Hydraulic Jack (it went boom)

so last night when rotating my tires, my trusty old 2 1/4 ton hydraulic jack threw in the towel....oil everywhere, it looked like a scene from a cartoon where something just falls into 100 pieces with no warning. i took care of the jack (changed the fluid, tightened the bolts, etc) but it was just it's time to die i gues. anyways, i was able to temporarily fix it long enough to finish the rotation...but now i'm in the market for a new jack as i don't feel safe using a jack with an improvised repair job.

what i'm thinking is a standard hydraulic jack (maybe move up to a 3 ton) for around the house. but then, maybe look into getting a 6 ton or so, bottle jack and see if i can replace the factory one with that...the factory jack makes me nervous.

so i gues i'm asking what jacks do you guys like for the garage/driveway? i know craftsman are good, and i'm already considdering one, so insight on other brands would be awesome.

also, has anyone tried fitting a hydraulic bottle jack in the factory jack location?

lastly, been contemplating a high lift for those "oh shit" situations on the trail. do yall think it would be ok to just have the highlift, or is it better to have the bottle as well just in case?

Thanks everyone,
Colin

EDIT: btw, i was not hurt when the jack failed...i make a point to never be under or too close to a vehicle until jack stands are in place

 

thanks foir the insight. i did not know that. i don't know if i'll go with an aluminum one though. to get the same capacity as the steel ones, they can be pretty $$$

going with something other than craftsman may be good though since i don't have a sears near me, and shipping an 80lb jack could get expensive too

 

My dad has had a craftsman speed lift one for about 2 years and it started leaking after about 1 year. I don't think the craftsman's are as good as they used to be.

 

I've had my craftsman 3 ton for about 5 years. It's held up very well, especially since I used to jack the car up about 5 times a race weekend for 3 years.

 

I picked up this set from Northern Tool. I haven't had it for long, but the 3 times I've used it, it's worked great. I considered Craftsman, but the reviews weren't good.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200305493_200305493

 

damn, that looks like a sweet jack for the price. 21 inch lift height unfortunately I won;t have a northern tool near me untill i go back to school in florida come august. i may have to look into the shipping cost of one of these :-/

 

evening bump any suggestions on other jacks? and has anyone tried to put an aftermarket bottle jack (hydraulic) in the stock jack's location?

 

We have a Craftsman 3-ton. Had this thing for about 10 years or more. It's seen some major use & abuse over the years. It helped lift my 96 tacoma (and many other peoples trucks from TTORA) and got us through 2 jeep builds and works on all our daily drivers.

We also have a small alluminum thing we bought from Harbor Freight. I don't trust it - as the first one didn't work and we returned it for a another one. We have to use this one for the corvette due to ground clearance. We use it to get the vette up high enough to slide the Craftsman in....I trust the Craftsman.

 

I know how some people on here feel about them, but I have and like my aluminum jack from Harbor Freight. It has help up well over the past few years and lifted the Tacoma, both Foresters and my old Scout II without issue. Well, the rubber saddle pad cover did come off, but glue fixed that.

 

I bought this one for the truck and I've been pretty happy with it. The cup on the jack fits the bulb on the front crossmember perfectly for a no-slip lift point.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...eyword=gm+jack&prdNo=3&blockNo=3&blockType=G3

 

I highly recommend the Arcan 3.5 ton, which Northern Tool sells for $139, but I was able to get at my local Costco for $89 (especially because there are no Northern Tools in the west, and shipping was ridiculous).



If lifts the truck like a breeze, has great lift height, and best of all, very controlled lowering speed. Just used it last night when I was putting new shocks on. Although the low profile isn't needed for the truck, it is great for the GF's Jetta...

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/ga...5xl-jack-now-available-costco-sacramento.html

 

i bought a jack from American Forge and Foundry. it is low profile and lifts to a decent height. (my other car is a slammed sports car). i wanted to avoid a chinese made jack. WTF. my new jack is from china!! i was at a tire shop, and they used a larger 3ton version of mine. mine is 2.5 ton. so far so good. i am constantly looking for an old school, rebuildable, american floor jack. i hope to find one, when a mechanic from the 60's retire. new craftsman jacks suck.

if i had the $$ i would get one of those AC hydraulic jacks out of europe. heavy. takes two to pick one up. but definately the roll royce of jacks.

 

well fellas, I ended up getting a 3 ton central hydraulics jack from harbour freigh. i know sometimes they aren't known for their quality, but i used my buddies identical jack over the weekend and loved it. it was a $100 jack, but i dug around and found a cupon to get it for $60 and couldn't pass it up. if it does blow a seal or something, i'mm pretty good at rebuilding hydraulics (did a total rebuild on my uncle's tractor's hydraulic system). and hey, you can't beat $60. the 2.25 ton that blew up was nearly that much...it just wasn't worth it to rebuild it.

I got to test it out yesterday, just doing a simple tire rotation, and i absolutely love it. it's very smoothe, not too abrupt when lowering it, as some 3 ton jacks can be. and the lift range is great. it will lift the entire side of the truck (both tires) off of the ground at once, even with 2.5in of lift.

thank you all for the recomendations! those AC and Arcan jacks look really nice. unfortunately i'm not a costco member, and don't have a northern tool nearby

oh and here's a link to the one i got

 

I have pretty much the same one you do, except mine is the orange 3 ton version (slightly heavier and 1/2" difference in minimum height, but basically the same thing).

I've had it about a year now and its done its job great. I'm not saying I'd use it without jack stands (but then again, I wouldn't use any jack with out stands), but I dont have any hesitation about using it. Its low enough to use with the cars, and high enough to use with the truck (although sometimes a block is needed depending where lifting from)

When I first got it, I did have to top off the fluid and bleed it to get the pumping action how it should be, but ever since then, no leaks or problems at all.

Personally, I'd be really curious as to how many other brands are just rebranded China jacks.

 

I have nothing to add to the thread, I just wanted to point out that your signature picture proves beyond any debate that if you're in a world of shit, you want to see a Taco coming to get you. I love that pic.

 

Yup, It's a good one.

 

Greg,

that's good to hear, i know exactly the jack you're talking about. and yeah, there's no doubt that 90% of the jacks are exactly the same, just with different stickers and paintjobs. from the research i've done, there are 2 to 3 major designs for each level(lift rating) of jack. i compared it to my neighbors "big red" jack, and it is identical, bold for bolt.

but oh well, if it works, it works, i don't really care where it came from if it does the job well. it's the cheaply made chinese stuff that gets to me.

 

hahaha, thanks. that was in the middle of the 5ft blizzard we got this year. it was surreal (sp) to drive through the middle of washington dc and not see another vehicle....moveing that is.

 

i have used that exact jack to remove a tree stump. dug a hole underneath..stuck in a sturdy board, jack on top..started pumping. roots and stuff just started popping, and the root ball lifted out.

it was the better option than to dig all around the rootball, trim, lift....it was a good day. nice jack..great price.

 

yeah i'm looking at upgrading my jack at some point in time. The 2 1/4 just seems to work awefully hard lifting the truck and its not tall enough.