My "new to me" Ex came without the factory bottle jack. From what I hear it's not the best of jacks anyway. So I have 3 questions:

1) What tonage rating should I get for the bottle jack I'll keep stored on the truck?

2) What tonage rating should I get as a floor jack for when I'm servicing the brakes/wheels etc.?

3) What tonage rating should I get for jack stands in the event I decide to tackle the front end ball joints etc.?

All thoughts and recommendations are appreciated.

Thanks,
Jasonodsky
2004 Excursion XLT V10 4X4 3:73, All stock

 

A 3-ton bottle jack should suffice for tire changes.

I have a 5-ton floor jack as well as 5 ton jack stands. You could use 3 ton jack and jackstands.

Or even this.

<param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qhjVX6HogN0?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qhjVX6HogN0?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed>

 

The simple answer to all your questions: the heaviest available

Back around November '09 I bought a 3.5 ton Hydraulic jack from wal-mart (I know, I know) and it's been able to lift the X and not break a sweat. Almost a year later, it's holding up quite well, no pun intended...

As far as jack stands, these are ones I bought almost 20 years ago and I think by themselves one can hold around 6K. The two together have held up the X time and time again and don't show any signs of needing to be retired.

Sometimes you can find them as a set, so keep your eye out at Harbor Freight, Sears, or any of the local tool stores...

 

The jack that comes with the ex is just fine. Its a lot easier if you hook a cordless drill to it though.

 

The stock jack works ok to just do the odd tire change. Did it a few times, but just takes longer.
I did get a 3.5 tonne michelin one last yr, and works great and is way faster. Was able to replace the springs while doing the spring upgrade. Get the heaviest jack stands that you can, ie: 4 tonne or better.

 

You should get higher jack stands than 3 ton. Not because of weight but higher rated jack stands will have more height than lower. Example my 3 ton jack stands don't raise my truck very much, vs my 6 ton set gives all the lift I need.

 

I have a NAPA 3.5 ton floor jack. It seems like a strain for it. I would go with a 5 ton.

 

I recently had to change a flat tire on the X at our local County Fair field parking lot at 12:00 in the morning because my wife picked up a 1/4"dia lag screw somewhere. I took my 2-ton floor jack and a board to put under it to keep it from sinking in the grass. I quickly found out that the 2-ton jack was not going to do the job, so I got the stock jack out and was amazed at how much easier it lifted the X. The next problem was getting the rim off the hub. I had a sledge hammer but beating on the flat tire was futile. We finally found a piece of a 4x4 and put it on the rim to protect it while we beat it from the hub. All trying not to topple it from the jack on unstable ground. I was ready for bed that morning. I would definatly go with a 3-ton or higher jack.

 

i can only use the bottle one that came with the ex , my 3tn Trolley jack does not go high enough to lift the wheels off the ground.

mind you anything other than changing the wheels you can pretty much slide under the ex anyway lol

 

I like the jack in the video

 

Thank you to all! I now have a 6 ton bottle jack from Harbor Freight for $14.99 (on sale cheaper than the 4 ton). I'll feel alot more comfortable under the EX knowing I have the lifting/jacking properly sized.

 

Blame the wife? Yea, that's the ticket. :-)

 

Hi Everyone -- this is my first post to the forum.

This year I bought my first truck, a 1997 F250 HD. I would like to buy a jack and jack stands for work in the garage.

The truck specs state:

* Curb Weight - Front (lbs):3008
* Curb Weight - Rear (lbs):2278

Assuming no extra load, is it safe to assume that any jack and jack stand rated for greater than 5286 lbs is safe to use for this truck? Is this how you determine jack ton size?

Thanks for any feedback,
Rob

 

I use a 3.5 ton Arcan floor jack from Costco. It 1 ton = 2,000 lb's which puts me right at the limit, my truck weighs right at 7k lbs.

I would recommend the larger stands though, 6 ton from Harbor Freight should be fine.

 

If you are only lifting front or back, then 3 ton should work....for the weight, height is a whole nother can o fish.