What floor jack do you have?

[Ride92]

Hey everyone,

I've been looking at getting a real floor jack for my car instead of just the one in the trunk. What is everyone using? I've looked at craftsmen and harbor frieght and a few others. For a lowered P5 (if i ever get there) what do I need? Just add you two cents. Thanks

 

[Hank3]

I have a nice low-profile Craftsman. I've had it for over 5 years now. It's been a huge asset in my garage.

 

[speedracer]

craftsman long reach racing jack ( not good fro lowered cars ) and a harbor freight racing jack ( great for lowered cars ). both aluminum quick pump.

 

[Dermen]

I got a craftsman 2 1/4 ton set that came with a jack and 2 jack stands for like $40. Cheap and works fine. However, it won't lift high enough to use the center jack points in the front or rear, so you have to jack up one corner, place a stand, jack up the other corner, place a stand. I think they have a similar 3 ton set which might lift high enough.

 

[P-Funk!]

cheap wlamart floor jack FTW!

 

[evilmonkeyMSP]

http://www.harborfreight.com/3000-lb-capacity-aluminum-racing-jack-67408.html

sign up for their email coupons. They typically have one to cut this down to 59.99

been using it for years. great jack.

 

[CTt3P5]

cheap wlamart floor jack FTW!

QFT....until it breaks but hey my $5 floor jack lasted almost two years.

If you have any intentions on lowering, spend more and get the low-profile jack now.

 

[slavrenz]

QFT....until it breaks but hey my $5 floor jack lasted almost two years.

If you have any intentions on lowering, spend more and get the low-profile jack now.

Back when Walmart still stocked GM performance parts, I got a nice floor jack for only $50. 3 years later and it still works great.

 

[Ride92]

http://www.harborfreight.com/3000-lb-capacity-aluminum-racing-jack-67408.html

sign up for their email coupons. They typically have one to cut this down to 59.99

been using it for years. great jack.

So does that lift the car high enough from a central jack point so you can get stands under the sides or do you have to do each corner by itself? I've thought about that one but it HF so...

 

[evilmonkeyMSP]

yes it does. I'll use a small pice of 2x4 sometimes too for that little extra room.

Definitely an awesome jack.

yes, its HF and they sell stuff for cheap but in all honesty its the same thing you're going to pay $$$ for elsewhere. I use this all the time on the MSP and the S2000 and it does the job its supposed to.

So does that lift the car high enough from a central jack point so you can get stands under the sides or do you have to do each corner by itself? I've thought about that one but it HF so...

 

[evilmonkeyMSP]

theres actually a coupon for the jack in the back of my maxim magazine this month that for $59.99 (lol)

 

[CTt3P5]

Back when Walmart still stocked GM performance parts, I got a nice floor jack for only $50. 3 years later and it still works great.

The one I bought was Mack Truck branded ???. It was only 2-ton but came with a pair of stands as well and for $5, I couldn't pass it up.

 

[slavrenz]

theres actually a coupon for the jack in the back of my maxim magazine this month that for $59.99 (lol)

(yippy)

 

[planefreak]

I use a 4 ton craftsman floor jack. Its a little bit of overkill, but I believe that it lifts around 15 inches. It won't work for a lowered P5, my jack drags on the small plastic piece under the bumper and mine is stock.

 

[Delerious]

one small, low profile jack to get under the car, and jack it up enough to get the 3 tonne mastercraft monster under there. For the p5, the cheap jack works just fine.

 

[bucksatan]

Cheap-o Canadian Tire "Jobmate" brand one. Only use it to change from summer to winter tires and back, and one to hold up the engine while I changed the front motor mount.

If all you ever do is change the tires (and very minor work like the above mentioned motor mount) then you should be fine with a cheap one. If you plan to use it a fair bit, invest in a nicer one.

Oh, and never go under the car when it is just supported by the jack. Always put the car onto the stands before going under it. Never hurts to mention that point.

 

[03.5BlueMSP]

i use a 3ton craftsman, not good for lowered car, but i just throw the tire i take off the car under it and the jack never has let any of our cars down a mm...

weve had it for 8+ years lol...

 

[dmention7]

This one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)
It's a frickin beast of a jack with a great lifting range, and can be had for $95 at Costco.

 

[Olestra]

This is probably a dumb question but how are you guys able to pump the handle when the jack is under the front cross member?
I have the Torin jack linked above, although I think I have the 2.5 Tonne version, and I can get the jack in place under the front cross member but cannot pump the handle without hitting the bottom of the front bumper.
Basically there is no room to move the handle up and down.

I always end up resorting to my scissor jack and doing one tire at a time.

The only other way I can think of is driving up on a couple 2x6's.

Edit: This is on a Mazda3

 

[dmention7]

Depends on the car, but the jack point on the protege front crossmember is far enough forward that I have no problem jacking the car up from the front. They also make long-reach jacks that have a long body so you can get way under the car with the jack head and still be able to pump the handle.

But with the large head on most nicer jacks, you can lift from the frame rails with no worries about causing damage. Or there are usually good jack points on/near the suspension mounts just behind the front wheel. I loathe those scissor jacks, and frankly they scare me a bit since the base is so miniscule, you've got zero stability.