Where can I buy a good floor jack. I'm looking for a 2 1/4 or 2 1/2 floor jack for the stang(and other family cars) and I read a review on the sears website on their low profile 2 1/2 jack and it wasn't very good. So I need suggestions.

I'm looking at the low profile because I could also use it on my son's lowered car.

Thanks

 

Is the Duralast brand jack any good??

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/cat...dName=Duralast

 

You mean Duracrap? Come on, that is just some cheap Chinese jack that they rename to their brand. Look around and get a good brand. Check out the different websites or Google automotive jacks. When I was much younger and starting out I bought one of those cheapo jacks and I took it back cause it was very light weight construction. I was afraid it would collapse on me. I later went out and got a heavy duty one and have had it since. I can't remember what brand it is since all the stickers have worn off. Be safe and get a good one. If it's less than $50 it's crap!

 

We have a saying about helmets. If you have a $10 head, put it in a $10 helmet. The same principle can pretty much be applied to things like jacks.

 

Thanks for the feedback but does anybody have any brands to suggest that are good ones?

I mean if I went on price as hiboostwoody suggests, here is a a 4-ton Craftsman that is regularly $200 that gets a 1.5 out of 5 star review.... http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00950168000P

What are some good brands? I initially assumed Craftsman would be good but I have seen several on there that get really bad reviews.

Here is a $140 2 1/2 ton craftsman that only gets 2/5 star review...
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...ment+%26+Jacks

Thanks

 

Not to put down Craftsman for those people that like it, but I learned a long time ago that they are not always the best choice. I learned that they will take a cheap brand like Ryobi to make their products, then label it Craftsman and mark up the price. For that I can just buy the Ryobi direct and save the money. Craftsman is only good for hand tools, not anything else IMO. I would suggest you check out Oreilleys, Pep Boys, Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace, etc and see what jacks they all have available. You will wind up spending around $100 for a normal (descent quality) jack. Make sure you get a jack that has the twist handle for releasing the pressure like a garage jack should. If you have to pull out the handle to release the pressure by turning a separate ****, that is an "El Crapo" brand jack. Don't focus too much on the brand, but more on the features and design.

 

Yeah, I would not get too caught up on brands either. Case in point... I bought a no name floor jack probably 20 years for maybe $80 and it still works great. Another key thing to look for is the starting jacking height as mine barely fits under the front, even without it being lowered.

 

Is a twist handle jack that much better than having a seperate ****? I'm just curious. The shop where we work, we have two heavy duty floor jacks (brand unknown) with the twist handles to release the pressure, and a tranny jack with a seperate ****.

I ask because I've noticed that the tranny jack, we can easily lower it when we want, nice and easy (slow). The floor jacks on the other hand, pretty much drop whatever you're lifting when you try to let it down. Meaning, when you're ready to lower whatever it is you raised, you try to lower it nice and easy, but it goes from lifted to dropped with a slight turn. It no longer has that sensitivity is what I'm trying to say. It feels locked up, so when you try to turn it, you have to turn it harder than normal.

It could just be that they've been used and abused. I was just wondering

 

I would take the seperate **** over the handle realease style any day.

 

The only floor jacks that I have seen that have separate ***** are the really cheap ones for $20 or $30. When you start going up in price all the floor jacks I have seen have it built into the handle. Since you are reaching way under a car you don't want to fumble around having to switch your handle around. Tranny jacks are a different animal all together. The shop jacks you refer to that have lost that sensitivity may be a few different things. If you look closely you will see that at the base of the handle it meshes into some gears. Those gears may be dirty or gummed up causing the problems. The seals on the jack may also be giving way, so they hold at either full pressure or full release. The jack does have a schreader valve for lubrication with a grease gun, which it may need. I have also found that if you tighten the jack really hard when you raise it, you really have to control yourself not to let it go too fast. You have to torque the handle slowly to get it released then bring it down slowly from that point. Tranny jacks, just like bottle jacks have the handle separate. That's just the way they are made. You don't want to be fumbling around with the handle once you get the tranny down so you are able to take it off. The floor jack is made to be dragged around and sometimes (don't try this at home kids) you may raise a car and have to drag it from one point to another while jacked up. A good jack can do this on a smooth cement floor. Much harder on asphalt. I wouldn't do it, but I have seen it done.