Rant and I need a floor jack
 

RANT.....I was outside checking the tires on the 65 and I noticed one is a 255/70 where the other is a 255/60 on the front. so I start removing The 70 to put a 60 on it.I get the jack to lift it and my jack is dead so I get another jack which is smaller and it's also dead.I then use a scissor jack and get it all the way up and guess what the tire is still on the ground.I move the jack in another place and finally get the tire up and then try to remove the tire and guess whst? the tire is stuck it won't move a inch.......I then pour gas on the truck and strike a match I WISH

Anyways I need a jack and Im thinking about the harbor freights lite weight racing floor jack.its only 89 bucks and im heard good reviews on it.for the price you can't beat it if the reviews are true.my old craftsman jack lasted 10 years thru rain and snow but boy was it heavy
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Re: Rant and I need a floor jack
 

Yes, it sounds like time for a new jack for you!

Those jacks are on sale for $69 here in Charleston SC, but I don't know how good they are.

Re: Rant and I need a floor jack
 

It sounds like you may be opening the door to more disappointment. HF is notorious for selling junk, but who knows their jack may me fine. Just make sure to look into lift ratings, height/weight.

Re: Rant and I need a floor jack
 

I have the 3-1/2 ton double piston HF jack. It works well, but over a few weeks, it will slowly go down. Normally, this is not an issue because I always use jack stands (also HB).

Re: Rant and I need a floor jack
 

I (and a couple of my buddys) have this jack from HF & love them.

Great for lowered applications but still has a lot of lift.

http://www.harborfreight.com/automot...8050-8048.html

http://www.harborfreight.com/media/c...mage_12360.jpg

http://www.harborfreight.com/media/c...mage_12362.jpg

Re: Rant and I need a floor jack
 

You can always check craigslist.

Re: Rant and I need a floor jack
 

I also have a HF 3.5ton...have had it at least 2 years. If it goes bad...buy another one. Unless you can fix it yourself...just doesn't pay to get it fixed...cost more than a new one and hard to find someone that can actually do it.

Re: Rant and I need a floor jack
 

I would buy an expensive jack. You will love an begin to appreciate more than your car/truck. Cars will come and go, but the Jack will always stay.

My dad bought me a Hein Werner back in 79. It still works great. I would buy the best Jack stands and Jack you can afford.

I occasionally cheap out on parts and tools. But a Jack.

Milwaukee Hydraulics.

Get your shop setup right, and you will love to spend time in it.

Here is a good forum for passionate debates on Jacks and such.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/

Re: Rant and I need a floor jack
 

The craftsman jack lasted me for about 12 years.it was left out in the rain,snow I let people borrow it.about a year ago the nut thing where the handle goes stripped out so I was using a screw driver to turn the gear on the outside to lower it and lock it when I had to raise it.The only real complaint I had about the jack was the weight and boy is it heavy.moving it from 1 place to another was hard and I do that a lot from the garage to concrete pad we have on the other side of the garage.I definitely want a aluminum jack no matter which brand I buy.as for the jack stands I have craftsman and some Goodyear.I also have some solid stands welded up that I sometimes use to hold the truck.
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Re: Rant and I need a floor jack
 

I have an old heavy "auto parts" offshore jack, that lasted about 15 years before it started acting up. My replacement aluminum Craftsman started acting up in about 2 years and is now worse than my old cheapo.
I plan to try a reseal on both and see how that works.
Plenty of info on repair/rebuild of floor jacks online. In my case it'll be worth the time and effort.

If neither work I'll read the HF reviews. Usually the HF reviews are brutally honest.

Re: Rant and I need a floor jack
 

The 2 ton Harbor Freight aluminum racing jack is good, IF you get a good one.

The first two I had keep bleeding down on their own, so I exchanged them until I got a good one. The third one I have used for the past 6 years and it has served me well. It has started to bleed down slightly over the space of an hour, so probably time to replace it.

Re: Rant and I need a floor jack
 

i have the harbor freight aluminium that i bought just to use on lowered vehicles// i figured it for a quick disposable piece for RIGHT NOW a dozen years later it has not missed a beat and i use it alot more that my hipriced walker jack

Re: Rant and I need a floor jack
 

i have a 3 ton harbor frieght jack one of the old ones when they where yellow i've had it for 6 years now and still working astrong

Re: Rant and I need a floor jack
 

I had a Craftsman 2 1/2t jack for 25 years. It was fine till some joker borrowed it and let his truck fall off,which bent the jack up. I bought a Craftsman 4t lo-pro jack in '11 to swap axles in my Jimmy. Used it a time or two after that.. The pin in the u-joint broke,so I fixed that. Then it started leaking. It was over a year old and out of warranty. At the same time I bought a 2 1/4t jack for under the axles in that job. I had to return the first one (wouldn't stay up at all),then just after a year the second one did the same thing. The big jack I left outside,but the smaller one still looked new. This spring I bought the smaller jack,then returned the other on it's place within 30 days. I haven't even used it because I'm afraid it will do the same thing after a few uses. I went and paid another $200 for another 4t jack also. The first one wouldn't stay up,so I exchanged for another within 30 days. The replacement jack didn't lift very well and only when you twisted the handle as hard as you could. Even then it barely lifted with each pump of the handle. I decided to return it just before the 90 day limit. They gave me the 3rd degree. I had to take it to their shop so a guy could see if anything was wrong. A guy put it under the lift and couldn't get it to move up to it. I told him you have to really wrench on it,he did,and it still wouldn't raise. He says,"Yep,it's no good" (heck,it wasn't that bad for me!),rolls it back and there's a puddle under it. Then I find they would only credit my account! I need that money to buy a jack! I'm waiting it out till the credit is on my account long enough that,buy law,they have to mail me a check...matter of principle. I've spent $400 and have no jack. I've received one statement showing the credit so far,so should be another month or so. Sears used to sell Craftsman jacks. Now they sell Crapman. Don't even think of buying their junk based on past good experiences. You're better off repairing an antique!

Re: Rant and I need a floor jack
 

Me too. Mine's orange, about 7 years old, heavy and a tad slow but it does the job safely without fail. For home use, such as mine, I wouldn't hessitate to buy another.

Re: Rant and I need a floor jack
 

mine could be orange i have no idea i'm half color blind but its a heck of a jack it sat outside in the back of my truck for 2 years and it still works like a charm

Re: Rant and I need a floor jack
 

I got this floor one many years ago....
and i got one of those little red ones,comes a kit with stands
seem to work fine still

Re: Rant and I need a floor jack
 

Bought a craftsman jack ( junk ) lasted long enough to be out of warranty.
I have a jack I bought off of the Mac tool truck that's pushing 25 years with no problems yes even back then it was pricey but worth it.
I also have a HF jack so far so good.

Re: Rant and I need a floor jack
 

I have a HF orange one for 15+ years and it still works. It's slow and does not lift very high. The local Napa had their jacks on sale for $300 so I decided to splurge. The Napa jack is great. I really like you can take the pad out and put other things on the jack. I bought a door hanging tool that goes onto the jack so I can hang doors by myself. HF jacks seem decent but am happy with my Napa jack.
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Re: Rant and I need a floor jack
 

Costco has a really nice 3 ton low profile high lift jack for around 100 bucks. I read a ton of reviews on it and it was very well received. I think its an Arcan 3.25 or 3.5 ton. I use it alot and have had zero problems with it. And Costco is really easy to bring stuff back to if you have any problems.

Re: Rant and I need a floor jack
 

I agree with the expensive jacks, you get what you pay for.

I have 2 Hein Werner jacks from the 1960's and they have never disappointed me. They just keep going and going. All the parts are still readily available to repair them if necessary also.

I have pulled 3,500 lb. vehicles sideways on asphalt with them without any problems.

I would buy 1 craigslist Hein Werner over 5 HF or craftsman ones and the Hein Werner would still outlast them all. Not excluding the safety factor but when you buy quality you save money in the end.

Re: Rant and I need a floor jack
 

I bought a 3 ton from HF about 4 years ago. The cashier asked me and I quote " do you want the warranty for when it breaks?" Luckily it has lasted me so far without any issues.

Re: Rant and I need a floor jack
 

I have one of those Costco jacks that I bought in 2008, and since then it has served me well on my trucks. Even my neighbor would borrow it to lift his 30' motor home, and it performed just fine lifting that monster.

Re: Rant and I need a floor jack
 

My HF racing jack has lasted us about 6 years, but recently one of the cylinders is getting stuck so it won't actually lift a vehicle. $90 for 6 years of hard use is ok in my book and I wouldn't hesitate to get another.