# Help with floor jack



## k p (Oct 1, 2013)

I tried finding a suitable section to post this in, hopefully this is good enough. 

I bought this jack at a garage sale earlier this summer for $40. I was told it leaked fluid and had some weird issues sometimes when lifting. I bought it with the knowledge that it needed some work and the intent to fix it. I have since inspected it and found a leak stemming from the fill hole. The bolt had an old cork gasket which had split and was very much crushed and no longer sealing. I replaced it with a suitable thicker rubber gasket which has solved the leaking issue.

I went to use it after fixing the leak and found it to be VERY difficult to pump. The handle takes extreme effort to lift my little Honda Fit. Don't mistake this for a quick-pump jack, it's a regular run-of-the-mill model. When not lifting a load, the handle depresses the pump smoothly without any hesitation or effort. 

So, does anyone have any idea why this might be happening?


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## davidh (Oct 1, 2013)

my first guess is a stuck / sludgy / rusty ball somewhere in the system.  dirt and rust and water are not your friend.  take it all apart (the pump part) remove all the springs and balls, maybe replace them and "coin" the seats that they are suppose to seal against.  clean clean clean.   
take notes on how the springs and balls are coming out. . . be careful not to forget how so it will go togetner easier for you. . . 
my wife used to fix them in our business and was quite successful .  in coining use a good punch and a bfh  (that's big hammer).  if that does not fix it, junk it.  nothing else can be done. . . .  some are just impossible.


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## DAN_IN_MN (Oct 1, 2013)

k p said:


> I tried finding a suitable section to post this in, hopefully this is good enough.
> 
> I bought this jack at a garage sale earlier this summer for $40. I was told it leaked fluid and had some weird issues sometimes when lifting. I bought it with the knowledge that it needed some work and the intent to fix it. I have since inspected it and found a leak stemming from the fill hole. The bolt had an old cork gasket which had split and was very much crushed and no longer sealing. I replaced it with a suitable thicker rubber gasket which has solved the leaking issue.
> 
> ...



How does the handle move without a load on the jack?


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## k p (Oct 2, 2013)

DAN_IN_MN said:


> How does the handle move without a load on the jack?





k p said:


> I tried finding a suitable section to post this in, hopefully this is good enough.
> 
> I bought this jack at a garage sale earlier this summer for $40. I was told it leaked fluid and had some weird issues sometimes when lifting. I bought it with the knowledge that it needed some work and the intent to fix it. I have since inspected it and found a leak stemming from the fill hole. The bolt had an old cork gasket which had split and was very much crushed and no longer sealing. I replaced it with a suitable thicker rubber gasket which has solved the leaking issue.
> 
> ...



The jack feels normal when it's not lifting a load, handle is easy to push and jack raises as per usual.

- - - Updated - - -



davidh said:


> my first guess is a stuck / sludgy / rusty ball somewhere in the system. dirt and rust and water are not your friend. take it all apart (the pump part) remove all the springs and balls, maybe replace them and "coin" the seats that they are suppose to seal against. clean clean clean.
> take notes on how the springs and balls are coming out. . . be careful not to forget how so it will go togetner easier for you. . .
> my wife used to fix them in our business and was quite successful . in coining use a good punch and a bfh (that's big hammer). if that does not fix it, junk it. nothing else can be done. . . . some are just impossible.



That was certainly on my list of possibilities, I figure I'll flush it out with varsol a few times and take it apart to clean it. Can you please explain what "coining" means?


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## davidh (Oct 2, 2013)

someone told me once tha "coining" comes for the phrase used when gold pieces were smacked hard with a identifying punch, using a big hammer.   for ball type valves as in jacks, it means your trying to "seat" the ball into the base metal which is usually cast iron or cast steel.  I would use a long drift punch that was just a little smaller in diameter than the ball I was trying to seat, and hit it quite hard, once, and it usually worked.  

on a side note, I usually had the least success with the cheap imports. . . . .


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## f350ca (Oct 2, 2013)

Varsol will destroy the o-rings if you cycle it through.
Greg


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## drs23 (Oct 2, 2013)

davidh said:


> my first guess is a stuck / sludgy / rusty ball somewhere in the system.  dirt and rust and water are not your friend.  take it all apart (the pump part) remove all the springs and balls, maybe replace them and "coin" the seats that they are suppose to seal against.  clean clean clean.
> take notes on how the springs and balls are coming out. . . be careful not to forget how so it will go togetner easier for you. . .
> my wife used to fix them in our business and was quite successful .  in coining use a good punch *and a bfh*  (that's big hammer).  if that does not fix it, junk it.  nothing else can be done. . . .  some are just impossible.



Kinda like this one? : :rofl:


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## davidh (Oct 3, 2013)

well, sorta.  with that one, a little more than a 2 foot drop would be fine .   nice "h's"  by the way. . . )


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## Uncle Buck (Oct 11, 2013)

If you really want to know about that jack and how to move forward go over to my site www.thegaragegazette.com  join and start hollering for Hiball. You will hear everything you really need to know about hyd jack repair. 

What I can tell you is the jack is almost positively an import. I will leave the rest for Hiball. 

Good Luck


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## k p (Oct 11, 2013)

Uncle Buck said:


> If you really want to know about that jack and how to move forward go over to my site www.thegaragegazette.com join and start hollering for Hiball. You will hear everything you really need to know about hyd jack repair.
> 
> What I can tell you is the jack is almost positively an import. I will leave the rest for Hiball.
> 
> Good Luck



Thanks, I'm way ahead of you. I'm on GJ as well and HiBall has already put in his .02


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## Uncle Buck (Oct 11, 2013)

What was hiballs verdict? Can he help you?? I uesd to have an old floor jack like that which served me well for years. I really liked that oversized lift plate. If you end up not being able to fix it and end up dumping it I would suggest keeping the handle, casters, and that lift plate. Some or all might come in handy later. My jack like that came from HF.


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