Automotive floor jacks - bottle or floor jack

Walter Cohen wrote:

> The crappy standard equipment jacks that come in a car I just don't trust.

At least they fit their vehicles well.

I'm no expert, but I don't think OE jacks are that crappy, at least
compared to no-name Chinese scissor jacks. The OE ones I saw were
made in the US, Canada, or Japan, one was rated for 2.25 tons (a ton
more than its car), compared to 1.5 tons for most aftermarket scissor
jacks, the OE metal was thicker, and the screw rods had smooth 90-deg.
threads instead of rough 45-deg. threads (it seemed that the Chinese
jacks used ordinary threaded rod). It wouldn't surprise me if car
makers test the jacks they buy from suppliers more thoroughly than
Chinese jack makers test their own products.

I once tested some Chinese hydraulic floor jacks by raising one corner
of my fairly light car overnight. They all sank 0.5" - 2" overnight.
I tried the same test with my father's ancient Sears compact floor
jack, made in Taiwan, and it didn't sink at all.

On Jan 26, 5:56*pm, "Walter Cohen" > wrote:
> I want to get one (at least) hydraulic jack to use if I need to change a
> flat in my garage or driveway. *The crappy standard equipment jacks that
> come in a car I just don't trust.
>
> What is better/easier to use for changing tires (or plain lifting up the
> corner of a car) - a hydraulic bottle jack or a hydraulic floor jack? *I
> want to be sure also that the car doesn't slip off the jack while I'm
> working on the car. *I know I need to also get some jack stands for safety.
>
> Thanks.
> Walter

bottle jack's not so great, because as you will note when you try a
floor jack (i assume you mean the big things with the linkage and the
wheels), the car lifts in a bit of an arc around the other wheels,
obviously, which means where the jack meets the car is moving
sideways. therefore, the car jack has wheels and will creep a bit,
rather than tip over.

I have a $20 bottle jack that I've had for 6 years without a problem.
The way the axle and differential are put together on my Jeep Cherokee
mandates some sort of jack with a small lift point. No signs of
leakage, but it gets used maybe every 6 months, at most.