As some of you may know I had a long hospital stay from early Nov through the second week of Dec.  This was supposed to be something simple, in and out of the hospital in a couple days and a few weeks recovery.  As a result the T bird did not get put away properly. 
Fortunately I have 3 able bodied and willing sons in law who are here for Christmas. Today I asked them to jack up the car to get the wheel dollies under it and of course the floor jack which wasn't much good anyhow chose this time to limit its total stroke to about 5", this one was a Sears.  They managed to get the car on the dollies but it was annoying to give them substandard tools to work with.
This is about the 3rd or 4th relatively low cost floor jack I have had.  They all seem to develop seal problems with the pump usually, leak on the floor and end up pumping air. So besides a real commercial grade jack does anyone have a good suggestion for make and model hobbyist jack that isn't too heavy?  I would really love to have one that would last until I am done with cars.

Doug T

The Highlands, Louisville, Ky.

I have a heavy duty Sears floor jack that I've been using since the 70's. Had it rebuilt about a year ago and its working fine. You don't have to pay big money for a commercial grade jack but you will need to spend a bit to get a good one. Check to see if anyone in your town does hydraulic rebuilds they sometimes have refurbished garage jacks for a decent price. Chuck



Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

I bought a good used commercial grade jack that I found on the local online classifieds for $50 since there doesn't seem to be any US made ones anymore.
There's no way I will trust my life or property to any chinese made crap.


~DJ~ AKA "Bleach"
1956 Ford Fairlane Town Sedan 30K original miles

Doug.  Glad to see you are back on the road to recovery.  Likewise, I feel your pain on those jacks.  I too have had issues with some of those lightweight jacks.  Due to their light weight, they are perfect for the trailer and in the back of the truck.  All total, I have in the neighborhood of six of those lightweight jacks and it would appear that about 3-4 years is the life span for most before oil leakage starts coming to the forefront.  My older and heavier jacks that are steel constructed seem to hold up just fine so maybe it’s simply something to do with the aluminum construction?  The rubber seals being used in the newer jacks could also be inferior and becoming brittle as time goes on as I’ve seen early degradation in the newer O rings I use versus what I use to see.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

Yes, most of the lower priced chassis jacks are made in China. Their quality in many cases is poor. I have a 1-1/2 ton one that has been repaired on warranty once & is leaking again some thru the valve assembly. Also, an older smaller one, but Chinese made for Canadian Tire, (a large retailer here) that leaks at the piston seal & at the operating valve. The valve is just threaded into the body..it doesn't even have a proper seal.. all junk!         


Paul