Slow leak on floor jack

[Aeroman]

Fellas, I have a floor jack that has a small leak (lowers overnight). Any idea how to remedy it? I don't see hydraulic fluid on the floor. It's about 5 years old. Thanks.

[Don's Hot Rods]

I have one that does the same thing, but ours drops in a matter of minutes. It is one of the $ 300 Sears aluminum racing jacks and it started to do it almost immediately. We tossed the receipt so the best Sears would offer was 30% off of a new one........as if I would want another one of the same model anyway !

I think you and I have some seal internally that is allowing oil to seep back into the reservour, there is no adjustment I can see that will fix it so somewhere down the road I am going to tear into it to see what's what.

Hope someone has a solution for you and me.

Don

[Aeroman]

Hey Don, thanks for the response and sorry for your mishap. yes, I feel the seal may be shot too. I'll keep you posted

[pasadenahotrod]

Most of those ChiCom built jacks are not rebuildable, just buy a new one and hope for another 5 years.

[Don's Hot Rods]

I've wondered it it is in the valve that turns when you twist the handle to lock it. There might be some sort of valving in there or seals that are not closing all the way tight.

Don

[H.G. Wells]

I just use my floor jack to get something up in the air so I can put jack stands under it. If you are using it to keep something up over night you are using it wrong.

[Don's Hot Rods]

Mine will settle down with nothing on it. It also seems to be getting progressively worse. The only reason I keep it around is because all our other jacks won't slide under our dropped axles.

Don

[carcrazyjohn]

cmon guys use a little brake fluid in with the fluid ,,,Brake fluid swells up seals

[fordor41]

Some have a check ball. Use a punch to tap it to renew the seat. I've done mine but can't remember where the ball was. Maybe under the valve.

[MoparMan4GZUZ]

Originally Posted by fordor41

Some have a check ball. Use a punch to tap it to renew the seat. I've done mine but can't remember where the ball was. Maybe under the valve.

nope, nobody is gonna punch my seat to seal my balls...... nope..... nobody.....

[Don's Hot Rods]

This thread got me moving to do some research and some people say it is the check ball, like fordor41 says. They say the part that pushes the ball down wears out and isn't able to seat the ball firmly when that happens. I will have to tear mine apart and see if that is the problem.


Don

[1oldtimer]

most likely the seal, find a parts list and you'll see the seal. I've rebuilt a few press rams, jacks and hand pumps at work (among larger rams) and seems as if the seal fixes it 90% of the time unless the shaft or bore is bad.

[1oldtimer]

Check this out:
http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=51105

[55 dude]

Originally Posted by 1oldtimer

Check this out:
http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=51105

This is TECH PORN!

[Aeroman]

Thanks fellas, I'll check it out. I bought it at Costco awhile back, Arcan brand, not aluminum. No, I don't keep anything lifted over night - that's what jack stands are for. I simply raise it up a bit in the evening as a habit and find it dropped all the way down the following morning. It doesn't go down immediately after pumping it up so it's still useable.

I picked up one of those HF 1.5 Ton Aluminum jacks recently and love it so far. It rapidly lifts stuff up! I wanted a second floor jack to lift and lower the body of my '47 Chevy Fleetline (doing frame off right now).

[LaSalle Gearbox]

I too, fell for the allure of the lightweight, zoomy metallic blue aluminum racing jack. Hey, I ain't getting any younger and money's not worth anything anymore. It's a waste of recycled beer cans and blue paint.

And I tossed the receipt too. This thing won't even stay up long enough to scramble around like a crab on crack and put a jack stand under it. WTF, if I had my Grand-dad's old floor jack that was old when I was a kid in the fifties, I know it would still work.

[Cali4niaCruiser]

Originally Posted by LaSalle Gearbox

I too, fell for the allure of the lightweight, zoomy metallic blue aluminum racing jack. Hey, I ain't getting any younger and money's not worth anything anymore. It's a waste of recycled beer cans and blue paint.

And I tossed the receipt too. This thing won't even stay up long enough to scramble around like a crab on crack and put a jack stand under it. WTF, if I had my Grand-dad's old floor jack that was old when I was a kid in the fifties, I know it would still work.

That gave me a good laugh! Nothing like doing the crab scramble, trying not to crack your head open on the bumper while diving under the car like you're sliding into home plate!

[S_Mazza]

Originally Posted by LaSalle Gearbox

I too, fell for the allure of the lightweight, zoomy metallic blue aluminum racing jack. Hey, I ain't getting any younger and money's not worth anything anymore. It's a waste of recycled beer cans and blue paint.

And I tossed the receipt too. This thing won't even stay up long enough to scramble around like a crab on crack and put a jack stand under it. WTF, if I had my Grand-dad's old floor jack that was old when I was a kid in the fifties, I know it would still work.

I have the same jack from HF, and I like it ... in general. It has never leaked or dropped for me. There are only 2 downsides to my jack that I have found:

#1 - The hex socket on the end of the jack handle has rounded off. I guess it's soft aluminum ... in any case, it's not very strong. Actually, I should order a replacement part for that today. Hmm.

#2 - The side rails are not very strong against twisting. They may be perfectly adequate for lifting the rated weight on a perfectly flat, rigid surface. My problem is, I don't have one of those. I have soft asphalt, and it's not perfectly flat anywhere. And the car never goes straight up because it must tilt as the weight shifts to the other wheels. Numerous times, I have lifted the car and looked at the jack and seen an alarming amount of bending (left-to-right) in the side rails. I don't like that at all. (Although, I guess bending might be an advantage in some situations if it means the car stays on the lifting pad instead of slipping off.

I still use the jack, but I watch it closely. I never rely on it as a sole means of support ... but then, I wouldn't rely on anything as a sole means of support. I always use a jackstand, and preferably two, with the jack in place as a standby.

[the metalsurgeon]

So its a 2007 floor jack model.Haha and i got blasted for grafting 2000 Lexus rear trunk lights into a 29' for a customer.

my weekly metal work blog www.themetalsurgeon.com

[31Vicky with a hemi]

If I had a jack that dropped overnight, I damn sure wouldn't trust it any further than I can throw it.