sprio

Now that I've had the S4 for 6 months or so, and in the process of preparing for my first cocours, I'm looking to get the car into the air to do some work underneath. Not having much experience with lifting (let alone being underneath) cars, I'd like to get a good jack. I'm toying with the idea of Porken's lift bars (have to get the expense past the holder of the checkbook), but with all the jack options out there, what's the best for the money?

Bus

I use a 2.5 ton floor jack I've used for years... often times adding a 4" long piece of 2x4 on it to spread out the load or prevent damage.

I think the lift bars are great... they make it easy to get the car up in the air because the jack is not 4' under the car. There are some nice "mid lift"s out there too that are pretty reasonable.


When I move back on to Signal, I'm gonna have a separate garage with a high ceiling and a two post lift!!!!!!

sprio

thanks, Bus - where did you buy it? Sears, Pep Boys, Harbor Freight? I've read so much about some of the junk that's out there, I'm afraid to make a mistake.

Are you planning to drop in on Winterfest this weekend?

Bus

Where did I buy my Jack? I can't recall... I think I bought it in '87 or '88...

There are some really nice low profile ones at the local Harbor Freight on Lee Hwy... and even better prices at Sierra Tool Supply over by exit 11 on mountain view road.

I don't have one of those mid-lift monsters. But several on the list here do... Thread

AO

I use the HF aluminum racing jack. It's lightweight, has a low profile, and ets the job dne. I did have to de-burr the front rollers axle(bolt) and pack with grease, but once I did that, I have not had any issues. Best part was I picked it up for something like $69 or $79.

Combine that with the PorKen liftbars (if you can stil get them) and you've got a GREAT setup. I use my lit bars ALL-THE-TIME! They're a bargin at almost twice the price.

hacker-pschorr

Sams Club usually has a pretty damn hefty 2.5 ton jack available for $60. Not the lightest unit around, but for in the garage it's excellent. I would not buy one of the lightweight aluminum jobs for my "around the garage" jack.

AO

Why not? If it lifts the car, it lifts the car. I should add that I never work under the car with the jack supporting the weight. I always use jack stands.

hacker-pschorr

I don't like the small foot print they have compared to a "full size" jack. Not to mention the effort it takes to lift my car with the large jack vs. the small ones is huge.

It's just nice having a large jack around. On Sunday we were trying to force a 928 with collapsed suspension onto a trailer. We needed two "full size" jacks to raise the vehicle as we winched it on / off.

tv

25$ steel hydraulic one on wheels from sears. Nice little cup thing fits perfectly in lift points, easy to lift and lower.

But always lift to put on jack stands and cinder blocks if you are going to lie under.

MarkRobinson

I've lost 2 different aluminum jacks from HF in the last year due to hydraulic cylinder failure (leaks out all the fluid): I will not buy a "nicer", "Pricier" tool from there again (Sears is my source now).

AO

Cinder blocks are not strong enough! They are very brttle, and can collapse without notice. A huck of 4x4 is a far better alternative. That said, I don't do either. I just lift the car on onto the Porken Bars and that's it.

Ed Hughes

In all sincerity, here is my favorite jack-I use it all of the time:

http://www.asedeals.com/mid_rise_lift.html

The other one I have for the track, is the HF Aluminum Andrew mentioned. It's light, the handle removes and splits to two pieces, so it travels well so you could take it to Concours events if you need to lift the car for last minute cleaning. I've had mine for 4 years now, and it saw a lot of work before I got the scissors lift. For $70, it can't be beat.

Ed Hughes

LET ME SECOND THE MOTION HERE-DO NOT USE CINDER BLOCKS TO SUPPORT A CAR!!!!

TV (Or Randy V)-Please remove this portion of your post!!

Rob Edwards

I bought an AC Hydraulics DK20 a few years back and am extremely satisfied with it. Paid about $220 shipped from http://www.asedeals.com/hydraulicjacks2.html. Super low profile, very precise control on raising and lowering, built like a tank. Also factor in how easy it is to teach the wife to operate it so she can save your life with it some day....

Looking around, it looks like the exchange rate has made them kind of expensive ($400?!?!?!)

dr bob

For many years I've been using a very low cost (<$20) steel roller jack I picked up at a hardware store chain that's been out of business more than 25 years. I think I added oil to it once. Comes from a time when low-cost American-made stuff was common. It's big benefit at the time was the fact that the lift saddle would get under the rear center lift point on one of my Lotus cars at about 2.5" off the floor. Highest lift is about 13" though, so it has been used with all kinds of wood blocks as spacers to get things up to a usable height.

At our last TB/WP party, one of the victims donated a 2.5t Sears aluminum roller jack to the local collection. One or two pumps to get it up really high so it's way easy to use. Big footprint and a big rubber saddle pad make it 928 friendly too. It was on sale in a Sears Craftsman-Club flier a few weeks ago. The handle splits in two for easy stowage, and it's simple and easy to clean.

I visited one of my brothers last weekend. He was putting brakes on his Explorer. He had been borrowing the small steel jack for his projects, but decided that a real jack of his own would be easier than the drive to my house. So off to Wal-Mart for one of their almost-long-frame steel SUV roller jacks that goes to over 20" of lift with no blocks on it. This is the perfect partner to a set of the taller 6ton stands that H-F and others sell. It gets the car up high enough to work under comfortably without blocks, to the mid height on those taller stands. The combo of jack at Wal-Mart and the 4 6T stands on sale at H-F down the block was under $100 IIRC. The jack would need a saddle pad for 928 work but is otherwise a good mid-price solution.

Another note on the stands-- Good stands will save your life. The taller stands are a few dollars more but a much better solution than using shorter 3t stands at full extended position. Adding spacer blocks on top of short stands is a recipe for disaster too, since they roll over so easily. Get the right ones and live to tell about your 928 wrenching adventures.

NEVER use cinder blocks to hold a car up. The pressure from a car sitting on the blocks is very localized, often causing the block to fracture and fail catastrophically. You, the car, or both will be damaged. Real stands are too cheap these days, and are available everywhere. There really is no excuse. Plus, better stands are actually reusable!


If you can get your hands on a set of Porken's Lift Bars, you'll wonder how you did without them if you pick the car up with any regularity. Wish I had purchased a set last time they were offered. Oh well...