Stupid HF aluminum jack won't hold pressure

stioc · Jul 12, 2005

Well I should say 'stupid me' because it was working great until one day I saw some discussion on one of the forums I occasionaly visit that basically said that the jack oil used in these jacks is crappy and it should be replaced for better performance :lol_hitti

So, of course, I run to Sears and pick up their jack oil. Now it won't hold pressure. If I jack up the car, the handle of the jack slowly starts creeping up and the car starts creeping down. I've bled it about 10 times now using all the methods found in the manual, Internet etc. Even replaced the fill hole bolt with the supplied bleeding bolt.

Ironically, on the same forum I later found another discussion where people were having problems with bleeding the Harbor Freight jacks and the suggestion from most people was to not screw around with changing oil on any hydraulic jack or you'll probably never get it work right again...now they tell me! :wtf:

So what to do with this boat anchor ? Its two years old and I don't have a receipt, nor do I think it has a warranty on it. I'd hate to throw it in the trash.

Wolverine · Jul 12, 2005

Damn, I thought I was the only one that had problems with my HF Aluminum race jack. Mine never would bleed right. All along I really liked the jacks from AC Hydraulics. Never could justify the price. Now, after being dissatisfied with a craftsman regular jack and a HF aluminum jack I should have just purchased the AC Hydraulics jack to begin with!!!!!!!!! You get what you pay for don't ya!

Now go get an AC Hydraulics jack and be done with it!

stioc · Jul 12, 2005

I already have a AC Hydraulics jack

I bought it when the HF jack was working fine. I just like to have two jacks, specially a lightweight one to bring to the track with me.

Now to be fair the HF aluminum jack was working just fine until I had to screw with it :lol:

awdirtdrifter · Jul 12, 2005

I've had the HF aluminum racing jack for about a year now. So far so good. Holds pressure just fine, but I haven't messed with the oil or anything. I'm not expecting it to last forever but for now, it works great.

armoredsaintt · Jul 14, 2005

well you do get what you pay for, i know most jacks are made in china anyways. buy a Snap-On Jack

eschoendorff · Jul 14, 2005

awdirtdrifter said:
I've had the HF aluminum racing jack for about a year now. So far so good. Holds pressure just fine, but I haven't messed with the oil or anything. I'm not expecting it to last forever but for now, it works great.

Me too. I use mine just like it came out of the box. I don't intend to mess with the jack oil... if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Rickster · Jul 14, 2005

HF's OK for some stuff, but I shy away from any HF items that involve them and my safety. Snap-On would be a great company to buy a jack from if you don't mind paying 3 times the price and then if it broke, having to carrying it around in your trunk hoping to spot a Snap-On truck on the road somewhere. IMO for the average guy, I'd recommend Craftsman, the quality and price are pretty reasonable and the stores are everywhere.

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/prod...ite=&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&subcat=Lift Equipment

malibu101 · Jul 15, 2005

That Craftsman jack works OK. I have one and have a problem with it--where the handle attaches to jack, look how high off the floor it is and the handle does not go all the way down to the ground. There has been more than once that I got the jack in position and then could not pump the handle.
The the good trusty Lincoln comes out and always does whatever I need it to do

SteveL · Jul 22, 2005

You should have a local shop that works on floor jacks. I had a 30 yr old Walker fixed by a local shop for around $50. It needed new seals and fluid. Worth a phone call or two to save the HF.

GearHead_1 · Jul 22, 2005

O.K. this probably won't be the most popular answer but if you are a little adventurous I would bet dimes to donuts that this will work. I used to work for Sears years ago. Their 3 ton jacks came back with some frequency. They typically would just trash a jack that had been taken back under warranty. I couldn't stand to see what looked like a brand new jack being thrown in the trash. The manager would scrape the craftsman identity from them and sell me these jacks for $5 or $10 bucks. I would take these jacks apart and never had one that I couldn't fix. This info is only for a jack that has good seals and isn't leaking. If the seals are bad it's a different story. You have to have a vice that is on a solid mount and either a big crescent wrench or a pipe wrench. Once you have mounted the hydraulic cylinder in the vice you can break the main nut loose and the top comes off and the piston is easily removed. In almost every instance the screen that was designed to protect the needle valve had come apart and one of the screen wires was stuck in the needle valve. Clean it out bleed the jack and Wahlah. They work. A few times I found some other dirt in the valve and this may be the case once your old fluid was removed, something that was sitting quietly in the bottom of the resovoir was disturbed and ended up in the needle valve. I've fixed dozens of these this way. I still have 4 of these 3 ton jacks and they work great.

stioc · Jul 22, 2005

Thanks, so far your answer is the most helpful. I'll give it a shot...but may be a while since its been over 94 degrees here.

GearHead_1 · Jul 22, 2005

I understand the heat thing. It's been as high as 106 here. I'll be interested to hear how it turns out. These rams just aren't that sophisticated.

stioc · Jul 22, 2005

Ouch! no need to fire up that grill, just bake stuff right on the hood of the car eh ?

Yeah some parts of CA are just as hot from what I read, at least the heat here is not humid. I could never survive upstate NY, Florida etc.

Rollman · Jul 22, 2005

Why don't you bring it back to HF if you have a store close by that is .

avsfan733 · Jul 27, 2005

i like my craftsman 3 ton sure its not light and it takes a little more handle movement to make it pump but it works well enough...gets the car in the air. I think i may try that thing with the manager at sears though

the outside temp thing on my buddies car said 98 yesterday...im in rochester NY

ironroad 9c1 · Sep 5, 2005

yea i have the craftsman lightweight jack and its doing the same thing ,can't get a full pump cause ther eis so much air ,no matter what i do to it .i now hate it.

rhandwor · Dec 6, 2008

Go to http://www.searspartsdirect.com/ And look for the parts list. Usually the relief valve is leaking through. But first check that it isn't leaking around the cylinder. Buy the assembly and it should thread in easy job. I only worked on older jacks my 1 1/2 ton. Look over the parts and take apart before you order.

jimvannoy · Dec 6, 2008

Did you bleed it after you changed the fluid?

jimvannoy · Dec 6, 2008

jimvannoy said:
Did you bleed it after you changed the fluid?

Oops I see you tried that. I have the same HF jack and it works fine. I never changed the fluid though. Had to bleed it when I first got it.

Merkava_4 · Dec 6, 2008

Jee ... I wonder if the guy got his jack going ... SINCE IT'S BEEN 3 YEARS SINCE HE STARTED THIS THREAD. :wtf:

Stanger · Dec 6, 2008

Jee ... I wonder if the guy got his jack going ... SINCE IT'S BEEN 3 YEARS SINCE HE STARTED THIS THREAD.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Quite a few threads have been getting dug up lately. I like that people are using the search feature, but it is ok to start a new, current thread if you have a question.

Stupid HF aluminum jack won't hold pressure

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