BlackSheepRebel
Senior Member
@chstrahl I'm not sure how "good" anything is these days, but I'll share what I've used.
I first bought these, after seeing this style used in a handful of YT videos doing this job on our trucks:
I got the job done with those, but they made me a bit nervous. I lubed the threads good and went very slow, but at full compression the shafts were bending. That scared me honestly, but from what I've read the metal in these compressors is actually made to have some flex. All the videos online also show some bending, so I was probably just being paranoid.
When I had to redo it, I bought this set:
There are a lot of comments on those about being used for heavy duty trucks, and I like the safety attachment that keeps anything from rotating or slipping. I did the same, lubed the threads good and went slow. I guess it's obvious, but when I first looked at them I thought the shaft was way thicker so obviously stronger. Really, the threaded part doing the work is about the same size or a little smaller as the set above...just hidden inside a tube. I still think these are likely better based on how they attach and avoid rotation, but I might be trying to convince myself given the 2x cost.
The only downside to any of these is they can scratch the heck out of your springs. I lined the claws of the second set with a couple layers of gorilla tape and didn't have any problems.
Whichever you go with, it's probably better than the rental units from what I've heard. Good luck!
I first bought these, after seeing this style used in a handful of YT videos doing this job on our trucks:
I got the job done with those, but they made me a bit nervous. I lubed the threads good and went very slow, but at full compression the shafts were bending. That scared me honestly, but from what I've read the metal in these compressors is actually made to have some flex. All the videos online also show some bending, so I was probably just being paranoid.
When I had to redo it, I bought this set:
There are a lot of comments on those about being used for heavy duty trucks, and I like the safety attachment that keeps anything from rotating or slipping. I did the same, lubed the threads good and went slow. I guess it's obvious, but when I first looked at them I thought the shaft was way thicker so obviously stronger. Really, the threaded part doing the work is about the same size or a little smaller as the set above...just hidden inside a tube. I still think these are likely better based on how they attach and avoid rotation, but I might be trying to convince myself given the 2x cost.
The only downside to any of these is they can scratch the heck out of your springs. I lined the claws of the second set with a couple layers of gorilla tape and didn't have any problems.
Whichever you go with, it's probably better than the rental units from what I've heard. Good luck!