Do you know jack(s)?

[Uberryan]

I've had my little autozone red and black driveway jack for years now. At full extend the seal leaks, and it hardly gets any sort of decent height to get my jack stands under it. While it has done the job for the longest time, I feel like it's time to retire it as I would like to get more clearance and room to work under my car. Instead, half the work time spent on easy projects is getting the jack out and positioning it just right to get the max amount of clearance out of it.

That said, on rare occasions, I've seen a few jacks used by professionals that are massive race jacks. Slide them right in and in a few painless and carefree pumps, that side is in the air, no problem. However, I've never seen a branding or been able to find these kinds of jacks before. Granted they're pretty huge, so I imagine they're expensive.

So, without further pandering, what are some of your recommended or favorite jacks to get your projects under the car done in your driveway? Anyone know of the particular jack I'm talking about? Best place to buy, etc?

 

[TRBO FRK]

I worked in the hydraulic jack industry for a number of years and some of the best jacks are pretty expensive. I just recently purchased an omega brand jack that is long reach, low profile, and has the quick pump feature your looking for. This one commonly is recommended by corvette owners. It's a little expensive and heavy but it works great so far. Here's a link to where you can find it.

http://www.amazon.com/Omega-29023-Profile-Hydraulic-Service/dp/B000RFUETA

 

[rawbdog]

Craftsman makes an aluminum one that is just awesome. It is low profile and so light you can move it with ease and place it anywhere with one hand/arm. Only downside is price, I forget how much my dad paid for it but he told me it cost about 3 times what we paid for our regular bulky steel craftsman one.

 

[ashchuckton]

I have a nice Craftsman 2 ton aluminum floor jack. Got it on sale a few years ago for $125. I also have a US General 1.5 ton aluminum floor jack that I bought from Harbor Fright for under $100. It is light weight & goes with me for track days. I bought these a few years ago so you may find the price has gone up.

Also invest in some decent jack stands.

 

[ArcsandSparks]

I have a 3 ton Craftsman jack that works very well. Its old, but no complaints.

Recently picked up a low profile floor jack from Harbor Freight, a little under $100 (probably the same one as ashchuckton) and for the money I have no complaints. A few full pumps and it'll have one side of the car in the air.

 

[snobrdrdan]

3 ton low profile jack from Harbor Freight...I have 2 of them. $80-$90 (with coupon/on sale from the flyer)

They're for the garage though ....since they're heavy at like 70-80lbs. (not lugging them around anywhere)
Awesome jack though for the money

 

[Blaznjoe]

I have the Harbor Freight 1.5 ton aluminum jack and it works fine.

When I'm ready to step up my game I may buy this...

http://ezcarlift.com/

 

[aj_law]

Recently picked up a low profile floor jack from Harbor Freight, a little under $100 (probably the same one as ashchuckton) and for the money I have no complaints. A few full pumps and it'll have one side of the car in the air.

3 ton low profile jack from Harbor Freight...I have 2 of them. $80-$90 (with coupon/on sale from the flyer)

They're for the garage though ....since they're heavy at like 70-80lbs. (not lugging them around anywhere)
Awesome jack though for the money

+3.

 

[snobrdrdan]

Here's a link for the Harbor Freight jack....$85:
http://www.harborfreight.com/automo...vy-duty-floor-jack-with-rapid-pump-61282.html

Low profile and also has a good/high lift range

 

[lilonespaz]

I +5 the harbor freight low profile jack.

My local Harbor Freight had a entire display with jacks... there are about 10 in it. so go to your local store and see what they have they are usually out of the box so you can see the profile and stuff.

 

[leiito1]

3 ton low profile jack from Harbor Freight...I have 2 of them. $80-$90 (with coupon/on sale from the flyer)

They're for the garage though ....since they're heavy at like 70-80lbs. (not lugging them around anywhere)
Awesome jack though for the money

This. Love it. :thumbup:

 

[Uberryan]

When I'm ready to step up my game I may buy this...

http://ezcarlift.com/

For nearly $2k, that's not bad considering time saved and ease of use. Innovations like these give me hope for a more at home lift that doesn't require a huge garage.

Unfortunately, I doubt that thing would work too well on an incline driveway. Probably flat, stable surfaces only. I like it though.

 

[zrickety]

Max Jax as seen in GTR Killer video...