'Good' low profile floor jacks?

M

mmmnaked

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Is the stuff for $199-299 at places like CT and Princess any good? I'm tired of my current heavy jack and it's starting to bind when lowering...

I want something lighter with a low profile and decent lifting height... but not flimsy or cheap.
 
I just picked up the 3 ton low profile jack from CT. It's on sale this week for $119. I have the one that caboose posted a link to and it's an awesome jack and has worked well for me. The only reason why I bought a new one is because we bought a CRV and I needed more height. The new one also goes down to 4 inches which is low enough for my lowered Acura tl.
 
speaking of jacks. why cant i find any electric scissor jacks at CT nor princess auto? only on ebay. i mean it's much lighter, smaller, and electric.
 
I have this one, bought it recently but have only used it a few times so I cannot personally comment on longevity but it does works really good, it is on sale this week (extra bonus):

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brow...+Aluminum+and+Steel+Garage+Jack.jsp?locale=en

Keep in mind that Canadian Tire does not make any of this type of stuff, these items are sold under all kinds of store brands etc. all from the same OEM in China. I did lots of research and this one sells under a bunch of different names in the US and they all seem to be highly reviewed. It is not super light weight (still lots of steel in it) but it is a little lighter than many of the other common ones.

I also have this one (trolly jack) which has a swivel handle which is really handy. Good for things like tire changes lifting only a corner at a time.

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brow...06P/Michelin+2-Ton+Trolley+Jack.jsp?locale=en
 
g2teg said:
I just picked up the 3 ton low profile jack from CT. It's on sale this week for $119. I have the one that caboose posted a link to and it's an awesome jack and has worked well for me. The only reason why I bought a new one is because we bought a CRV and I needed more height. The new one also goes down to 4 inches which is low enough for my lowered Acura tl.
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Good point. I do wish it could lift about 2" higher.
 
caboose56 said:
I have the aluminum trolley jack that Canadian Tire sells for $200. I got it from Harbor Freight under a different brand name for $60 (but its the same jack). It works well and is nice and light.

This one.

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brow...ofile+Racing+Jack.jsp?locale=en&stop_mobi=yes
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I have the harbor freight branded version of this too. Bought it 3 years ago, never had any problems. It's so much nicer slinging the aluminum jack around than the old steel tank. As someone else noted, it doesn't lift enough for SUV's, you either need to use a block or jack the suspension itself, not the frame.
 
RockerGuy said:
I have that jack from h. Freight. Good jack
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I dunno...see how the front roller is narrow and fits inbetween the jack frame rails? The narrow design doesnt stabilize the jack from side to side movements as much as a wider jack.

I've seen cars start to move fwd or backwards and the jack at 90 degrees to the movement started to tilt to its side. No bueno.
 
Red_Liner740 said:
I dunno...see how the front roller is narrow and fits inbetween the jack frame rails? The narrow design doesnt stabilize the jack from side to side movements as much as a wider jack.

I've seen cars start to move fwd or backwards and the jack at 90 degrees to the movement started to tilt to its side. No bueno.
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If your wheels are chocked Im not sure how you're getting sideways movement.

I dont cut any corners when im jacking up my car. Wheels chocked and jack stands ALWAYS.
 
caboose56 said:
If your wheels are chocked Im not sure how you're getting sideways movement.

I dont cut any corners when im jacking up my car. Wheels chocked and jack stands ALWAYS.
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yep, and one wheel is chocked forwards & backwards. When I'm breaking a nut, the car moves
 
simple trigonometry.

Jack the front of the car in the air, and due to the fact that the lenght of the car is set, it WILL want to move forward on the rear wheels, or the jack will want to slide back...thats if the jack is in line with the wheels and you are jacking high enough. Seen it happen hundreds of times when jacking ALL my cars...

Chock your wheels, jack one side of the car with the jack perpendicular to the wheels and couple of things will happen, you will try and pull the rear wheels towards the jack, you'll see them start rolling, the jacking point will slide if you're just using a flat part of the chassis and a jacking pad, or the entire jack will start to be pulled towards the part of the car that is still on the ground.

I'm not pulling this out of my ***, or talking hypothetical, i have seen this happen, every single time i was jacking to a higher level than just enough to lift the wheels of the ground.

This has happened on my bimmers during engine and tranny swaps, nissans, civics, acuras, Land rovers etc etc.
 
Red_Liner740 said:
simple trigonometry.

Jack the front of the car in the air, and due to the fact that the lenght of the car is set, it WILL want to move forward on the rear wheels, or the jack will want to slide back...thats if the jack is in line with the wheels and you are jacking high enough. Seen it happen hundreds of times when jacking ALL my cars...

Chock your wheels, jack one side of the car with the jack perpendicular to the wheels and couple of things will happen, you will try and pull the rear wheels towards the jack, you'll see them start rolling, the jacking point will slide if you're just using a flat part of the chassis and a jacking pad, or the entire jack will start to be pulled towards the part of the car that is still on the ground.

I'm not pulling this out of my ***, or talking hypothetical, i have seen this happen, every single time i was jacking to a higher level than just enough to lift the wheels of the ground.

This has happened on my bimmers during engine and tranny swaps, nissans, civics, acuras, Land rovers etc etc.
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Oh I gotcha. Yes I know what you mean, the good thing about a low pro jack is if i am doing more work than just tire changes I will push the jack in below the front or rear bumper so the jack will just pull itself under the jack point as you lift the vehicle.

When doing tire changes I'll just lift at the jack point on the rocker panel, I haven't noticed too much pull to the front or rear.
 
I had my front wheels on ramps once and jacked the back end by the diff... the car slipped off the front ramps. I think I learned a lesson, I just don't know what it is ;)
 
My van is 8500 lbs, so I needed a good 3+ ton jack to safely lift either end of the van.
I bought CDN Tire's best Michelin jack...and it has leaked oil like a sieve since day 1.......I have to refill it every time I want to jack anything up.
 
Dude, you dont need that...thats pro grade designed to be used 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for years...overkill.
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