I have MS but still so do much of the work on my car.
I'm looking for a pneumatic floor jack. Can you suggest a source?

Thanks,
Bruce McCreary
'85 300D
Snowflake, AZ

Bruce

I found a 3.5 ton floor jack a Costco for about $80.00, also Hbr freight has them.

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1985 Euro 240D 5 spd 140K
1979 240D 5 spd, 40K on engine rebuild
1994 Dodge/Cummins, 5 spd, 121K
1964 Allice Chalmers D15 tractor
2014 Kubota L3800 tractor
1964 VW bug

"Lifes too short to drive a boring car"

A quick Yahoo for pneumatic floor jack came up with this.

http://www.jackxchange.com/products/5300.cfm

Most of the pneumatic jacks I've seen are for servicing trucks and large vehicles. They usually have long arms that reach all the way to the rear axle and lift the axle tubes.


Michael

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Usta haves '69 250/8, '76 280C, 1971 250C 114.023, 1976 450SEL 116.033
Current have, 1983 300SD 126.120

A pneumatic jack uses air power to pump the hydraulic jack. So you don't have to do the pumping yourself.

Lots of sources for a pneumatic-hydraulic bottle jack, but they are too tall to use on my '85 300D Mercedes.

Using the terminology "air over oil" is a common way to describe the power system you are looking for. Not sure if that will help your search or not, but it might.

SteveM

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'93 190E/D 2.5 Turbodiesel 5-speed (daily driver)
'87 190D 2.5 Turbo rustbucket - parts car
'84 Dodge Rampage diesel - Land Speed Record Holder
'13 Ram 2500 Diesel
'05 Toyota 4Runner

I have no personal experience with them, but Norco Industries offers some jacks that look like ordinary floor jacks, but can also be operated using air to power the hydraulics. Looking over their literature briefly, the smallest one of these I saw (some of them are for really big stuff) was the model 71245. They show a lifting range from 3-3/4" to 20". Nylon wheels are also available.

A web search for norco 71245 will turn up some sellers - Jack-X-Change , Tooldiscounter.com, etc. One could also contact Norco to find a local distributor. Just as one point of reference, the above mentioned vendors show it at $328.04 and $349.67 (shipping not included.)

Some information of possible interest (and the jack in question) are available at Otto Service. Take a look at some of the links accessible from the top of that page, such as "Which floor jack is best for me?" and "Floor jacks background". In expressing their opinions, they're fairly disparaging of the Chinese-made jacks, but consider the Chinese models from Norco to be substantially better than most, and a viable alternative to more expensive brands for some applications in professional garages.

I'm not endorsing any manufacturer or distributor here. As always, the reader is recommended to do his own research, consider the source(s) of information, and draw his own conclusions.

Thanks a million, Eskimo!
The Norco unit is just what I want- though the price is a bit more than I'd hoped for. If I can find a shorter air over oil bottle jack I may go for that approach.

Best Wishes,
Bruce McCreary
Snowflake, AZ

Bruce, is it hard to move the jack around or is pumping the lever more difficult?

The reason I ask is that it's my understanding that "racing" jacks are very light and only require one or two pumps to reach the car and then switch to a lower volume high pressure pump to raise the car. One of these would be easy to move around, quick to lift into contact with the car and then, with an extension on the handle, be easy to raise the car.

Michael

__________________
Usta haves '69 250/8, '76 280C, 1971 250C 114.023, 1976 450SEL 116.033
Current have, 1983 300SD 126.120

The problem is the pumping of the my existing hydraulic floor jack once it starts raising the vehicle.

Repeated movements are the problem. Air rachet wrenches and impact wrenches are my new best friends.

Bruce

Alrighty then, I thought as much.
How about this for an idea, saw the crank off of a scissor style jack and have someone weld a 1/2" adapter for your impact wrench. Or, you might be able to find a "Porta Power" style power unit in either air over oil or with an electric pump.

Another thought, how about a leveling system intended for RVs?

Please keep in mind this is just random brain farts on my part, I like to figure out new and more difficult ways of doing things. At least that's what the second wife kept telling me.

Michael

__________________
Usta haves '69 250/8, '76 280C, 1971 250C 114.023, 1976 450SEL 116.033
Current have, 1983 300SD 126.120

I'm glad to hear it's what you were looking for, even if the price seems sort of steep.

I think that some of the sticker shock comes from the fact that we're accustomed to seeing some of the very inexpensive (manual) hydraulic jacks that are widely available (and often satisfactory) to most of us DIY folks. I've got one of those cheap jacks (Sears), and though I'd like a nicer one, it's just not near the top of my list. Note that Otto Service considers Norco stuff to be good value for the money - then look at their prices on what they consider to be "top shelf" floor jacks. Oh my!

With your desire for an air/hydraulic setup, I think you may be stepping into an area where most of the offerings are higher capacity jacks intended for industrial and commercial use. I'm sure there are other manufacturers, but just looking at the other air/hydraulic models offered by Norco and Gray, the 71245 seems to be the "little guy" of the bunch.

As an aside, the prices shown at the Gray web site seem to be lower than those at Otto Supply (maybe wholesale only?). Even so, their smallest air/hydraulic model is a 4-ton unit for $1570.

Yep, I'm used to bargain China jacks; and they hold up better than I do for my light use.

I'm gonna think hard about the Norco, or an air motor conversion of a mechanical jack.

Thanks again,
Bruce