Recommended Jack for Wheel Changing Duties?

ogcsmith

Member
What do people use to raise their mazda5s for wheel changing?

From researching prior posts it seems like the jacking points are a little difficult.

I'm thinking a 3 ton low profile hydraulic jack would be perfect but they seem pricey. Anyone make do with a non-low profile one? How much height do I need to raise by? Might be able to get away with a 2 yon one.

Or should I just make do with the jack that comes with the car? I'm only changing wheels twice a year.
 
A decent two ton jack is all you will ever need. A three ton jack is overkill and would only make your life more difficult in that a jack that large would be unwieldy for the limited use you would have for it. It will only take one use of the "emergency" jack that comes with the car to convince you that you don't want to go there again if you can avoid it.
 
One of the reasons I was looking at the 3 ton ones was that they generally go higher. The 2 ton ones seem to top out at between 18 and 20 inches. Is that enough?

Also is it worth the getting a low profile one? Doesn't look to be much clearance on out GT either at the sides or front.
 
I would definitely recommend a long-reach, low-profile one. It's a pain to reach the center jack point on the front end otherwise. Such a pain that I don't use it; I just jack each wheel up one at a time.
 
I ***** out this suggestion every time I see a "which jack to buy" thread, but if you can find your way to a Costco, they have an Arcan XL35R (literally, a red version of https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)) for under $100. It's low enough to get under almost anything and lifts high enough to work on an SUV, and the thing is built like a tank. Easily the best you can find for the money.
 
What do people use to raise their mazda5s for wheel changing? From researching prior posts it seems like the jacking points are a little difficult. I'm thinking a 3 ton low profile hydraulic jack would be perfect but they seem pricey. Anyone make do with a non-low profile one? How much height do I need to raise by? Might be able to get away with a 2 yon one. Or should I just make do with the jack that comes with the car? I'm only changing wheels twice a year.
Are you just swapping wheels (much easier) or rotating them? Here’s what I do for tire rotations. Break loose (not remove) all studs on all four wheels. Use a hydraulic jack to lift up the whole front/rear end. I cheat a little by putting a piece of nice thick and solid wood block (2x4) on the cup to give an extra 2” height. This also helps to prevent the metal to metal contact but obviously you don’t want to work under a car with this alone. Once the front/rear axle if off the ground, I put jack stands at the two corners. The pinch welds are pretty strong but try to find a point that distributes the load. I then move the hydraulic jack to the other end and lift that up. Now the whole car is completely off the ground and I go about rotating my wheels. If you are only swapping wheels, then you can just do them one axel at a time with the jack alone.

Regarding tonnage, the higher the rating, the more stable the jack and the more (easier) it is to life the dead weight. IMO, anything less than 2.5 ton is garbage (unless you have a light track car).


I would definitely recommend a long-reach, low-profile one. It's a pain to reach the center jack point on the front end otherwise. Such a pain that I don't use it; I just jack each wheel up one at a time.
Unless you are slammed, where you don’t have an option, low profile jacks are overpriced. For the front jack point, you should try coming in at the front wheel well, behind the wheel (with the wheel still on). You can angel it and have just enough space to life up the front. I can jack up the front with no problem. I am stock height so not sure if lowered folks may run into clearance problems.


I ***** out this suggestion every time I see a "which jack to buy" thread, but if you can find your way to a Costco, they have an Arcan XL35R (literally, a red version of https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)) for under $100. It's low enough to get under almost anything and lifts high enough to work on an SUV, and the thing is built like a tank. Easily the best you can find for the money.
Thanks for the suggestion. Looks like a great jack! Do you know where they are made? I've been looking for a quality jack but it is so hard to find a good yet affordable one.
 
I also use the Costco jack and it's pretty good. It's the long reach low profile type that works well for getting at the jacking point for the front end. It's got good lift height. It's heavy but not really hard to maneuver it around the garage.

Whatever you do stay away from those cheap trolley jacks. I had one of those and I hated it
 
I'm fairly certain it's made in China. But I have used mine pretty frequently for about 3 years now and have zero issues. Obviously if you've got the coin, you can probably get something with a better warranty that will stand up to more abuse for many years for $200-300. However, when you look at what else $100 will buy you, I honestly haven't seen anything else that really stacks up.
 
That looks like a great jack but looks like it isn't available in Canada. I'm a long way from the border so doing a dash over and picking one up is not an option. Anyone got good options that are available in Canada?
 
I got a $70 floor jack from Harbor Freight. Since its hydraulic, I just make sure I store it with the piston open so I don't blow the seal like I did with the little, almost useless 2-ton "floor" jack I got from Autozone for $25.
I have had no probs with the real floor jack I have now - it reaches just far enough in that I can hit the lower member from the front of the car, so I can get both front wheels in the air simultaneously.
 
I have a 2016 CX-5 GT. I made the mistake of buying a cheap 2 ton Evercraft floor jack. It only raises up 13” and you need close to 15” to get the wheels completely off the ground. I’m going to try to get an extender. Beware, check the specs before buying a floor jack.
 
Had a crappy 2 Ton jack. Same problem as noted, couldn’t lift some things high enough, and couldn’t fit under some things. Went with a low profile 3 ton jack when I replaced it. If I had to lift it anywhere to put it away I wouldn’t like it, but given it just stays on the ground it’s not a big deal. Plus the new one has a significantly longer arm.
 
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