Transmission advice needed

Ok, I'm wanting to bit the bullet & buy a transmission jack to make life a little easier. It's harder to drag someone in to help me muscle the transmission in and out of the race car, so I'm going to go ahead and buy one instead of risking my back. I've got a lift, so I'd like to get a tall jack. What experience has the GRM masses had with inexpensive jacks? I'm figuring twice a year and hopefully no more, and I'd like to stay under $500 and still have something respectable and sturdy. Any suggestions on what to get or what to avoid?

I've used some really nice transmission jacks for under-lift use but i dont think any of them were under $500. Since you already have a lift, maybe this isnt an issue but do you have the parking space for one of these? They always seem to be in the way when you're not using them. You can get a really nice floor-jack type trans jack for way under $500 and if it's twice a year it probably wouldn't be too bad to leave the car close to the ground and use that style. They slide under benches, possibly toolboxes when not in use. And you really only have to get on the ground when taking out the last two bellhousing bolts, the rest of the r&r you can do at standing height with the lift up. Just a thought.

I bought THIS ONE from Princess Auto (Canadian Harbor Freight) on sale for about $189CDN. It has changed six transmissions so far and holding up well. It was a great purchase.

Princess Auto then had a screaming deal on THIS ONE for $179CDN, which I bought for myself but haven't used yet.

we've gotton Two from Harbor Freight The ram's don't work on either one, waiting for replacement.

That's my only fear, is getting a POS if I get the HF version. I've got the space, got a 3200 sq. ft. shop, so throwing it in the corner isn't a problem. I found this one at Northern Tool, think I'm going to give it a shot. Looks pretty rugged, and I like the wide base.

Assuming that you're working on jackstands and not a lift...

Da Boss bought that $300 Harbor Freight trans jack when he was converting his Monte from a TH400 to a T56 and needed to be able to get the trans in and out about eleven billion times. I had to pull the 4L80 from a box truck that wouldn't fit on our lifts so he brought the jack in for us to use.

Knurled review: I like it a lot. I like the separate two-axis angle controls and lift controls, I like the sturdy trans support fixturing, I like the way it has a long handle that you can use to lever it around when you're trying to line the trans up to the engine. Downside: It started leaking a bunch after I used it. It still works fine, it just leaks from some seal somewhere.