Reliable Low-Profile Floorjack?

A

Accumulator

Well-known member
My Griot's low-profile floorjack went inop on my today, at a terribly inconvenient time :angry This is the second one that's done that, and it's not like I abuse them or anything.



Anybody know of a good, low-profile jack that *works* and keeps on working? My reliable Craftsman one isn't low enough for some of our vehicles and I hate the "drive up on wood" approach.
 
Im actually in the market for jack too and Id like to see what everybody has to say. Accumulator what kind of car are you not able to fit the craftsman underneath? I thought those had a "lower profile".



Alex
 
My cheap high profile floor jack stopped wprking last year & I found that there are bleeders and a place for more oil. I cant remember what I did but there were directions that walked me through the process and the jack is now working.

There may be help for your jack. See if you can find some directions that came w/the jack.
 
You know I hear nothing but good things about the Costco jack (2 ton and low profile). Its $99 and plus, you got the BEST return policy. Just keep the reciept.
 
Kempie- No such luck. The piston has frozen inside the hydraulic cylinder. Griot's knows about this (same thing happened on my previous one) and they've quit selling them because of it. No way to fix except replace the cylinder, parts not available, etc.



Hondaph00l- Car in question is my '84 RX-7 GSL-SE. Sure not the lowest car I've ever owned, but just low enough that I can't get to the front crossmember. Doing the "jack it up enough to jack it up again from a different spot" thing is as bad as driving up onto something (hey, I'm spoiled). The Craftsman jack is an old one too, might not be anything like the ones they're selling today.



Chan- No CostCo in my area...



Setec Astronomy- Bingo, looks like we have a winner! Thanks, I'll PM Brad for specifics.
 
I have a 1.5 ton low profile race jack from Sears that works great on my G. I doubt it would have the ooomph needed for a truck, but I only use it for changing winter to summer wheels! Works great and only paid $100 for it! You can order it online from sears but they typically go onsale around fathers day, memorial day, and labor day. Normal price is about 129 i think!
 
Diesel1- I thought about one like that, but I'll get more use out of one that has a greater capacity. I only need the low clearance now and then, but I'm always jacking stuff up for one reason or another and I'm used to having two jacks of similar capacity.



Heh heh, actually, I'm *still* used to having a lift...not having one is a hassle, but not as big a hassle as owning the building it was in ;)
 
Accumulator said:
Heh heh, actually, I'm *still* used to having a lift...not having one is a hassle, but not as big a hassle as owning the building it was in ;)
Click to expand...



You should look at those other pics of Brad's garage, he's got a low-rise lift in there, I guess it's a Bend-Pak. Sure would be nice for tire rotation, etc.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Accumulator, ask Brad B. about this one, it's from his garage.
Click to expand...



That is an AC Hydraulic Jack. I have one as well. I have been very pleased with it. They are kind of expensive but, probably the best low profile jack as far as I have seen.



http://www.ultimategarage.com/acjacks.html



DSC00026.jpg
 
Setec- Oh, I've looked into home-garage lifts, believe me ;) But I configured my shop expecting to always have the commercial building and squeezing a lift into *this* shop just isn't feasible, not even a movable one. I could get one in here if I moved some lights, but it'd be a nuisance more often than it'd be a benefit (I know how I like the shop to be, somebody else might see it differently). Coulda/woulda/shoulda you know.....
 
rjstaaf- Thanks, that link has what I'm after. Brad B. just got back to me via PM and that was one of his sources for the same thing. As they say in the Filson ads, "might as well have the best".
 
rjstaaf, is that one of those Protech side lifting pads? Do you use it as shown in the pic? Or do you use it on the saddle of the low-profile jack?
 
Setec Astronomy said:
rjstaaf, is that one of those Protech side lifting pads? Do you use it as shown in the pic? Or do you use it on the saddle of the low-profile jack?
Click to expand...



Yup, got it from Protech.



http://www.protechproducts.net/index.htm



It doesn't work well on my Mustang to lift by the pinch welds so I pretty much use is as a pad to protect the frame rails. The grooves are too deep for my application.



side-lift-jack-pad.jpg




If I had it to do over I would have just gotten the solid one.



JackPadRound.jpg
 
I got a super low profile quick-pump aluminum jack from Harbor Freight that is excellent. 3" saddle height, 6 pumps to full extension. I've had it 2 years, no issues, made by US GENERAL. $69 without the quick-pump feature, $129 with it.



I was referred to this tool from Miatanet, where a lot of guys were happy with it.





Tom
 
Thanks for all the input folks. I ended up buying an AC Hydraulic from ASE.



Now I've just gotta ship back the dead one to Griot's...what a hassle but at least I'll get my $ back (the shipping cost too). Heh heh, and I thought I was on their [stuff]-list after my *last* big return- I'll proably be begging them to sell me Car Wash after this :p
 
Accumulator said:
Setec- Oh, I've looked into home-garage lifts...and squeezing a lift into *this* shop just isn't feasible, not even a movable one. I could get one in here if I moved some lights, but it'd be a nuisance more often than it'd be a benefit...
Click to expand...



I was talking about one of these low-rise ones, that's really only for tire work (well, not for standing under the car, anyway), it only has a 26" lift height. The only hassle is if you regularly park a car in that bay, you have to drive over the ramps every time. Maybe you already knew what I was talking about since you mentioned a movable one, which is a variant of the one I linked. I'm still thinking about it...but it doesn't really work for me either.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
The only hassle is if you regularly park a car in that bay, you have to drive over the ramps every time..
Click to expand...



That's the problem. I have too many vehicles and they sometimes get parked in all sorts of wacky ways. For that, I need open floorspace so having no obstructions (and having no more stuff too big to shove into a corner) gets to be the controlling factor.
 
rjstaaf said:
Yup, got it from Protech.



http://www.protechproducts.net/index.htm



It doesn't work well on my Mustang to lift by the pinch welds so I pretty much use is as a pad to protect the frame rails. The grooves are too deep for my application.



side-lift-jack-pad.jpg




If I had it to do over I would have just gotten the solid one.



JackPadRound.jpg
Click to expand...



I have heard of a hockey puck working great for this as well! Just need to cut a small slice in it and your all set. I am actually going to run through my old hockey bag (that should smell nice) and grab a puck to try it out when I swap my wheels this weekend.
 
Mosca said:
I got a super low profile quick-pump aluminum jack from Harbor Freight that is excellent. 3" saddle height, 6 pumps to full extension. I've had it 2 years, no issues, made by US GENERAL. $69 without the quick-pump feature, $129 with it.



I was referred to this tool from Miatanet, where a lot of guys were happy with it.





Tom
Click to expand...

I second this I've had mine for three years never a problem and used near daily
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top