Harbor Freight aluminum "Racing Jacks"

sprint250 · 10-14-06, 05:12AM

Beware of cheap Chinese imitations of the real thing.You are seeing these for sale everywhere now.
Freind of mine bought two of these "U.S. General" brand so called "racing jacks" .Niether one of them worked as advertised.They would not raise a car even after bleeding them the way the manufacturer suggests.
Took them back to Harbor Freight Tools to exchange them and went through a whole pile of them before a working one was found.
The store help said "yeah alot of those have been coming back".
No **** then why don't they take 'em all off the shelves and send 'em to scrap before someone gets hurt using a trick looking piece of crap racing jack?
Ya gotta love companies like that. No Q.C. at all just box it up and sell it.And they put a trade name on it that says "U.S. General"
Friend said forget it and got his money back.
Went to Sears and bought their Chinese Craftsman "racing jack".At least the Sears one worked ok right out of the box.

10-14-06, 09:53PM

why do people have to have the "racing jack"?

why isn't the $50 one from harbor freight that i've have for over 10 years not good enough anymore?

is everyone going racing?

do they not know that the real deal racing jacks cost over $1500?

just curious....even though i do have a novelty racing jack that is about 8" long that i got as a gift.....

crazyfrank · 10-16-06, 02:19AM

I didnt buy my aluminum racing jack because its a racing jack. I bought mine because its less than 44lbs. Hell of a lot better than its comparable steel one at 115lbs. I hate hauling a 100+ lb jack around when the less than 44lb aluminum "racing jack" is light enough to pick up and move around and is soooo easy to roll into position even if the floor isnt perfect. The solid front wheel does wonders on bad ground or pavement. And its nice to push the handle once and have the jack on the vehicle and ready to go. My old steel jack took forever just to pump it up to position.

Thats why people buy "racing jacks"

10-16-06, 02:33AM

good points....i figured it was just a trendy thing.

flynbrian · 10-16-06, 02:04PM

I have a craftsman jack....Its the three ton silver model...steel. I have had it for years....It bleeds down a little and it was ok till I lent it to a neighbor....It came back looking like a refugee from a war...I am not sure its even the same jack...I been pissed about...The neighbor moved now...so I cant even find him.
The handle is messed up,the paint is severely scratched and the stickers gone. And to top it off the spring is broke that is supposed to hold the handle....I'm lookin to replace it someday soon...

flynbrian · 10-16-06, 02:06PM

I bought the buffer from Harbor Freight it seems fine....7" 5/8 arbor 200-3300 RPM for $29 bucks the Makita costs $270 for the same thing just a little quieter running. I can replace alot of cheapies for that.

10-16-06, 03:28PM

Good to know. I have a 15 year old Lincoln 2 ton Jack that is starting to bleed down, and was thinking of replacing it with one of those aluminum units. I guess I'll see about having it rebuilt.

10-21-06, 08:31PM

I bought one of my jacks about 15 years ago. It came with an overhaul kit. I ended up finally using it a couple years ago. Been working great ever since. Bought a 2nd jack, and even though it cost more, it's in no way comparable to my old one. My jacks are both heavy steel, but it's just obvious that they don't make stuff as well as they used to. Which is why I have no desire for an aluminum jack. Cheap shit comes with a high price! Words to live by! :ax

GrandAmMan · 10-24-06, 04:16AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sprint250

Beware of cheap Chinese imitations of the real thing.You are seeing these for sale everywhere now.

rant.............reminds me of all the Japanese cars. Eventually they got better (investing money from people that kept buying their crap) soon they became better and guess what?.........made is USA anything is tough to find.

Poncho1961 · 10-24-06, 06:20PM

I try to by USA. Sadly in todays world, USA doesn't mean better quality even if it cost alot more. Pride in workmanship seems to be a thing of the past at alot of the places anymore. It's all about the bottom line and max profits. With four kids at home and nearing college, I have to watch how my money is spent. American made when I can, good quality imports when I must. Besides, if we want the world to by our goods, it has to be give and take. We must buy theirs too.

I buy from Harbor freight now and then. If you shop carefully, good deals can be found. I have been bitten once or twice but in the long run, I think I've had more success than failure with their products. Besides, sometimes just reading the English translation in the owners manuals is worth the price of admission. LOL

10-24-06, 08:39PM

I used to work with a guy that worked for <insert major manufacturer of power tools name here> and his job was to grind off "Made in Mexico" and place a "Made in U.S.A." sticker in that place...

Lugnuts · 10-26-06, 02:44PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MydnightMyst

I used to work with a guy that worked for <insert major manufacturer of power tools name here> and his job was to grind off "Made in Mexico" and place a "Made in U.S.A." sticker in that place...

hmm thats just a tad on the illegal side.

10-29-06, 11:18AM

LOL! Yeah, just a tad.

Pontiac462 · 11-14-06, 12:14AM

I bought the Harbor Freight US General aluminum jack about 6 months ago. I have been using it without any problems. I bought it because it is very low in the front and the steel one wouldn't fit under my car. When I have heavy lifting to do, I use the steel one. The aluminum one was a practical thing for me me....not trendy.

sprint250 · 11-14-06, 02:47AM

They could slap any name on it like "American Hydraulics" , "OHIO FORGE", "Pittsburgh Tools" even "Craftsman" they're still all coming from the same factories in China.They have obviously turned out some dogs.
462 You got lucky and got a good one.
The low profile and light weight is a good thing ,as is the cushioned lift pad.
Some even have a cool magnetic bolt tray, and they do look slick.

When my friend had to go through a whole pallet load of them was when he changed his mind.

Jacks, jackstands, stands, ramps, hoists & dollies your life and work are riding on 'em.
All the safety glasses ,face shields, respirators etc. who is checkin' that stuff to see if it really meets spec?
Just check that stuff over carefully before you get it home is all I'm saying.