To try and make a long story short, a few weeks ago the hydraulic cylinder in my jurassic floor jack sprung a leak in a big way. It was spectacular! Jack oil everywhere. I'm so glad I was there to see the spectacle live.

Anyway, I'm doing an oil change later on this week and was looking for a bit of advice. Should I get another floor jack or a set of ramps. Storage isn't too much of a concern, but price kind of is. Meaning, I'm not looking to get a $200 Craftsman 8 ton beast, but I don't want another Harbor Freight POS either. The last $20 floor jack I got lasted me almost 10 years, so I guess I really can't complain, but if I go jack again, I'd like something a bit nicer.

Any suggestions as far as brand, model, etc would be great. And is there anything special I should be aware of with either? I originally got the floor jack b/c my (bone stock) Neon Sport didn't have enough clearance forward of the front wheels to pull up onto ramps. Will I have the same problem with my TSX if I go that route?

 

I like ramps. Nothing like being able to drive up and do an oil change. I have a jack and jack stands too but only use those when I have to do something with the wheels off.

 

I agree, which is the only reason I'm considering the ramps. Otherwise I'd just replace the jack, but I don't see any reason to remove the wheels any time soon. I rotate my tires at the shop when I have access to a lift. I just won't be able to get there for a few weeks, otherwise I'd do the change there.

No clearance issues with the front bumper and the ramps?

 

Just remember that you can't take wheels off with ramps so you won't be able to rotate tires or do your own brakes or suspension work.

 

I realize that. I don't do much other than oil changes at the house. I have access to a shop, so most everything else I do there. It's so much easier when you have a lift and air tools. Car's got less than 8k miles on it, so brakes are hopefully a long way off. And I don't do suspension. To quote the great Left Ear, I had a bad experience.

 

I have both but am only able to use my jacks. Make sure before you buy the ramps you have enough bumper clearance w/ or w/o a body kit.

 

Go with a jack. Ramps are ok, I use to use them but they limit what you can do. If you get the ramps one day you will want do something that requires a jack and you will have to buy it then. Also I agree clearance can be an issue too.

 

I think the re-cycled tire ramps look good. IMO. Gradual enuff for most cars. I have ramps, hyd. jack and stands. I just clear the ramps–with a 1in. drop.

 

With my ramp, I clear the front bumper just fine.

 

I've seen some ramps that have extensions on them so that you can still get on them even if you're pretty low and/or have a bodykit.

 

That's good. I was concerned about the clearance issue. Was at Pep Boys earlier today and contemplated buying them briefly but I wanted to check back here again first. And if you can clear with a 1" drop, I should be fine on stock suspension.

I think I am just going to get the jack. The more I think about it, the more I realize I'm just being lazy thinking about the ramps. I'll just stick with the old standby. Now I just need to find a half decent one at a half decent price. Guess I'll be hitting up Sear's tomorrow to see what they've got. Unless anybody else has any other suggestions. The pickins at Pep Boys were mighty slim.

 

Thsi seems to be a very good deal
jack, 2 stands, and a creeper

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00950188000P

been eyeing it for a few days now (sale ends on the 26th i think, for the 149.99 deal anyway)
but i think i need a low-profile jack... cars slammed + lip :\

 

There is a thread somewhere around here that talks about and compares jacks. My advice is that you make sure you get one with a max lifting range of at least 16-17 inches. Before I bought mine I was borrowing one that had a 15" max lift which was not sufficient (when using the center front and center rear jacking points) to get the tires off the ground. I had to use wood blocks as spacers (not a good/safe practice).

 

That's VERY good to know. I was able to use the same point on my last car to jack and place jack stands, so it wasn't really an issue. Haven't looked closely enough at the TSX to see if I still could or not.

That Sears deal looks pretty good, but I already have a nice Snap On creeper and at least a half dozen jack stands hanging around already. I'm going to the mall tomorrow for something else, so I'll have to see if I have an extra minute to head into Sears and see what they've got.

 

I have had the sears kit for about a year. It's a really good (and HEAVY) jack. The creeper isn't too bad either.

I use the jack on my TSX and SRT-4 all the time.

 

Very cool. I'm going to hold off for now as it seems I have to take the car into Acura anyway. The notorious Tighten Fuel Cap message came up the other day so they're going to put a new gasket on the cap. I'll just have them do the oil change while I'm in there.