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One of the best deals for presses is at harbor freight. their 20 ton press goes for about 200.00. you can probably find one used on craigs list for 100.00. even if a used one needs a new hydrolic jack a twenty ton bottle jack new is only about 40.00. I would probably not go any less then a 20 ton unit. the press I have is 20 ton and over 30 years old. always gets the job done ( btw- it was used when I got it and just needed a new bottle jack )
zuk, who has a website where he takes you through the rebuilding of various differentials for off roading, mainly Toyota 3rds, uses 2 harbor freight presses. I have a 20 ton press that I bought in the 1980s, but if I didn’t I would buy one of the Harbor Freight ones.It’s the other stuff like the bearing splitters that run into some money.
Quoted From dreamer2355:
Ive never been to a Harbor Freight S:( I think its time me and the wife go to one!
Yeah you gotta go, they have all kinds of neat stuff there.
The HF 20 ton unit is OK, and sometimes they have insane sales on it where you can walk out with one for under $150, but don’t compare it to something made by OTC or another ‘shop’ supplier brand. For instance, none of the ones I looked at had the “saddle” sit flat on the metal pegs – there is a lot of play there. There’s also a lot of side-to-side play in the ram. Other’s have complained that the ram on theirs wasn’t straight, which is a real bummer if you want to drive something in straight. Another complaint is that when you really start to push it the thing twists. Some people get by that by welding additional support on the bottom. Like I said, it’s OK but if you can pick up a used ‘pro’ model from someone going out of business, there will be no comparison. If they can sell it for $150, and make a profit, how good do you expect it to be?
Would a good 12 ton press have the capacity to do most automotive applications? If it is I’d rather spend my money on a good quality 12 ton unit than the same money on a 20 ton unit if a 12 ton press would do what I need.
I know everybody wants new toys and I’m no different, if I could afford it I’d have two of everything just incase one broke. So I think it depends on how much you will use it. If you will use it alot then spend the money and get the good one, no matter what the wife says. BUT IF NOT? heres what Ido, I go to the chevy dealer I used to work at and use theres, it’s a pain having to drive there with what your going to press but I don’t need to do any pressing very often so it works for me. You might have a small shop close to your house that might press something for you for a couple of bucks. If you only need a press once a year just think of the room you’ll save in your shop. On second thought, what fun is that. Go buy the good one from otc.
Hey, I just saw a video on youtube for a harbor freight 20 ton press break kit from swag offroad.com. If you decide to go with the harbor freight press you might also want to check this kit out if you might be bending metal. You can go to swag offroad .com and under there products is a link to the video.
I had picked up a junky probably Harbor freight press a few years back. The old boy that had it was in pretty poor health, so I bought it. It says 10 or 12 ton on it. I would be scared to try either on this thing.
I am amazed at what I have been able to do with it. I would say it pretty well paid for its self the first time I used it since I paid maybe 50 to 75 bucks for it.
For most auto projects you do not need extreme pressures.Ok thanks I’m thinking something in the 10 or 12 ton range then should be adequate and I’ll probably go with a bench top style so it doesn’t use up use up a lot of space in my garage. Does anyone know if I’d likely need something wider than about 13″ between posts for bearings and bushings etc?
Quoted From lipperrandy:
Ok thanks I’m thinking something in the 10 or 12 ton range then should be adequate and I’ll probably go with a bench top style so it doesn’t use up use up a lot of space in my garage. Does anyone know if I’d likely need something wider than about 13″ between posts for bearings and bushings etc?
Well, you never know. It depends on what the setup of the steering knuckle is that you are pressing the bearing out of, as in where you can mount it flatly on the press ‘table’ or whatever the term is. I read some reviews on the Harbor Freight ones where guys replaced the bottle jack with a pneumatic jack, which is the route I think I’m going to take. It looks to have a pretty wide base, but I haven’t seen one in person yet.
That being said, my old man has an old heavy duty arc welder that I will be using to reinforce the frame/base etc.
Quoted From Beefy:
Well, you never know. It depends on what the setup of the steering knuckle is that you are pressing the bearing out of, as in where you can mount it flatly on the press ‘table’ or whatever the term is. I read some reviews on the Harbor Freight ones where guys replaced the bottle jack with a pneumatic jack, which is the route I think I’m going to take. It looks to have a pretty wide base, but I haven’t seen one in person yet.
That being said, my old man has an old heavy duty arc welder that I will be using to reinforce the frame/base etc.
They had some of those presses at Harbor Freight when i was there the other day. They didn’t look too shabby actually for the price tag.
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