Rant - floorjack

Yeah, and the other thing is EVERYTIME I've gotten rid of an old, well used tool and replaced it with a new one, I have NOT been happy. The CRAP they make today is totally awful, and it is VERY hard to tell the difference between a good tool and a totally crappy knockoff. I had a pair of aircraft snips that the spring broke on. I bought a replacement, and the blade shattered on the first cut. However, I was able to get the spring out of it and use it to repair the old ones (which I had not gotten rid of yet). That was probably the worst example.

Cheap import tools made 20 years ago are in many cases BETTER than NAME BRAND tools sold today! YIKES! You think things can't get any worse, but, oh brother, they really can!

Jon

Ah, of course! This totally explains why Sears has basically gotten out of the tool business. If you could possibly get hurt using it wrong, better not sell that tool anymore. Saws? Out! Lathes? Out! Pretty soon, all they will sell is clothes and refrigerators. (Oh, maybe they are already there.)

Jon

Is it leaking fluid on the floor? If not, it is an internal leak; the check valve. It could just be some crud under the ball.

The outer ram seal is just a wiper to keep the cylinder clean. The pressure seal is on the bottom end of the ram.

No leaks at all, Andy. I'm gonna tear in to it this week end. If there is no crud under the check valve ball, any other suggestions? Thanks, Bill.

Refrigerators are dangerous. They store food, which causes obesity, which leads to heart failure. Best to stick with clothes, but not belts or shoe laces. And nothing with zippers or metal buttons which could become hot in the dryer.

I'm the same way when it comes to "repairable" non-repairable items. You got absolutely nothin' to lose - and my guess is that you may have a small piece of dirt in a ball-bearing check valve. You got the paperwork for it (parts diagram/exploded view) so start tearing it apart and start fixin' it. It WAS working and all of a sudden - it wasn't, so it ain't from normal wear.... GO FOR IT !!!! Ken.

On Fri, 09 Dec 2005 09:06:58 -0600, Rex B wrote:

If you were trying to get them to repair it keep in mind that most shops charge $40 -60 / hour labor and you can bet it will take more than an hour to repair. If you're looking for parts to repair yourself there is not really an aftermarket set up for those parts as they are considered to be throwaways. The last jack my shop repaired was a Sears - definitely not built to be disassembled and repaired but I did it anyway, found a replacement seal and took a beating since I was just trying to help the guy out (who just couldn't bear to throw it away). He called a few weeks later and said it wouldn't lift his car so I had him bring it in and put it on the tester. Ran right up to capacity and held just fine - that's when he pointed out that it needed more oil since it wouldn't go high enough to lift his car. I showed him the mechanical limits of the jack and explained that it couldn't go any higher if you poured 50 gallons of oil in it. He then informed me that I should give him half his money back since it wouldn't do what he wanted. I explained that I didn't sell him the jack and had repaired it to work as it was intended. He advised me that if I didn't give him half his money back he would tell everybody he knew what a lousy shop I had. I then advised him that if he wasn;t out of my shop in three seconds I would shove the jack where the sun don't shine and show him how high the thing would jack. I then told the shop guys that we would not accept any more jacks for repair.

You can try to repair it yourself but if it's not leaking oil then your problem is probably in the valve. You might disassemble the valve mechanism and remove the check ball to see if there is any trash preventing it from seating properly. If not, you may have deformed or cracked the seat (most people crank down too hard - especially when it starts to leak down). If that's the case then consider it junk. You have a couple of options - buy another cheap brand and use it until it fails or buy a good name brand that will be repairable when the time comes. You might check city or county auctions, estate sales etc. and find one that may last a good while then can be repaired. I have a two ton Blackhawk that we rebuilt 20 years ago and although it doesn't get used too often any more it has seen a bunch of use in the past and still works great. Good luck.

Tom, don't you just love jerks? Try to do some people a favor and they'll try to screw you every time. Thanks for the information. The floorjack in question has served me so well over the years that I hate to just toss it out. I'll get it apart and see what things look like. I used to repair hydraulics in the field back in the early 80's when I had a citrus operation in FL..although I have never had a floor jack apart. Thanks, Bill.

On most of these type jacks, there is a screw plug that holds the check valve spring against the ball. It should be near the pump. You won't have to disassemble anything. Remove the plug, pick the spring out with hooked wire and lift the ball out with a magnet. If it is stainless, use a dowel with grease on the end. Might lose a dozen drops of fluid.

The last jack my shop repaired was a

He probably bought it earlier the day he brought it in, either from a thrift store or garage sale. Gerry :-)} London, Canada

Hummm Ive got one of those too...pump shaft is bleeding a little. Probably needs an o ring. Its about the same vintage...yard sale or swap meet pickup

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

A BIG pipe wrench and something really solid to clamp the base to. The last 12 ton Western Auto (about 40 yrs old) I unscrewed took my bench for a ride trying to unscrew it. I finally jigged up a plate, and chained it to a telephone pole...

Now granted...it was sorta kinda rust colored..and had been in the well of of Volvo that had rusted out in Michigan when I got it....

Hand some goop under the check valve. Cleaned everything up, changed the oil..still works good.

Glad this thread came along..Ive got about 4 more than need some attention...

Not counting the die cart/forklift thingy that wont pump up or stay up....

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

Actually it was worse than that. A friend of his had it in his motor home and gave it to this guy when he sold the motor home (the jack was about 5 years old). It had never been used and would not work the first time he tried to use it. Warranty had expired so he brought it to me. After I explained that it wasn't't capable of going any higher he said "Well that's no good - I'm going to take it back to Sears and get my money back". Interesting since he hadn't paid anything for it. Sears just blew him off and that's when he called me for a refund. While I had that business it did seem that the most problems came from the people I tried hardest to help out of a bind. Do 'em a favor and they would try to stick it to you.

Hydraulic jack repair: Just google it. Dozens of repair concerns listed that sell kits and new jacks. Even how to info on the web.

H.R.

On Sat, 10 Dec 2005 16:16:03 GMT in rec.crafts.metalworking, snipped-for-privacy@sbcglobal.net (Tom) wrote,

Oh sure, blame the jack.