Got a high-speed, lo-drag race jack for free. It was free cause it leaks down like the seal isn't even closed. Looks like there is a reseal kit available.
Anyone attempted a rebuild on a jack? Did you have any luck, or should I save $30 on the kit and however much on the fluid and sell it for scrap?
https://www.hcrcnow.com/shop/seal-kits/product/5614
No, but I've jacked a rebuild.
Never done it. But if it’s just replacing a seal, seems easy enough. I’ve spent $30 worse ways
I'm curious too. I have an older jack that needs a rebuild and am a little nervous to get started on it.
I've rebuilt one of my jack many times (it's quite a small one), it is a wee o-ring that usually fails on it.
I've tried taking apart larger jacks I've gotten for free, and they've kicked my butt.
If you can get it apart - rebuild it. If you can't - chuck it.
Mine looks like this:
I have rebuilt a ton of Jacks, normally the small o ring that has failed. Take pictures as you go since they normally are full of small parts that only go in one way.
I've rebuilt my HF jacks a few times. New O rings.
Dr. Hess said:I've rebuilt my HF jacks a few times. New O rings.
I picked a leaky one up today. Fixing tomorrow with a harbor Freight o ring kit
Professor_Brap said:I have rebuilt a ton of Jacks, normally the small o ring that has failed. Take pictures as you go since they normally are full of small parts that only go in one way.
This.
It's a pain to do but it's worth saving those >2 ton aluminum jacks. A new one from HF costs north of $150.
I did a C'man AL jack some years ago - still works.
My 'how to' and other info came from https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=4
There's a guy named Hiball (IIRC) who is a jack guru. Ohhhmmmmm
I've said this before, but I'd love to see a How-To article on this in the magazine.
boxedfox said:Professor_Brap said:I have rebuilt a ton of Jacks, normally the small o ring that has failed. Take pictures as you go since they normally are full of small parts that only go in one way.
This.
It's a pain to do but it's worth saving those >2 ton aluminum jacks. A new one from HF costs north of $150.
Me and old man rebuilt a MONSTER 5 ton jack that is low pro and high lift.
I have a couple HF aluminum jacks that are working very poorly, but I haven't found much info on fixing them.
My 'shop crane' cylinder is also leaking and that needs fixed too, but again, youtube has not helped.
I think the basics are clear, to take it apart and replace the o-ring. But the specifics are the issue, how do you take the dang things apart?
following this with interest. the stock bottle jack on my Rover died sometime last month. I was curious about the small spot of oil that appeared nowhere near the engine under the front of the truck until I went to do the brakes and found the jack would not pump up. The spot of clear oil was directly under where the jack is stored.
Woody said:I've said this before, but I'd love to see a How-To article on this in the magazine
I have successfully rebuilt a 22 ton jack which lasted about a year lifting semis. I usually just scrap them and buy another though since lifting 12000# of the 80000# Seems like a good place to spend some money. I have never tried to rebuild an automotive one.
Just find a local Sears and swap it, oh wait....
The minute you pull that plug springs and ball bearings pour out and since they are in oil it's hard to see where they go. I have tackled three of them thinking how hard could it be and failed every time. But in all fairness I go in expecting failure and in my mind I have already spent the cash on a new one.
In reply to boxedfox :
I got the equivalent 1.5t aluminum version from harbor freight for like 60 or 65 bucks. When you factor in the time and the cost of the kit it is usually just cheaper to buy a new one
I'm on my 3rd or so $60 HF aluminum jack. All mine fail the same way, which is that the high pressure piston (the one that pumps when it's up against a load, or NOT the rapid pump one) gets sticky/bindy and fails to return to the top. Other than that they've been good. If someone has an easy fix for that I'd be happy, but for $60 every few years I've been pleased enough with the value that i never bothered to fix one yet. I do have a low profile high rise T handle HF jack that i want to keep FOREVERRRRRRRRRRR and i will do whatever it takes to fix it when it breaks because it's the best jack ive ever used in my life.
I've tried to rebuild that almost exact same jack. I thought I did everything right, put it all back together, and didn't fix a damn thing apparently. I chucked it. HF jacks are so cheap I'll get a new one when needed. They usually last 3-4 years for me of frequent use (including getting dragged to the track/rally/rallycross and getting abused).
The mess and hassle of trying to rebuild a cheap jack isn't worth it to me at this point.
And like Vigo, I have a T-Handle HF jack that we drag around as our service jack for rally. Knock on wood, never had an issue with it after 4-5 years now. But that one I will deifinitely try to rebuild if it ever goes. The little aluminum ones, not so much.
In reply to ChrisLS8 :
I bought a couple new ones when they were on sale for like $50, they are not so cheap anymore. I like to fix things and not just throw them away. Call me funny that way,
The long jack failed after using it only a few times, although I admit I put a lot more weight on it that it was rated for, these are not so cheap to just replace,
but I am concerned it will just fail again. The engine hoist I made from scratch uses the jack from the pipe bender, and it has lasted decades without issue.
I was hoping to find an exploded view, but it looks like the owner's manual considers the hydraulic unit a single part. It does look like there are a few YouTube videos...
Due to the possible legal issues involved, I would not expect a "how to rebuild your broken jack, so when you do it wrong and it fails and kills you and your family sues us" article in GRM anytime soon.
I have one of the T handle HF jacks. It was their top of the line jack at the time. I really like it, although it is a bit heavy. I bought it because the HF aluminum "racing" jack I had would no longer lift. That one had replaced a long line of total POS wally world jacks. When it stopped working, I took it apart and put new O rings in it. Put oil back in, and... NOTHING. Tried bleeding, etc., nothing. In frustration, I threw it on the scrap pile for the next trip to the recycler, went to HF and bought the big one. A few days later, I look over at the scrap pile and the aluminum jack is there, standing at full stroke attention. Pulled it off the scrap pile and I still use it years later.
I've got a 42 year old Hein-Werner WS that I've rebuilt a coupla times. It is by far the best jack I've ever used and since a new H-W jack is north of 400 bucks, I'll probably continue doing so. It is not hard to do a full rebuild but part of ease of the job is the basic jack design is about 70 years old. It comes from that era before Tort Law took over the country, hence much fewer parts than a more modern jack. The other nice thing about the H-W is when it starts to go away I get plenty of warning; which is a good thing since I put the Pro in procrastination.
If that Craftsman jack is decent, you probably can't go wrong with the attempt.
Never had any luck fixing them.
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