I've got a Sears Craftsman "4 Ton Low Profile Service Jack" that after very limited use over the past several years will now "Professionally" dump hydraulic fluid all over the concrete.

Checking their website for an image (link), I now see review after review about it doing this to countless other suckers customers. So alright, they got me - no receipt, bought it back in 2007 or 2008 so if they're screwing people with receipts from 366 days ago, I'm done.

My question is, what should I have bought? What will provide years of lifting and lowering, and scoot under my p-cars, without drama or hassle?

Thanks.

I effin hate that! My 30 yr old floor jack started doing that. I went to Advanced Auto and bought some low buck jack that would not hold the twist handle lock over night. Come in the garage in the morning and the car would be on the ground. Brought it back. Picked up a nice high lift low profile jack from HF. Works nice.

Believe it or not, the little Harbor Freight low profile aluminum jack is great. . it's on sale for $59 . . best part is it is so low it will go under a 914 with ease and still lift about 16 inches. .

This coupon says $69. but it is in todays Sunday San Diego newspaper flyer for $59.oo
http://widgets.harborfreight.com/wswidgets...mp;keycode=1004

HF 3 ton red garage jack. 5 yEars and going strong.

I have a old 3-ton Astroline jack, been working great for over 30 years

Have you thought about taking your 'Craftsman' jack apart and replacing the seals?


I also carry one of those cheap lightweight HF ones in the trunk of my car ... I think I bought it in '07 or '08

A friend of mine mentioned this one is on sale at HF,, it's a good medium duty jack for the $$. This model has 2 pistons.

http://widgets.harborfreight.com/wswidgets...mp;keycode=1004

Thanks for all the feedback guys - I'll keep watching, I'd never even heard of Astroline but there's all kinds of stuff when you plug it into Google.


I did think of that, briefly - there is a parts & service number (888-448-6746), open Mon-Fri 8AM-5PM Pacific. Not exactly the project I wanted to be focusing on, but I do hate to think that that 80-90 pound hunk of metal is just scrap...

Just for a point of reference, somewhere lost in storage is my small black Sears 2+ ton floor jack that I used plenty for six years at home and at DE days, prior to 2005. Never a bit of trouble from it.

I think the Sears FJ only has a 1 Year Warranty. I've gone through a couple of them.

+1 for the harbor freight steel low profile floor jack. I have 2 and have used them for 3 years lifting the 914 and my pickup truck. I even left onr of them holding my engine for a week ( with a jack stand as backup) and it didn't move.

Fyi -- The 20 percent off coupons at hf don't work on floor jacks.

You must be having better luck than I did. At about 8 months the universal joint between the handle and valve broke - cheap casting. Jack was probably used 3-5 times a month (no, not all 914 work!). Of course the warranty is only 90 days and parts aren't available.

Since it is a craftsman "manual tool" (not electric) why doesn't the lifetime warranty apply? Is it not considered a "hand tool"?

I also have the HF jack, but do not store it vertically.
My brother & I have the exact same jack.
He stored it vertically on his trailer to the races, and now it hardly works. You have to pump it over & over when it used to lift the car in about three pumps.

And look out! There are some jacks where the handle will fly back up and smack into the car if you try to leave it down under load.

Stu

Floor Jack is not a Hand Tool - Craftsman has been trying to figure out how to get out of their warranties

Floor jacks are a crap shoot these days.

Luck plays a big part in how long it will last.

7 or 8 years of abuse and my HF aluminum jack is still going strong. I just got the email on the little 1.5 ton jack and added it to my HF shopping list.

A two-post lift

Except when I really have to use one I'm done with floor jacks and stands.

If I ever get the cash to have the rest of the ground level excavated another 18" and a slab poured, it's a no brainer. Right now there's just a single garage space, not enough room to the sides...

Who knows anything about rebuilding these jacks or at least replacing leaky seals? I have a lightweight aluminum low profile, quick lift jack I bought at Sam's a few years back (Raceline?). Have LOVED it because it's light and the handle is modular. Had always worked great until I went to use it one day and it had taken a leak on the floor.

It just seams if maybe the seal(s) could be replaced (and I have been told they are O-rings), the otherwise good tool wouldn't have to be chunked.

For repairs and parts in the Los Angeles area you might try -
LAZZAR'S FLOOR JACK & HYDRAULIC CYLINDER REPAIR CENTER -
Ph # 562-596-5477
Email: marc@hcrcnow.com or click HERE for the web site

They carry seal kits for Astroline and Sears (Craftsman) jacks and many others ... didn't see 'Raceline' though


For seals & parts in the Midwest and Eastern USA try -
BLACKHAWKPARTS.COM, 910-C Creekside Road, Chattanooga TN 37406 USA, Phone (423)622-8282 Fax (423)629-0125

Buy this one. It comes with an operator....

Click to view attachment

I bought the Costco jack for $100 and have liked it

A post begging for photoshop

Thanks for all the recommendations!

Like a moth to the flame, I wandered over to Harbor Freight and bought the 2 ton low profile steel floor jack. Nifty features, almost a 24" lift height. But a little too big to position perpendicular to the sides of my car when in the driveway... D'oh!

Thread on front and rear jack points started up over here.

Figured I would resurrect this old thread since I just busted myself in the head with a 4' piece of aluminum pipe while trying to disassemble the plunger assy on my (off brand) low-profile aluminum jack. Since my thumb is now bleeding and I really don't know what replaceable parts I'll actually find if I get this joker apart, I'm thinking my time would be better spent on the 914 itself and money better spent on a new jack.

I've got a steel Craftsman jack which will lift the corner of a car but immediately starts creaking and ticking it's way down to full compression. I want a jack that is easy to maneuver, low profile, and not too heavy to lug around if needed.

So I'm following up to see if you guys that have HF jacks are still liking them and finding them to be good tool investments. If HF is still the favored supplier, which models do you guys like/dislike?

I have two HF aluminum jacks that have been in service for about 7 years now. Had to add some oil to one this year but other than that they have been good.

I've got two HF jacks, and they both bleed down. I think with HF, it's a crap shoot. My 35 year old Hein-Warner floor jack, though a heavy brute, is as good today as the day I bought it.

Andys

Are there brand names have good support and available parts if needed?

I've jacked up a car or 2 with this one. Had it for about 2 years now with almost daily use


http://www.harborfreight.com/2-ton-heavy-d...pump-68050.html

I bought a "scratch 'n dent" high buck hi-rise jack from The Bird. Love it. Requires a lot of effort to lift with it but I can lift an engine high enough to load it in a pickemup truck, and raise a 914 high enough to pull the engine out from under it without screwing around. Sometimes cheap isn't inexpensive, amigos.

The Cap'n

yup and if you buy the service deal you can trade it in once a year no questions asked..

My neighbor wants his FJ back. Probably wants some of those other tools I have of his also.

Which one is that from the Bird?

Ditto with Rich.

I have a low profile HF. About 2 years old. Works great.

Sweet jack....I've been tempted....

Hi Rise jack

The high rise one. The Cap'n

Looking at the price, and the manufacturers site, I cannot find anything (easily) regarding a warrantee.
Seems like a warrantee should be on the site somewhere..

I have a HF aluminum "racing" jack, and another very similar from Costco. There's no difference as far as I can tell in function or quality. But of course the towing service who hauled away my last carcass bent the hell out of the nice looped handles on my Costco one as they were dragging it onto the flatbed.

Jacks aren't rocket science. Except they way 200lbs less than they did when I was a kid, and work faster because of modern features (like rapid pump / fast jack / yada whatever you want to call it)