Car Jack Recomendations

Well, my old Sears jack has seen better days. It's not even a craftsman. Just "sears". It still pumps but when I try to lower it it suddenly releases and the load comes down fairly fast. It is not anywhere the controlled lowering I would like to have. I don't think I can rebuild it, but I might be able to but I don't know if it is even worth it.

I've looked at NAPA, O'Rileys, and at the Harbor Freight ad. I know HF has some real spiffy aluminum jacks and they come with 4 and 5 star ratings. But I'm not convinced of the quality when it has a ton of weight on it.

Not doing it for a job, just working on cars and jeeps. Don't need a real spendy jack.

So, what do you guys recommend?

 

I have been using my 3ton Harbor freight steel jack for 3-4 years now. No problems, great jack,easy control and I paid $80 for it, wouldn't hesitate to buy another!
Used on jeeps, cars and 2wd trucks. It's heavy, built like a tank.

 

Agree with Mcruff, they are a bargain for 80 bucks.

 

When I looked into this a few years ago, I recall that the difference between precise control and not is a needle valve or ball valve, resp. The ball valve is a lot cheaper to make. That said, I bought a HF floor jack several years ago, and it's not the greatest at precise control. It has been plenty good at raising and lowering though. Maybe the newer ones are better.

Back then the Hein-Warner jack was recommended, at nearly 5x the cost of the HF for the same stated capacity - Amazon.com: Hein-Werner HW93652 Blue Heavy Duty Service Jack - 3 Ton Capacity: Home Improvement

 

I like this one...
https://www.amazon.com/Powerbuilt-620422E-Heavy-Duty-Triple/dp/B00336EN60?ie=UTF8&tag=toptenbest-20

But the HF jack for $100 might work just as well. Especially since HF was recommended above.
3 ton Low Profile Steel Heavy Duty Floor Jack with Rapid Pump®

Tim, that is a nice jack. A little spendy at $470 but I'm sure it is a good one. I did not know about the differences in the valves. I'm not looking for precise control but I want something more than the slam down my current jack gives me.

 

Mine is pretty darn smooth.

 

have sears craftsman and it won't stay up , second one too . quality isn't there anymore

 

Check a farm store like TSC. Their prices aren't usually too far off of harbor freight, and quality seems to be a few notches higher on tools.

 

I have about six or eight of these in all sizes - all free from the dump….all work perfectly. I get so many of them I give them to friends.

Nine times out of ten they just need the oil topped up, or to be burped. But folks loose a check ball or just don't even try. Fill it up, run it through a few full cycles with no load.

Sometimes it's a particle of crud needs to be flushed out of the valves. Not rocket science, just unscrew the valve needle or cover plug, let it drain some fluid, put it back together. Don't lose the ball.

 

Thanks...I'll try that first just to see. But I already took it mostly apart last fall when it would not pump up, changed the fluid, etc. Now it goes up fine but down real quick. I did not take the check ball out.

I'd rather fix this if I could than buy one.....

 

I bought this US General aluminum 3000 lbs racing jack from Harbor Freight probably 25+ years ago and it's still going strong, despite knocking around pickup beds, trailer tool boxes and all manner of dirt and paved race tracks. I've never even replaced the fluid. (May have topped it off once. Maybe.)



On the other hand, my two-ton, USA-made Lincoln steel jack has been expensively rebuilt once in the relatively few years I've owned it and has since taken another dump. Junk.

 

When my girls were babies, their bottoms operated quite explosively.

 

I've had a friend's Napa 2 1/4 ton jack borrowed for a year now - goes up fast until it meets a load, and releases nice and gradual. My in-laws bought me a Craftsman 2 1/4 tonner for Christmas but if I needed to buy one of my own I'd really consider Napa.

 

Another vote for the Napa jack your friend has,

My friend paid $200, goes by up nice, comes down.

 

i have a 3 1/2 ton arcan jack that i got at costco several years ago. it has never had any problems but its really heavy. the steel harbor freight jack that mcruff linked is supposed to be good.

 

I have 2 of the NAPA branded 3 ton Jacks got on sale for a little less than $200 I believe they are made by Hein-Weber haven't had any trouble with them

 

have several hf jacks well worth the price.

 

I love the old sears jacks, I have two from back in the early 80's, just can't beat them if you ask me. I have no experience with the HF ones but their bottle jacks have always worked nice when I got them. I have a couple snap on ones too but I done use them cause they need rebuilt. They leak down over time.