can anyone tell me who makes the best floor jack?

I bought a cheap one from costco maybe 12 years ago and I thank God it doesn't kill me everytime I use it, so I guess I don't know

 

The old Walker jacks are bulletproof I have 4 of them that have been used every day for 30 or more years. Hands down (in my opinion) in the small to medium size jacks the old Walker jacks were the best ever made. Every garage, service station and dealership I ever worked in had these jacks. They are easy to repair and usually go 10 to 15 years of daily use between rebuilds. If you can find a good rebuilt old one it will last you forever. Not only that but the handle comes off in a half a second and becomes a good breaker bar extension.

 

There are very few quality service jacks left. Omega, Hein Werner, Lincoln, Black Hawk have all been purchased or currently owned by Shinnfu. Sadly the quality of the well known American made jacks have gone downhill.

There is really only one high quality 100% USA made floor jack manufacturer left. That is Milwaukee Hydraulics. Their Model 40 will outlast any of these jacks listed. Nothing can compare. Adding this one Jack to your shop will all of a sudden make all your cheap throw-away jacks last longer. Think about it.

I know tire shops that have had the Model 40 in service for more than 20 years and they never have had to be rebuilt. A few have had some casters replaced but that is it. See the link above for proof.

$240 is roughly the current discounted cost of the 2 ton Omega, and is fine for someone who will use it sparingly, but, it is a very poor investment for a tire shop. Milwaukee's Model 40 is a no brainner at $985 when it will outlast more than 10 Omegas in a busy tire shop.

 

I have a US-made Lincoln and love it. Never a hic-up in about 15 years.

 

NICE! You know your a redneck when..... He, he he he he !

 

My cousin gave me a old Walker when he closed his tire shop. I put in a new seal painted it, pinstriped it and used it for many years. My neighbor borrowed it and took it with him when he moved. Must still be working since he has never returned it.

 

I have OTC Aluminum Racing Jack Kit . This is a really nice high end all aluminum floor jack. You tend to get what you pay for here. It is very easy to move around and you can get it up to full height in just 5 or 6 quick pumps. What a really nice design here by OTC products on this two-ton floor jack.The best thing about this jack was how incredibly lightweight it is. It is made of mostly heavy duty aluminum construction

 

My first jack was a small Craftsman, and that lasted about a year and a half. I'm using a Pittsburgh 3ton from Harbor freight, and haven't had any troubles.

 

That's what HE said...

 

I have a $99 Craftsman I bought in 1983 and it has never failed me. Dragged all over when I raced stock cars, used countless times at home over the years. I grease the fitting once in a while and wash the grime off it now and then.

 

Got a 3 ton racing type aluminum jack 15 years ago at Harbor Freight, brand name US General, used it a lot putting race tires on a lowered c5 corvette that I took to road racing track days and driving schools for years. Just discovered it was made in China, now I'm wondering why it's lasted so long?

 

Hello everyone. I am new here. Just wanted to know which is the best floor jack to buy in 2017? Actually, it is very old post thus I am not understanding which one should buy. What do you think about the harbor freight 3 ton Low Profile Heavy Duty Floor Jack? Should I buy this model or not? Any personal experience? Don't sure which one I should buy but I have found a few good floor jack model here too.
https://theeffectiveguide.com/best-floor-jack/

 

Hein Werner are the standard for floor jacks. Get one and it will outlast you.

 

I bought a German aluminum one in Charlotte that the race teams use-800 bucks, but its safe and light

 

I was really happy with my old Craftsman that I bought new 43 years ago. That is until it dropped the Woodie a couple of weeks ago and crushed the grille chin flat. I'm kind of off Craftsman now, at least I wasn't under the car when it decided to quit.

 

Nothing like older quality tools! Grabbed this beat up old Hein-Werner off CL for $25. Spent another $40 on a seal kit and now I've got a good quality jack. Yeah, it's only a ton and a half but it fills the bill. I park it next to my Harbor Freight 3-ton.........(don't hate)!

 

I've got a 2-1/2 ton low profile that I picked up at Costco a year or two ago, a 3 ton from Hf that I got on sale a couple of months ago an a 1-1/2 ton HF "racing jack" that I have wagged all over the place in the time I have owned it. I don't usually use it to lift a car but it gets used when I take my sailboat out and have to put the extension on the tongue and gets used to hold things I am working on all the time .
When I was working in shops I used more Walkers than anything else.
When I started teaching auto mechanics in 1978 almost every jack in the school shop leaked or would drop a bit if you had a car lifted on it. I had most of them rebuilt and most of those were Walkers but the rebuilds didn't hold up all that well. One was the same jack I used in the school shop between 1962 and 65 when I was in shop class. I ended up buying new Napa professional jacks That worked well up though 1991 when the school district decided to drop the auto mechanics program.
From what I have seen over the past 55 years is that abuse or overloading the jack is the big killer of jacks no matter who made them. I used a jack in one shop almost every day I worked there until one day I went to lift a car and the jack didn't want to lift and was bypassing. Asking a few questions I found out that someone in the shop had tried to lift a heavy truck with it the day before and blew the seal out. It got fixed and worked great afterwards but you just don't try to lift more than what they are rated for.

 

Harbor Freight has a good one. .......It really depends on what name you like best. Most are built the same.

Sent from my SM-G930T using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

MUCHO depends on the cars in your fleet, and their weight and size. BIG American cars beg for a old GRINGO jack with a big saddle, big rear casters. Remove the saddle, and you can plug-in an adaptor for transmission R&R. Next best would be an EARLY import (Tiwan made), again with big casters and saddle. Accept nothing LESS that 1-1/2 ton if you expect to lift both front wheels up from the crossmember on big iron.

I won a cheapo H-F aluminum race jack years ago... I use it with CARE on smooth concrete or asphalt, due to its dinky peanut casters and small saddle, but am really fond of it for tire work (one corner at a time on my '57 Chevys) or lifting one end of a small vehicle. Hard to beat for light work, grab-n-go situations away from home. A damn-good jack to start with, if I had to start over!

My heavy-duty jack is an early import, sold by MAC off their tool trucks. WON that one too at the track, with a new driver in my stock car, first night! Served me well in my 'roundy-pounder' times, add a lil' oil to pep it up when it lags, 25 years later. Only thing I have left that I still use from my racing days!

MOST new jacks today can't hold a candle to the old ones made decades ago. Saddles are too small to grab frame rails on old cars, and don't come off. Rear casters are too small to use on a less than perfect surface. For the money, I'd shop pawn shops, swap meets and C-L for a vintage unit, top-off the oil and give it a shot.

 

Gray, St. Joseph, Mo.

 

I have two both older than dirt! One is a sears (1965) and one is a pawn shop Heim-Warner about 30 years ago.
I think if I needed one today I would go to a pawn shop, 10 if I had to.

 

I was all about the USA made jack until I found it was a pain to actually find one. I know a bunch of people that bought jacks from Costco. Good jack for a good price. It has lasted at least 3 years with no problems, and if it ever fails, I'll take it back to Costco for a refund.

 

When I got out of the service in '69 I bought a Hein-Werner 1.5 ton to go racing with and its still going strong. It probably will outlast me as "evintho" said. You can't beat the H-W product, even if its used.

 

Ok Guys, Thank you for your all suggestions.

I need to clarify that, I didn't want to spend too much money on my first floor jack.

People's choice always varies. I am seeing different people have different opinions. Although, this is good, but it also makes difficult selecting the right product. One of my real life friend suggested me to buy this model:
harbor freight 3-ton-low-profile-steel-heavy-duty-floor-jack-with-rapid-pump
I have placed an order. Let’s see what happen. Thank you again for your time.
I have also ordered an obd2 scanner bestobd2scanners.com from Autel brand. My car engine light is on. So, I need to solve this problem as well. However, thanks for your opinion.