Okay everyone let’s have a jack off. Ehh, I mean let’s talk about jacking. That’s not right either... I want to show you how jacked I am! Argh! A jacked up review?
The floor jack - the cornerstone of the home mechanic. It can be your best friend if used properly. Or you enemy if placed improperly, even your death bringer if the hydraulics fail (and they do).
This is an Arcan XL2500 (2.5 ton) I purchased at Costco last week for a mere ~$112. I was desperately needing a replacement for my now boat anchor quality Craftsman 3 ton.
The Craftsman (~$100) wasn’t cutting it anymore. After years of use and abuse it couldn’t get to its full height anymore. After bleeding, and checking the fluid I determined it was best to replace, and mothball it to secondary status.
The Arcan, although rated at 1,000 less capacity, feels nicer, is lighter, and due to my former jacks impotence - it lifts higher.
Is a 3 ton jack better than a 2.5 ton? If you need the capacity, of course. I’m finding myself working on vehicles not needing high capacity, and more often needing a low profile jack.
The last low profile aluminum racing fancy-schmancy jack blew out its o-rings after two years of light use. Rebuilding it looked like an adventure in emergency room ‘spring impaled into hand’ removal. Obviously it became a 40lb addition to the aluminum scrap heap.
This Arcan has a low 3.3” minimum lift height - perfect for barely clearing a coil over equipped Z32 crimp seam. Whereas the Craftsman at 5-3/8” required me to drive my Camaro into ramps prior to jacking.
The Craftsman in its prime however, did lift higher (19.5” vs. 18.8”). No longer as you can see depicted, and no amount of reasonable work seemed to fix the issue. The Arcan also weighs less at a scant 67lbs compared to the Craftsman’s 75lbs.
The Arcan is lighter, better looking, lower, and lifts a little less just a little less high, for a little bit more money. I’d say this is a jack worth taking home to do some jacking.
Remember kids: Always use jack stands!