Floor Jack

[TeamAllen]

I bought a Craftsman aluminum floor jack a few years ago. It just made it's last lift a few weeks ago. I found out there is only a one year warranty on them and there are no serviceable parts. It was made in China.

I need to replace it and wondered if anyone else has had a good experience with another brand of aluminum floor jack? I found this place in Anaheim and will go there on Monday. The main thing is to make sure it is serviceable if it stops working as well.
http://www.jackxchange.com/products/1532.cfm

In my search, I did find the most outrageous of them all. They use this brand in racing. This link for the warrior version is half the cost of the pro version.
http://www.brunnhoelzl.com/warrior_jacks.html

[ajholt7]

Wow those are expensive. Just get one from harbor freight. If it stops working pitch it and go buy another.

[Ewok]

Craftsman is getting tricky with their warranties, only 90 days on torque wrenches. I have a cheap husky suv jack from home depot. I think it was 40 bucks with 2 jack stands too and its lasted over 3 years so far. When it dies I will get a little nicer one that is a little lower profile for my g35.

[Thomas Hohl]

Jacks are incredibly simple. There really are only about 4 parts in one. Unless you bent or broke something, parts that wear are very standard seals. So you could easily take yours apart and get the seals from any hydraulic jack place. I have rebuilt my oddball floor jack twice over the last 30 years and it works perfect every time. I would love to have one of those $1300 jacks though. Very cool!

I bought a Craftsman aluminum floor jack a few years ago. It just made it's last lift a few weeks ago. I found out there is only a one year warranty on them and there are no serviceable parts. It was made in China.

I need to replace it and wondered if anyone else has had a good experience with another brand of aluminum floor jack? I found this place in Anaheim and will go there on Monday. The main thing is to make sure it is serviceable if it stops working as well.
http://www.jackxchange.com/products/1532.cfm

In my search, I did find the most outrageous of them all. They use this brand in racing. This link for the warrior version is half the cost of the pro version.
http://www.brunnhoelzl.com/warrior_jacks.html

[samw]

Wow those are expensive. Just get one from harbor freight. If it stops working pitch it and go buy another.

I also bought one form Harbor freight, not aluminum but has been going strong for the last 4.5 years.

[MoneyPity]

For the boat I bought a Craftsman that is in a plastic case. It has 15 inches of lift and was bought specifically for dealing with boat tires. I put in the aft storage area with t-bar. Good piece of mind when traveling long distances which I did often for $69.00. Once we got to destination we normally left it in boat unless I needed the storage space back. I normally carried it and a 150 piece craftsman metric / standard tool set and various pliers to deal with what might happen. The tools were always in the boat and have come in handy. Both the jack and tools are worth the few dollars especially for piece of mind when traveling and a blowout occurs in the middle of nowhere.

I used to use a piston jack but the were terrible so this under $100.00 jack is perfect to deal with a trailer flat but not as an everyday jack.

The jacks linked in this thread are great for garage use but pricy. I had a 3 ton craftsman I bought when 18 and it held up for well over 30 years. It survived a garage fire and up until this summer worked well for a $150 jack. Too big to carry with trailer but great for garage. It finally gave up the ghost when seals gave way. I bought another Craftsman 3 ton floor jack for $150.00 for home use. They sell a nice aluminum floor jack that runs about $300.

[gman]

I just today saw an add at Pep Boys for a 3ton jack for $99.98. Do not know if its any good or where it is made, but will go look at it since I need one. Last year I bought some wrenches made in china because they were cheap and on my first use snaped one on a oil drain plug.
Spend the money and get qualilty. Unless you have a bottomless pit for money you cannot afford cheap because all you do is keep replacing.

[jschnip]

I picked up this Michelin 3.5 ton jack a month or so ago at Sams Club - great deal for ~$70. Just one pump gets it up to the trailer - lifts plenty high. Worth looking for if you have a Sams Club near you.

http://www.amazon.com/Michelin-Ton-G.../dp/B000SV3MZG

[TeamAllen]

Thanks for the replies. Let's see if I can reply to most of them?

I'm not a big fan of Harbor Freight. It will save $, but maybe not in the ling run? My main objective is to get one that is repairable and has parts available.
I haven't bent or broken anything. It just stopped pumping and is leaking oil. I will try to dismantle it, but it seems the ones made in China use slightly different seals and o rings that are impossible to find at the usual places?
I am planning on using this for the garage not the boat. I guess I should have made that more clear.
I looked up the Pep Boys ad. Thanks! It looks like it's made by Torin, but made of steel. I am looking for an aluminum one.
I have a Sam's Club semi near me, but that is also a steel jack.

In my research this weekend, including suggestions from all of you, I found a thread on a BMW site where the OP expresses the same thoughts I am having.
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=411939

Tomorrow I will contact their local distributor and service center and find out about the warranty and future serviceability.

[Jason B]

A jack to a hobbyist is like a good set of knives to the cook. You will get your money from a good jack over time. Harbor freight sucks!!!! They sell junk and only junk. HATE them! I told my Dad a few years ago that I want a "quality jack" to replace my Craftsman junk. He bought me what seemed like a decent one, but now I'm in the same boat as you (no pun intended). I'm actually looking at garage sales for an older one-made when QUALITY was important to a company putting their name on something. My dad has a few jacks, all are probably 30 years old. Can't buy quality like that anymore.

None are aluminim though. couldn't care less if it's made from steel or aluminum.

[TeamAllen]

Jason B, maybe you should take a look at this site.
http://www.jackxchange.com/

They are local to me, but you might be able to find a place near you that carries them. In my research, the name that comes up the most is Hein-Werner. US made and quality.

[Joeprunc]

I bought the HF 2 Ton aluminum one, its been working great for 2 years. Just with any HF junk you have to keep an eye on the bolts and keep them tight.