Thoughts on auto part store jacks and jackstands

[hademall]

I used the jack for 20 years. It worked fine just needed topping up with oil. The new owner was told it needed to be topped up.
I'll add the only reason I sold it was because it didn't fit under the side of the ute.

I wouldn't use any hydraulic jack that leaked. You just don't know when it might let go.

 

[losh1971]

losh1971 that TTI low profile get under my car?

Under the sides and under the diff yes.

 

[greenacc]

I wouldn't touch an el cheapo

 

[losh1971]

They're basically all Chinese now. There are some $1000 floor jacks but I'm not sure how many people buy them? In theory if they meet Australian standards they should be ok, well they are supposed to be. Can't remember what I paid for my TTI but I doubt it much over $200 might have been less.

Most things including the majority of hoists are now Chinese, including most Molnars are Chinese. Hard to know what's considered a cheapy when there is so much variation in price.

 

[chrisp]

I wouldn't use any hydraulic jack that leaked. You just don't know when it might let go.

Yep, I have experienced a simple hydraulic bottle jack fail. It happens with zero warning.

I had a jack propping up wall top-plate a few mms while installing a wall frame. The load on the jack was quite light (I could lift the top-plate myself by hand) and I was only using the jack and a length of timber so I could easily and conveniently adjust the lift height so I could get the new wall frame in and then let it down. That jack was holding the top-plate for several minutes and then suddenly the timber prop fell out. I figured that I must have somehow knocked it, but when I went to put it back in, the jack was totally dead. So, a jack with no signs of leaking, no signs of playing up, and working as normal - then nothing.

I was completely surprised as to how suddenly, and without any warning whatsoever, it just went down without any provocation. It gave me a whole new respect for not trusting hydraulic jacks.

 

[hademall]

Yep, I have experienced a simple hydraulic bottle jack fail. It happens with zero warning.

I had a jack propping up wall top-plate a few mms while installing a wall frame. The load on the jack was quite light (I could lift the top-plate myself by hand) and I was only using the jack and a length of timber so I could easily and conveniently adjust the lift height so I could get the new wall frame in and then let it down. That jack was holding the top-plate for several minutes and then suddenly the timber prop fell out. I figured that I must have somehow knocked it, but when I went to put it back in, the jack was totally dead. So, a jack with no signs of leaking, no signs of playing up, and working as normal - then nothing.

I was completely surprised as to how suddenly, and without any warning whatsoever, it just went down without any provocation. It gave me a whole new respect for not trusting hydraulic jacks.

Yep, I bought half a dozen bottle jacks to jack up one corner of my house so I could replace some rotten timbers. I had to crawl under the house so far on my stomach. One of the jacks let go! F@#k, I crawled out quick smart!
So yeah, you can never trust a hydraulic jack.

 

[hademall]

Yep, I bought half a dozen bottle jacks to jack up one corner of my house so I could replace some rotten timbers. I had to crawl under the house so far on my stomach. One of the jacks let go! F@#k, I crawled out quick smart!
So yeah, you can never trust a hydraulic jack.

Although being on honest, my biggest fear was the multitude of different snakes that lived under our house. Tigers, Copperheads and Browns.

 

[Astranomical]

I hate knowing that all this stuff is Chinese, and probably made by the lowest bidding vendor, but at the same time, in order for it to be sold here it still has to comply to Australian Standards. That being said, I only use the jackstands with the pin rather than the ratcheting kind - not only do I figure that a thick piece of metal is less likely to fail than a ratcheting mechanism, but an MCM episode where a ratchet stand let go (thank God not while they were underneath the car!) definitely put me off them.

 

[losh1971]

I've seen the owner of a wreckers and spray painting business crawl under a car using just a floor jack. He was a big boy. I was surprised he did it as he is a panel beater by trade.

 

[vc commodore]

Here's an unexpected jack failure....Happened to me just jacking a car up....