Floor jack gave up

My 35 year old sears 2 ton floor jack finally gave up. I went to change a trailer tire and it wouldn't lift it at all.

I thought about buying a seal kit but I can't find one to match the model number. 281204.

Sears has this one that looks decent:

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-3-to...gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CJ2huK22rdYCFUz2ZAodpR8MwQ

What else is recommended with decent enough quality for oil changes, tire rotations and light do it yourself stuff. Harbor freight has lots of choices but I'm not sure about the quality.

I bought one like this at sams club
https://ak1.ostkcdn.com/images/products/13004369/Speedway-1.5-Ton-High-Speed-Aluminum-Floor-Jack-6f4bf86e-fc19-4170-b90a-81285768e795.jpg

Had a great old floor jack. Wore it out. Should have rebuilt.:grumble: Gave it to my ole man and he rebuilt it and uses the heck out of it. I went through a hand full of junk one's that do not last. Bought a 3 ton DAYTONA jack from Harbor Freight reluctantly and I'm very impressed so far.

Turn handle like you are lowering it then pump it 3-4 times and last pump turn it right as to lift. It worked on my old Craftsmen jack. Read it on Glamis dunes forum.

I have one and know a lot of people that have the harbor freight floor jacks and I haven't had a single complaint from anybody I know. I have a couple friends with Fab shops and 1 of them has all harbor freight jacks. None have failed them from damn near daily use.

I have the 3 ton rapid pump steel floor jack from harbor freight, had it for 4 years now and no issues and I use it A LOT....my last harbor freight lasted almost 20 years...

Yup, HF jacks are pretty good.

arcan at costco... best jack I have seen since Lincoln were made in USA. and only $100

Brunnhoelzl or Milwaukee. :tbi

Tireman said:

arcan at costco... best jack I have seen since Lincoln were made in USA. and only $100

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Arcan builds a good jack. I use mine almost daily. Have a few Torin's also.

The higher capacity Pittsburgh aluminum jacks at HF work well also.

Bought a 3 ton HF floor jack last year on Black Friday. So far, so good..

bocco said:

My 35 year old sears 2 ton floor jack finally gave up. I went to change a trailer tire and it wouldn't lift it at all.

I thought about buying a seal kit but I can't find one to match the model number. 281204.

Sears has this one that looks decent:

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-3-to...gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CJ2huK22rdYCFUz2ZAodpR8MwQ

What else is recommended with decent enough quality for oil changes, tire rotations and light do it yourself stuff. Harbor freight has lots of choices but I'm not sure about the quality.

Click to expand...

Just add more fluid!

I have had great luck with PowerBuilt 3 1/2 ton jacks...bought my first one 20 years ago, then gave it to my Dad about 10 years ago and bought another one. Both get used fairly regularly, mine lives outside next to the shed. Neither has ever leaked a drop, although one did require bleeding once. I was attracted to these because they use a universal joint for the release mechanism instead of the 2 ill fitting toothed wheels, very little handle slop and a nice predictable release.

https://www.amazon.com/Powerbuilt-647530-Professional-2-Ton-Service/dp/B003ULZHCC

The design hasn't changed (except the stickers) since the first one I bought.

I built a little box and secured it in the back of my last PU. Kept a floor jack in it. So much better that the jacks that come with vehicles.

I've come upon folks with flats in parking lots or on the road once. Stopped, pulled out my floorjack and they were changed out and gone in less time to find all the standard jack pieces.

Mine came from Sears and has extra rise and low profile. I bought it 20+ years ago to raise my Porsche 944Turbo that needed low profile and the extra few inches of lift was a bonus.:thumbsup

I have had really good luck with the 3 ton from hf

Same thing happened to my 30 year old craftsman floor jack a couple of weeks ago...bought a 3 ton one from Harbor Freight...works great, so far.

Didn't know you can rebuild the craftsman, going to check into that. Glad that I'd didn't just toss it...

I have an Arcan from Costco, nice jack. Borrowed a HF from a buddy and the universal joint for the handle was aluminum, and sure as shit, it failed when i borrowed it. Not impressed. I recently ran into an issue when my jack gave up the ghost, and I finally settled for the Arcan. My old jack had a removable cup/plate. I have an adapter that went in the hole to lift unibody cars at their pinch point. Searched high and dry and couldn't find one with a removable cup. 2 months later I found a heavy metal one at McFadden-dale. Might go pick one up if they still have it. Around $120ish.

My Costco floor jack just took a crap on me. It dumped fluid, but I haven't looked into it closer than that. I'll probably just buy two new Harbor Freight ones unless someone has a better route.

my 35 year old astroline jack crapped the bed a few months ago. need to buy a seal kit for it.

underpressure said:

Same thing happened to my 30 year old craftsman floor jack a couple of weeks ago...bought a 3 ton one from Harbor Freight...works great, so far.

Didn't know you can rebuild the craftsman, going to check into that. Glad that I'd didn't just toss it...

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They can be rebuilt if you can find the kit. It's just seals and O rings. The question is whether it's worth it. Kits seem to be about $45 dollars. New jacks are about $100.

Cole Trickle said:

I have had really good luck with the 3 ton from hf View attachment 587420

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yea, that yellow Daytona 3ton is supposed to be the ticket. Lots of guys on GarageJournal are using them with excellent results.

sintax said:

yea, that yellow Daytona 3ton is supposed to be the ticket. Lots of guys on GarageJournal are using them with excellent results.

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I used 1 to lift a flatbed off a truck. Nice. I have 3 of the low pro 3 ton ones in pic and 1 aluminum. Work great just rust easy if left out.