Good floor jack

[WishIhadatruck]

I'm looking to replace a 15 year old Craftsman 3.5 ton floor jack. It no longer will lift anything up high enough to do me any good. Any suggestions?

I've currently got it narrowed down to an Arcan ALJ3T aluminum floor jack or a Hein Werner HW93652 floor jack. I originally was looking for a good quality aluminum jack because I'm kind of tired of dragging my nearly 100lb jack around. However, it seems that most jacks today aren't rated very highly and many people don't think they last that long. The Arcan seems to have good reviews but most people haven't had them very long. The Hein Werner is made in the USA and sounds like it is good quality. It weighs even more than my Craftsman however. At also costs nearly twice as much as the Arcan but I might be willing to buy it if it seems worth it. If it last 20 years and is fixable versus 5 years for a Chinese made jack I might buy it. I'm open to anything out there but need at least a 3 ton jack and I want it to last. Aluminum is a minor preference compared to quality.

 

[Kool1]

I have an aluminum Arcan 3 ton that I picked up at Costco a few years ago. I use it at least once a week and have no complaints so far. It lifts a Highlander and CRV with ease.

 

[Donald]

That just seems like an awfully expensive jack at around $500. Too bad I don't live near you or I would offer to buy your old one. I assume you have added jack oil to see if that will help with the lifting?

 

[OtisBlkR1]

my on sale Harbor freight 3 ton alum jack has served me well for the past 4-5 years lifting autos as heavy as a 1500 silverado for tire changes etc.. and with a coupon i think i gave $80 just saying, its been cheap and dependable.

 

[Sawdusted]

Originally Posted By: Kool1
I have an aluminum Arcan 3 ton that I picked up at Costco a few years ago. I use it at least once a week and have no complaints so far. It lifts a Highlander and CRV with ease.


I have the same arcan jack. Love it. But then again, you won't go wrong with a Hein Werner .

 

[sciphi]

I've had good luck with my Harbor Freight low-profile steel jack. It's about 3 years old now, and has been flawless so far. The one I purchased was identical to some jacks retailing for much more, at least as far as I found. It's not light at 70 lbs, but it does maneuver around nicely.

 

[JHZR2]

Ive had great luck with my H-W jack. While the aluminum ones from HF are nice due to lightness, their rating is questionable IME.

 

[Tboss]

Originally Posted By: Kool1
I have an aluminum Arcan 3 ton that I picked up at Costco a few years ago. I use it at least once a week and have no complaints so far. It lifts a Highlander and CRV with ease.
I have the same jack it works great and for the price you can't beat it

 

[NMBurb02]

I picked up a Maasdam Pow'R Lift 3 ton SUV jack at Home Depot a few weeks back for $50 and it worked well for both the Burb and GP (barely able to get it under the frame on the GP). Seems pretty sturdy, but even if it doesn't last a lifetime, it only cost $50! It weighs about 45 lbs, which wasn't too difficult to lug around.

Maasdam Pow'R Lift 3 ton commercial jack

They also had a Husky brand 3 ton SUV jack for the same price, but it was up on a shelf and probably would have taken 15 minutes and a workers' compensation claim to get it down. Plus, both are "Hecho en China", so I would assume they are the same build quality and are probably made by the same factory.

 

[rationull]

I have an Arcan 2 ton aluminum from Costco -- a little lighter than the 3 ton. If the 3 ton had been available at the time I would've bought it instead, but I love this jack. Easy to use, sturdy, smooth operation, large saddle with rubber pad. Would buy another in a heartbeat. I've had it for probably 5 years and it's in great shape.

 

[WishIhadatruck]

Originally Posted By: Donald
That just seems like an awfully expensive jack at around $500. Too bad I don't live near you or I would offer to buy your old one. I assume you have added jack oil to see if that will help with the lifting?


I have not tried to add jack oil. If I did want to try that, where would I put it in?

Here is a photo of part of my jack.

I looked in to the price of replacing the power unit and it was pretty much the cost of a new jack.

 

[Donald]

I have a 1 1/2 ton Craftsman jack that would not lift very high. Added some jack oil and it was back to fully functional. If I remember I took off the cover around the middle and found a plug to remove. I assume the picture is of the back?

 

[WishIhadatruck]

Originally Posted By: Donald
I have a 1 1/2 ton Craftsman jack that would not lift very high. Added some jack oil and it was back to fully functional. If I remember I took off the cover around the middle and found a plug to remove. I assume the picture is of the back?


The picture is of the back. On yours, was it the middle of the back or somewhere else? Middle along the long length under the lift arm? With all the "Do Not Adjust" warnings I'm a bit reluctant to just start turning stuff to hope something turns out to be a fill plug.

 

[NMBurb02]

Originally Posted By: WishIhadatruck
Originally Posted By: Donald
I have a 1 1/2 ton Craftsman jack that would not lift very high. Added some jack oil and it was back to fully functional. If I remember I took off the cover around the middle and found a plug to remove. I assume the picture is of the back?


The picture is of the back. On yours, was it the middle of the back or somewhere else? Middle along the long length under the lift arm? With all the "Do Not Adjust" warnings I'm a bit reluctant to just start turning stuff to hope something turns out to be a fill plug.

If the alternative is replacing it anyway, might as well start taking educated guesses and turning stuff. At the very least it may be an educational experience and help you gain a better understanding of how the jack works.

 

[Donald]

Mine has a sheet metal plate that goes from in front of the pump to the pivot point of the part of the jack that raises up, about mid point between the front and back of the jack. The sheet metal is screwed to the frame. Remove the sheet metal and the plug is under there.

 

[WishIhadatruck]

I will look tonight and see if I can find the fill hole. If it just needs a little oil, that will save me a bunch of money.

 

[Donald]

There has to be a reservoir for all the jack oil to go into when the jack is all the all the way down. The fill plug will be part of the reservoir. And the reservoir will likely be between the pump and piston.

 

[tightwad]

On my OLD Blackhawk jack , you flip it over and the fill is a rubber plug on the bottom of the cylinder in about the middle.

 

[SIXSPEED]

I'm happy with the Steel 3.25 Ton Arcan jack I bought at Costco last year after all three of my HF Aluminum jacks failed after 5 years of occasional use. Noticed yesterday that the Costco price went down a bit from $104.99 to $99.99.

 

[WishIhadatruck]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and especially to Donald. I found the fill plug after watching a few YouTube videos on craftsman jacks. There was a rubber plug on top of the reservoir and it was quite low on oil. The jack seems fully functional now. It had never occurred to me it might be low on oil since there is no sign of a leak. Thanks to this forum and YouTube I just saved a few hundred dollars. That should pay for some of the UOAs I've done over the last few years.