Hydraulic Shop Press- 12 Ton vs 20 Ton?

Jungoes

Jungoes

Member
So I am planning on getting a hydraulic shop press to do the rear bearings and seals. My problem is I don't have access to Harbor freight in Canada and a 20 Ton is around $700 usd equivalent
I can get a 12 Ton press at a reasonable price. Just wanted to know if anyone has used a 12 ton press to change the bearings ( front and Rear ) . Tim's videos shows the 20 ton ( which I would get if it was available at a reasonable price.
appreciate your input..
 
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Jungoes said:
So I am planning on getting a hydraulic shop press to do the rear bearings and seals. My problem is I don't have access to Harbor freight in Canada and a 20 Ton is around $700 usd equivalent
I can get a 12 Ton press at a reasonable price. Just wanted to know if anyone has used a 12 ton press to change the bearings ( front and Rear ) . Tim's videos shows the 20 ton ( which I would get if it was available at a reasonable price.
appreciate your input..
Click to expand...

I don’t know for sure but when you think about it 12 tons is a heluva lot of weight/pressure, id bet you would be fine. Let’s see what others think..

Only thing that might affect it is the space your able to press with might be smaller?
 
I have the Harbor Freight 20ton. It was not in any way strained to do the rear axle seals and bearings job. My impression is that a 12ton would be fine
 
As [MENTION=124615]3bears[/MENTION] pointed out in the thread he linked, the issue with the smaller press is the opening in the beams that you press down on. At least with the HF 12 ton, it was mentioned that the opening wasn't wide enough for the axle tool to fit through. Just food for thought.
 
thanks for the input guys, i will measure the spacing on the adjustable arms to see what space i will have to accommodate the axle tool.
I will be fabricating the axle tool so i will see what I need to modify.
Thanks!
 
I cross the border fairly often and could pick up. But it weighs hundreds of pounds and would be difficult to ship.
 
You need to know a snowbird that winters in Arizona and have them bring one back for you. Thousands of Albertans will be heading north in the next month.
 
Jungoes said:
thanks for the input guys, i will measure the spacing on the adjustable arms to see what space i will have to accommodate the axle tool.
I will be fabricating the axle tool so i will see what I need to modify.
Thanks!
Click to expand...

Hi Jungoes.... Im in a similar situation and wondering how this worked out for you.Im currently working in West Africa and looking to ship a press to my location. The 12 ton is cheaper both to buy but especially to ship.

Did the 12 ton have the spacing you needed?
Thanks for the help
 
I had (still) a 12 tons, that in certain situation wasn't enough. For example, I had to use an air hammer over the press pressure to undo an old stuck part on the 4runner one time, that'S when I decided to do something about it. Was good for wheel bearings but you could see that you were at the limit before the hub would start to move sometimes. Had to put so much weight on the handle that I felt like it was going to tear appart.

I converted it to a 20 ton. Welded the upper portion of the press for stiffness, and exchanged the 12 tons bottle for a 20 tons. Much better now for old, stuck parts.

So, if you have access to buy a 20 tons instead of a 12, I would recommend the 20 tons. They are not that much more up front most of the time.

I lost maybe an inch or two of travel (bigger bottle), which I can make up with shortening the anvil, if it's ever needed.
 
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I have a 20 ton press. That's what I use on all my pressing projects..:) So if at all possible like other suggested get the 20 ton.

Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk
 
XLJIAN said:
Hi Jungoes.... Im in a similar situation and wondering how this worked out for you.Im currently working in West Africa and looking to ship a press to my location. The 12 ton is cheaper both to buy but especially to ship.

Did the 12 ton have the spacing you needed?
Thanks for the help
Click to expand...

Last spring I did the real axle bearing/seals with a 12 ton and it worked fine. The tool I used was one that was specifically made for the 12 ton Harbor Freight press, so there was not issue with spacing.
 
jsnppp said:
......... I will watch mtbtim's videos and read the adventuretaco page (https://adventuretaco.com/guide/ste...ring-w-abs-1st-gen-tacoma-or-3rd-gen-4runner/) a dozen times first.

~Jason
Click to expand...

thanks for that link....always good to have another source for info as I will be doing rear bearings on this rig this summer...
last 2 I did I used MTBTM videos and had computer in garage with me and followed step by step

the first I did with a old 10 ton and it was ok but a push. sold it and got the 20 ton and it was no problem. I also have the tool that I bought direct from the guy who invented it.

there used to be a guy on this forum who loaned out the tool ...dont have that link
 
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One thing to consider with these Harbor Freight hydraulic presses is the hardware they give you for the frame assembly. The first thing I did before assembly was to source reputable graded hardware. I replaced it all.
 
jsnppp said:
I have the 12 ton HF press and will report back if it is possible to use it (I hope so!). I will be doing the entire rear end by new years (I hope!). I will watch mtbtim's videos and read the adventuretaco page (https://adventuretaco.com/guide/ste...ring-w-abs-1st-gen-tacoma-or-3rd-gen-4runner/) a dozen times first.

~Jason
Click to expand...

I look forward to hearing back on this. I got a HF 12 ton mainly for this reason (a just-in-case thing). I got my press for free, and it had never even really been used, so if it doesn't work, I am not out any money. It would be nice to learn if I should sell it and buy the 20 ton.
 
Had to do some home repair this break and so haven't gotten to the press yet. I'll post here when I do, won't be too long, needs to get done.
 
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