Quote:
Originally Posted by strat61caster
Floor Jack: $90
http://www.harborfreight.com/automot...ump-62160.html
(People bag on harbor freight, my family contains shade tree and professional mechanics for a combined 100+ years experience and this is the best jack any of them have ever used)
Also: Make sure you inspect the shape of the stand so it won't damage your body work, some are flatter tops, others are deep 'C' shaped and end up not sitting on the pinch welds and rather end up digging into the frame rails (might be a better word for those but I forgot).
Apartments suck, but in my experience the odds of someone getting pissed off at you for futzing around with your car for an hour is pretty low. It varies of course, some Nazi might be patrolling your complex in a golf cart for 60 hours a week ready to knock on your door if you haven't watered your plants that day, that might be a fight on your hands. Reasonable people will look the other way, it's not like you've got a clunker disassembled in a million pieces that only runs once a month lowering the value of the property which is why those rules are written. |
I second the HF 1.5ton aluminum floorjack. Nice and compact (you can take it to track days in your trunk), and lightweight (I think it's about 30lbs).
The only snag is if you're lowered, you might have trouble getting it under the front subframe jackpoint. I like jacking it up from the side, using a 1-2ft 2x4 to spread the weight along the entire pinch weld.
This makes accurately lowering the car onto the jackstands (minimizing risk of damage to your pinch welds) significantly easier in my experience.
As for your apartment, this is why I make it a point to chat with my security/concierge guys, and make sure I'm on good terms with the staff - it pays to have friends on the inside.