Pylons26

I remember reading about an Omega floor jack

and some cf members indicating they were ordering it.

If anyone bought one is it possible to get a review?

I remember it being much cheaper than the AC jack.

I just bought a sears jack about 3 hours ago and it's

going back in about 10 minutes.

ctgene

been looking at floor jacks myself...I believe you can find the Omega at tooltopia.com...they were offering free shipping a couple days ago...I think it is $239...

Pylons26

Thats the one I'm looking but I haven't seen any reviews or

opinions on it yet. I don't (won't) want to spend close to

600 smackers on a jack even though the AC jack would

be perfect.

Vet

I had also been hoping to read a review of the Omega but never found one. A few members here had bought them and per my memory had only positive things to say. So I took a chance and picked one up recently... at under $240, can't go too wrong.

I've only had it maybe a week, so too early for a good accurate review. So far it seems excellent for the money though.

A few notes: it's VERY heavy... seems to be over 100 pounds total... this is not the type of jack that you'll be throwing in your trunk and taking to the races.... but I don't need to personally, so no problem... it will remain on my garage floor... always.

My Omega came with the proper amount of hydraulic fluid (checked it), but none of the joints, hinges, wheels were lubed... all dry as a bone. The jack would barely roll since the wheels were stuck and squeaking. No problem, I fully oiled up every moving section, worked the oil in nice, and now it all functions smoothly and quietly.... rolls just fine.

The jack has such little ground clearance that if you attempt to roll it over even a very slight dip or crest in the ground, it will "high-side" and get stuck. If your driveway has a very bumpy / wavey surface, this may not be a good choice. But of course ANY jack that has such a low stance will have this same problem.

I also have the expensive AC DK13HLQ long reach jack too. Both the AC and Omega have some pros and cons, but both are good. The Omega might actually reach farther depending on the situation. The AC has a more expensive build and feel, but you pay for it... the Omega has more of that "made in China" vibe (I believe it IS made in China), but still seems to function just fine... and good overall design.

Will not be able to comment on reliability until after both have been used for several years. So far the AC is holding up very well and is a pleasure to use.

So far, I'd say the Omega is worth the price, and is perhaps the next best thing to the AC, at least if you do not want to spend more than $240. For someone who will not use the jack too often, the Omega might be the best thing.

One good thing about the Omega... because the front wheels are of small diameter, you can place the Northern Tool cross-beam adapter onto the jack and roll the jack without the cross-beam rubbing on the front wheels of the jack. With the AC jack (taller wheels), the wheels rub on the cross-beam when at the lowest position. Not a big deal, but just an observation. The Omega wheels are solid cast iron (small and very strong, but make a racket when rolling on concrete and can scuff your nice floor), the AC wheels are taller and are made of some type of "plastic" based material with a rubber O-ring around each (not as strong, but smooth and quiet when rolling, no damage to floor... had one crack and break during shipping, but vendor sent me a new free wheel right away, popped it right on, no problem).

It's a bit hard to describe the physical profile with words... I'll need to take some side by side photos of the AC and Omega and post... will try to do so in the near future, but won't have time for at least a week.

But, in sum, if you want a true low-profile, long-reach jack and do not want to spend over $250, just order the Omega... I don't think there's anything like it for the price... if there IS, then someone please post details.

If you want the "best" and don't mind spending up to or over $400, and especially if you plan to use the jack a lot, you may want to look at what AC has to offer.

PAVette

I've commented on my Omega floorjack several times...go to my member page and find/read my posts. Agree with VET, a great jack at a great price(great write up by VET!). Although its gone up in price over the past year, it is still a great buy.

Vet

Thanks PAVette!

It was probably your original posts that inspired me to just go ahead and pull the trigger without having read an extensive review of the jack. I think there may have been another member or two that had also posted positive words about the jack.

It just seemed to be too good of a deal to pass up even though I already had the AC jack. Often I like to jack the front and rear at once, or left and right sides at once, so having two or more jacks handy is mandatory in my book. Plus I service a bunch of different cars, occasionally at the same time, and sometimes just need extra jacks... so the Omega seemed to be a good all-purpose unit to add to the "jack stable"

Best of luck with your Omega!

Pylons26

Thanks Vet and PaVette.

I like the idea of jacking the front up with little hassle. I am not

much of a mechanic, but I would like to learn to do more.

I'll start out with ceramic pads, maybe painting the calipers, oil changes

and then go from there as I get more comfortable. I changed my oil

today and to do that I jacked up behind the front tire at the

designated spot with a puck. It just doesn't look good to get the car

high enough from that one spot to put a jack stand underneath. I

realize to change the oil I don't need it that high but it was a

"test run " as much as anything. One last thing, what size jackstands

would you suggest?

Thanks again

BaBa Booey

PAVette

PAVette

As a minimum, you need to get 2 ton jackstands to carry the weight of your Corvette. 3 ton jackstands even better...maybe overkill, but little difference in price. Good luck!

Pylons26

I guess I was a little vague. For jackstands, how tall ( or short) do you

them. The ones I have start out at 12 inches.

Thanks again from a soon to be rookie mechanic

Vet

Generally you want stands that have a minimum height as low as possible. 12" minimum height is a little tall but might be ok depending on where you will be placing them, and/or how high you plan to raise the car. Often though, for something like an oil change, I want to lift the car just enough, and not more. The higher you lift the car, the more risky in general.

The Blackhawk #BH5070 stands are great, 9.5" minimum height... a bit pricy, but great stands. They also have flat perches which allow common jack pucks to sit flat... and nice flat feet that won't be so quick to harm your garage floor or sink into your driveway:



http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...8727_200318727

When placing under the puck locations, you will use an adjustment height greater than 9.5", but when I use these under my cross-beam adapter in the front of the car, they are adjusted for minimum height (9.5").

I also have a pair of small steel 2-ton stands from Sears that were much cheaper, I believe they have a minimum height of about 10.5".

Pylons26

I ordered the Omega jack.

As a side note it was slightly cheaper at northern tools however

shipping was close to $75. Tooltopia has free shipping.

Thanks for the info on the jackstands.

Atomic Orange

I got the Omega jack. It weighs a ton but the price was right and it does the job fo the $600 jacks. Paid about $205 including shipping.

Vet

Here's some detailed info / pics comparing the Omega 29023 and AC DK13HLQ:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1814892

Ben Diss

I picked up the Omega as well. I found that sometimes Northern Tool's listings on Amazon carry a lower shipping charge. The lower price combined with the shipping charge from the Amazon listing brought the price under Tooltopia's price.

I also got the cross beam adapter. Either the hole in the jack needs to be enlarged or the post on the adapter needs to be cut down. I removed the mount from the jack and chucked it up in the 4-jaw and bored it out. Indexing on the outside also centered hole properly. If you don't have access to a lathe I wouldn't recommend this as simply enlarging the existing hole without centering it may not leave enough material around the hole.

-Ben

kyoung

I shaved the post on the crossbeam a down a bit, a pain, but works like a charm now. As stated earlier in the thread the Omega is a good jack for the money.

Vet

I'm just going to paste some Omega verses AC low-profile jack info here from an earlier post since the original post has slipped away into the abyss.

Below includes a few details regarding the "small" pad holes in both the Omega and AC jacks. Similar to each other, but not the same. Why no standard?



- Omega 29023 "Magic Lift" 2-ton (black)
- AC DK13HLQ 1.4 ton (blue)

AC DK13HLQ:
http://www.ac-hydraulic.com/Default....wproduct&id=44

Omega 29023:
http://www.shinnfuamerica.com/(S(cov...on.aspx?ID=763

Omega 29023 owner's manual pdf:
http://www.shinnfuamerica.com/(S(rjm.../Temp/1154.pdf







The pad hole of the AC DK13HLQ is 1.010", and the pad hole of the Omega 29023 is 1.030"... so close but yet so far. The hole of the AC is only about 0.020" smaller than that of the Omega, yet the pad that comes with the Omega will not fit the AC.

The pad hole size of these jacks is important to note since many common accessory pads and accessory cross beam adapters (including the popular Northern Tool cross beam adapter that works great on our C6s) will have pins that are closer to 1.150" in diameter, and will need to be shaved down to 1.00" or so in order to fit the AC and Omega jacks. Get your die grinder and carbide grinding tip ready.

Due to the design of the Omega, a cross beam adapter can be placed on the jack when fully lowered and not hit the front wheels. Total max height with Northern Tool cross beam adapter in place, about 4.75". With the AC jack, the cross beam adapter will rub on the front wheels when fully lowered, you need to raise the jack a bit to get the cross beam to clear the front wheels... at this point max height with cross beam in place, about 5.5".




For info regarding jacking a C6 using long reach jacks, preferred jacking locations of C6, etc:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...55&forum_id=74

The main reason to get a low-profile, long-reach jack for the C6 is to be able to reach the front preferred jacking points (see link directly above for details and pics). If the front of the car is initially raised high enough by driving the front wheels up on boards, you can probably get away with using just about ANY jack. However, if you want to reach the correct preferred jacking points with very little initial "pre-raising" of the front, a low-profile, long reach jack is what you need.

The Omega is so low that you can roll it under the front of a C6 without driving the front wheels up on boards at all, without the cross beam adapter in place... the cross beam can be put on the jack after the jack is in position, just reach over from the side of the car... just barely makes it though, you need to bend your air dam a bit to really get things lined up perfectly... or just drive the front wheels up on a few strips of plywood and it'll be a breeze.

In sum, both the AC and Omega seem to be excellent jacks for Corvette use. The AC is twice the price+ of the Omega, but is indeed of much finer quality. For seldom to occasional use, the Omega seems to be fine. For more frequent heavy-duty use, you might want to spring for the AC.

Pylons26

I plan on buying the Northern cross beam adapter and I'll need to

modify it or the jack so they fit. I'll have to take one piece to a shop.

I remember reading the cross beam adapter needed other mods as well

or is that it with this set-up?

kyoung

The crossbeam will work without modification on the rear of the car, for jacking the front you have to slide out the adjustable section from each side of the beam and pad the top of the bar at the lifting points. Most people buy two beams and modify one for the front. I just pad the ends with some thick rubber and it work just fine.