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Jack problem

Cueball

CEG'er
Joined
Jun 26, 2000
Messages
224
Location
Hooksett, New Hampshire
So my floor jack gave out. The part you push down to jack it up stays down. Does it just need an oil change? It calls for SAE 5W hydraulic oil. Do I just get that an auto parts store? First time issue with a jack about 5 years old. Thanks
 
i am a little confused.
when you push the handle down to raise the jack pad, the handle stays down?
or when you cycle the handle the jack pad stays down?

if its the latter, you might have blown a seal.
 
yes it does


it still works if you lift the handle and pump it yourself?

I know on my fathers jack which is pretty old the handle needs to be raise by hand, it doesn't pop back up by itself. but then again it leaks oil. so maybe replace the oil and bleed it well. I would also check to see if the handle has a spring to help pop it up. even my new jack I got myself the handle doesn't raise on its own. well after a certain point it will because of the return spring on it.
 
yes it does

haha ...which one?

i am going to assume that it is the first, the handle doesn't go up on its own.
and like Brian said, if thats the case than just raise it by hand.
i have never owned a floor jack that has the handle go back up on its own.
 
I wouldn't want one where the handle returns up with any force. with my luck it would pop up and hit the car ...
 
and you need to watch out for those two part handle jacks that bolt together. it will never fail that the bolt will be what contacts the car ....
 
Maybe I described it wrong... usually when you crank the handle, the piece it pushes down on raises back up, then you crank again and it raises the end on the car. The end near me does not rise back up. Like it is frozen. Make any sense?
 
now i am even more confuse (go figure)
what type of jack is this?
is it a regular rolling hydraulic jack
does it look like this?
Hydraulic_Floor_Jack.jpg
 
Yes, Mike - similar to that. The crank on the left - it doesn't crank anything. There is no tension to raise the jack portion on the right. I never looked at how it actually works until it didn't work any more. :(
 
ok, so normally you would twist the handle clockwise and then cycle the handle up and down to raise the pad (the part that touches the car)
and when you want to lower the car, you twist the handle counter clockwise and the pad goes down.

so if i am understanding this, you can twist the handle clockwise and it does nothing?
does it stop turning or does it just keep going?

after re-reading your post, i am thinking that when you bring the handle down, the little 'button' it presses down on stays down.
that would either mean the jack leaked out its fluid due to a bad seal or it cant build up pressure due to a bad seal.
there should be a port with a plug in it you can take out to put fluid in.
 
Last edited:
I honestly expected this thread to be about:

jack_daniels.jpg


:laugh:

Buddy of mine had a heavy-duty truck/SUV Craftsman floor jack that was a bit long in the tooth. It got to the point where you actually had to jack the base of the jack down rather than the jack pad up. This required careful aligning prior to wailing on the handle. You'd hit the handle, and the entire assembly would pivot around the rear wheels of the jack, the jack pad would hit the undercar target, and the resulting hydraulic force would push the jack base down to earth until it was in full contact with the floor. At that point, the jack would operate normally. Knowing he was going to pitch the thing before long, my friend topped off the fluid with power steering fluid. Initially, he overfilled it, so the drain plug shot off like a champagne cork when we went to use the jack again. Good entertainment. Crazy stuff. But then, that's kind of expected, as we were working on SHOs. :cool:
 
I don't have a problem with that kind of Jack - smoooooth sipping.

So Elky - after all these words - you are saying pretty much just change the oil? lol.... That would fix the bad seal?
 
you can try to add more oil if it leaked out, but if a seal is bad, odds are there is no quick fix. the seal would have to be replaced.
 
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