POS Craftsman Floor Jack

[legion]

Originally Posted by RickM

Any way to fab one up from some scrap steel?

Not until I get a welder.

[RickM]

Originally Posted by legion

Not until I get a welder.

Do you need more of an excuse? lol

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by TerryH

I guess they don't make them like they used to. My Sears floor jack is about 25years old and still works like the day it was bought. I am almost embarrassed to say I have never checked, added, or replaced the fluid. I have lubed the wheels a few times though. Coincidently, my neighbor has the exact same jack and his experience is the same as mine.

While shopping online for a new or used reciprocating saw, there was a Craftsman brand on ebay. Fine print said "made in China". I passed and bought Milwaukee.... are they made in China too?

Fine print on jack says "Made in Japan".

Looks like my dad's jack, which I'm certain is older than I am.

I have a "Michelin" floor jack from Sam's club, it's easily 7 years old. Still works like new, and I've never done a thing to it. I paid maybe $50.

[DanielDudley]

Originally Posted by cashflyer

My father has the same model jack that Terry does, and it has held up for around 24-25 years without servicing. It's heavy, and it takes a beating. We used to drag that thing around in junk yards each weekend snatching parts for old mopars. It has a life of ease now because my father is retired, but it's still going.

Same here.

[legion]

Well, I wrote a nasty letter to Sears. We'll see what happens.

As for the jack, it's really nice except for the aluminum U-joint (RIP) and the hydraulic cylinder. I really wish there was some way to rebuild it.

[RickM]

After a little snooping it seems some disassemble the pump and replace the O rings (two?) with hardware store pieces. I'd try to find O rings made of Viton.

This place sell rebuild kits for imported jacks: http://www.phjjacks.com

May be worth a try.

If you need the U joint redone send me the old one and I'll give it a crack.

[cab83_750]

I have stopped buying Sears jacks after 3 of them (actually all of them) failed after the warranty.

[eR1c]

WTF??? -$12.99???
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00950181000P?vName=Automotive&cName=Tools+%26+Equipment&sName=Lift+Equipment

-I hope to be getting one of the nice PP's jacks

[legion]

Craftsman Companion is a POS down-market brand.

That being said, I do own a $15 floor jack. I used it for installing my alternator and other non-critical type of applications.

I will get the Pelican floor jack next spring, but I put the 951 in storage yesterday so I don't need it for a while.

[911pcars]

Just noticed the latest aluminum version at Costco last week. It looks pretty beefy with a 3-ton rating. About $140.

I purchased a 2-ton al. from them last year. It's light but just okay. The release point doesn't modulate very easily.

In both cases, the stated warranty should be fully honored by Costco, but one expects a floor jack to last for many, many years. Replacement parts would be very nice as well.

Sherwood

[fxeditor]

This one in the Griot's Garage catalog has always caught my eye. I like how low profile it is but the price seemed a little steep to me. What do you guys think?

http://tinyurl.com/22crff

[RickM]

Originally Posted by fxeditor

This one in the Griot's Garage catalog has always caught my eye. I like how low profile it is but the price seemed a little steep to me. What do you guys think?

http://tinyurl.com/22crff

For $30 less you can get the "ultimate floor jack" from Pelican.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/shopcart/TOOL/POR_TOOL_ACHyd1_pg2.htm

[legion]

Well, I put the jack back together today. I fabricated a crappy U joint using my angle grinder, vice, and drill press out of 1/8" steel. Now the jack goes up--but only at the bottom 15 degrees of a pump. Short-pumping it goes no where.

[Jims5543]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

I have the cheapo Harbor Freight aluminum one and have used it exhaustively for almost 4 yrs. now. No problems at all so far. I've used it so much that I feel like it owes me nothing.

+1 I use it for track day and AX tire changes, maintenance and whatever else I need if for. I actually have 2 in case one takes a dump (1 is almost 5 years old now) I have a back up (1 year old) just in case. After 5 years I will have no problem tossing it if it craps the bed.

[snowman]

ain't this why you are supposed to use jack stands? All floor jacks are a death trap. Just change the seals and quit whining.

[barndoor]

well after about 3 years my craftsman aluminum 2 ton Model # 50239 started leaking and wont work.I am not buying anything from sears again !

[RWebb]

the only decent Sears jacks are the ones from 30 years ago -- they worked fine; worked for a long time; and could be rebuilt with parts and kits from Sears

about 20(?) years ago, Sears turned into a POS -- my guess is they were bought out by some corporate raider or something similar

[A930Rocket]

^^^^ I've got a Sears floor jack from 25+ years ago. It's a tank and has lasted through many others.

This is the same jack I have!

[legion]

I thought I'd catch you guys up on this thread.

In 2008 I was in the Sears store picking up my air compressor after a rebuild (which almost cost as much as the air compressor did) and noticed that my jack was subject to a recall. I spun home, picked up the jack, and brought it back to the store. After being ignored by Sears Corporate and threatened by the store manager on my previous attempts to fix the issue, I was told that I could "pick out any jack I liked". I made a judgement call on what looked like a sturdy jack.

Fast forward 10 years, and the seals on hydraulic cylinder for that jack gave way while I was changing the rear brakes on my truck. The jack still works, it just squirts hydraulic fluid with each pump. I'm far less upset about a set of seals lasting 10 years than I was about a hydraulic cylinder and U-joint failing after 13 months of use (just outside of warranty). Doing some research, it seems that this jack was made by Torin and there is a seal kit available. For $40, I'm going to give that a try. If that doesn't work, I'll pick up a fancy high-quality jack from Pelican.

I'm also happy to report that after the rebuild, my air compressor has worked for 10 years without issue. It has however gotten a little undersized for my needs, so I'll probably be getting a better one in the next few years.

Because of these issues 11 years ago, I haven't bought a single new thing from Sears since then. That and I learned the Crafstman/Kenmore secret that they changed one part that commonly fails and made it super expensive and only available at Sears.

Sears is dying a slow death. I can't help but think they may have been able to weather the Amazon storm (which ironically copied their original business model) if they had done some things to keep customers loyal and satisfied a decade ago.

[Rick Lee]

I had an issue with their online ordering that took a while to get fixed. They couldn't figure out how to refund a return I had paid for with a Craftsman gift card. The guy on the phone gave me the wrong part number for a microwave door that didn't fit, so I had to return it. Multiple promises that it had been fixed and the refund would show on my card the next morning, and it never happened. I tracked down the right executive via LinkedIn and figured out her email address. We had 62 mutual connections. Man, that got things fixed instantly. I was amazed how fast that got a phone call with an apology and then another 30 min. later asking me to check my card to confirm it had been fixed.