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I know this topic has been covered and everyone has their opinion, but does anyone have a recommendation for a good floor jack for a C5. Specifically, has anyone found a jack that can be used to properly jack the front of the car without using ramps? I've been looking at the Harbor Freight 2.5 ton long reach, low profile jack. It seems to be a very versatile jack, but it's also one of the most expensive. I have a coupon that could get me the standard 3 ton for about half the cost, but I know it doesn't fit under the front. Obviously I could buy or make ramps, but I'd like to avoid it if possible.
I've been using the Harbor Freight low profile 3 ton (under $100). I have to jack up the side in order to place two pieces of laminated 2x12's under one of the tires so that the jack with a single 2x12 can get under the front carriage.
I got the 3 ton so I could also use it on my pick up.
I have the HF Low Profile, Long Reach also. I still have to use a homemade 2X6 ramp. I still really like this jack and would recommended it. Check the fine print on your coupon. I had a similar coupon and floor jacks were not included!
I have the Pittsburgh Heavy Duty 3 Ton floor jack, Rapid Pump, low profile 2 1/8" I bought from Harbor Freight. I don't remember what I paid for it, but I am completely pleased with it.
My car is lowered and has side skirts. I also have the leave in place jacking pucks.
The jack just clears my side skirts and works great. I can raise each side of the car high enough to put it on jack stands (front & rear)from the front jacking puck, and have enough room to get underneath.
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I use the Harbor Freight 2.5 ton aluminum low profile jack made by Pittsburg Automotive on my car. It won't reach the front cradle without the car being up on some pieces of wood, but I never lift it that way anyway. It has no problem going in from the side and using the jacking pucks to lift. Just bought a second one about a month ago and price was around $170.
Having 3 jacks is great, because using 3 points, 2 under the front rocker corners, and one in the rear center, you can get the whole car in the air. I have 6 assorted floor jacks, and several other types. Even a simple scissor jack comes in very handy for many situations. My go to jack is the USA lifetime aluminum race jack from OTC for $300.
Have the HF low profile as well with my car fairly slammed just barely slides under the pucks. I have no garage so it has been left out in the rain semi rusted for 3 years still works great!
What really separate this one from the pack, besides its extremely low profile, is its length. It allows you to reach the front and rear crossmembers from the front and rear end of the car respectively, in order to raise the whole axle. It can also accommodate a cross beam adapter like the one Summit offers, allowing you to touch only the preferred jacking points.
I have the HF Low Profile, Long Reach also. I still have to use a homemade 2X6 ramp. I still really like this jack and would recommended it. Check the fine print on your coupon. I had a similar coupon and floor jacks were not included!
Thanks....I know the 20% and 25% off coupons don't apply to floor jacks. This is a specific coupon for the 3 ton steel floor jack.
From what I've read, using the jacking points with a floor jack is not recommended and you should use the front and rear cross members. The rear is pretty easy to get to, but obviously the front is a different story. I was hoping to find a jack that would let me jack the front up without using ramps. The one GCG posted seems to do the trick, but at almost 5 times the price, I'm not sure it's worth it for the amount of work I do. My brother has the 3 ton steel jack, so I should probably borrow his to make sure it works how I want, but it sounds like my best option is going to be ramps for the front.
From what I've read, using the jacking points with a floor jack is not recommended and you should use the front and rear cross members.
I always thought that using the jacking points was what we were in general supposed to do. I have an old 3 ton jack, with an adaptor that replaces the regular "pad" and slides up into the slot in the jacking point. This means that unlike using pucks or similar the jack is "locked" into the chassis and cannot possibly slip. More fiddly but more secure. My car is lowered some, but all I have to do is drive the wheel in question up onto an off-cut of 2x8 or similar and I can get the jack under the sides with no problem. I also have an HF el cheapo ($70-80 IIRC) aluminum "quicklift" jack, but it does not have a removable pad, so it gets mostly used for our other vehicles.
The thing I really like about my "old" jack is that you can control the lowering rate very precisely, whereas the quick-lift tends to do nothing, do nothing - and then the car comes down fast.
Just don't forget to place stands or (like me) big balks of lumber underneath to be safe.
Last edited by jackthelad; Feb 25, 2017 at 02:54 PM.
From what I've read, using the jacking points with a floor jack is not recommended and you should use the front and rear cross members. The rear is pretty easy to get to, but obviously the front is a different story. I was hoping to find a jack that would let me jack the front up without using ramps. The one GCG posted seems to do the trick, but at almost 5 times the price, I'm not sure it's worth it for the amount of work I do. My brother has the 3 ton steel jack, so I should probably borrow his to make sure it works how I want, but it sounds like my best option is going to be ramps for the front.
FWIW...I have the HF low profile. I waited and waited and waited until they had it on sale one weekend for less than the $139 normally "on sale" price. IIRC it was under $100. I have a set of wood 2X10 6' loading ramps that I use for the truck and I built a 2 step ramp out of scrap 2x10 to get the front end up an extra 3.5 inches (I would show a picture but don't want to get reprimanded by people in the group ) I run the car up on those, put the jack under the front with the cross member support and lift the car. I then put jack stands under it. Car has about 1 3/4" between the air dam and the floor.
Best floor jack for a C5
) I run the car up on those, put the jack under the front with the cross member support and lift the car. I then put jack stands under it. Car has about 1 3/4" between the air dam and the floor.