I know jacks have been discussed at great length. So let's just move past that.

Anyone bought or used the new Michelin Floor jack that is available at Sam's Club? I bought the model they used to carry for my father. It works great except that you can't let stuff down slowly. It has a point that, one reached, let's your load down in a hurry. It doesn't drop it, but it comes on down.

Anyway, any experience with the Michelin Jack would be appreciated.

Thanks,

 

Usually this "sudden release" problem is caused by overtightening the release valve which ruins the ball seat. It can also be caused by a defective valve that is missing the ball.

 

i saw that at sam's club too... what kind of lift does that jack have? Does it lift high?
Matt

 

Wish I knew. Hope someone out there does. The one I bought my father works really well other than what I discussed earlier and has an adapter block for larger vehicles.

 

One of my friends bought that jack and it works really well. It lifts higher than my Craftsman. I think it is 20" or maybe a little better. And it doesnt let down as fast as my Craftsman, although reading a previous post tells me that I may be at fault. But it is a good jack so far.

 

Those jacks that have that point of no return are always fun. I call em widow makers. Every jack I have ever owned was a widow maker, Maybe I should stop being a cheapo and buy a good jack.... NAHHH!!!

 

Well I bought it. $63 dollars later I feel really good about the purchase. Used it for the first time yesterday. Good jack !!!! Lets the load down easy and is easy to manuever. Pain in the back and everywhere else to pick up and move though 'cause this sucker is heavy ! I really like the "one pump and it's up to the load" feature instead of having to pump several times to get it where you want.

So far, I would recommend it.

 

I looked at sam's... the lift height is 22".
Matt

 

I bought a jack at Sam's about a year ago but I'm not sure if it is the exact one your talking about. The one I got is really heavy duty, as far as shade tree jacks go, and has a foot pedal for raising the jack quickly to the load. I really like the jack. Good buy.
Alot better built and control than my old cheapie.

Randy

 

We just got a 3 1/2 ton Michelin floor jack
It works quite well. Long handle (2 piece) that is nice for jacking up w/o bein under the car. Its a 3 pump jack... w/o a load on it. And with a load on it its still a pretty fast jack. It does let down a bit slow but maybe thats because thats the first new jack we've had in years.
Id get one if your jack shopping

 

Continued....
the 3 pumps and its up thing... Thats from all the way down to all the way up w/o a load on it.
It was mention earlier that it was 1 pump up until it started jacking up the vehicle... and it is.
Id get another one if I could

 

I have one and it works pretty well. the only qualm I have is that when it's fairly cold (below about 30 deg) the jack takes a while to close the valve enough for it to support a load, and then you have to back it off several full turns to get it to come (crashnig) back down again. Also the pad becomes hard at that temperature and I've had my truck slip and fall off the jack because the pad didn't deform as it did when the temp was warmer. (The pad can be removed)

If you only do work while it's warm, it works well. I haven't had many jacks, so I don't know if thats just a trait of all jacks or that one.

 

Below 30 degrees = recliner by fireplace

Fortunately we don't have many of those here in NW Florida.

 

I purchased the same jack at sam's club,have been using it regularly,paid 59.95 for it,im really happy with it,reaches higher than most & has the quickpump up to your work.
ive personally had no problem with it "dumping a load",it works fine for me & use it regularly.
As for the pad,i dont use it a whole lot,take it out when lifting something that needs a good grip with edge of the lift cup,only use it when it's important to not scratch paint or so on

 

I recently bought the Michelin floor jack and found it needed a few "tweaks" before putting it into "irksome free" service.
1. All working ie. moving parts, other than the Hyd. cyl. & dolly wheel bearing *****, were dry - no lube at all.
So I would recommend disassembly of the obvious stuff and using chassis lube and 30 wt. or bar & chain oil on those points that are impractical to separate.
Note: Chainsaw bar & chain oil will stay in place better than motor oil.
2. The jack handle in the "up" position is not verticle but at about 60/65 deg. from the floor, making it inconvenient to store & takes up more precious floor space.
This was fixed by moving handle base casting stop notch, in the steel side plates, 5/16". Removing more steel may cause the handle base casting to interfere with magnetic tool tray. CHECK the casting/tray clearance before removing more metal.
3. The handle suffers from sloppy fit where the 2 tubes join. So do an initial assembly, just snugging the screw. (Over tightening the screw will strip the handle threads and the handle sections still won't feel solid.)
After first assembly, disassemble and place a 1/2" x 1 3/4" x .015" shim along the length of the joint 90 deg. from the screw holes. Slip the tubes together & reinstall the screw - just snug.
The handle will then feel like one solid piece.
4. The handle to casting fit is sloppy & also makes it more difficult to get a good "let-down" feel.
A piece of .010 or .012 shim stock 1 7/8" x 3 7/8"
rolled into a sleeve & placed in the casting handle hole will reduce to acceptable levels, the .030" factory clearance. Place the joint of the sleeve opposite the handle retaining screw hole. Once the sleeve is seated in the casting bore, scribe thru the screw hole to mark its position on the sleeve. Remove the sleeve & put a 7/16" screw clearance hole located by the scribed circle. Don't cut a slot from the edge cause there won't be any stock below the hole & the sleeve could work its way out.
After installing the finished sleeve in the casting bore, check that retaining screw properly clears the sleeve hole and reposition the sleeve as needed. A liberal application of chassis grease to the installed sleeve & handle bottom end will ensure handle rotation is smooth & has a good feel.
One other thing, the handle retaining screw will probably be burred on the threaded end. Remove the burrs so that the tightened screw won't bind or drag in the retaining groove.
This $60.00 jack will feel & operate like a "big name" $360.00 jack, for about 3 hours work - it worked for me.