my search failed to turn up anything...

I'm looking for a floor jack...and a quick search at Sears turns up these models (among others):

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...Lift+Equipment

the first one has a pretty good price, and 1.5 tons seems like it will be fine for the MINI (2600 lbs?)

this 2nd one is more capacity, but the cost difference between it and others makes me think it's not going to last.

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...Lift+Equipment

this last one is more capacity but less than the first one (at list)

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...Lift+Equipment

any comments or alternate suggestions? TIA

 

 

Check this link for some recommendations given in the past. The one at Pep Boys looked real sharp.


https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ght=floor+jack

 

Someone else on NAM recommended this racing jack from Harbor Freight so I bought it and have been very happy with it. It even goes well with my Indi Blue MCS.

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

 

harborfreight.com has a good one thats weighs about 25lb. and works great, lots of folks use it at the track.

 

I am also in the market for one. It is important to get one that is low profile (short) and one that lifts high enough to get jack stands under the car.

 

Man, that was quick, thanks all! Now why didn't my search on "floor jack" turn up those other threads

Related question, anyone have any experience w/ this torque wrench from TireRack? Found this when searching the threads for floor jacks...

http://www.tirerack.com/a.jsp?a=EZ3&url=/accessories/tools/tw605.jsp

 

I have what appears to be the exact same wrench, which I bought from Ace Hardware for more $$$.

 

Ignore the el cheapo crap.

The best deal you'll get is the NAPA part that runs a couple hundred bucks. This jack (blue and yellow) is (or was at least a few years back) the same jack you'd pay double for on the Snap-On truck. Both made I believe by Lincoln. The grease kids at Discount tire sling these around day in and day out. Bet you can't say that for some of the others.

Heavy? Yes.
Low profile? Not bad.
Durable? Damn straight.

I've played around with the imports, the alum ones etc. and shot of buying a well built one for a 'Cup' car this part is worth every dollar you'll pay. Steel, steel, strong, steel, and did I mention it's heavy?

Buy it one time.

 

are you happy w/ it?

 

And toque wrenches, two thoughts;

1. don't leave them wound up at a setting, zero them after every use.
2. don't buy anything but a Snap-On. Every thing else is just junk.

 

I have two of these jacks. They are nice a light and easy on the back. if you have to take them anywhere they are nice to lift. they also have a nice up function with a quick pump. they are on sale every now and then for 179.00 and that is normally when i buy mine. it may seam like a lot of money, but after i got one, i had to get another to make thinks nice while doing pulley installs. good luck, hope that helps!

 

whoah, serious capacity, eh? I may need that now that I think I should also do my Volvo wagon, which is probably up in that range....better to justify w/ the wife

 

I hear ya, my toolchest is almost 100% SnapOn, 'cause my brother's buddy was the District Mgr, and I got set up w/ some great prices, but that's no longer an option so the pocketbook says look at Craftsman....

 

I have spent a ton of money on cheap jacks over the years, they all seem to crap out after a year or so of abuse. I splurged and bought one of these. My wife nearly divorced me when she noticed the credit card charge. I tried to explain that it comes with a five year warrenty, isn't that peace of mind??.

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

 

It's OK and does the job. I had both a Mac and a Snap-on stolen from me so it was an el-cheapo this time. To tell you the truth, though, I still like the old school torsion bar type that I used when I was first learning.

 

I agree, for most uses an inexpensive beam type ($25 at Sears) is adequate – they're far more accurate than cheap clickers.

 

FWIW, I have a jack that looks suspiciously like the Craftsman one above, but it was ~$100 at Kragen. I'll know in a year or two if it's of lesser quality, but it seems pretty sturdy...

 

good to know, I think Sears has a $49 one that looks like these...I'll take a look at it when I look at the jacks. I think these qualify for the lifetime replacement Craftsman guarantee, don't they?

There's a Sears Outlet store near me, I think I'll hit that first to see if they have any deals.

 

Snap on stuff is nice, but I'll probably never buy their stuff again after my bad experience trying to get them to honor their warranty.

First you have to find the guy with the Snap-On Truck. Since he services lots of professional shops and makes his money with thjose folks, he does not want to drive his truck out of his way to replace my little tool. So you chase him around for a month and when you finally get him to stop, he does not have the exact part you need. Then it takes another month or two for you to find him again. At least this is how it happened for me in Fort Collins Colorado.

I'll happily pay much less for Craftsman tools from Sears where I can just walk into any department store anywhere in the country and get my replacement tool with no questions asked.

 

I have the harbor freight jack for misc. use and to take to the track. Some reports over the years on the E30 M3 list of a few leaks and out of the box failures, and I believe it doesn't like being used on an incline, but for the money a good jack, particulalrly when you're carting it around and only doing occasional work.

The best jack in my book is the DK jack that Dark Mini recommended Low profile, high quality, moderately heavy, not inexpensive, but not outrageous. If I start doing more work at home that needs a jack it would probably be my first choice.

Tom Der
North Hampton, NH
2005 MCS Works
1991 M3
1990 535i

 

Yes, I agree that finding a dealer can be tough and they don't always have what you want on the truck. That's an expensive truck to stock.

I do know that over 20+ years now that I have owned two Craftsman wrenches, first returned the second thrown out. I ponied up the cash for the SO part (about $285 back in 1987) and still have it. I sent it in for calibration about 5 years ago (with certs) and it came back as within spec. I admit I'm not sure what those specs are but it did have a testing lab report on it.

For the four years I operated the Bondurant shop here in PHX we did the cheapo wrench thing....Harbor, Craftsman, Matco, Autozone... I don't recall the specifics, but we finally broke down and got a couple of SO parts after the others crapped out. They were still in use daily back when I left. (of courset that was now 12 years ago. They've probably been stolen by now! LOL)

 

I recommend the Harbor Freight floor jack as well. I have used it for a full season without issue. Its light, fits in the floor well behind the passenger seat, and fits easily under the MINI. For tightening lugs on the wheels, I also bought this torque wrench from Harbor Freight for $19.99, its on sale right now for $9.99!

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...itemnumber=239



I like click wrenches better than the bar ones. Its much easier to know when you are at the right point, especially when you are in a hurry out at the track. I would not recommend either for serious applications where you need to know the torque spec is correct, but for lugs its close enough.

 

These appear to be pretty well built. Fully welded parts, good, reasonable ratings, fairly wide bodied for stability. And the low profile is a nice thing.

I'm a little concerned about that 31" lift on a MINI....

"Honey, can you come out to the gargae and help me roll the car back onto it's wheels?"

 

I've got a jack very similar to the Harbor Freight one that I got on sale from the local parts shop. It works great for occasional use, and was dirt cheap (under $100). As far as I've seen all the cheap aluminum jacks are about the same quality, and are just fine for a weekend mechanic. If I needed another I'd get the HF one or a similar one that Costco sells sometimes.

I think these are as good as the similar craftsman jack but cheaper, so I'd go HF before Craftsman.

The AC hydraulics jack pictured above is supposed to be an excellenct piece, but you are going to pay for it. Should be no regrets there (except for weight) if you want to drop the coin. Ultimate garage also has some sweet padded top jackstands that work great with the Mini.

On torque wrenches, I agree that you don't want to store them tight, but I disagree that you need a Snap-on to check your wheels. As far as I'm told, if you drop one, it is no longer reliable and you need to get it an expensive calibration. TIt may be fine for someone making a living on repairs to spend $100 to calibrate their $250 wrench, but for me that seems stupid. I have and like the $10 special from HF. It is the same crappy wrench you can buy for $60 elsewhere and is accurate enough for wheels, which is about all I ise it for. If I drop it, I'm going to chuck it and get a new one. I'll probably get a Craftsman at about $100 if I need to torque more sensitive stuff like engine bits.