts · Dave at Pelican Parts's Garage

Well, your choices seem to be either buy Chinese, or buy expensive. Your call... I found that, after a while, I preferred "expensive" to the partly worn-out cheaper Chinese jack.

--DD

Alfred1 · 09-15-2004, 09:49 AM

If China modernizes as fast as Japan did, then we should be getting excellent products from them in a few decades after there's a lot of technology transfer from here to there.

SteveStromberg · 10:16 AM

Let see $450 for a jack with plastic wheels or 9 $50 All steel HF jacks. I have to think about that

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Category.taf?CategoryID=710&pricetype=

http://www.asedeals.com/hydraulicjacks2.html

http://www.asedeals.com/automotive_floor_jacks.html

http://www.asedeals.com/automotive_floor_jacks.html

Jason Porter · 09-15-2004, 10:57 AM

These jacks aren't cheap, but they are awesome! Everyone I know who has one absolutely loves theirs.

Dave at Pelican Parts · Dave at Pelican Parts's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by SteveStromberg
Let see $450 for a jack with plastic wheels or 9 $50 All steel HF jacks. I have to think about that

Storing 9 jacks is a pain in the butt. I only really want to keep one around--and if that one starts getting cranky and finicky and not working correctly every time, that's aggravation I don't need. Not to mention the minor fact that sometimes those cheap jacks "hang up" in the upward position. Which can be downright dangerous--I almost lost a finger to one of the HF aluminum jacks (someone else's) that way!!

While $450 for a jack is more than I would want to pay, having a jack that I can rely on not to crap out on me is definitely worth a premium over the $50 HF/Costco jacks. I've gone the latter route, and I upgraded to the Lincoln after dealing with the cheapie stuff. I did, of course, wait until I could get it for a good price.... ($200, at the time, was a very good price indeed!)

--DD

smooth_eddy · smooth_eddy's Garage

Well I don't have a couple of decades to wait for "China to modernize". Is the Lincoln jack a made in USA jack? And are replacement parts available if (or when) they fail? I checked a few web pages and could not tell.

Dave at Pelican Parts · Dave at Pelican Parts's Garage

It was, at the time, a "made in USA" jack. I don't know about now--I thought I read something about them starting to move their manufacturing overseas? I assume that I can get replacement parts (there was a listing of part numbers and such in the box when I bought it) but I have not needed any as yet.

--DD

Alfred1 · 09-16-2004, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by smooth_eddy
Well I don't have a couple of decades to wait for "China to modernize". Is the Lincoln jack a made in USA jack? And are replacement parts available if (or when) they fail? I checked a few web pages and could not tell.

No, don't wait because in the future the Chinese may be able to charge a premium for their products (over US products) just like the Japanese now do with theirs.