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I have the same floor jack as jollyrogr - 3T Daytona from Harbor Freight. I use it on the truck, the Atlas, the 5th wheel and my zero turn mower. Works great.
I also have a 6T Safe Jack "Bottle Jack Recovery Kit" that goes with me. I've used that on the trucks at the rear hitc to get the whole rear end off (with jack stands) when I've installed my airbags,ran wire, etc. Have also used it on the 5th wheel to lift by the frame. It's a great setup to have in the truck or RV.
I was using the 6T Harbor Freight jack stands... but unfortunately those now have a recall on them (I fall into the recall).
you put a piece of wood under the scissor jack, and you don’t worry about the non-zero chance that the jack will fail in the picosecond longer it takes you to set the cribbing.
Originally Posted by Wikipedia
Picosecond: A picosecond is an SI unit of time equal to 10⁻¹² or ¹⁄₁ ₀₀₀ ₀₀₀ ₀₀₀ ₀₀₀ of a second. That is one trillionth, or one millionth of one millionth of a second, or 0.000 000 000 001 seconds.
A picosecond is to one second as one second is to approximately 31,689 years.
It would take me longer than 500 billion picoseconds just to move my eyes to see the wood, nevermind setting it.
Placing a piece of wood under an RV type scissor leveling jack does not reduce that particular design of scissor jack's propensity to tip over sideways under a laterally applied load or balance shift. The narrow base can rock over just as easily when placed on the wood as when placed on the concrete.
I normally would not return to a thread like this to belabor a previously made point, and I generally make a concerted effort to avoid having the last word on any topic, and likewise, I do not wish to have the last word here. But since this is a matter of safety, the greater interests of our community of members and readers at large who may be younger and entering into self servicing their vehicles for the first time may benefit from being aware that a block of wood that is a separate component from the jack itself does not increase the foot print of the jack. Only the parts of the jack base that are fully integral to the body of the jack (via welding, riveting, secure bolting, continuous casting or stamping formation, etc) can be considered as the jack footprint for purposes of comparing lateral stability.
When I posted that I had looked at one of first responses to, "Where is it made?" on Amazon and it said USA. Today I looked at the next two responses and they both say China. One of those responders is "Arcan Jack", so I'm going with made in China.
If all the floor jacks are made in China, I might as just go to my local Harbor Freight.
The Arcan Aluminum model is 40 lbs lighter than their steel model.
I have a 3 ton steel floor jack from Harbor Freight (Central Hydraulics), its a tank, at least 80lbs, takes a lot of pumps to get up to height and can be touchy when lowering. Their Daytona jacks seem to be popular. A heavy jack is fine if it never leaves the garage, but for someone like myself that doesn't have a real garage/workshop space, having a lighter weight, quality aluminum jack would be nice.
Many of the floor jacks I see have a maximum jacking height of around 18" (I'm rounding down, not up). I just measured the lowest part of the frame on my stock height truck and it's 18". That's not going to work. I prefer to jack up on the frame, not the axle, especially when I know I'm going to be putting a jack stand under the axle. If a jack stand is going under the frame then the floor jack's maximum height isn't an issue because I'll use the floor jack on the axle.
When I use a floor jack or a jack stand under the axle I want it as close to the tire as possible without contacting the tire. I will always try to put a jack directly under where the leaf springs contacts the axle. I do not like to use the differential as a location to put the floor jack. I don't know if it's urban legend or not, but I've been told to avoid the differential because it is not the load bearing portion of the axle. Consequently, I either get a floor jack or a jack stand under the axle, but not both at the same time. Yeah, I'm a bit OCD about it. The combo jack stand and bottle jack that @Section179 posted a picture of would make things a lot easier for me. I'll have to think on that some.
The other issue I have with some floor jacks is their minimum height. I know we're discussing floor jacks in the context of Super duty trucks but I have three other cars that have very little clearance. All three of those cars require a rubber pad to go on the pinch weld section of the body. That makes it even more important to have a floor jack with a low profile.
Many of the floor jacks I see have a maximum jacking height of around 18" (I'm rounding down, not up). I just measured the lowest part of the frame on my stock height truck and it's 18".
The Hein-Werner 3 ton I linked earlier has a 23" lift height. You could always use a 4x4 4x6 or 6x6 to gain the extra height.
I prefer to jack up on the frame, not the axle, especially when I know I'm going to be putting a jack stand under the axle. If a jack stand is going under the frame then the floor jack's maximum height isn't an issue because I'll use the floor jack on the axle.
Any reason why you jack from the frame instead of the axle? That sounds kinda backwards to me, as you'd have to go all the way up to the frame, then jack it up high enough to unload the suspension, then keep going to get the axle in the air. If you go from the axle at the start...you only have to lift a few inches, and any size jack will work.
Any reason why you jack from the frame instead of the axle? That sounds kinda backwards to me, as you'd have to go all the way up to the frame, then jack it up high enough to unload the suspension, then keep going to get the axle in the air. If you go from the axle at the start...you only have to lift a few inches, and any size jack will work.
Any spring work requires raising and supporting the vehicle by the frame. To lift by the axle would compress the spring, and the stored energy in the compressed spring would present a serious danger to anyone attempting to work on the suspension.
In my (20 year old) photo above, showing two long reach, long frame floor jacks (from a low of 5" to a high of 31" range) lifting a legacy Super Duty by the frame, I was installing an OEM Ford Service kit set of post production leaf spring spacers made of Delrin. The springs had to be unloaded. The truck had to be raised by the frame.
Any spring work requires raising and supporting the vehicle by the frame. To lift by the axle would compress the spring, and the stored energy in the compressed spring would present a serious danger to anyone attempting to work on the suspension.
In my (20 year old) photo above, showing two long reach, long frame floor jacks (from a low of 5" to a high of 31" range) lifting a legacy Super Duty by the frame, I was installing an OEM Ford Service kit set of post production leaf spring spacers made of Delrin. The springs had to be unloaded. The truck had to be raised by the frame.
Yes, but at least when I do spring work, I still lift from the axle, get the frame on stands, then lower the axle. (see my previously posted picture).
I was just curious to why...there is no right or wrong way as long as you get the job done safely.
I haven't done any lifting or work on the SD yet, but whenever I need to do suspension work on my other lifted trucks I jack them up under the axles/suspension, then lower the frame onto jack stands. I still have to remove the wheels to get full droop, with only inches to spare. One truck has a frame height of 21", the other 26", so a combo of wood, floor jack and jackstands come into play. Never had a scary moment or any close calls.
Any reason why you jack from the frame instead of the axle? That sounds kinda backwards to me, as you'd have to go all the way up to the frame, then jack it up high enough to unload the suspension, then keep going to get the axle in the air. If you go from the axle at the start...you only have to lift a few inches, and any size jack will work.
I just changed the leaf spring blocks in the rear of my F350. The yellow Daytona jack from HF with a small block of wood under the trailer hitch was enough to get the wheels off the ground.
I received a 6,000 lb triple air bag jack from santa clause, much lighter to wheel around, stands in the corner, smooth going up and down, I dont lift up my truck, but it lifted the *** end of my kubota tractor no problem, with a 4x4 it also works good lifting my mowing tractor so that i can clean out the deck. Its by no means a high lift, but for what i need it for it works perfect. I have a $140, 3 ton craftsman that has not held pressure since day one, ive tried bleeding it, but no help.
1. Long reach. Being able to roll a floor jack under the frame rail of the truck from the sides, or under the spring perches of the axles from the front or rear, while still being able to apply a full arc of pump on the handle, is worth the extra weight and cost of long reach, long frame floor jacks. Front or rear floor jack entries under trucks to reach the axles, where additional equipment is attached to the front or rear bumpers (winches, liftgates, etc) is another benefit of long reach floor jacks.
2. Get two, if you currently have zero. Having a pair of floor jacks provides an incredible measure of additional utility, convenience, and safety when raising and supporting a vehicle. Easy, smooth, bilateral lifts - without racking the body or cracking the seam sealer or twisting the frame - is just one of the benefits of having two floor jacks. Being able to reposition a jack stand while leaving the original floor jack in place is another. Being able to unload the springs , or reseat and align spring parts, by raising and lowering the truck separately from a simultaneous ability to raise and lower the axle independently, is another power of having at least two floor jacks (I've used as many as four floor jacks at once under a motorhome, along with eight jack stands.) Adapting one floor jack with a cradle to raise or lower drivetrain components like transmissions, or to shift the engine up or down off of the motormounts to aide in the installation of a turbo... are among the many ways that an additional floor jack can prove useful to those who do their own service work.
3. High lift. The higher the lift that the floor jack is capable of delivering without monkeying around with placing boards underneath the floor jack to raise it higher... the safer and easier life with a floor jack will be. The combination of long reach and high lift is ideal. There are quite a few long reach jacks that are not high lift, but all high lift jacks have somewhat of a longer reach than a typical floor jack. The downfall of some high lift jacks is a reduced capacity, but this is resolved under recommendation number two, which is to get a second high lift jack, and use both simultaneously, one on either side of the truck. This reduces the lifting load on each jack by half, while offering the benefit of a higher lifting capacity, with less twisting of the body. For those who run leveling kits, lifts, or larger tires, the high liift floor jack is worth it's extra weight in gold, for the safety and convenience that operating a floor jack without stacking boards underneath it provides.
4. If using the floor jack for other vehicles, such as passenger cars, then a low saddle height is another recommended feature to look for in a floor jack. Just being able to wheel the floor jack underneath modern fuel efficient vehicles that are low slung to the ground can be difficult with some floor jack designs. Something to look out for.
The following photos show a floor jack design that meets three out of the four recommendations above (1, 3, & 4). Obtaining two or more will then meet all four recommendations.
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I have that orange harbor freight jack and the shaft seal blew out today. I don't have the model number sticker anymore. Could you tell me the model so I may be able to find some new seals? thanks
Chinese manufactured jacks cannot be rebuilt. 90% of all floor jacks are Chinese made.
If you want a rebuildable jack look into hein-werner USA made jacks. You will pay 2 to 3 times the price of a Chinese jack but seals are replaceable.
I purchased two seal kits, from Harbor Freight, at the time I purchased the jacks, which was almost 20 years ago. I have the seal kits, but don't have any part numbers on them. The labels wore off the jacks. I do have the manuals somewhere, but there is no guarantee that I will be able to find them any time soon. I've been looking for the manual on and off for about the last 5 years. I have four of these jacks, and one of them is leaking, but still lifts and holds the weight. I always use jack stands, so as far as I'm concerned, even the leaking jack is fully functional for my purposes. I do intend to rebuild it one day. The seal/rebuild kit has at least 10 parts in it per bag.
