What Is a Car Jack and Why Would You Need One?
If you need to examine or repair the underside of your vehicle, you’re going to need a car jack to lift your car. Jacks are designed to help you easily lift the weight of the vehicle and hold it in place. It’s important to choose the best car jack for your needs and to use a jack that is both sturdy and made of high-quality materials to ensure your safety when working under a lifted vehicle.
Types of Car Jacks
The type of car jack you need will depend on the kind of vehicle you'll be lifting and the work you'll be doing.
Whenever lifting a car to work underneath it, it's advised to use jack stands along with your jack for safety purposes.
Trolley Jacks
A trolley jack is a common type of jack used by both professional mechanics and individual car owners. This kind of jack is available in different weight classes, allowing you to lift all types of vehicles. Trolley jacks are hydraulic jacks, meaning they use a hydraulic cylinder to lift your vehicle. Hydraulic jacks of any kind have a reservoir of oil. When you pump the handle on your jack, the pressure that is built up in the reservoir pushes the cylinder, and thus the jack and your vehicle, up.
The wheels on trolley jacks make them easy to position under your vehicle. They can lift your car higher to allow more room to work underneath. Low-profile trolley jacks are good for vehicles that have a lower than average ground clearance, such as sports cars. Trolley jacks are not designed to keep a vehicle lifted for a long period of time.
Floor Jacks
Floor jacks are very similar to trolley jacks, with manually operated hydraulic jacks and wheels for easy positioning. Floor jacks are good for lifting low-profile cars as well, but they don’t have the same amount of reach as a trolley jack. Floor jacks are also fairly heavy, so they’re not the best choice for on-road use.
Bottle Jacks
A bottle jack is another type of hydraulic jack, named as such because its shape resembles a bottle with an elongated cylindrical body that stands vertically. Bottle jacks can hold more weight than a floor jack and can lift vehicles higher. However, bottle jacks have a higher starting clearance, so they won’t be ideal for use with lower clearance vehicles. Bottle jacks are also more affordable than floor jacks, so they’re a great option if you’re looking for another jack to supplement your floor or trolley jack.
Farm Jacks
Though a farm jack can be used for repairing farm equipment, it’s also a useful jack for off-road vehicles or high-clearance trucks. Also called high-lift jacks, farm jacks are manual jacks that are designed to help free a vehicle stuck in mud or difficult terrain, but they can work just as well for changing a tire. They can also be used as a winch or clamp, making them a bit more multi-purpose. A farm jack is fairly portable so long as you have a large vehicle that will fit this longer type of jack. This kind of jack is ideal for vehicles with a clearance that is too high for floor or bottle jacks.
Scissor Jacks
A scissor jack is the most lightweight and cost-effective jack you’ll find, making it a great portable option to keep in the trunk of your vehicle in case of emergencies. The small types of scissor jacks you typically see are operated manually, but there are also electric and hydraulic versions. This kind of jack has a low-lift height and is ideal for lower weight cars. Manual scissor jacks are easier and safer to use if you’re not a professional mechanic.
Transmission Jacks
Unlike conventional jacks like the ones we’ve already covered, which raise vehicles using either the chassis or the axles, a transmission jack is positioned centrally and lifts the transmission. These jacks are specifically designed to hold the weight of a car’s transmission so it can be safely detached from the engine block. Transmission jacks come in high- or low-profile models for different types of cars. No matter the model, a transmission jack is a large and heavy piece of machinery that won’t be portable.