ZaphodB
Established member
As per the title , any one recommend a decent (but sub £100) trolley jack for the abarth 595 ?
I'm torn between one or two different ones
I'm torn between one or two different ones
Technical Trolley Jack recommendations
- Thread starter ZaphodB
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Technical Trolley Jack recommendations
Sadly after looking at the adverts you are stuck between £30 flimsy toy town ones that tip over or collapse and the cheapest "garage style " Sealey for around £140.
At present I have a 3 tonne garage style one I was lucky to pick up new at an auction for £30, a 6 tonne commercial one that is nearly impossible to lift into a van on your own and one of those "flimsy toy town ones" that I leave in my vehicle as a quick tyre changing jack that you can lift with one hand.
As you obviously know, it doesn't matter how much you spend on a jack, NEVER GET UNDER A VEHICLE WITHOUT GOOD AXLE STANDS.
In the past I used to pick up s/h Bradbury and Epco full size garage jacks, including high lift ones from closing down auctions at garages, they were makes that were well built and could be repaired if necessary, unlike the rubbish from the Far East today.
Funny enough, if you zoom in under the axle stands the label on my 6 tonne jack says "caution use axle stands".
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ZaphodB
Established member
Thanks for that , and yes I have a couple of pairs of stands.
I spotted a few described as aluminium construction (obviously to save weight) but doesn't say what elements are made of ally.
Looks like maybe I'm gonna have to spend something just over £100 to get something approaching decent.
There's one that keeps popping up (in all manner of brand names) that has a hoop pick-up handle sticking out on one side.. which looks ok
I spotted a few described as aluminium construction (obviously to save weight) but doesn't say what elements are made of ally.
Looks like maybe I'm gonna have to spend something just over £100 to get something approaching decent.
There's one that keeps popping up (in all manner of brand names) that has a hoop pick-up handle sticking out on one side.. which looks ok
A neighbour of mine has bought the alloy ones, they are usually "fast lift" types and don't seem to last very long.
Any garage jack that can be lifted by a handle one handed is not going to be very strong.
Another thing to check is the amount they actually raise up, as you need to be able to get the axle stands under the raised vehicle.
Usually the cheap ones are quite narrow , hence the built in instability, coupled with thin side frames so collapse easily.
ZaphodB
Established member
Good point notedAnother thing to check is the amount they actually raise up, as you need to be able to get the axle stands under the raised vehicle.
A lot of good stuff from Mike above.
A while ago I did a bit about jacking and supporting vehicles and on the second - or maybe third - page there's quite a bit about my jacks and what I think is important if you're buying one: https://www.fiatforum.com/guides/ra...s-ie-cars-some-thoughts-and-observations.922/
I also have a large, low entry, quick lift one from Machine mart: https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clarke-ctj2qlp-2-tonne-quick-lift-low-profile/ which is lovely to use as it only needs a couple of pumps of the handle to bring it up into contact with the car and then, automatically, pumps like a normal one. To be honest though, it was a bit of an extravagance but I love having well made tools and I do use them a lot.
Personally I like Machine Mart because, in my experience and if you buy their more quality items, they are very good at customer support and spare parts. However, I wouldn't be surprised to find their cheaper options are "throw away" when something goes seriously wrong. Just a mile or so away from me, on the same trading estate where the Fiat independent garage is, there's an engineering workshop which repairs all sorts of things. My old blue jack (the one which now has the red pumping element I feature in the guide) developed a leak from it's pumping plunger. I took it in to him and he told me, apart from the seals requiring replacement that the barrel of the pumping element was also worn oval. He told me he's tried to get spares for these wee jacks before and either they are not available or cost too much to be economical. "At the price you pay for the jack, it's a throw away if anything fails on them" he told me. I was unbelievably lucky to come across an almost new Sealey 1153CX Jack: https://www.sealey.co.uk/product/5637173115/heavy-duty-long-reach-trolley-jack-3-tonne - which you'll often find for around £85.00 on ebay - for sale privately at a price I couldn't resist. I'd intended to just chuck the old blue jack and use the Sealey but it had a slightly higher resting height and it's saddle was smaller diameter so I wasn't quite so happy with it. Then I noticed the entire pumping body was very very similar to the old blue Hilka one. In fact I think the castings are identical but it's now made with metric fittings and fixings - I bet there's a big factory somewhere in China or India turning these out by the million and all these wee jack manufacturers use them in their slightly differently styled jacks? Anyway, it bolted straight into the blue jack's chassis and has worked perfectly ever since - It'll see me out for sure.
In my opinion the cheapest of these small jacks - the ones below in size to the small ones I have - are quite poorly made and seriously compromised in factors like their closed height, range of lift and total height when extended. You'll see some advertised with a seemingly very good maximum height but look carefully at their closed height? Many obtain the max height by having a stupidly extended saddle height when closed.
I will repeat Mike's warning above. NEVER EVER, FOR ANY REASON, EVEN FOR THE VERY SHORTEST PERIOD OF TIME, GET ANY PART OF YOUR BODY UNDER A VEHICLE SUPPORTED ONLY ON A JACK - OF ANY TYPE. If it suffers a serious hydraulic failure they can collapse completely almost instantaneously - far to quick for you to drag yourself out of the way. It never really bothered me thinking about this sort of thing when I was younger but then there was a chap who had a large lockup in a block, away from his house, not far from where we lived at that time, who had gone off to work on his vehicle after lunch - I think on a Saturday - but didn't come home for his evening meal. Apparently he often lost track of the time when in his workshop (I can understand that) so his wife didn't worry. He was found by a neighbour under the vehicle with the jack collapsed. It would seem he died quite slowly from suffocation due to the weight on his chest stopping him breathing. I found myself surprisingly badly affected by this, even getting a bit "teary" when I thought too much about it, but it really brought home to me how easily you can kill, or main yourself working on vehicles.
A while ago I did a bit about jacking and supporting vehicles and on the second - or maybe third - page there's quite a bit about my jacks and what I think is important if you're buying one: https://www.fiatforum.com/guides/ra...s-ie-cars-some-thoughts-and-observations.922/
I also have a large, low entry, quick lift one from Machine mart: https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clarke-ctj2qlp-2-tonne-quick-lift-low-profile/ which is lovely to use as it only needs a couple of pumps of the handle to bring it up into contact with the car and then, automatically, pumps like a normal one. To be honest though, it was a bit of an extravagance but I love having well made tools and I do use them a lot.
Personally I like Machine Mart because, in my experience and if you buy their more quality items, they are very good at customer support and spare parts. However, I wouldn't be surprised to find their cheaper options are "throw away" when something goes seriously wrong. Just a mile or so away from me, on the same trading estate where the Fiat independent garage is, there's an engineering workshop which repairs all sorts of things. My old blue jack (the one which now has the red pumping element I feature in the guide) developed a leak from it's pumping plunger. I took it in to him and he told me, apart from the seals requiring replacement that the barrel of the pumping element was also worn oval. He told me he's tried to get spares for these wee jacks before and either they are not available or cost too much to be economical. "At the price you pay for the jack, it's a throw away if anything fails on them" he told me. I was unbelievably lucky to come across an almost new Sealey 1153CX Jack: https://www.sealey.co.uk/product/5637173115/heavy-duty-long-reach-trolley-jack-3-tonne - which you'll often find for around £85.00 on ebay - for sale privately at a price I couldn't resist. I'd intended to just chuck the old blue jack and use the Sealey but it had a slightly higher resting height and it's saddle was smaller diameter so I wasn't quite so happy with it. Then I noticed the entire pumping body was very very similar to the old blue Hilka one. In fact I think the castings are identical but it's now made with metric fittings and fixings - I bet there's a big factory somewhere in China or India turning these out by the million and all these wee jack manufacturers use them in their slightly differently styled jacks? Anyway, it bolted straight into the blue jack's chassis and has worked perfectly ever since - It'll see me out for sure.
In my opinion the cheapest of these small jacks - the ones below in size to the small ones I have - are quite poorly made and seriously compromised in factors like their closed height, range of lift and total height when extended. You'll see some advertised with a seemingly very good maximum height but look carefully at their closed height? Many obtain the max height by having a stupidly extended saddle height when closed.
I will repeat Mike's warning above. NEVER EVER, FOR ANY REASON, EVEN FOR THE VERY SHORTEST PERIOD OF TIME, GET ANY PART OF YOUR BODY UNDER A VEHICLE SUPPORTED ONLY ON A JACK - OF ANY TYPE. If it suffers a serious hydraulic failure they can collapse completely almost instantaneously - far to quick for you to drag yourself out of the way. It never really bothered me thinking about this sort of thing when I was younger but then there was a chap who had a large lockup in a block, away from his house, not far from where we lived at that time, who had gone off to work on his vehicle after lunch - I think on a Saturday - but didn't come home for his evening meal. Apparently he often lost track of the time when in his workshop (I can understand that) so his wife didn't worry. He was found by a neighbour under the vehicle with the jack collapsed. It would seem he died quite slowly from suffocation due to the weight on his chest stopping him breathing. I found myself surprisingly badly affected by this, even getting a bit "teary" when I thought too much about it, but it really brought home to me how easily you can kill, or main yourself working on vehicles.
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A wee PS to the above.
I agree, broadly, with what Mike says above about alloy jacks. There are some really excellent ones made and you'll see them in action at American Stock Car Races - They cost quite a lot of money. The cheaper ones are very much aimed at appealing to the "boy racers" if I may say so? and are probably more about "bling" than substance. I prefer a good old and solid cast iron "lump". And the day I can't lift it any more is the day I'll know to pack it in - which may be sooner than I would like!
That 6 tonne one of mine is a bit like that weight wise.
I bought it to lift a large boat I had so I could replace the wooden centre keel in green oak, but when you have loaded 3.5 tonne Iveco on it and you can literally lift the vehicle using one hand with ease it more than pays for it's self.
+1 on this advice here.
Unusually I followed this protocol and kept my limbs when my Silverline branded one collapsed (not hydraulic but mechanical when the two thin steel arms bent and failed) I was so alarmed I reported it to their local Trading Standards since I was jacking on level, hard, flat ground and generally doing everything right.
That's very alarming indeed. I could understand cheap hydraulics being rather "dodgy" but such a basic part of the mechanism failing? I would have thought parts like that would have a very comfortable safety factor built in? I've only ever bought one Silverline branded product which was a very good looking pack of supposed HSS twist drills. Unfortunately they wouldn't drill a hole in a bowl of custard. Blunted very quickly just drilling mild steel. Bought Dormer next time, as I usually do.
ZaphodB
Established member
Budget has just gone up again
Still cheaper than a burial.Budget has just gone up again
icheatatscrabble
Established member
Have had this one for a few years - just under £100. I paid £85 when I bought mine. It's not too bad, and pretty solid.
I would suggest buying the additional rubber pad which is an extra 8 quid.
heynershop.co.uk
heynershop.co.uk
I would suggest buying the additional rubber pad which is an extra 8 quid.
Extra Low Flat Car Trolley Lift Jack 2.25 tonne
HEYNER® Professional Hydraulic Car Lifting Jack 2,25 tons Extra Flat Low Profile with little pumps from 100 mm to maximum lift of 460 mm. Quality car lifting tool
heynershop.co.uk
Rubber Pads For Trolley Jacks To Protect Car Frame
Suitable to fit on the trolley jack to protect the frame railes and sill from bending while using the lifting tool.
heynershop.co.uk
I'm sure that would be a sensible buy for home use. If you look closely It uses the "generic" pumping body - which appears in many other brands and, I would bet, is made by the million in the far east somewhere? But that wouldn't put me off. Another British branded similar product would be Sealey's "take" on the subject: https://www.sealey.co.uk/product/5637754419/low-profile-short-chassis-trolley-jack-2-tonne---orange Same lift height range and comes in a choice of colours. Often seen on the likes of ebay, brand new, for around £60 to £70.Have had this one for a few years - just under £100. I paid £85 when I bought mine. It's not too bad, and pretty solid.
I would suggest buying the additional rubber pad which is an extra 8 quid.
Extra Low Flat Car Trolley Lift Jack 2.25 tonne
HEYNER® Professional Hydraulic Car Lifting Jack 2,25 tons Extra Flat Low Profile with little pumps from 100 mm to maximum lift of 460 mm. Quality car lifting tool
Rubber Pads For Trolley Jacks To Protect Car Frame
Suitable to fit on the trolley jack to protect the frame railes and sill from bending while using the lifting tool.
Edit. These both have a max height of around 380mm which is the minimum I'd consider "useful" for serious home use. A lot of the cheaper stuff available either has lower lift or gains it by having a much higher minimum height which might cause problems getting under lower vehicles. What dictates the lift range (closed height to fully extended) is the length of the lifting arm. So when you're looking at these jacks ask yourself "is that lifting arm short or quite long"? To give you some guidance the arm length of that wee blue jack of mine (measured from the centre of the saddle to the pivot point on the chassis where it hinges) is 10.5 inches.
Edit 2. By the way, please don't think I'm "slating" these pumping bodies. The one on that old blue jack of mine lasted for over 20 years before it started leaking due to wear. During most of that time it was my main "home" jack and saw some pretty intensive use. I more than got my money's worth out of it. I think Sealey do actually sell the complete pumping unit as a spare part but the cost makes it more sensible to just buy a replacement jack complete off of ebay at a discounted price
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ZaphodB
Established member
Have had this one for a few years - just under £100. I paid £85 when I bought mine. It's not too bad, and pretty solid.
I would suggest buying the additional rubber pad which is an extra 8 quid.
Rubber Pads For Trolley Jacks To Protect Car Frame
Suitable to fit on the trolley jack to protect the frame railes and sill from bending while using the lifting tool.
I'm gonna order this jack I think , but I've just checked with them and they say the only pad they recommend with that jack is H647650
I appreciate the jack comes with a pad , but I like having spares
Both those and the one Jock mentioned look better built than some jacks , but I am still concerned about how narrow they are, meaning inherently unstable.Have had this one for a few years - just under £100. I paid £85 when I bought mine. It's not too bad, and pretty solid.
I would suggest buying the additional rubber pad which is an extra 8 quid.
Extra Low Flat Car Trolley Lift Jack 2.25 tonne
HEYNER® Professional Hydraulic Car Lifting Jack 2,25 tons Extra Flat Low Profile with little pumps from 100 mm to maximum lift of 460 mm. Quality car lifting tool
Rubber Pads For Trolley Jacks To Protect Car Frame
Suitable to fit on the trolley jack to protect the frame railes and sill from bending while using the lifting tool.
I used to have a small diy type trolley jack that was more "stubby" wider and more stable although maybe lift was reduced, I looked on ebay but cannot find it.
Aye Mike, definitely not as stable as a "professional" jobbie - but a great deal better than a scissors type jack! Use it "sensibly" on a hard surface - concrete or slabs or similar and you'll be fine.
Never, and I mean NEVER folks, jack on a loose surface - for instance gravel, or anywhere not "hard" - with the type of jack supplied with the vehicle. I'd be a rich man if I had a quid for every one of those I've rescued with the breakdown truck after it's moved sideways and fallen off the jack!
ZaphodB
Established member
I've always been of the mindset 'chocks away'
You just can't skimp on thinking 'what if' when it comes to safety, I've also got the luxury of a tarmac carpark here at work with plenty of space
You just can't skimp on thinking 'what if' when it comes to safety, I've also got the luxury of a tarmac carpark here at work with plenty of space
What's the prevailing thoughts on bottle jacks? I've seen them used with success (indeed they're the regular carry) in various far-flung islands when I've been off fishing.
icheatatscrabble
Established member
I am sure it'll
@Pugglt Auld Jock Before I ordered I did look to see whether it was made in China, the bigging up of the German association made me suspicious and I think it probably is made in China, even though there is no indication on the box of where it is from.
But it has been fine for me and never given me any scary moments and worked well lifting a relatively heavy car (Saab 9-3 Aero convertible) and lifts my Cinquecento like it's made of balsa.
I have four of their axle stands too and the Saab sat on them for about three months - Also good customer service too.
I am sure it'll serve you well.I'm gonna order this jack I think , but I've just checked with them and they say the only pad they recommend with that jack is H647650
I appreciate the jack comes with a pad , but I like having spares
@Pugglt Auld Jock Before I ordered I did look to see whether it was made in China, the bigging up of the German association made me suspicious and I think it probably is made in China, even though there is no indication on the box of where it is from.
But it has been fine for me and never given me any scary moments and worked well lifting a relatively heavy car (Saab 9-3 Aero convertible) and lifts my Cinquecento like it's made of balsa.
I have four of their axle stands too and the Saab sat on them for about three months - Also good customer service too.
