Side by Side Comparison of: Arcan vs Pittsburgh Automotive

When our Milwaukee Hydraulics Jack finally failed after 30 years of use, we looked at replacements.....the same jack is made in the US today and costs close to $1K. We looked at the traditional replacement options -Snap On and Hein Werner and were dismayed to discover that they now cost $600 and are NOT US made any more, the are US assembled...which isn't the same thing. So....since we don't use the jack everyday, spending $1K got a no vote, and then someone pointed us to the Arcan aluminum jack.....its made in Taiwan..but I wouldn't have guessed if I wasn't told.

This is an amazing 3 ton floor jack for the money....it does what a floor jack is supposed to do and well. This ain't what you would expect in a "Chinese Jack"...and it ain't a Chinese Jack....Taiwan is a whole different deal.....an outstanding value.

LOVE this jack...... I had a very similar all steel jack that I let m cousin have when I was going through my divorce. He's a mechanic and was routinely fixing my vehicles. So I let him have my jack while I was between homes..... Now I'm all settled in and replacing things. I did a lot of research and decided to go with this jack. I'm VERY impressed.... It's much lighter than my old jack...... operates very smoothly...... easy to ease it down when I lower it.... I can raise a 3/4 ton truck with no problem. Its built very tough..... I suspect this is the last jack I'll ever need.....

just happened to find it for $100 off through a warehouse deal so i had to get it. best jack Ive owned yet. very light weight compared to a Hein-werner which was my only other choice. ive only used it to lift a nissan sentra so far, but works perfectly. and... yeah, it looks cool, as if thats important.

My vehicle requires the Jack Pad tool W203JPT which requires a 3" jack pad cup. This jack is perfect! This jack is the king! Once you get the Arcan jack you'll never go back! Large jack cup, adjustable extended handle. Rubber grip. Built and designed like a tank. Low profile and unlike the Torin, you have a lot of control to slowly ease the car back down or bring it up to precise levels. Feels very safe.

I've been working on my own cars / trucks and family for over 10 years. I had an old jack that finally failed so it was time for a new one. I did hours of reading here on amazon and found this Arcan ALJ3T jack - 3ton !!! all I can say is wow - it looks 10x better in person and it does the job over and over!!

We have large 1500/2500 trucks and german cars that all weigh over 5,000 pounds. With about 4-5 full pumps we get the german cars off the ground with an extra three inches to remove the tire/wheel and change brakes, ect.... and there's a lot more room to keep lifting if you want to

This jack is amazing, if you follow the instructions, and pump the jack with the bleeder open to get the air out.... it works like a dream. Also, as long as you don't over-tighten the bleeder, when you slowly unscrew the bleeder to let the car down.... it will release and lower like a machine.... nice and slow and controlled.

I wish they sold these retail, but I'm an amazon PRIME member so the price and delivery was #1

This jack gets under my car that has only 5 inches clearance from the side skirt to the ground. its perfect for low / imports / sports cars

The only thing I found I didn't like about it, was the aluminum 2-pc jacking pole. YES, it does collapse into two pieces and its foam padded - wish it was foam padded on both poles..... but it flexes when you jack the car. The flexing is normal, but i'm used to using steel jack poles that don't flex.... but the slight flexing is normal... just something i'm not used to!!!

yes, this jack is just over $200 but its worth every $$$$ I fully trust this jack, its very well made !!!

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great

Great lift and can't beat the price!

When it means heavy duty it means it. Great quality and it is huge and be aware of the weight a heavy jack. But for the money can beat it.

everything worked out great with this product. only problem is the fed ex could not lift it and i heard something bounce off my porch and went outside to find my floor jack and the truck hurrying away. but, my husband is ecstatic with this product, thank you.

Amazing floor jack it is truly made of heavy duty material! Very happy with my purchase just shocked at how big it is! Very pro!

YES! This is heavy but heavy with a purpose... built to last. I'm tired of buying light weight, super slim, sissy tools etc. and being disappointed when they eventually fail like that Walmart floor jack I returned. This is made to keep your you know what safe and when I position it and start cranking, I feel VERY safe... just one look at it and you see the quality and care that went into it. It took 5 full pumps to max height... I don't need to go that high though. Some jacks creak when lifting or so I read for other jack brands... this thing makes NO sound and asks, "Is THAT all you got?". Solid construction with no leaks while pumping... the type of jack grandpa would have handed down to you. I look forward to years of use and teaching my son how to use it for car maintenance when he gets of age. Didn't take long to figure out how to roll it on concrete and it moves steadily and not super quick due to the weight... think cruise ship, not speed boat but not difficult. I highly recommend adding hydraulic fluid before use as the instructions suggest... it took almost 0.5 qt. (a half bottle). I thought I would never stop pouring. Rubber on handle protects not only low profile vehicles but my '07 Accord too. DO NOT use without jack stands and DO NOT skimp and get cheap jack stands. I highly recommend these for the construction/flat leg support... http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005JWVPJE?redirect=true&ref_=cfb_at_prodpg ... you may not need 4 tons but more is better. Now I can rotate my own tires without an appointment and waiting for 3-4 hours for something that used to take 30 minutes tops walk-in. This will make sure my tires wear evenly and save me money and time. Only thing I wish was that there was a faster way to get at the hole to fill it with fluid... you need a phillips screwdriver for the four screws for the protective plate but I guess you probably don't need to access this much. This does not detract at all from this beauty. I never do reviews but got this jack due to the positive reviews and had slight skepticism but I have none left. Thanks for reading and I hope this helps you decide what is best for you.

It's pricey and I've only used it once but it seems to be of good construction and the weight is reasonable given that it is made out of aluminium. Actuation of the shaft to release pressure in the cylinder has a fine "ok" point but is much more controllable verses other comparable jacks in this price range.

I like this jack. Light weight and the dual piston pump raises it quickly. I also like the hard rubber pad on the swivel. Moves around my shop with ease on the larger wheels. I had a cheaper jack from Wal Mart and returned it to purchase this one. The only reason I did not give this one 5 stars is the cost. I paid $246 for this jack but in my opinion, $200 would have been a more fair price.

The price was good, I could have gotten it at Northern Tool for $10 less. Paid $249
But I would have had to drive almost 45 miles and wait in the store to get it.
1 minute on Amazon and that was it.
The finish was good overall, but it did come with about an 1 oval where it peeled off,
just the bare metal was showing.
Fairly light, and lifted my Xterra with no problem.
That's really all I wanted.
This replaced a 9 year old, similar Sears jack that stopped working.
If this last at least 10 years, then it will earn the 5 star rating, despite the cosmetic flaw.

I bought this to replace a 3 ton Torin Black Jack floor jack that started leaking after 7 years. I decided to splurge on the Arcan ALJ3T (almost 3x the cost of the Torin) because I wanted something that was lighter, could pump faster, and would be easier to control on descents. The Arcan is certainly lighter (by some 30 lbs) and, therefore, easier to maneuver around the garage. It's still pretty heavy to carry, so I resort to my smaller 1.5 ton jack if I need more portability. The two pistons on the Arcan help it to get up to the jacking point much faster, but it still takes as many strokes as my old Torin to actually lift the vehicle off the ground. On the plus side, the two pistons and longer handle mean that I need less effort to jack up my SUV. It would have been more helpful for the rubber guard around the lower handle to be a little higher (the bare metal portion of the handle could still hit the bumper of my SUV when I was jacking up the rear cross member). Fortunately, this is not a deal breaker because I just applied my own home solution by wrapping some pipe insulation around the upper handle. I also like the wide saddle (about 4.5" diameter) with a firm solid rubber insert (unlike the Torin whose rubber insert compressed significantly under load) and dimpled surface. Finally, the knurled shaft and universal joint at the release valve help immensely with nice controlled descents (unlike the Torin which was much more difficult to control because the release valve seemed to be either "fully open" or "fully closed"). I did not notice any significant flex in the handle as noted as elsewhere. Overall, I would call this a premium home garage tool. If budget was an issue and I was only using it occasionally, I would probably still go with a much cheaper floor jack from Costco / Sam's Club (e.g. a Torin Black Jack).

P.S. I had a good chuckle at the review that subtracted a few stars because the color of the new model is completely silver rather than blue / silver as pictured. I suppose if my tools, my tool chest, my car, my work gloves, and my glasses were all blue, then I would be upset too. LOL...

Jack operates very smoothly and seems of decent quality although there were some dents in the metal that looked like they happened during manufacturing. The rubber jack pad is too soft and gets torn up rather quickly. Also even though it looks like the front wheel goes all the way across the front it does not, just the two wheels on the side, no middle wheel in between the front two. This jack is great in that it is very low and jacks very high and is relatively light for what it can do. This jack also works well for me on a gravel driveway. My biggest complaint is that it is made in china and that there are only a few parts available from the manufacturer as replacements. All in all a good jack.

Update: still great jack but the rubber jack pad is not good and was cut thru with minimal uses. Other than that, great jack.

works good and seem to be ok as far as durability

It works very well without any problem. I use it when doing maintenance on my car.

What's worse than coming home from a jobsite in the middle of the night and getting a flat tire on your truck? Having to change that tire with the factory jack. And this has happened to me twice within a year!After the last time it happened I decided I would no longer be at the mercy of the factory jack and I ordered this Pittsburgh 3 ton jack from Amazon. It came today and I'm very impressed. While I haven't had to use it yet I did go over it very thoroughly and it appears to be well made and in good working order. I'm going to keep it in my bed mounted toolbox along with some extra hydraulic fluid (it comes with hydraulic fluid already in it but it never hurts to be prepared).The only reason that it gets 4 stars as opposed to 5 is that it's heavy, though being heavy also implies quality so many people would probably add the star back just because of that. However, at over 70 pounds it can be a pain to get in and out of the toolbox. I guess the downside to being built like a tank is having to weigh the same as a tank. Oh well, I'm sure this jack is going to last me a long, long time.

Very solid piece of equipment! Well made...... Made in USA!!

Great jack. Works easy enough but weighs a good chunk. Moves around on the wheels very easy as long as you are on concrete. It's a hefty home garage jack working well on my truck and large boat.

Really a good jack for the money. Works well, rolls easy, locks in raised position solid. The only issue I have which stopped it from a 5 star, was the 4 phillip head screws that hold the plate under which is the bleeder valve resides. Two were put in crooked which necessitated completing the removal with locking pliers. The screw's are made of a very soft metal and strip with any pressure at all. This alone would not stop me from buying this though.

Item was defective out of the box. Jack would not hold load. Replacement sent. Second one works great.

I just tested this jack for my Chrysler Pacifica rear brake service. I feel good to handle It, so I'm going to do more under car service my self.
I WILL UPDATED about this jack after, also I leave 3 this time.

I bought this jack several years ago. It was a good jack until the bleeder failed. Now it doesn't work.

I can't get it to hold a load. I've used their bleed off procedures and even added fluid. I just expected it to be less work and more reliable.

Looks good but had a fluid leak out of box

The 3 ton jack is pictured in a blue anodized color, I received a plain all aluminum colored jack?

Poor customer service. Product is less than a week old and the rubber pad fell apart after one use. Emailed customer service to see if I could get a replacement because obviously the pad was defective but was told they don't warranty the pad. One would think the whole jack is under warranty and the pad is part of the jack? I hope the rest of the jack is not made of the same poor quality of materials.

I used it on a Honda civic and now it won't hold up anything.I should've purchased one locally because, now I can't send it back. Wasted almost 300.00 on this piece of junk.

I bought this. I wish I knew you could buy a good quality 3 ton jack at your local supply store for at least a $100 less.

I don't recommend buying this. Go to your local mall and pick one up for a better price and quality.

stay away from this jack. worked for less than a year before refusing to hold a load. have taken all steps short of rebuilding to fix. no seals available for this throwaway model.

Purchased this from Amazon and the product I received looks nothing like the picture. I know I got the right product because the box says ALJ3T and the photo on the box matches the product I received. It looks like a cheap rough casting painted with silver/aluminum color. If you want to see what it looks like now, see Northern Tool's website or if you look at Arcan Website, it looks like the 2Ton model. I called the manufacturer (Arcan), and they said that you need to contact where you purchased it from as they "only import these from china and distribute them" and they don't deal directly with end customers. This same jack is distributed by several companies (i.e. Look at the NEIKO PRO TOOLS 3 Ton aluminum jack) in USA. I finally got someone a little higher up in customer service at Arcan (parent company is Powerstation), and she told me the last container came in silver. So this photo is outdated, and if you like the way the blue looks, you have to find old stock or buy from a different distributor. The new color jacks hit the USA around late june, early july 2014.

Although this jack looks heavy duty it does not hold load (my front truck weight of ~2,000 lbs / less than 1 ton) for more than 5 mins. Went thru all the procedures to remove the air but no success. Last, I saw that Harbor Freight Tools sell the exact jack (made in China) - they mostly carry defect-prone / bad products and I do not want to take the risk. Pittsburgh Automotive make subpar tools and this one being the most critical tool is an AVOID.

We used this 3 times and it quit working!!! Bought this same jack at Harbor Freight in Columbus, Ohio - had a 90-day warranty. Unfortunately, we never needed to use it until after 90 days. We were fooled by the fact it looked like a substantial piece of equipment.

Broke itself on its first job. Blew its fluid and components literally crumbled - see the pictures.It was shipped poorly in a taped / torn up box & was missing the screw which keeps the handle together. First thing I did was check the fluid level which was 3/4s low upon arrival.I wrote "USA Tools N More" telling them I am NOT planning on reshipping this 78 pound piece of crap back to them as a they're responsible for this major inconvenience. Got a thrown together "we're getting your RMA ready" email from them today.This isn't going to go well. Back luck on my part or not, I suggest you stay far away.