floor jack and stand reccomendations?

[slaytalera]

Im looking to pick up a floor jack and a set of floor stands to work on my car at home. craftsman/sears seams to have pretty good stands but there floor jacks suck, what other brands should i look at? im not looking to spend an arm and a leg as this will be for home use

[1-3-2-4]

Same here I need a good floor jack I don't want to go cheap this time..

Something with a decent sized spotting plate.

[d1giPhux]

About a year ago.. i got a great deal at advance auto on this car jack made by 'pro-lift'.. its pretty awesome.. and super heavy duty (you can feel it when you try to lift it.. lol)

this is the only pic i could find of one like mine online..



its been a damn good jack so far.. can get the car up and down super quick too.. and i picked it up for $60!! it was a steal! no clue where to get them now tho.. but keep looking and eventually you will find something you like and something that fits the height profile of your car!


edit: found out some more info about this jack.. its the 'Pro Lift G-489' or 'G-2489' lift.

Here are some more pics of it in silver.. mines black:

[mrpyb]

i've got a craftsman set of a jack and jack stands that I got pretty cheap and it works great for the car or quad

[Huffer]

get a heavy duty set from Harbor Freight Tools. Way cheaper than Craftsman/Sears.
Jack stands: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=38846
Heavy duty jack: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=94629

Lightweight jack (this is what I have): http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=91039

The low-profile jacks are great for getting under the car if/when it's lower than stock. Otherwise have a couple of 2x4s to drive the wheels up onto, then slide the jack under and jack up from there. I recommend finding a jack that goes higher than 15". Mine only goes to 14 3/4" and on occasions it's not enough to remove wheels unless the car is lowered on lowering springs.

[green97gt]

buy ones that wont drop the car on you....

i have a jack from sears, very similar to the one d1gi posted, looks identical, but "made" by craftsman, "short throw high lift"

i mean you pump this thing 3 times and your car is 6 inches off the ground. i payed 180 i think.

very heavy. but if heavy is an issue, look into aluminum jacks.

as for jackstand. get some 4 ton heavy duty ones from advance when they are on sale for like 30/40 bucks for a set of two.

EDIT: huffer, your going to make me go see how high mine goes tomorrow....

[jey]

I just bought this 2 months ago on sale for $60:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=67022

It's really heavy but it's not going anywhere, just hanging out in the garage, and has an excellent combination of being low profile and lifts up to 20". Big long handle means the car goes up and down very quickly, I'm very happy.

[lord flashheart]

i recommend an aluminum one if u can afford it. i had a steel craftsman for a while, and then i borrowed my friends craftsman aluminum one and it was soo nice. easier to maneuver and also to load in and out of the car etc.
snap on makes some of the best jacks ive seen but they are buku money

[StatGSR]

i would hit up northern tool, the "big red" jacks are excellent quality. i have been meaning to get an aluminum one for some time now.

[lord flashheart]

yeah aluminum jacks are the cats meow. i dont trust harbor freight tools to much due to their poor quality. and when the tools job is to hold a 2 ton car from falling and crushing you to death, i prefer higher quality. harbor freight is good for hammers and other stuff that wont hurt/kill you if it fails. most of the stuff i bought from them has failed eventually. and i have bought engine hoists, 3 nail guns, roto zips, grinders, water pumps, tile saws, wrenches, engine stands. etc. all three nail guns are broken, i had to get a new seal for the engine hoist, grinder died, and the wrenches broke. everything else still is working.

[Airgne]

this is what i got and i love it.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp ... ir=catalog

[mike-tracy]

Find a buddy in an automotive school and they can usually get snapon (or whatever brand their school supports) for at least 50% off.

[Black Sunshine]

I've used the US General jack from Harbor Freight for two years now, the aluminum one. I bought it because I wanted aluminum, it was cheap, it is blue, it's rated to lift all of my vehicles and it was cheap. I have three sets of stands all of which are the MVP brand. I think I got them at Wal-Mart or Advanced Auto. I've never had a problem and I've left vehicles suspended for months on end. Jacks are strictly for lifting, even if I'm just inspecting or doing a brake job I use the stands. Some times the jack's seal will go and it will release slowly, other times it will fall really fast and crush all of the flesh and bone in it's way.

I find the aluminum to be a great set of extra hands when I'm under a car. I can just grab it and pop the top section of handle off. It has a long handle on the side that is nice for positioning it while you're laying down. It replaced a 3.5 ton Big Red from Northern that I accidentally left in VA when I moved to AZ. There are no Northern in AZ. That jack was a hoss but it was too big for some applications. I don't have to worry about working on vehicles heavier than mine anymore because I don't have friends here.

[1-3-2-4]

Agree and HF has a sale this weekend on the aluminum one..

And I agree on jackstands I have two but I need to get two more.

[ShadowGT]

Wal-Mart had a sale on this combo kit, they're called Black Jacks. It was like 80 bucks, comes with a low profile aluminum floor jack. The jack has a 20 inch lift. Also comes with 3 ton jack stands.
Hasn't killed me yet.

Yet.
Of course for extra safety, I put my rhino ramp low profile ramps under the car too because I'm paranoid like that.

[ouch1011]

Aluminum is really the way to go. Steel ones are seriously heavy, mine weighs about 80lbs, but would probably lift a house if I centered it up right lol. I used to have it on the service truck back when I worked for a AAA contractor and I'd use it to lift diesel trucks and stuff to change tires, never complained...

But for use on a car around the garage, aluminum is the way to go. And don't get one of the little jacks that weigh like 10 lbs and have a tiny lifting pad. They don't lift high enough and will probably leave a big crushed spot on your car when you jack it up.

And +1billion for using jack stands, even if the car is just jacked up for a short bit. Jacks are not designed to support weight, just to lift and then be done. If you are working under a car supported with just a jack, you are crazy.

[jewbaru]

+1 for the jack stands. ive seen some pretty shady shit out there, no tire blocks, no jack stands, some real stupid shit under cars while up on a jack. i think the most ive ever done without a jack stand was change my tire haha

ive been using a pair or craftsman stands for a while, everything from my car, truck, fullsize bronco, plenty of things that are heavy as hell. no proplems.

auto zone sometimes has some good deals, even pepboys, sometimes they come with a creeper

[Boxer Wagon]

http://www.harborfreight.com/2-ton-low- ... 68050.html

This is what I use, and have used since I got a regular height floor jack stuck under my car when I first lowered my car.

[czsmola]

Not sure if you have Princess auto around you or if its a Canadian thing.. also their warrenty is unreal you can beat the shit out of anything and bring it back no questions asked.. my buddy and I both got a 3ton floor jack for like 100$ (goes on sale alot) and changed out jack plate love it..

http://www.princessauto.com/pal/product ... Floor-Jack
http://www.princessauto.com/pal/product ... ack-Saddle