When it comes to working on your car, few things are more important than having the right tools for the job. Sure, mechanical knowledge is also important, but the mechanically savvy can often improvise their way through an automotive repair relying solely on common sense and patience. The same can not be said for tools. Using inadequate tooling can lead to a number of problems in the garage, ranging from the frustration of wasted time and broken car parts to those of more paramount importance such as your safety and well being. While obviously annoying, a broken water pump or stripped oil pan bolt is easy to recover from by forking out a few bucks for a replacement. On the other hand, since you can be severely injured as a result of using unsafe tools and ignoring safety procedures, a successful recovery from an accident of this nature might not be so easy.
One of the most important and ubiquitous tools found in most shade tree garages is the trusty floor jack. This is also probably the most frequent tool involved in safety related accidents due to the numerous pitfalls associated with their use that range from buying an inferior product that doesn’t live up to its safety claims to simple mistakes of improper use that could easily have been avoided. But fear not, for this buyer’s guide will walk you through all the steps necessary to choosing the right floor jack that is both high quality and suitable for your type of car. In addition, basic car jack safety protocol will be discussed so you can use your jack safely.
Floor Jack Comparison
Below is a quick reference table designed to give you quick and easy comparison before we dive too deep into the article and reviews. The table consists of the makes and models of some of our favorites, as well as relative price and average rating. If you want a more in depth look feel free to skip ahead. However, if you are just looking for a quick recommendation, this table is for you.
Name | Price | Rating |
---|---|---|
![]() Arcan XL2t Racing Jack | $$ | 4.8 |
![]() Nesco Tools Low Profile Floor Jack | $$$$ | 4.7 |
![]() Powerzone 3 Ton Floor Jack | $$ | 4.6 |
![]() Arcan ALJ2T Aluminum Floor Jack | $$ | 4.6 |
![]() OTC 2 Ton Aluminum Racing Jack | $$$$ | 4.3 |
![]() Blackhawk Automotive 2 Ton Floor Jack | $$ | 4.3 |
![]() Torin Aluminum & Steel 2.5 Ton Racing Jack | $$ | 3.9 |
![]() Powerbuilt 2 Ton Trolley Jack | $ | 3.5 |
What is a floor jack?
So before we get too much deeper, let’s take a minute to define exactly what a floor jack is. A floor jack, often also referred to as a car jack, auto jack, or garage jack, is a mechanical device designed to give the user the necessary mechanical advantage to lift heavy loads. Although floor jacks have a variety of uses, the vast majority of uses pertain to lifting automobiles or trucks. Floor jacks employ a variety of mechanisms to impart lifting force: most often these mechanisms include hydraulics and lead screws.
When/Why Do You Use a Floor Jack?
Now that you know what a floor jack is, let’s talk about some of their possible uses as they relate to the automotive world. Most auto mechanics ranging from amateur to professional will at some point find that they need additional ground clearance when working on their car in order to provide better access to various components. By far the most common instances are lifting a car to gain access to the oil pan drain plug during an oil change and lifting a car to allow removal of the wheels during a tire rotation. Other common procedures include changing brake pads and rotors, transmission work, suspension work, and exhaust work. In addition to lifting the car itself, floor jacks are often used to lift only the motor in order to provide additional clearance within the engine bay. An example of when this would be necessary is during an engine mount replacement procedure.
Types of Floor Jacks
Hydraulic Floor Jack
Scissor Jack
Bottle Jack / Piston Jack
Floor Jack Safety
Obviously the most important thing when using a floor jack, or when doing any type of work on your car for that matter, is your personal safety. A little common sense goes a long way, but there are some facets of safety that may not be so obvious. To guide you, below is a list of some basic safety principles and tip for using your floor jack.
1. Never trust your floor jack to support your car by itself. Always use jack stands.
Any mechanical component ever designed can theoretically fail, but mechanical components designed to move tend to fail at a higher rate. A floor jack falls into the latter category. It has been well documented that hydraulic floor jacks can and will fail over time due to wear on the hydraulic components. Unfortunately this mode of failure is rather innocuous because instead of a catastrophic failure, the jack will slowly let the car down. While one would think that this would be an advantage to someone in danger of being crushed, it really isn’t. Often times the slow descent during a failure goes unnoticed for the few precious moments a person has to escape. Keep in mind that a person on their back underneath a car has limited speed and agility to get out of the way as well.
But there’s good news! This problem is extremely easy to avoid by pairing your floor jack with a set of high quality jack stands. Once you raise your car with your jack, place a pair of jack stands underneath the car and rest the car on them instead of relying on the hydraulic components of your jack. Only after you have supported your car with jack stands should you ever climb under to do any work. It is also recommended that you rock the car a little bit by hand near the top to ensure that your setup is sturdy before you climb under. While it would be bad to have your car fall off a poorly placed jack stand when you give the car a little test shake, it would be much worse if it fell on you because you didn’t. You may also consider using chalks if you are only using two jack stands in order to prevent your car from rolling. As an added measure of safety, you may also place a wheel that you removed under your car for added safety (although this should only be used in addition to a sturdy jack stand, not as a replacement).
2. Always raise your car on level ground.
It is never a good idea to raise your car on any terrain other than that which is level. Resting your jack or jack stands at an angle as a result of an uneven floor creates a tipping hazard as the car can easily go over center relative to your jack and fall. The most common occurrence is when someone tries to lift their car on a slanted driveway. For much the same reason you shouldn’t use a forklift on a hill, you shouldn’t use your jack on any kind of slope.
3. Raise and lower your car slowly.
Raising and lower your car slowly allows you to identify any problems before they happen, thus hopefully allowing your to prevent them. In addition, lowering your car too quickly can lead to several scenarios where damage to your car can occur. When operating your jack either up or down, it’s best to use slow and controlled movements.
4. Use appropriate jacking points on your car.
This cannot be stressed enough. Your car has very specific points where the frame has been reinforced to support the load of the car when raising it with a jack. These locations are always lined out in your owner’s manual for your car as well as often times well marked on the car itself. Do not lift a car under any circumstances unless you are confident that you are jacking the car up from an appropriate location.
What To Consider When Buying A Floor Jack
There are several considerations that you have to make when shopping around for a floor jack. While your intended use is important, there are also some other aspects that you must pay attention to to make sure that you make a wise purchase and don’t fall for any of the “gotchas.”
1. Consider what type of car or cars you will be using the jack on.
The type of car that you are using your jack on plays an important role in helping you choose which jack to buy. The most important factor here is ground clearance. Ground clearance is defined as how high off the ground your jack point (the place where your jack contacts your car when lifting) sits. Cars with low ground clearance typically are easiest to lift with normal hydraulic floor jacks. In fact, jacks in this style can be had in “low-profile” options for particularly cars, such as lowered performance cars, sports cars, and race cars. They hydraulic floor jack is also a favorite for most sedans, SUVs, vans, coupes, and trucks. If you have a particularly high car, such as a lifted truck, you might find a bottle jack to be more suitable. If your goal is just to toss the jack in your trunk for emergencies, then a scissor jack is ideal due to compact size and low cost. That said, a hydraulic floor jack will be suitable for most people and most cars, so if you can’t decide your best bet is to stick with a hydraulic floor jack.
2. Consider the weight of your car.
All floor jacks are rated to a certain maximum weight capacity. You must be diligent about making sure the maximum capacity on the jack you want to purchase exceeds the amount of weight you intend to lift with it. Typically this rating is provided in tons, with 2 ton jacks and 3 ton jacks being the most common. It’s important to remember that your jack will never support 100% of the weight of your car. The worst case is lifting near the engine, where it is likely to support a maximum of roughly 60% of the weight of your entire car. That said, a general rule of thumb is that most sub-compact, compact, and economy midsize cars can be safely lifted with a 2 ton jack. For luxury midsize cars, full size cars, suvs, vans, and trucks, a 3 ton jack is suitable. If you have a particularly heavy or large car, you may have to jump up to a 3.5 or 4 ton jack (or bigger), but this doesn’t apply to most cars.
3. Consider the build quality.
Like with any investment, it pays to do your due diligence up front when it comes to buying a floor jack. Long term, a high quality floor jack will cost you less than buying a poorly made one and constantly having to replace it do to failure. Sure, you may be attracted to the cheap cost up front, but when you compare the cumulative total that you would spend if you have to replace a few poorly made jacks, you’ll rarely come out ahead if you buy the cheapies. To identify a jack with superior build quality, the best thing to do is to pull it out and look at it if you can. A well built floor jack will have predominantly metal parts, whereas a cheap one will have many plastic components. In addition, the quality of finish is often an indicator of material quality. If there is lots of brushed or polished metal with some nicely painted/coated sections, this can mean that a manufacturer is trying to show off their components. Conversely, if paint is sloppily piled on to every component indiscriminately with visible overspray, a manufacturer might be trying to hide inferior quality metal. In addition, a high quality floor jack will be heavy and will operate smoothly. There should also be no leaks. Of course, since not everyone has the ability to actually inspect a jack when buying online, reviews become like the ones below become critical in evaluating quality.
Reviews of 5 Best Floor Jacks
Arcan ALJ2T 2 Ton Aluminum Floor Jack
Powerzone 380044 3 Ton Floor Jack
Torin T84025 2.5 Ton Aluminum and Steel Racing Jack
Torin T10152 1.5 Ton Scissor Jack
Powerbuilt 8 Ton Bottle Jack
So There You Have It
So congratulations for making it all the way through the article, because now you are an expert when it comes to automotive jacking devices. Hopefully you have found this guide to be helpful! While any of the jacks listed above are recommended wholeheartedly, it should be noted that there are many other great floor jacks out there too. If none of the above speak to you or you don’t quite see your flavor, have a look at a few more by clicking here to see more types, read more reviews, and get a feel for prices.
And remember, no floor jack is safe without a great pair of jack stands to go along with it.