My sturdy AC jack was left out, and is now gone, so I need to replace it. It's been the best jack I've ever had, but heavy, so I'm looking at aluminum jacks (and, I can't seem to find anyone who sells the AC anymore).

I had a harbour freight, and it was total crap. I did a search, and found a lot of mixed review about the sears 2 ton. I looked at an intercomp from cdoc a few years ago, but it seems they don't carry them anymore, and it looks like longacre has stopped making them too. Any suggestions?

 

AC is, unfortunately, gone out of business.

I'm in the camp of not using cheap jacks, having had 2 friends lose their life from those things. Good tools & equipment are lifetime aquistions so I buy only once and never have to do the same things over & over again.

I use a Brunnhoelzl for the track; not inexpensive but totally rebuildable and not made with cheap parts.

 

Well, I have two 3,000 lb Harbor Freight LW Aluminum jacks and they have peformed flawlessly. They are not total crap as you so uniformly called all of them. I know several people that have them and have had no problems, either. I have heard on RL that some work great and others don't, but they were returned and exchanged or credited. I've heard the same for other brands as well.

25 years ago, I bought a $300 2 1/2 ton BlackHawk from NAPA that was built like a tank and weighed as much as one, too. It was unreliable right out of the gate. They replaced it and that replacement jack works as good today as it did when new. Jacks will be jacks.

Steve, I am sorry you lost your friends, but I'll go out on a limb and venture a guess that taking chances (not implying your friends did) with any pricepoint jacks have killed as many people as the cheap ones. A little common sense and some jackstands goes a long way in preventing accidents. Since I began going to DE's, I've watched people that should know better, take chances with jacks and safety in general at events. I see them under their cars and offer to get them a jackstand that is under the work bench and they laugh and say they do without, all the time. Makes me wonder if they take those chances at home, too. Thats how a lot of people get in trouble.

Sorry I ranted, but people get in a hurry, get careless or complacent and bad things happen under cars.

 

Steve, what do you use as a shop jack, and where do you find the brunnhoelz? I have a friend who's had a NAPA low profile jack for a long time w/ good results, but very heavy. Bummer about AC.

I originally thought the harbour freight was a great idea, and bought one. I went through 3 of them in about 6 months, with about 6 times/days of use. They were good about sending me new ones, but I got tired of that. I never get under a car w/o stands, so I don't see how you'd get hurt; my thoughts definitely go out to Steve's friends, though

 

http://www.brunnhoelzl.com/WARRIORJACKS.htm

 

Although not the lightest out there, OTC is a good quality jack.

http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/p-4121-otc-1532.aspx

 

The cheap sears ones are JUNK. Their "hybrid" steel and aluminum one (the ~$280 one) has held up for me very well. I used to go through 2-3 jacks a season and this one has lasted 2+ years. I've actually had really decent luck with the Harbour Freight ones but only for LIGHT duty stuff - they certainly aren't impressive but they aren't total junk as some make them out to be. Still, you can see them flex/creak and that worries the crap out of me.

Either way, I _always_ use jack stands.

 

Check out the Milwaukee Hydraulics floor jacks. They are possibly the best service jack you can get. I have the 2-ton model, it weights 70-lbs, which is not as light at an aluminum jack but probably lighter then your AC was. Plus, it is made & assembled here in USA. I got a better price calling Milwaukee directly, then I found on the web.

 

Hi David,

We have 2 Hein-Werners, an old Walker thats still excellent, and 2 AC's. The H-W's have been rebuilt after 24 years in service; the rest haven't needed anything yet.

Bummer indeed, about AC. These are very useful for their low pad height and ease of use in close spaces.

 

Steve, I was on the Brunnhoelzl website and see that they have two types of aluminum jacks. Does the standard one clear under a lowered car or do you use the "low profile" style? The low profile style is almost double their standard design.

 

I bought the OTC jack onefastviking posted up a few months ago and love it. 3.5'' minimum height and can life to over 18 inches. Its not bad either at 43lbs, i have no problem carrying it in and out of the house.

 

I have an ooollllddddd AC that still does duty and is very nice but heavy...Have had 2 Crafstman jacks in 3 years that lost pressure and are now gathering dust in the corner...useless junk. I did buy another for the race car trailer however...just so i can throw that one in the corner with the others at the end of the season!

 

Not to hijack, but I have a sears that did the same thing: lost pressure. Is this fixable or under the craftsman warranty?

Also, I have an Aluminum racing jack that I picked up from Costco 4-5 years ago that has been great.

 

+1 on the aluminum Costco jack. Mine's holding up quite well after 3+ years. Low profile too. Made by "Arcan", I think.

 

Anyone have the procedure for bleeding the generic Al jacks?
Mine is a US General model #47246 and the user manual has long since disappeared!