🚀 go-pugleaf

> I an thinking about buying an automotive jack--the kind with wheels
> on it.  There seem to be two qualities.  The cheap ones cost about
> $30-40 and the expensive ones about $80-120 (on sale).  The expensive
> ones are about twice as big (bigger wheels, longer, bigger cups, more
> metal), but both are rated at 2 tons.
> 
> Have you any recommendations?
> 
> -- 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> John M. Hammer
> Center for Man-Machine Systems Research, Georgia Tech, Atlanta GA 30332
> uucp:    ...!{akgua,allegra,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo,ulysses}!gatech!gt-cmmsr!hammer
> 	 hammer@gt-cmmsr.UUCP
> csnet:   hammer%gt-cmmsr@gatech.CSNET
> arpanet: hammer%gt-cmmsr%gatech@csnet-relay.ARPA
> phone:	 (404) 894-4055

	I just purchased a floor jack from Sears. It seems to be
	made very well. There is a sale on this jack and a pair of
	stands for 99.99. I haven't used it yet but I don't think
	I will have any problems. The jack has a safety valve for
	both overloading the jack and over extending the piston.
	Raising and lowering the jack is done by rotating the handle
	either clockwise or counter clockwise. The mechanism is 
	done through a set of gears rather than some type of 
	universal joint. I thought this was a good idea.
	In the end ,however, I think you will find that you
	get what you pay for and when I am working under a car
	I don't want to find out that the $30 jack just failed.
	Oh, by the way, the jack is constructed from cast metal
	right down to all four wheels, not some nylon or plastic.
	It also has ball bearings in the pivot wheels and about
	a 5 inch cup.

> I an thinking about buying an automotive jack--the kind with wheels
> 
> Have you any recommendations?

I purchased one of the large Sears jacks on sale for $99.99.

The big ones lift higher, have a longer handle (easier lifting and jack
placement), a larger wheel base (more stable)  and are heavier.

I regularly jack up the entire front end of my 78 plymouth fury to change
oil etc. with very little effort.

for what it's worth,

Ralph 

> I an thinking about buying an automotive jack--the kind with wheels
> on it.  There seem to be two qualities.  The cheap ones cost about
> $30-40 and the expensive ones about $80-120 (on sale).  The expensive
> ones are about twice as big (bigger wheels, longer, bigger cups, more
> metal), but both are rated at 2 tons.
> 
> Have you any recommendations?
> 
> -- 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> John M. Hammer
> Center for Man-Machine Systems Research, Georgia Tech, Atlanta GA 30332
> uucp:    ...!{akgua,allegra,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo,ulysses}!gatech!gt-cmmsr!hammer
> 	 hammer@gt-cmmsr.UUCP
> csnet:   hammer%gt-cmmsr@gatech.CSNET
> arpanet: hammer%gt-cmmsr%gatech@csnet-relay.ARPA
> phone:	 (404) 894-4055

	My choice would be to go for the $80-120 jack. I was given one of the
cheap jacks for Christmas a few years ago and even though it does the job, 
it's inferior. #1-The jack is limited to the height it goes to. Something
around 12-14 inches. Most times I have to use a 2x4 block to get high enough
for the lowest point on my jackstands. #2-One time when I was jacking up the
front end of a 1976 Gran Prix a support which was part of the saddle bent,
and the jack wouldn't go all the way down.   Overall, in the long run the
more expensive jack is the best bet. Afterall, how many times in a lifetime
do you make a purchase as in a jack?..

> I an thinking about buying an automotive jack--the kind with wheels
> on it.  There seem to be two qualities.  The cheap ones cost about
> $30-40 and the expensive ones about $80-120 (on sale).  The expensive
> ones are about twice as big (bigger wheels, longer, bigger cups, more
> metal), but both are rated at 2 tons.
> 
> Have you any recommendations?
> 
> -- 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> John M. Hammer
> Center for Man-Machine Systems Research, Georgia Tech, Atlanta GA 30332
> uucp:    ...!{akgua,allegra,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo,ulysses}!gatech!gt-cmmsr!hammer
> 	 hammer@gt-cmmsr.UUCP
> csnet:   hammer%gt-cmmsr@gatech.CSNET
> arpanet: hammer%gt-cmmsr%gatech@csnet-relay.ARPA
> phone:	 (404) 894-4055

The more expensive jacks have a more useful height range, usually
about 5 to 19 inches.  This alone makes them far better than the
cheap ones.  Nothing more frustrating than not being able to get the
tires off the ground.  I have even seen a Walker floor jack with a
3-1/2 to 21 inch range.

The larger base also has much greater stability which seems much
more important when crawling under the car.  I try to make it my
practise not to crawl under a vehicle without jack stands but
sometimes I get in a hurry.

Spend to money, the life you save may be your own!

				Rick Schieve
				....ihnp4!ihu1g!rls

> The big ones lift higher, have a longer handle (easier lifting and jack
> placement), a larger wheel base (more stable)  and are heavier.
> 
> I regularly jack up the entire front end of my 78 plymouth fury to change
> oil etc. with very little effort.
> 
> for what it's worth,
> 
> Ralph 

I sincerely hope you do not crawl under the car with only the jack holding it up.  The jack was only built to raise the car.  Jack stands should be used to hold it there.  Use a couple of wood rounds if you do not have jack stands.

Be sure to get a jack that will go *low* enough-- I have a GT6 that I can only
lift from certain places due to its low clearance, and when a tire was flat, 
the jack was useless.  The stupid thing's three-inch clearance was too high.
The scissors jack that comes with the car saved me that time.  

Someone mentioned not wanting to depend on a $30 jack while working under their
car--- *NEVER* depend on *ANY* jack while working under a car.  Use jack stands,
or wooden blocks.  Concrete blocks may shatter under the point load of a bit
of car frame.  If you must use a concrete block, at least put a piece of 
wood between it and you car, to distribute the load.

			Paul Fox, AT&T Information Systems, Holmdel NJ.
			  [ihnp4|vax135]!mtung!pgf (201)834-3740
-- 
			Paul Fox, AT&T Information Systems, Holmdel NJ.
			  [ihnp4|vax135]!hou5g!pgf (201)834-3740

> > I an thinking about buying an automotive jack--the kind with wheels
> > on it.  There seem to be two qualities.  The cheap ones cost about
> > $30-40 and the expensive ones about $80-120 (on sale).  The expensive
> > ones are about twice as big (bigger wheels, longer, bigger cups, more
> > metal), but both are rated at 2 tons.
> > 
> > Have you any recommendations?

> 	My choice would be to go for the $80-120 jack. I was given one of the
> cheap jacks for Christmas a few years ago and even though it does the job, 
> it's inferior. #1-The jack is limited to the height it goes to. Something
> around 12-14 inches. Most times I have to use a 2x4 block to get high enough
> for the lowest point on my jackstands. #2-One time when I was jacking up the
> front end of a 1976 Gran Prix a support which was part of the saddle bent,
> and the jack wouldn't go all the way down.   Overall, in the long run the
> more expensive jack is the best bet. Afterall, how many times in a lifetime
> do you make a purchase as in a jack?..

I have access to both varieties of floor jack when I do my work, and I find
that the small, "cheap" variety is the one I use most often.  The reason is
that the larger cup size, listed as an advantage of the larger jacks by the 
first respondant, simply will not fit on most of the jacking points on my car.
Particularly with smaller cars, there may not be room around the jacking
points for the larger cup.

Though I agree with most of the arguments set forth in favor of the larger
units, especially the greater lifting height, be sure to look at the jacking
points on the car(s) that you intend to lift to make sure that the larger cup
size wont be a liability instead of an asset.  Taking this into account, buy
the best jack you can afford *that's compatible with what you intend to lift*.

In article <285@mhuxa.UUCP>, gmc@mhuxa.UUCP (MATULIS) writes:
> > I an thinking about buying an automotive jack--the kind with wheels
> > on it.  There seem to be two qualities.  The cheap ones cost about
> > $30-40 and the expensive ones about $80-120 (on sale).  The expensive
> > ones are about twice as big (bigger wheels, longer, bigger cups, more
> > metal), but both are rated at 2 tons.
> 
> 	My choice would be to go for the $80-120 jack. I was given one of the
> cheap jacks for Christmas a few years ago and even though it does the job, 
> it's inferior. #1-The jack is limited to the height it goes to. Something
> around 12-14 inches. Most times I have to use a 2x4 block to get high enough
> for the lowest point on my jackstands. #2-One time when I was jacking up the
> front end of a 1976 Gran Prix a support which was part of the saddle bent,
> and the jack wouldn't go all the way down.   Overall, in the long run the
> more expensive jack is the best bet. Afterall, how many times in a lifetime
> do you make a purchase as in a jack?..

On the other hand, the cheaper one is also portable.
I solved the problem with the ultimate solution: I got one
of each (to start with!)

-- 
					Jack Saltiel
					Cambridge Digital Systems
					{wjh12,talcott}!cdstar!saltiel

	"Here's to plain speaking and clear understanding."
	"I like a man who likes to talk."

*** RAISE THIS LINE WITH YOU
			    R CHEAP JACK *** 

> > I an thinking about buying an automotive jack--the kind with wheels
> > on it.  There seem to be two qualities.  The cheap ones cost about
> > $30-40 and the expensive ones about $80-120 (on sale).  The expensive
> > ones are about twice as big (bigger wheels, longer, bigger cups, more
> > metal), but both are rated at 2 tons.
> > 
> ... Afterall, how many times in a lifetime
> do you make a purchase as in a jack?..

After all, how many lifetimes do you have after you purchase a jack ?

Having purchase a cheap version of EVERYTHING at least once, I have
found that:
		"You get what you pay for"

Pretty pithy ehh?  Bit the bullet and buy the real jack.
-- 

					-- Lee Carlson
					-- Boeing Errorspace, Seattle
					...{uw-beaver|fluke}!ssc-vax!carlson