Dantana

Can anyone recommend a good floor jack? I have a really old Craftsman and I was going to replace it with a new one but all the reviews say the new seals are low quality. Last thing I need is the car coming down on me...

Thanks,
Dan

rod7515

Check your area for a snap-on or mac or matco tool dealer. They sell good jacks and Ive never had one fail for me over 30 years of use!
Rodney

68/BB

I don't care what kind of jack i'm using i would never go under a car without stands. jacks are for lifting the car so you can put stands under the frame. not for working under..jmho.

markids77

I have an ancient Harbor Freight all steel service jack I believe I paid $49 for. When it finally quits I intend to purchase one of their aluminum "race" style jacks. They're usually on sale a couple times a year for less than $100. I agree with the others here who advise safe lifting... I never ever ever go under any car without placing jackstands first!

mar

I'm in the same boat with a Craftsman floor jack. It's a 3.5 Ton model that I've had for years. It stopped working so I topped up the fluid with Sears jack oil and it acts weird now. Like I really have to push the handle hard to get it to work - almost as if the handle is going to break off. Maybe SnapOn is the next heavy jack for me. Ditto on the jack stands.

BTW:
Every shop needs one of those little aluminum 1.5 ton jacks to push up the tranny, engine or axle when under car tho! I get a lot of use out of that little jack. Used it when I changed my center exhaust hangar to 2-1/2" recently.

DC3

I'm using an Arcan XL35:

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...5429_200345429

If you have a Costco nearby, I understand they sell the same one in red.

DC

rod7515

I didnt say it when I posted about the jack earlier, but I have to agree with the others that I dont go under the car without jack stands in place. Dont take chances. Get a good jack and a good pair of jack stands.
Rodney

KTKelly

I went with a high lift unit from Northern Tool:


http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...9257_200349257


Having the ability to get the car up so much higher is great! And having a foot pedal for raising the jack makes it a lot easier to raise the car.


I am really glad that I bought this one, and I'd recommend it to anyone that wants to make life under the car a little easier...

tonak

i AGREE ON THE JACK

Dantana

This certainly looks like an option worth entertaining even though it is a little more expensive. I have clearance problems all the time and I would like very much to get away from jacking up, setting on stands and jacking up again with a spacer plate and resetting jack stands.

Were you able to find jack stands that extend to the full height of the jack?

calif phil

Hein-Warner makes an American made floor jack, part number HW93642
You kids will be passing it down to their kids. I have one that is 25 years old and still works perfect. These are not the throw away chinese junk that most stores sell.

...Roger...

For me the overall height of the jack is important. I slide in under the frame,drivers side,in front of LR wheel,positioning the jack pad under the crossmember bump in front of the differential. Picks the read end up nicely to set on stands.

...Roger...

My point is find a jack that actually works well for your application. For me its low overall frame height,overall lift and will the jack work if the handle is under the frame of the car and can only be lifter an inch or so ? My old jacks have a frame height of 5 3/4" and they lift to 22" and they jack with handle movement at its lowest point. Just some things to consider when buying a jack to work on a C3.

tonak

[QUOTE Were you able to find jack stands that extend to the full height of the jack?[/QUOTE]

I use the previously mentioned Arcan lift with:

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...4819_200304819

12 ton jackstands. Their lowest setting is fine for just about anything you want to do under the car. My thought is that placing jackstands at their highest is setting is pretty risky.

68/BB

I use the previously mentioned Arcan lift with:

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...4819_200304819

12 ton jackstands. Their lowest setting is fine for just about anything you want to do under the car. My thought is that placing jackstands at their highest is setting is pretty risky.[/QUOTE]

Agreed. I usually like to set the frame on two stands and then place the jack in a third location and use it to take some of the load off the stands. That way you have 3 point support and it should be pretty stable. Also, you have some redundancy there in keeping space between you and the car.

69 Chevy

It pains me to admit that more and more I go to an aluminum, made in china, jack from Harbor Freight over my all steel Sears model. It's similar to this one on sale now for $99:

I bought it many years ago when HF opened their local retail store and had it on sale. I really like the light weight, the single, wide front roller and its ability to easily get under my front spoiler from the center. I have sidepipes and for jacking from the side I use a pine 4x4 on top of the saddle.

I must have used it a hundred times this spring alone...it did its job every time. And at 1.5 tons capacity, who needs more than that for their C3? It's not like you're trying to lift the whole weight of the car at one time...lift the front, position jack stands...repeat for the rear...done deal.

The only thing that would make me happier was if it had 'Made in the USA' on it.

rbrock

I have to agree with 69 Chevy. I have the same Harbor Freight cheapie that was a give from a friend. At first I thought that there wasn't anyway that I would use it, but now it is my primary jack compared to my older much heavier 2.5 ton jack.

I find that the low height is very nice for the C3. I can actually get under the center of the front crossmember and jack the whole front end up at one time. I can't even get close with my old jack.

gman31

Just been through 3 craftsman jacks in the last 6 months. Garbage. Finally got most of my money back.

scottyp99

I got one a couple years ago, use it all the time, I really like it, more rugged than I thought it would be.


Scott

KTKelly

Use these:

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-ton-...nds-34924.html

On sale now and the nice part is that they wouldn't need to be fully extended to get you as high as you really need to be (I stop at 20" to 22" or so with the 6 ton version).