Jack Opinions?

[Maine_Polack]

I have a fairly heavy tractor, and want to get a jack in the 5 ton range. I have a three ton rolling, hyd. jack, that must be at it's outer limits when lifting the rear of the tractor. Tires alone are 1000 lbs. apiece.

I also own a 4 ft. farm type jack. No good place to jack from, and I don't consider them the safest, by far.

Noticed that Air/Hyd. jacks are more reasonably priced than straight hyd., but I only have a small compressor.

What might be your experiences and recommendations?
Thanks.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I have a 3 ton and a 5 ton Walker bottle jack. Both have been around for 20+ years. Since I never jack BOTH rear wheels off the ground with the same jack, (at the same time) either work just fine. (Heaviest tractor is about 7100 w/fluid and weights on rear wheels) I had an air over hydraulic jack for a few years. Couldn't keep it sealed up right. Always in the shop. I don't recall the brand. I've always been a fan of Walker jacks. (also have a 5 ton "floor jack" and a transmission jack manufactured by Walker)

 

[1bush2hog]

Farm - I have a dumb question -

How do you place your jack when only lifting one of the rears? Hyd. jack up on blocks and under axle?

 

[CT_Tree_Guy]

Maine-P -

The air-hydraulic might be the way to go, and your compressor just might be up to the task. I'm in the market for a jack myself. I've always needed more convenience than I have right now for lifting more than my 2-ton hydraulic floor jack can lift. I have some 20-ton bottle jacks, but man are they a pain. So slow, and fairly limited lift height. Now I have a tri-axle that I'm going to need to work on, and I'm thinking along the lines of the air/hydr. The big (5-10 ton) hydraulic floor jacks are just so big that I don't even really want one in my shop, and it's 3,000 sq. ft. The air/hydraulics are so much more convenient. Since they just go straight up, they're a lot easier to get into place and get into tight spots. Plus, you don't have to worry about clearance for pumping a big long handle.

The reason I think that your compressor might be adequate, unless it's really tiny, is that i would think the air/hydr jacks wouldn't use a whole lot of cfm, just a decent max pressure, like maybe 120 psi, where many shops their air. I have a tire machine that wants all it can get, like my max of 165 psi (25 cfm.) I have a Quincy QE-5 2-stage running at 1,000 rpm.

Great thread here on choosing a compressor BTW: Air Compressor Decision . And a good safety-related thread concerning air line plumbing. The thread started out talking about compressor mounting pads: Stationary Compressor Mounting Pads

Anyway, hope this helps, John

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I use 8" X 8" X 12" treated wood blocks to set the jack on. I place it directly (or as close as possible) to the point where the fenders connect to the rear axle "trumpet". Works great on all the tractors I've ever owned. That doesn't say it will work on ALL of 'em.

I almost always use jack stands as a "back-up". once I've got the tractor raised to where I need it. Shortly after I graduated from high school, my dad and I found his best friend (dead) pinned under a Ford 8000 when the tractor slipped off of a jack while he was working on it. Things like that have a way of sticking with you.

 

[jinman]

Here is a picture of my favorite tractor Jack. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[EddieWalker]

Jim,

What's the saying about men and their toys? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif


As for jacks, I just use a 20 ton bottle jack. It will lift my dozer, backhoe and I've used it on some houses too.

I've never had or used an air jack, but from what I've seen, they sure are quick and simple to use.

Eddie

 

[Maine_Polack]

Jinman, is his last name "Inthebox"? If so he is a long way from home.

 

[Maine_Polack]

Ct_Guy. I have a decent quality "pancake" compressor. Think this will do with an air/hyd. jack?

 

[Bird]

Some of you guys really believe in BIG jacks (and of course some need them), but I only used a cheap 12 ton bottle jack. Naturally, I never got under anything I lifted with it until I had the jack stands in place, too.