After thinking about it for a while I'm going to get a floor jack. Had been planning on getting at Sears but it isn't handy. What should I look out for? What brands are good? What brands should I avoid? Will probably get it at he Px (post exchange for non-Army types) or at the local o'reilly's.

 

I have this one that I found here:



This works great for me and is just low enough to fit under my car.

 

Light weight is good.

I bought mine at Sears the lightweight aluminum is nice and you also want to make sure it has a low clearance (to fit under the vehicle) and check the lift height (ie it will raise the vehicle 11 inches).

Mine is similar to the picture.
Speedy-lift™ design: only 2 pumps bring the saddle to the chassis and then engages like a normal jack. Aluminum lightweight construction means jack weighs less than 44 lbs. Lifts from 3-3/4 in. to 18-1/2 in.

• 3 pc. welded aluminum lifting arm for additional strength and durability
• Low-profile design for low pick-up accessibility
• Handy magnetized tray keeps lug nuts and parts close at hand
• Push button two-piece handle for convenient storage
• Side and rear handle make for easy carrying

 

The wider the wheels .... the less they dig into asphalt driveways. I actually use a 1/4 inch aluminum plate under the wheels of mine when on asphalt as insurance.

A rubber pad that fits the lifting surface is a nice add-on.


I've owned my Sears jack for a very long time. Buy a quality jack!

ALWAYS use jack stands. NEVER trust the jack alone while working under the vehicle!!!

 

I have the same Harbor Freight as above. It is a cheap price and so far has been adequate. The first one I had ended up with a frozen roller and was replaced by Harbor Freight. I would strongly suggest greasing the rollers on whatever brand you get.
Steve

 

I have the bigger one from harbor freight. Just because it goes up higher. Wish it was blue like that one though.

 

I've got the same one and really like it alot. Thinking about getting a second one actually...

 

I just got the harbor freight one recently too after lowering my car, and would definitely recommend it. Its also light and easy to carry with you for track days

 

Care full with the ones from the local auto parts stores. The one I bought won't stay up, slowly lowers itself and the valve to lower it is very touchy making it hard to lower the car gently.

 

i have two harbor freight ones in my garage. i think it's the same one
minifiend posted up. made by US General or something.

the good is that the handle is extendable ...meaning, you can
use it without the extender when you're working in tight space.

very light weight... like 25lbs or so.

very economically priced...and HF has replacement warranty.

no issues on mine, going 2yrs now.

just make sure you WD40 the front roller on occasion as they
will seize if you don't.

 

I've got the orange one from Harbor Freight....I wish I had the one you guys had.

It was $40 so it seems like it's about 50 cents/pound! That thing is heavy as all getout.

 

+1 - My clone from local store had the roller freeze as well.

 

I have the Sears low profile aluminum jack. It is/was pricier than the HF one. I think its actually more comparable with the Fast Pump HF one. Works quite well.

 

Try bleeding your cylinder, it sounds like you may have air in there. Also check to be sure the fluid is full.
Steve

 

I have a really small 2 1/2 ton jack from sears that came with a set of jackstands and a creeper. I like it because it is compact and easy to take to the track, I don't like it because it is pretty heavy and not as low as the nicer jacks, and it takes many more pumps to raise the car. I think in the best of both worlds scenario, I'd have the small sears jack for transporting and a nicer one for garage work. Plus having two jacks can be useful at times.

Get a good set of jackstands with whatever jack you get, though.

 

Snap-On. 3.5ton monster. All iron, moderately low profile, wide wheels. Owned now for about 15yrs. Something you won't likely say for many of the alum imports from what I've seen if you truly use them often. You can do the Snap-On from NAPA in their colors (blue and gold) for a few bucks less.

 

I am on my third Sears 2-ton Alum jack because of problems (leaking) with the previous two. Sears replaced them under their one year warranty. I also had a 1.5-ton HF Alum jack that started leaking after about two years. I would stay away from Sears or HF Alum jacks. The alum is handy for the Mini and transporting. I also have a 3-ton iron jack for bigger jobs.

I suggest getting a Alum jack but spend more money and get a good quality jack. Try to find a made in USA jack. The Sears Alum jack is not cheap but quality is not adequate.

 

This is basically what I use.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...Lift+Equipment

I use it maybe once a month and for that it is just fine. It's small so it is easy to store, and when I bought mine it came with a plastic hard case to store the jack itself in. The stands that you get with it are pretty nice, certainly enough for a MINI. The one thing to know about this one is that it is fairly small, by that I mean it has a fairly short handle giving you a bit less leverage, but more maneuverability. The stroke seems to be plently long for the MINI so nothing to worry about there.

 

I recently purchased a floor jack and jack stand combo from JCWhitney. I am satisfied with it and have used it for a number of nonMINI matters. (
anyway how can it be bad if it is a "JCW"

 

Where did you score the rubber pad? It beats my cut to fit wood piece.

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=96306

 

Thanks. Why couldn't I find that. Maybe because I didn't know what to call it. I will go by the HF store near the house tomorrow. If they don't have one, I will order it.

 

+1 for the Harbor Freight jack. Best jack for the money IMHO. Love mine.

 

why is everyone so excited about these large aluminum "racing" jacks? i have a large, low profile floor jack i use, works great. made of steel, its realllly heavy, but its a floor jack.... it stays on the floor, and has wheels. i would recommend a high quality steel jack for the garage, stay away from the attractivly priced aluminum ones.

i would also like to add, if you do have a garage and do a good amount of work on your car, a set of low profile ramps is highly recommended. when changing oil, working on exhaust, etc, it saves a lot of time and guesswork, and its safer to just drive the car onto ramps for added clearance.

 

Ever tried using that really heavy steel floor jack at the track? That's why many of us use the lighter aluminum racing jacks--which can do duel duty at home and on the track. In an ideal world, you'd have both--which is what I'm going to do.