Well, my 5-year old Craftsman 3 ton floor jack failed on me today. Apparently, the O-ring goes out on these and they are worthless. They can be rebuilt but cost around $50 to do so and you are still left with what many feel is a poor quality jack.

I read through reviews on the web and find that the current batch of Craftsman jacks are thoroughly hated and fail often.

So, I read through all the info I could find and find the highest praise for value/dependabilty to be...of all things...the Harbor Freight floor jacks. For more money, the AC Delco jacks are highly praised. Harbor Freight?? I thought thier tools were a 1-time use then throw them away tool?

So, I have two questions for the forum:

1. What floor jack do you depend on?

2. I see a very tempting 1.5ton aluminum floor jack at Costco for $110 delivered. I love the fact that Costco will take anything back that you are not happy with. Is 1.5tons enough for our 1st Gens? I will never be lifting the whole car with the jack--just one corner long enough to get it on good jack stands...

I think 1.5 ton is enough. I think I worked 10 years as a mechanic with a few of those old Walker 1.5 ton jacks and no hoist. My criteria for a floor jack is the biggest lifting pad and the highest lift height for the amount of money in the budget.

Jeff

my 7 year old 3 ton craftsman has been great.

I just bought a 3 ton aluminum jack from Princess Auto ( I think this a a canadian only companie) but maybe Harbor Freight has the same jack.
I looked at the 1.5 ton aluminum jack, but what sold me on this 3 ton is it has bigger rear wheels and a double wide front wheel. The rear wheels on the 1.5 ton jacks look a little Mickey Mouse if you are moving the end of a car.
Anyway it is Great! Lite and jacks Fast.

http://www.princessauto.com/_osn.cfm?CTRY=CAN&output=OSN&SRCH=1&SRCHAREA=OSN&T1=3%20TON%20LOW%20PROFILE%20FLOOR%20JACK

I have used both HF and the costco. The ease of just moving them around is worth it to me. We use them in racing and they tend to last about 2.5 yrs. But at those prices who cares. Yours will last longer. we really abuse ours. I get the costco one, just for ease of return..

I'm not sure where mine came from as I bought it used from a fellow. It does have that "Chinese Orange" paint so am sure it was made in China. It has been a darn good floor jack and been using it for over 10 years. I would suggest the Harbor Freight floor jack.

I've had the Costco jack for about 3 years and like it.
It's part steel and part aluminum and has held up well.

I have one from Monkey Wards that i got about 20 years ago, still works great

lucky for once i guess

I purchased one of these (http://www.napaonline.com/MasterPages/NOLMaster.aspx?PageId=470&LineCode=NLE&PartNumber=7916402&Description=Floor+Jack)from NAPA. It fits under lowered vehicles very well. Has a quick raise feature when unloaded and the lowering rate is actually controllable unlike the cheaper models I had that fall as soon as the valve is slightly opened. It also has a removable rubber pad on the saddle and a foam covered handle to prevent accidental damage to my car.