I'm looking to purchase a floor jack for my car and was wondering what weight rated jack I need for my 993. I will use it to jack the car up and then put it on axel stands (2) before I work on it. Any advise?

 

I use a 1.5 ton I picked up from Sears. Seems to have both the capacity needed as well as the lift height.

 

I'm going to reply to Steve's post because I want something similar. I'd like a low saddle height jack that's lightweight (perhaps aluminum) that's also smaller so that it's easy to haul around to DE days. (I usually don't like Harbor Freight, if that matters.)

Thanks in advance!

 

A good friend of mine who races semi-pro uses recommends this lightweight jack from Harbor Freight:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=91039

However, being a contractor, I have never been keen on Harbor Freight tools simply because they don't seem to handle the abuse of daily hard use. But I'm thinking that perhaps this would do for the light use I will give it and, as I said before, my friend has used and abused this jack most weekends for more than 18 months and still recommends it. I'm considering buying one but want to find out what others recommend here too.

 

I used to use the Sears jack but they seem to deteriorate with age (I went through two of them, and I don't abuse them in any way). So I picked up a 3 ton low profile aluminum jack from Costco a year ago and I love it. I can get all the way under the crank case on my lowered car without problem and it jacks quickly. The only downside is that it's big and heavy.

 

I don't have a particular brand to reccomend and I do not know what kind of suspension you have, but I would measure the amount of clearance you have under your car and get one that will fit without having to drive your car onto wooden ramps (ask me why I knw this is improtant).

 

I have a Lincoln 2T steel floor jack. It is bullet proof. I would highly recommend one of these. Downside is that it is big and heavy. I also have the Costco aluminum. Of the two the Lincoln is MUCH more robust. The Costco is ok if you need to transport it though. The Costco also has a slightly lower saddle height, but not enough that it is an issue.

Update. Can't find the Lincoln for sale, but it looks something like this one: http://www.tooltopia.com/index.asp?P...D&ProdID=31010

 

I have the harbor freight, been using it for 3 years with no issues. I use it about once a month or so.

 

Been using the Sears Craftsman Alum "race" jack now for years, at home and taken to track, still works as good as new.

Edward

 

+1 5 years old and use it with 3 cars-no problems so far.

 

I've had the Harbor Freight 3000 lb lightweight jack, but it went bad after about a dozen uses. HF took it back under warranty and I placed the cost of that one towards their 4000 lb lightweight aluminum jack (It was a floor display model). I'd rate it (the 4000lb one) as just OK. It is difficult to pump up and one of the first times I used it, it twisted sideways on me, because I didn't know I would have to re-torque all the frame nuts and bolts, as it was already "assembled".
My wife, bless her heart, bought me one of those really nice AC-Hydraulic jacks. I only use the HF one as a back-up and hold my breath when I do use it.
of course, as always, YMMV

 

I think that this post reveals some problems with Harbor Freight stuff: its quality is very inconsistent, and it often needs to be fixed so that, although brand new, it will work properly.

I have a HF knock-off of a sheetmetal Beverley shear, which I think works great; others hate it because the cutting blades chip. Mine have been fine, but I also had to spend some time adjusting them.

The drill press I bought from them was terrible. The cast pot metal pieces kept cracking.

It's really hit or miss with them. But their prices are so cheap, I keep going back!

 

I had a Sears Craftsman aluminum jack. It worked great!..........for about 5 months. I then read some threads that I should have read before I bought it. The hydraulics go out on them very regularly. And Sears does not warranty them beyond 90-days. Craftsman is not what it used to be.

Anyway, I know own one of the Costco aluminum jacks (Arcan brand) and have been using it regularly over a year. I'm very happy with it. Also, my car is very low and this jack gets under the car everywhere I need it to.

If you'd like to see what others think of the Craftsman jacks, just look what they have to say about them on Sear's own site: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...Lift+Equipment

And here are some reviews of the low-profile one: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...Lift+Equipment