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A particularly nice floor jack for a Se7en.


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Posted (edited)

I bought this on sale at Sears (Craftsman club, special offer) for $150 probably 6 years ago and have found it really valuable.

 

Capacity is 1,500 lbs so you can pick up all of most Se7ens (as well as the rear end of a Civic).

 

As shown in FullUp.jpg: https://www.dropbox.com/s/tx60yuviij5uwqn/FullUp.JPG?dl=0

-The jack has a wide base and doesn't tend to tip sideways at full extension like some regular pattern floor jacks I've used; it's very stable in this regard. Its frame is aluminum so the jack is reasonably easy to maneuver.

-Max height is 19” with the supplied accessory pads,

-Among other things, the pads are handy for putting on wheels when car is on jack stands since the height and spacing of the pads stabilize the wheel when the wheel's put on the jack cross-ways.

-Those white pegs are scrap pieces of 1/2” PVC that I've found useful for aligning the jack when for e.g., lifting the front of the car, reaching under the nose to catch a cross member. With the pegs placed in the front holes where the accessory pads fit, it leaves the right amount of underhang to fully catch square frame tube. The pegs allow you to square the jack to the tube as well as not go so far under the car that you risk lifting on something you didn't intend to, and the width of the lifting surface when squared this way allows lifting on a wider section of frame, which is probably a good thing when the frame's only 1” sq. tube. Again, the width and design of the jack make it very stable when doing such lifting.

Lowered.jpg https://www.dropbox.com/s/qa8vjd9xn408jfe/Lowered.JPG?dl=0

Height is 3 1/2” to the top of the padded surface.

This shows the pegs in position and the lifting area they provide at the front of the jack.

PlanView.jpg https://www.dropbox.com/s/vpe1b8mxw1rdmn3/PlanView.JPG?dl=0

Small handle pointing toward the jack handle is a safety catch – it engages automatically once or twice as you lift. You flip it back when lowering.

 

The only complaint I have is that the release isn't as progressive as I'd like. When lowering, I have to take care to twist the handle just enough to get it just started lowering and then re-tighten as soon as it starts to move, otherwise it can drop faster than I want.

Edited by JohnK
additions - seller
Posted

:iagree:

Very cool. It looks like a motorcycle jack. Is that what it is?

 

I'll bet it's ideal for getting under the nose of a Seven and easily picking up the front chassis cross members. I always have to roll my car up on a 2x4 to get the car high enough to get my old cast iron Heine Werner floor jack under the chassis.

 

And it looks to be made from aluminum so it's fairly lightweight too. Very nice.

Posted

Have one very similar. It is a harbor fright motorcycle jack that I bought at a yard sale for $45 (still too much) it will pick my S1 up but being rated at 1500lbs is right on the edge and as JohnK said it is quite touchey when lowering. to complement it; I built a cart on rollers that is open on one side to slide under the car when jacked up (stole the idea from a usa7s post) , you cannot safely roll the car with the jack wheels. Now have a hf transmission jack that will get converter with a higher lift capacity and steel wheels. Keep in mind that there are no quality item on sale at harbor freight aka chairman mao's junk sales.

Posted
:iagree:

Very cool. It looks like a motorcycle jack. Is that what it is?

 

Sears markets it as a motorcycle/quad-runner jack - If your motorcycle has an area under the engine that's flat it's probably great (mine doesn't). They include reasonable-strength straps to keep the thing you're lifting from tipping over and falling off the jack as you roll it around so it really is designed to be stable laterally.

 

One complaint I've heard from "real" mechanics is that they don't buy or use non-commercial jacks because they've found them to typically have poor hydraulics and wind up pitching them because they start leaking pressure - and they're dangerous to say the least. I have not found this to be the case with this jack in spite of years of pretty rigorous use.

 

I've seen copies made of steel rather than aluminum at Pep Boys and Harbor Freight. If I ever need a special purpose jack, I'll consider one to fabricate whatever structure applies to the need. I don't have the nerve to weld anything on something so obviously well engineered that's mostly aluminum - heat treating and all...

  • 13 years later...
Posted (edited)

among the ROC tools that circulate through the Harbor Freights and other cheap tool stores, there is a particular floor jack I just love using for the 7 because the proportions are just right.  I believe it's this one available again at HF

Screenshot_20260821_152716_DuckDuckGo.thumb.jpg.012cd9efc94b21c6bdf57f60d122baa1.jpgIt is a beast. it's heavy. but worth it. especially at this price.  the low height helps get a piece of wood between the jack and the car.

 

Edited by IamScotticus
  • Like 1
Posted

That sale is about as good as it gets for this jack. As a HF addict, I can't believe I got scooped by USA7s on this deal :classic_laugh:

Granted the jacking points on the Caterham are SO easy to reach that I haven't had a problem with my little 1.5ton HF racing jack that I picked up about 25 years ago (and still kicking, even being from the "bad old days" of Harbor Freight). My rear license plate is dented from the jack handle hitting it though, so I am severely tempted by this long reach jack (and it'll be handy on my other car).

 

One thing that's less-mentioned about this jack is that longer reach also means higher lift. It may actually have the highest lift capacity of all the myriad HF floor jacks.

  • Like 2
Posted

Those and the same rapid pump ones are amazing. If this wasn't member only deal Id buy another one. Maybe I'll even become a member for this one. 

 

I've been waiting on sale since they were cheaper like a decade ago. Finally bought one last year on their as is final price clearance for around $180. 

 

They do their jacks right. 

 

The long reach does indeed have one of the highest rise points ive seen for readably priced units 

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Posted

BTW if you do want to join ITC, you can sign up for two years at the register which is $45 (compared to $30/yr). That's what I did... Or you could just give them the phone number of someone who's a member :classic_ninja:

  • Like 1
Posted (edited)

I'm a fan of the long reach low profile jack linked above.

 

IMO, it's a nicer and slightly lighter jack and like it better than their Low Profile Super Duty, which  they were sued by SnapOn over.

Edited by demoray

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