I've bought a lot of inexpensive hand tools, parts and accessories from Harbor Freight, knowing that for the low price I didn't have much to lose. For the most part, the tools at Harbor Freight have held up pretty well.

 

Harbor Freight Tools are Not Made in Pittsburgh

Don't be fooled by the name, Pittsburgh. These tools are built in China, not America. Is that not a brilliant marketing ploy, using the name of a familiar, U.S steel city to make you think you're getting the kind of quality, old-fashioned tools your Grandfather used? Regardless, the Pittsburgh sockets and wrenches seem to be well made. The one exception is the 3/8" Torque Wrench which I never could get to work. I guess sometimes you really do get what you pay for. So on to the Harbor Freight floor jack, which is one of the more expensive tools I've purchased from this store.

 

Harbor Freight 1.5 Ton, Lightweight Floor Jack Specifics

This could be considered a small risk. The price, which is normally $89.00 was on sale for $59.00, so I took a chance and bought it. I don't have a lot of experience with floor jacks, but I've been very happy with this purchase so far. It is light-weight as advertised, but feels very solid. The wheels roll very nicely on my driveway and the aluminum handle, which is removable, screws in and out easily. Hydraulic floor jacks do use fluid, but leaking was not a problem. Well, how does it work for jacking up a car?

Can a Cheap Hydraulic Floor Jack Lift a BMW?

Harbor Freight 1.5 Ton Capacity Floor Jack

At 3750 pounds my BMW 540i, really tests the limit of the 1.5 weight capacity. I did seem to discover its weight limit one time while attempting to lift up the entire front end which is something I wouldn't do very often. For oil changes, it's best to use ramps and jack stands. Changing tires and lifting one side at a time is a breeze with the Harbor Freight Floor Jack.
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If you're been suckered or tempted to buy an engine or transmission from Engine and Transmission World,  you have my sincere sympathies. You and I are among dozens of people, nationwide, who have either lost a lot of money or spent countless, fearful hours of frustration and fear regretting the decision to place an order with this 'less-than-reputable' online reseller of engines and transmissions. In my case, Engine and Transmission World eventually did deliver the goods, but at the time-consuming expenses of a huge labor bill for a 2nd Install from my repair shop and the $395 cost of a 2-year warranty which looks dubious at best.

 

Problems with Engine and Transmission World

Right now, my BMW 540i is running fine after the first transmission was sent to my Arvada repair shop, Colorado Engine, dead-on-arrival. Three months later, I'm out about $3500. Only $1,745 of my total bill was paid for the actual Transmission; $395 of which was for a 2-Year extended warranty which I thought was the prudent thing to do. Obviously, any repair shop would charge labor for installation and diagnostics of the faulty transmission. Removing and installing  a transmission is a fairly labor intensive job. They aren't going to uninstall and re-install the 2nd one for free. To the credit of Engine and Transmission World, they did get the 2nd transmission shipped free, to Colorado Engine fairly promptly and it did work. However, there are two other problems: One: The warranty has still not been activated. Two: Their advertised mileage on Engines and Transmissions is fishy and that's putting it nicely. It appears to be an outright sham - as I will explain.

 
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Follow up on Gout and Indocin

Last week I wrote about using Aleve vs. the standard Indocin Prescription for treating Gout. Taking two Aleve at a time worked for a while, though it was causing tremendous stomach upset. My gut was gurgling like the boiler room at a convention center. What's worse, is that the Aleve stopped working. My toe was incredibly inflamed and sensitive which made it nearly impossibly to sleep. I finally broke down on Saturday and went to an urgent care facility where I was prescribed Indocin. I was hoping for a steroid shot, but the doctor assured me that Indomethacin was more effective for treating gout than any other pain reliever. I limped out of the doctor's office and headed to the pharmacist to get my prescription filled. Was it effective?

 
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In my week-long search for gout pain relief I discovered Capzasin-HP which is a specific brand of capsaicin cream for treating arthritic joint and other body aches and pains. When our body parts hurt we are looking for instant relief. Oral medications have two problems:

1. They take time to work.
2. They have side effects which tend to make other body parts like our stomach hurt.

Capzasin is a popular brand of capsaicin cream (made from the capsaicin chemical in peppers) for treating arthritic and various other types of body, joint aches and pains. The "HP" stands for High Potency which at a mere .1% may seem curious until you've tried it. The active ingredient in much of the arthritic and other pain creams somewhat helps by masking the pain with a soothing, warming or icy cold sensation on the affected areas. Capsaicin Cream or Capzasin HP is a little bit different. The active ingredient is the actual hot capsaicin or capsicum extracted from chili peppers and made into an arthritic cream. Since the active amount of capsaicin in Capzasin HP is only .1% you might wonder how such a small percentage could possibly do any good, but you can instantly feel the hot pepper go to work on your skin. In fact, if you don't wash your hands thoroughly after applying it, you will be reminded of it the minute you touch your face or eyes with your finger. Unsure, about putting hot peppers on your skin? Try this: Myo-Med Pain Cream.

 
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Indocin For Gout

Anybody who has ever had a gout flare-up, even once,  knows all about those little, green prescription capsules known as Indomethacin or Indocin. Women talk about how painful child birth is, but believe me, gout might make that a distant second when it comes to pain-scale ratings. Gout feels like you are giving birth to a 10lb shard of glass through one of your toes. The first time I had gout and visited my doctor, I didn’t begin to feel any gout pain relief until I had taken my 2nd Indocin pill which was prescribed 3 times daily. If you get gout infrequently like me, it is a cause for full-scale panic when it flares up and you realize your prescription for Indomethacin is either expired or past its effective shelf life which is only about 3 years. Believe me that shelf life really means something. Last time I had gout, and started using a 7 year old prescription of expired Indocin, I was not getting any relief after the second dose. I might have experienced a very painful lesson had I not learned that there is something just as effective as and reportedly safer than Indocin for Gout.

 
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