A little off topic I guess, but since we're people constantly working on busted cars it's also kind of on topic. Anyone ever heard of Arcan floor jacks?

The Costco up by me has a really nice looking one for 70 bucks. Nice low saddle, single pump to start...stout looking piece. I have a Craftsman 3 1/2 ton floor jack for the garage, and I kind of hate it. This looked like a possible upgrade, but I'm not familiar with the manufacturer and can't even find a website. Anyone?

 

For $70 ... what are you waiting for?

I have been doing an informal survey of people using the HF jack and, survey says, "buy it".I plan to get one and rig up a mount on the trailer to take it to the track.

Lord knows going from the low-maint ultimate driving machine to the new busted H4 Civic, I'm gonna be needing me a jack more than ever.

 

What are the Min/Max height specs on that Arcan jack? thanks.


Vitt: who currently does not own a Costco card.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by whitney &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">For $70 ... what are you waiting for?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Well, it's not one of those lightweight jacks. It'd be a replacement for the Craftsman I bought last year, which I don't much like - WAY too many pumps to get the stupid car up into the air.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Vitt1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What are the Min/Max height specs on that Arcan jack? thanks.

Vitt: who currently does not own a Costco card. </TD></TR></TABLE>

From "Really Low" (sorry, I don't remember) to like 21.5". Looked pretty good to me.

No Costco card? My heavens. $22 for cases of Mobil 1 *and* cases of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale...I don't know what I'd do without it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by whitney &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have been doing an informal survey of people using the HF jack and, survey says, "buy it".</TD></TR></TABLE>
then I guess you didnt survey me

Evan
-whose H-F jack is a useless pile of ****

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by elgorey &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">-whose H-F jack is a useless pile of ****</TD></TR></TABLE>

I'll give you $10 for it.

 

I have that costco jack. For almost a year now. It's a good jack for the price.

Cons
A little more effort to pump then most decent jacks.
Heavy as ****.
Very squeeky. Oil on the rollers by the pump help for a little.

Pros
Cheap.
Low.
High.
Costco Return Policy.
Handle comes off easy and fits over a breaker bar.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by krshultz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Anyone ever heard of Arcan floor jacks?
</TD></TR></TABLE>

I've seen their jack at Costco, and it looked like a pretty decent piece. Did a little web searching and didn't find anything on the company, but I did find their product at quite a few sites. Looks like they're more or less involved in heavy duty shop equipment. Here's a link to a site that carries a bunch of their stuff.

http://www.tools-r-us.biz/ntm/a/Arcan/

I'd buy it. If you get if from Costco, you can ALWAYS take it back. Just like any jack..... you never wanna work under the car without stands anyway.

 

Evan , what went wrong with your H-F jack? I bought one a few months ago and works great so far. There are quite a few guys in my area that have it and love it.


I was in Costco this weekend and I only saw the "super" aluminum race jack....NICE! But $280


Modified by Jetydosa at 9:04 PM 7/11/2003

 

there is one at costco in my area that looks exactly like the HF jack, but in colors. It was less then 200 too.

 

The HF jack has been going on sale recently for $149. I really ought to buy one... but my trunk is already full with 2 rubbermaid bins of supplies/stuff, 2 toolboxes, and the elec impact box when i go to the track I'm organized... but out of room.

 

Someone told me today that there is a web site that did a floor jack "shootout."
I forgot to get the web address, but from the way he described the all around winner sounded like it was the AC DK20. I believe the HF was deemed best for track because of the weight.

 

The AC stuff is very well regarded. http://www.ultimategarage.com sells them and I think our own JeffS has one and likes it.

I was hoping this Arcan unit would be a cheaper alternative. This Craftsman that I bought (at considerable expense BTW), while certainly stout, is slow to raise a car, heavy, and despite its 20 inch rating, won't lift my Suburban.

 

That brings up a good point.

The I recently used my costco jack to change the breaks on an expedition. Putting the jack on the frame rail behind the front wheel (under door) I was able to get the tire bottom of the tire 6 inces off the ground. My jackstands ended up 1 inch too short.

My buddy has the AC jack. Best jack I have ever used in my life. A little slow, but a ton less effort.

 

Kragen sells this jack and two stands for twenty bucks, its a 1 ton jack

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Chas &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Kragen sells this jack and two stands for twenty bucks, its a 1 ton jack</TD></TR></TABLE>

Walmart has a 2-ton with jackstands and chocks (I only have 1 now because some idiot in a 350z crushed the other...) for the same price. It did me well on my Accord but it's simply too high at it's lowest setting to fit under the Civic. I've had no mechanical problems whatsoever with it, only design problems.

I've found if I scissor jack the car up a few inches the jack fits nicely under the front, but then i have to scissor jack back down once I get to that point downwards.

Pain in the ***? Yes. A $20 jack that does it's job? Yes.

 

Mike, that jack is a complete pile of ****. It looks like it was meant to jack up nothing more than a red flyer. The only reason i'd own it is to take it to the track for emergency back up *if* there were no room in the car for a real jack. And even then i'd park next to someone w/ a pimpy enclosed trailer and borrow theirs.

 

To each his own. It gets the job done, so I see no point in blowing $150 to get something "better."

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tonyXcom &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Pros
Costco Return Policy.
</TD></TR></TABLE>


Costco has an amazing return policy... probably better than wal-mart.

 

Just a little note on those AC Jacks. I have had one for a little over a year now and I love it. Ease of use is great. Its light. Not as light as the HF jack but has great clearance and lift height for our puny cars. Haven't tried an SUV or truck with it though, but I may try to get my Cherokee up with it tonight. I'll report details afterwards.

As for that Costco Jack, looks like a heavy duty peice, but great for the price. And Costco does take anything back. Ask me how I know?

 

I just bought the costco arcan jack for $80. After a thorough inspection, I'm really impressed with the quality and I plan to keep it. This is especially true when I compare it to my craftsman "3 ton suv high lift jack". Craftsman seems like a hunk of crap compared to my arcan jack.

I recently purchased the craftsman suv jack to replace an identical jack because it was losing oil through the plunger after about 3 years of use. So I have no loyalty to craftsmen and I plan to return the recently purchased craftsman jack.

So far, the only thing negative I have to say about the arcan jack is that it's made in china and weighs 100lbs as said above, which is kinda heavy. Although it does roll around smoothly on floor so the added weight might not be so bad.

 

Yeah that jack weighs a ton, but it's pretty tough and works pretty well too. My friends has a small problem with one of the plungers sticking(won't return when compressed) otherwise it's a decent piece.

 

I have 2 in my garage I've been using for some time now. They both work great and I was able to lift the civic high enough to swap in a b16 with no stress.

 

I have the arcan jack and it is heavy as hell but it is very low and lifts my 3/4 ton Pick up . good for the shop but nasty to take anywhere. A little hard to pump it up though. overall a good purchase for my uses.

 

I have a 3 1/2 ton powerbuilt from Kragen...had it for about 9 years now. The reason I bought it is because it has a universal joint for the release mechinism rather than the two gears that seem to release differently depending on the angle of the handle. The U-joint always feels the same when it releases and its very predictable. It is a very solid jack, and after nine years of abuse (leaving cars up on it for days at a time with no jack stands), it still works like a champ. I've modified my work habits over the years to include jack stands under the car, safety first, but the jack has never given me any trouble. For under $100, it was an excellent investment and gets my recomendation.