Recommendations for a floor jack
 

Gents,
What are some good floor jacks? I do have a local Harbor Freight, but I bet most of the stuff is made in China (low quality). The last time I had a floor jack was in the 70's/80's when I worked on my 71 El Camino. I don't want to spend a lot of $$$ but want a decent one. Does Sears Craftsman make a decent one?

I have a Torin aluminum jack that I like. It's nice and lite, and <$100. Costco sells them as well as Northern Tool & Equipment. I think it's the same as the Craftsman, but Sears charges a few bucks more.

Thanks Tom. Went to the Costco site, and I'm assuming its this one:
http://content.costco.com/Images/Con...uct/159901.jpg
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product...t21277&topnav=

Also checked out Sears, and all the floor jacks mentioned, a lot of people were not every happy with, including some of the more expensive ones. Went to Harbor Freight on line and did not see any prices.

I got the Arcan XL35. It's a tank, very durable and gets the car up quick. You can see pictures of it in this older thread:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-g...le-jack-3.html

I have the same jack as in the pic except I bought it at the local Shuck's Auto Supply or whatever it's called now. I paid $79.99 on sale. Most chain auto parts stores sell the same jack just under different brand names.

I've had mine for 4 years now and while I don't use it a lot, it has developed a nasty hydraulic oil leak at the piston. It won't lose height if I raise the car and leave it in the up position, but I now check fluid level before each use and top it off. But's a PITA to clean the floor or step in the fluid :willy:

NAPA sells a low profile jack. It is more expensive than all other mentioned above but it is great to work on C4s.
:thumbs:

I have a great craftsman jack that's just a liitle too tall to get under the car. Ugh. Be careful.

Harbor Freight jacks are a-OK. I have 2. They have a low-profile, high-lift one for $80. It's steel, so it's heavy, but they also have a comparable Al one for $150. Just depends what you care about.

I also have the XL-35 I purchased from the local Costco....Great Jack!

Harbor Freight is running a sale, take a look in magazines. They have a full page ad. Low profile jack for $70.

I bought a Craftsman jack for $200 and it isn't what you would expect.

It works pretty damn good, but it also leaks like a sieve. Also the saddle isn't removable, so you can't put a "jack-a-vette" on it.

This was a question I had a few weeks ago until I bought a spectacular jack. I bought an Arcan Quick Lift Service Jack. It fits under my lowered C4 at 3.5 inches and raises it to above 21 inches. It raises quick, is relatively cheap at $150, and gets an almost perfect 4.9 out of 5. I also bought 4 Torin jack stands to support the Vette off the ground. Check it out:
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...5429_200345429

Yep, that's the XL-35. Great jack.

This is identical to the one I bought at Harbor Freight on sale and with coupon for $71 last spring. Its rated at 3000lb and works great on the Vette. My only complaint is the saddle is not removable.

:iagree: I bought that same jack from Harbor Freight a couple weeks ago and I like it so much I'm going to get another one. I like the fact that it is wide in front, the single roller wheel on the aluminum ones are too narrow. If you've ever seen a narrow jack roll on it's side with a car on it you know what I mean.

I'm sure the Costco one is made in China and the Craftsman probably is too.

I have a craftsman jack that works fine. It is a little high for the vette so I drive onto a couple of boards first.

I bought the Harbor Freight aluminum low profile one. The magazines have an ad for $59. I tried it and it works good. For that price, I bought a second one. I need the low profile on my C5.

For the C4 I have a Craftsman steel 3 ton floor jack. Not a low profile one. They put them on sale once in a while for about the same price.

I generally like the Craftsman better, but the aluminum ones do work OK so far.

I don't think that I would trust a Harbor Freight floor jack. A lot of the stuff from them is junk. I have 2 Craftsmen floor jacks. They are very rugged and reliable.

The harbor freight jack is now $59.99

Really? I might have to check them out if several of you have already confirmed that they are not that bad. If i was using it daily, then I would spend the $$$ for a decent quality one. My use is probably only 4x/year. Thanks fellas.

I'm going to get one to keep in the back of my truck, much easier than undoing everything from under the seat.

+1 for that Costco jack. It is light, and low enough to get under the vette. Nice rubber mount plate too,

I had first gotten a similar one from Sams a while back. Made in China. Used it once or twice and oil started leaking from the SOB. Ditched it needless to say.

Im not a huge fan of harbor frieght, always Been a Craftsman/snap-on kinda guy.. But I do have to say, My son bought a floor jack from HF for me and while I was skeptical.. It does work ok and I have had 0 trouble with it in 3 years.. its ummm primitive? but functional and since i wouldn't put anything under a car without Jackstands.. it Seems safe enough.

That picture is identical to my Craftsman. I broke down and bought it this summer. Last one I think I bought in 197X. It's best feature was that it really is close to the pavement. My older one I couldn't get under the car.

Bought a Craftsman about 4 years ago. Heavy as can be but one pump gets it up the frame. So far so good. Have to purge the air out of it every so often. Made in the People's Republic, of course. Why can't they just charge me $30 more and make it here? I'm not a big fan of Communism.

the Sears Craftsman low profile ones are total crap and will fail! There is/was a huge thread on LS1Tech about them. :ack:

Just because something is made in China doesn't mean it is of inferior quality, however, it is possible to find such product.

Those inferior quality items are those that a consumer usually purchases when they "don't want to spend a lot of $$$", but then don't complain about it being made in China, India, Africa, wherever.

:iagree: I bought an aluminum one from Harbor Freight. While it is not professional quality it is good for the way I use it. :cheers:

I bought a new floor jack from Harbour Freight today, and for an extra $20 you can get a two year warranty. The jack can be returned anytime in these two years for an exchange, even if there is nothing wrong. Looks like I will be getting another new floor jack in a little less than two years. :D

I've got two Craftsman floor jacks in the garage, one is dead and the other one is slowly bleeding to death.