Lightweight Aluminum Racing Jack -- HarborFreight.com

I think that's the one I got from them. It was cheap and low enough to fit under my 308 which is lower than usual. Seems like a decent jack even though it's made in China.

Birdman

 

I did not have very good luck with this unit from Harbor Freight. Both of the units that I had failed within the first couple of months of use, the pump seal was the cause in both jacks. If you are lifting a Lotus 7 all day long I think that it would be OK but, Taking into account the weight of these F cars (over 3000lbs in my case) I went with a heavier duty jack. I now see that Sears/Craftman have a 2 ton racing jack in the $160 range that I would get instead of the Harbor Freight jack, you do get what you pay for in this case.


All the best

Chris

 

I have the Harbor Freight jack.....its beautiful. I think if the seal went bad on it, I'd have it repaired. A friend with a TR recommended the jack to me, he has the same model in a silver/bronze color that has worked well for him over the years.

 

I had to run into Pep Boys yesterday to get some fuses. They had a similar jack at a similar price, which may be helpful if you have a store near you. They're on display, so you can check it out before you buy.

Harbor Freight can get awfully frustrating. Their prices are too tempting, and a number of times I've purchased a tool from them, only to buy it again (for more) elsewhere after I realize that the HF piece is worthless. Sometimes it comes out of the box needing repairs or tweaks, like new seals on hydraulics.

--Matt

 

And their shipping is SLOOOOOOW....

 

The seal might just be an O-ring. I have an inexpensive jack I take to track events. It is not the aluminum ones you guys speak about but it is very cheap - about 20 bucks. About every other year it needs an O-ring replacement.

 

I've heard lots of not so good things about the harbor freight jack. I decided to go with the sears craftsman jack. 4000 lb capacity, aluminum jack (weighs 44 lbs, Lifts from 3-3/4 in. to 18-1/2 in). No problems fitting under the 308GT4.

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_SessionID=@@@@0549667303.1092408897@@@@&BV_EngineID=cceeadcmfejgedlcehgcemgdffmdflh.0&vertical=TOOL&pid=00950239000

Price is not great ($200), but if you join the craftsman club you can usually get at least a 10% discount, and sometimes up to 20% off. But, even at full price, I think it's worth it.

My wife bought it for me for father's day (She got the discounts)!!

Dom

 

I've actually been shopping for a jack, and was ready to buy the Harbor Freight unit you've found. I will probably buy the jack from Northern Tools instead. For $20 more, you get a jack that has a 22" lift height (better for an SUV/full size car), plus you get 2 jack stands, wheel chocks, and nice soft knee pad. I'll probably go look at it this weekend.

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=6970&langId=-1&catalogId=4006970&PHOTOS=on&productId=200222024

 

Be careful, as I pointed out earlier , it is not rated for things over 3000lbs. I am sure that your SUV, as well as your Ferrari, is well over that weight limit. There are a few things that I do not mind spending a few $ more for, Safety gear, seafood and tools, all of them will burn you if you try and go cheap.


All the best

Chris

 

While the Ferrari may weigh slightly over 3K, at most you'll be lifting one side, hence 1/2 the weight max. Unfortunately you haven't entered your car in your profile, so I can't est. it's weight. If it's a 308, they run ~3300 lbs, x 0.5 = 1750 lbs. Thats a 50% safety margin.

With SUVs, all bets are off. Some of those suckers run to 7,000+ lbs!
Thats why it's getting hard to find 7,000 lb lifts, the shops are all buying 10,000lb lifts.

 

Using a Harbor Freight jack depends entirely on what you use it for. If it's a garage jack that you use maybe once a month to change wheels it's OK, but hey you own a Ferrari so why scrimp on a jack that could fail and damage your car.

If you use it for any more frequency than listed above........it's pure junk. I see them at the track all the time and they regulary fail. There is a reason they cost $80.

A much better alternative for under $200 is the Sears jack (new one).

For club racing or track days this is what I use. For endurance racing we use a $500 Longacre jack, simply because the last thing you want to do is loose a race in the pits because your jack broke.

Same goes for a cordless impact wrench. I used a Harbor Freight one ($129) for track days but for racing I use a Snap On ($300+).

Regards,

Jon P. Kofod
www.flatoutracing.net
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Hi Verell,

I understand what you are trying to say but the math is not as simple as that, I do not have a degree in such matters but a few other factors come into play here. One of them is that while you are not lifting half of the car off of the ground you are in fact moving that mass around, which will play into the amount of force that is needed to move/lift it. I do not want to start a math thread, to be honest I would get in over my head very quickly but, I have spent years setting up race cars on scales and I do have a small knowledge of chassis dynamics. I just hate to see people use the wrong tool for a job.
Chris

 

Speaking of harbor freight, does anyone have any experiences with this
lift?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=46604

The price and compact size is very tempting.

 

i just purchased a pair of the BASIC Sears jacks and they are HEAVY, but seem to work well. http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?pid=00950240000&BV_SessionID=@@@@1110273169.1092417332@@@@&BV_EngineID=cceeadcmfejgedlcehgcemgdffmdflh.0&vertical=TOOL

 

I won't make it a statics course, either, but the math says that as you lift higher you'll be carrying LESS load as the CG moves more of the weight to the 2 tires on the ground.

But folks, it comes down to decades of everyone's real world experience. The cheapest $29 1-1/2 ton jack (those little skinny ones that are too tall to fit under a Ferrari) will lift either end of a big truck just fine. Don't sweat this jack because it's not rated to carry your entire Ferrari on it's saddle, it's design is up to the task. Now if its manufacturing process is capable... That's where you could worry about this jack. But you should always have jackstands under the car when you're under there, so the only time you're on the jack is getting it up or changing a tire, so it shouldn't be a major concern. Just the frustration of having to get a new one if this one quits lifting on you (which is the only failure mode I've encountered on jacks).

 

Right, Chris. The force vector and resultant diagrams we learned in physics comes back to mind here. I'm not sure how these jacks are rated, but I think it's safest to figure that all the physics have been taken into account and not to exceed the jack's stated load rating.

Barry

 

I bought the Pep Boys jack when I found that my recently acquired 308QV was too low for my standard floor jack. It's a pretty unit, cheap, but somewhat compromised on performance. It takes about two turns to lock and the mechanical advantage in lifting is minimal. I guess the respective piston diameter ratios are not wide enough. But it works.

Frank

 

You'd be lifting a little more than 0.5 the weight but not much because the jacks lift very slowly. Drop something and note how fast it begins falling. If you raise the car at that acceleration rate, you would double the force on the jack because the acceleration is double. When you jack up a car, you don't come anywhere near that acceleration rate.

The more serious situation comes when you let it down. If you change your mind and suddenly stop the descent, the acceleration rate is quite high. That is where you get the large forces on the jack.

 

i too have the sears/craftsman jack that jon posted the picture of. very happy with it for around-the-garage menial duties.

my boy likes taking rides on it too

doody.

 

I bought one of these: http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog.jsp?L1=L1_3000&L2=L2_3030&SKU=77715

Goes very low, esp. when you remove the saddle. I use the saddle "pad" they sell too. Works for me...but this is not something you would want to haul to the track...it is very heavy.

I got this at their outlet store for $189 and they threw in the saddle pad...I guess a customer bought it, didn't like it and returned it. They can't sell it as new, so they discount the customer returns. One of the advantages we have of Griot's being in our neck of the woods, and his liberal "customer satisfaction (return)" policy.

 

That Sears jack looks exactly like the Harbor Freight model. Are we sure it isn't the same OEM with a different box? I'll bet anything that the Sears one is made in China too.

Birdman

 

Not even close. I have owned both. The Sears jack is made in the US. It's much more sturdy than the HF one. I use it three weekends per month jacking my race car up into the air. Sometimes a half dozen per race weekend. The HF wouldn't have lasted through the second race month.

The sears jack is closer to a Griots, Brunnhazel, Longacre. ALso when you drag it on the ground the Sears sounds like it's much better built. The HF model rattles like things are going to fall off it.

No comparison at all.

Jon

 

Pretty much ALL jacks sold in the USA are made in China...a few in India. Well, the Griot's one is made in Spain....

 

I have an Harbor type jack for $69.00 for 2 years now. My guys used it more often than the inboard air jack !! It's fast, light and does the job on a car like my LM. We are talking "daily" use, not just on a while.. Even a the track, for a fast wheels change, they use it and no troubles at all...
Roland
F40LM