For those who remove their wheels and clean them ...

T

toml

New member
do you prefer to use a floor jack or a bottle jack? Or do you just use the scissor jack that comes with your car? I'm looking at the floor jack because the bottle jack by itself just barely clears the underside of my car and the scissor jack would seem to be a pain even though I only plan on doing this 2x a year.



Any suggestions on a good, reasonable floor jack as well as a torque wrench? I really don't want to spend more than $75 for the jack, 2 stands, and a torque wrench.
 
Not sure I would go cheap on such critical tools as a floor jack, jack stands and a torque wrench. As with most things, you get what you pay for.



I would check out Craftsman, they have deals on floor jack and jack stand combos as well as torque wrenches.



This is the set I have, very sturdy.

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/prod...OL&fromAuto=YES&bidsite=CRAFT&pid=00950148000



I have several Craftsman torque wrenches but, this 1/2 drive is the one I use for wheels.

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/prod...OL&fromAuto=YES&bidsite=CRAFT&pid=00944595000
 
I use a Craftsman 2-1/2 ton floor jack I have Team Mechanix jack stands from Checker Auto though. I think the Craftsman 2-1/2 ton jack stands only cost around $15. You'll want at least a 150 ft-lb torque wrench for accurately tightening wheel nuts. I've seen one for about $45 at a Checker Auto store, but that's one of the cheapest around. If you go with a nice one it will cost at least $100.
 
toml said:
Is that torque wrench small enough that you don't need to use any sort of extension to keep the wrench away from the car's body? I checked Sear's website and there were no dimensions for the wrench.
Click to expand...



It is pretty long, I use a short extension with it to torque the lugs.
 
You will probably need a 3" extension to make sure that the handle clears the car's body. That's what I use with no problem. Oh yeah, I prefer my Craftsman aluminum floor jack and 3 ton stands.
 
I do a complete wheel cleaning and waxing when I rotate the tires, inside and out. Then I dress the rubber when the tires are flat on the ground. You will be very satisfied when done as the wheels come out very good.
 
I have a regular floor jack (heavy), but bought this lightweight aluminum racing jack from Harbor Freight a few months ago:



http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=91039



I bought it because the front end of my street rod is too low for my regular floor jack, and this one slides right under it with a low 3" saddle height. I was impressed with the quality, looks, and LIGHTER weight of this jack.



Pick up some good jack stands, a decent torque wrench and you'll be all set. Harbor Freight has some cheapo torque wrenches that might be OK for lug nuts, but go ahead and buy a Craftsman in case you ever need it for engine work.
 
i have a "michelin" floor jack from sams ~ $65



2 torque wrenches, in-lb and ft-lb. you probably want a ft-lb one.

The ft-lb is a 1/2" drive. get 1/2" drive. I got it from autozone or pepboys for like $40 works just fine, im not rebuilding engines and transmissions here



For the jack stands i have the MVP 6 ton stands. like $20



so the grand total would be just over $100 for the stuff you wanted
 
I use a 3 ton floor jack and four 4 ton jack stands. ALWAYS use jack stands, and then use the floor jack as an extra support on a crossmember or something. Also, if your wheels uses studs instead of lug nuts to hold the wheel on, a large phillips head screwdriver is useful to hold the wheel onto the hub while re-installing it.
 
i work at a dealer so i just put it on a rack ;)



my bro - in - law had his mustang on jackstands at all 4 corners when he did his brakes, ( painted calipers and got cross drilled and slotted rotors, ) he cleaned his wheels inside and out too.



floor jack, should be good
 
If you only plan on buying one floor jack in your life buy a light weight aluminum one! I bought the large clunky cast iron jobby and it weighs a ton! Keep an eye out at Checkers (or your favorite supply shop) and occasionally they have a stand and floor jacks as a combo purchase.



Torque wrenches can be pricey though so not sure you can get all three for under $100
 
Thanks everyone for your posts :) It gives me a ballpark figure to work with. Looks like my initial estimate was a bit low.
 
After further searching, I came up with these two choices:



Husky 3/8" torque wrench model 39103 from Home Depot (sorry, couldn't get a link to work).



Craftsman 1.5 ton aluminum/steel floor jack



I did look at both the Craftsman 1/2" torque wrench and this Husky one at Home Depot, and the Husky one looks a bit better crafted and it has a lifetime warranty (Craftsman is 1 year). It does only go up to 100 ft-lbs (Craftsman is 150), but my car's lug nuts are to be torqued only to 80. Is that a pretty generic figure for most vehicles, or are others much higher?



When at Sears, I really liked the construction of the aluminum/steel floor jack. Sears does have a 2 ton all aluminum floor jack, but the price is $70 more for 1000 lbs. more lifting capacity and a 13 lb. weight saving. I'm hard pressed to justify the extra cost, as my car's gross weight is roughly 4000 lbs. and has jacking points by all the tires, so 3000 lbs. seems more than enough.



Any comments?
 
Eliot Ness said:
I have a regular floor jack (heavy), but bought this lightweight aluminum racing jack from Harbor Freight a few months ago:



http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=91039



I bought it because the front end of my street rod is too low for my regular floor jack, and this one slides right under it with a low 3" saddle height. I was impressed with the quality, looks, and LIGHTER weight of this jack.
Click to expand...



I really wish I could by an aluminum jack for anywhere near this price in the UK, this one @ $79 will cost about $300 in the UK. Unfortunately I can't find anyone in the US who ships these to the UK, even with the addition of freight it should be loads cheaper.

Any UK Autopian seen one at a good price or any US member no if anyone will ship one of these?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top