Although car jacks are less celebrated when you’re riding your beloved car, it becomes a limb of your body once the wheel-tire breaks down. It’s not quite normal to have different types of car jack on the deck of your vehicle, but having a few essential ones proves to be of great help.
So, which ones do I need to keep with me or in the garage? Well, jacks come in a variety of types for diverse applications. Depending on your vehicle and the issues you frequently face, there should be 3 to 4 gears that need to be in your possession.
In this guide, we will be covering some of the most common car-jacks that you can get for a quick repair. Plus, you can always have a set of these tools right there in your garage, too!
What Is Car Jack?
Car jacks are simply lifters of a vehicle. It works on the principle of a lever to lift a vehicle partially or even entirely from the ground. It needs a bit of supportive energy for this purpose. The prime reason for this tool to lift vehicles is maintenance and general repairmen.
Reasons for Using a Car Jack
“Okay! So why do I need such a device for my vehicle?”
Well, there are plenty of works you can do with a car jack – mostly related to repairing and maintenance. The easiest use of this tool is changing a flat tire. You simply lift the tire area of the car and change the tire quickly.
Apart from that, you can always use the lifting facility to check if the car is suffering from any faulty brake issue or any other issues that need to be sorted out from underneath the car. On top of that, the jack is used for regular maintenance, as well.
Are There Different Types of Car Jack?
Generally, if you are to divide car jacks into types, you have to go for two – hydraulic and mechanical. But then again, there are many sub-types of car jacks within these two types.
So let’s get started with the diverse sorts of car jacks.
- Mechanical Car Jacks
- Hydraulic Car Jacks
What is Mechanical Car Jacks
This type of jack follows the basic idea of a simple lever. You just need to put the pressure on one side, and the jack will lift up the car on the other side. It’s simple science.
Types of Mechanical Car Jacks
Now, mechanical jacks come in different variants, as well. Among the most commonly used ones, you can have a Scissor jack and a High-lift jack in your collection. Here’s how these two jacks work.
- Scissor Jack
- High-Lift Jack
Scissor Jack
This is one of the oldest types of jack car owners have been using. It takes the form of a scissor when being used, and that’s how it is named. It is pretty simple and lightweight and can be used anywhere in case of a quick repair.
It comes with a lifting saddle on the top and a base on the bottom to rest on. You simply put it underneath the vehicle and use the handle to push the car upwards.
Although the device isn’t designed for heavy-duty use, it can still push the car up to 15 to 20 inches higher from the ground.
You will notice a long threaded screw is passed through the jack connecting the hinges of both sides. If you turn the screw, it will either open or close the scissor joints.
It’s really simple to fold down and store. It fits quite nicely in the back of your vehicle, so you can carry it anywhere, anytime!
High-Lift Jack
Okay, you can guess what this one does. Sometimes, you need to lift your vehicle quite higher. By higher, we really mean quite high! This is often needed when your truck or car has got stuck in the mud, and you can’t lift it up in any way.
So, high-lift jack to the rescue! It is quite tall and can push the vehicle to go up to 5 feet in height. This again depends on the model of the High-Lift jack you are using. A High-Lift one can measure up to 3 to 5 feet and can lift thousand-pound trucks!
Historically used by farmers and now favorite to off-road riders, the tool is quite useful as it spreads the pressure evenly on the ground and lifts the vehicle in minutes.
What is Hydraulic Car Jacks
As the name suggests, hydraulic car jacks have to do with liquid. In this case, the pressure is put on a fluid that comes in anenclosed area. This distributes the pressure evenly among the system to push the vehicle above the ground.
Because this is a hydraulic machine, it easily multiplies the pressure you put on it and generates more force than what you actually delivered. This makes car-lifting one of the easiest jobs on earth.
Types of Hydraulic Car Jacks
As for the hydraulic ones, these are relatively new in the field of car-lifting mechanism. For instant use, you can always go for the Bottle Jack and Floor Jack. Here’s how these two tools work.
- Bottle Car Jack
- Floor Car Jack
Bottle Car Jack
This is perhaps one of the most commonly used and owned hydraulic car jack. It looks like a bottle (that actually has liquid inside) that has a handle attached to it. All you need to do is place the bottle jack underneath the vehicle and pump it using the handle.
The jack comes with a wide base that ensures stability and gives the device extra security to push heavy vehicle instantly. As for the capacity, the tool can lift vehicles weighing up to 12 tons!
Floor Car Jack or Trolly Jack
When your time is really running out, it’s always a pleasure to have a floor car jack around. If you have seen F1 racing on the TV, you probably know how these rolling jacks instantly maintain the supercars without the engine turning off.
This is a basic hydraulic car jack with four wheels attached to the bottom for quick movement.
It also comes with a long handle sticking out in a slightly vertical position to easily sneak it underneath the vehicle.
If you know how to use a floor jack properly, it’s an ideal device for rapid lifting and maintenance. So if you want to cut the time short, have one in your garage!
Is there any more type of car jack?
Our research has found several more car jacks on the market. That shot is quite effective and used in sufficient quantities. Exhaust Jack and Pneumatic Car Jack are some of the most effective jacks.
Exhaust jack
Pneumatic Car Jack
What size jack do you need?
Final Words
From a user point of view, it’s not quite easy to have a good grasp over deferent types of car jack. But as we have made it clear, there are 4 to 5 tools that every car owner should keep in handy.
Either you are on the wheels out there in the highway facing a sudden flat tire, or you’re at your garage repairing the brakes, these tools will always be useful.
So that was all car jack types! We hope you’ve got a good idea of which tools to own today! But remember, try to find out the best car jacks for the most useful output!
Have a great day!
