Old Montgomery Ward (Hein Werner) floor jack leaks

Maxgle · Jan 9, 2013

Hello all,
I just joined after reading about the floor jack rebuild by Hiball. Well my father in law gave me a Montgomery Ward 1-1/4 Ton jack made by Hein Werner in 1976. It worked for about 27 years with no trouble. Then in 2003 it started leaking. I went to Jack X change in Anaheim CA, bought a few parts, but it has never worked without leaking. So when I used it, I would put some hydraulic jack oil in it, use it, then let is down, put it over in the corner on some newspaper, and it would leak about 4 oz while down.
After reading about the foreign jack rebuild by Hiball, maybe I can rebuild this one. I have included some documentation on the jack. Referring to page 1 of the parts list, it leaks at the interface between the packing nut and the ram, and it leaks out of part number 12- plug. I have also enclosed a few pictures. If it didn't leak it would work fine. I would appreciate any suggestions about how to stop the leaks, and then about rebuilding.
Thanks for your help.

GeorgiaHybrid · Jan 9, 2013

As long as the ram looks good (no pitting) and the remaining parts are fine (sounds like they are), a seal kit should get your jack back into good running condition. Steven (Hiball) is a great guy to do business with, is always helpful and quick to offer a solution (as long as he is not playing with his choo-choo....)

Send him a PM on this forum and he should get back to you soon.

albaran · Jan 9, 2013

I rebuilt a similar Hein-Werner jack. The seal kit cost almost as much as one of those $69 HF aluminum jacks (which I also bought.) It was the principle of the thing to rebuild it. The hardest part is getting the large ram packing nut off. We had to heat it up until it was bright red before we could get the nut to move. Now I have one jack that will probably last another 30 years and a new one that I doubt will last anywhere near that.

pop pop · Jan 9, 2013

Maxgle said:
Hello all,
I just joined after reading about the floor jack rebuild by Hiball. Well my father in law gave me a Montgomery Ward 1-1/4 Ton jack made by Hein Werner in 1976. It worked for about 27 years with no trouble. Then in 2003 it started leaking. I went to Jack X change in Anaheim CA, bought a few parts, but it has never worked without leaking. So when I used it, I would put some hydraulic jack oil in it, use it, then let is down, put it over in the corner on some newspaper, and it would leak about 4 oz while down.
After reading about the foreign jack rebuild by Hiball, maybe I can rebuild this one. I have included some documentation on the jack. Referring to page 1 of the parts list, it leaks at the interface between the packing nut and the ram, and it leaks out of part number 12- plug. I have also enclosed a few pictures. If it didn't leak it would work fine. I would appreciate any suggestions about how to stop the leaks, and then about rebuilding.
Thanks for your help.

If you could do me a favor, post a picture of the handle. Especially the top end and bottom end showing any detail. I have one of these and it has a round rod and is missing the end "cup". I think the rod should be key stock and I need to know what the cup looks like.
Thanks.

GeorgiaHybrid · Jan 9, 2013

albaran said:
The hardest part is getting the large ram packing nut off. We had to heat it up until it was bright red before we could get the nut to move.

You need to get (or make) the correct tool to remove that spanner nut. It's not normally a good idea to heat jack parts up that hot.

sjdon67 · Jan 9, 2013

GeorgiaHybrid said:
You need to get (or make) the correct tool to remove that spanner nut. It's not normally a good idea to heat jack parts up that hot.

What is the correct tool?

Smiliesafari · Jan 9, 2013

I've resealed my Blackhawk sj2's more than once. They're both over 30 years old. I use a 4 ft pipe wrench to remove and replace the end. I also use the Permatex Form-A-Gasket to seal the reservoir. Seem to work good.

GeorgiaHybrid · Jan 9, 2013

sjdon67 said:
What is the correct tool?

It depend on the nuts.... Some are hex, some are two or four slot spanner nuts and some just need a big pipe wrench. I'm talking 2 to 3 feet of wrench as these are really torqued down tight to well into the 100's of foot pounds. I use an impact on the spanner styles and make a "socket" from a large impact socket or a piece of pipe with a plate and nut welded on the end.

Those will look something like this:

The wrenches I use are boxed end slugger wrenches that are used with a 15 pound sledge. The others take a 3' Rigid pipe wrench with an extension added to get enough leverage on them.

You also need a good vise anchored very well for the last two options.

Hiball · Jan 10, 2013

That style of HW actually has offset holes on the outside of the tank nut, I use sliding pin spanners/adjustable pin on them and bigger Weavers along with a lot of cylinders. The Op contacted me this afternoon, I've got him started in the right direction to remedy his problematic Jack.

As David already mentioned, A good stationary Vise + Good fitting Wrench/Socket + Leverage = Golden

albaran · Jan 10, 2013

I know that heating up the nut is a last resort, but I can assure you that the nut would not come off any other way. We had a pipe wrench with a 4 ft extension on that mother (after soaking it for days in penerating oil) and it wouldn't budge until it was red hot. I called a few hydraulic cylinder repair shops to do the job before we tried it and they all refused to take the job. Anyway, it seems to be ok now without any leaks.

Maxgle · Jan 10, 2013

Thanks for all your responses. I contacted Hiball via PM, but before I got a reply, I decided to take a few things apart and see what I could find. I removed the main spring, the spring pin, and then removed the packing nut with a tool I made about 9 years ago. (The tool was made with a 1 in pipe coupling, a 1 in. pipe plug, and a hacksaw to cut two nubs that fit into the packing nut slot.)
After removing the packing nut, I saw the packing was non existent. I removed that packing, made another packing from a 1/8 rectangular Palmetto Packing, installed the packing with a little white grease, and then replaced and tightened the packing nut. I then put in about 3 oz. of jack oil, moved the lifting arm up and down several times, then let it sit over night on newspaper, and no leaks were evident around the packing nut. I still saw a little leak 1 or 2 drops around the plug, so will have to work on that. I will put it under load and see if I get any leaks.
Also for the gentleman who wanted to see the handle, I have included a picture of the bottom end. The rod is 0.265 in. square keystock. I have also included the parts list for the handle.

Maxgle · Jan 16, 2013

Pop Pop
Here is a picture of the top end of the handle with the knob and the 1/4-28 jam nut as shown in the parts list.
Hope this helps. If you need more information, just let me know.
Maxgle

pop pop · Jan 19, 2013

Maxgle said:
Pop Pop
Here is a picture of the top end of the handle with the knob and the 1/4-28 jam nut as shown in the parts list.
Hope this helps. If you need more information, just let me know.
Maxgle

Great help! Only thing better would be if you offered the parts! ;-)

VC455 · Jun 26, 2018

I'm not working on this but for my general knowledge and the help of others, did I misunderstand something or are those little pin-drive nubs, expected to take:

'....2 to 3 feet of wrench as these are really torqued down tight to well into the 100's of foot pounds...'

I'm sure I misunderstood something seems those little Nubs would just sheer off??

GeorgiaHybrid said:
It depend on the nuts.... Some are hex, some are two or four slot spanner nuts and some just need a big pipe wrench. I'm talking 2 to 3 feet of wrench as these are really torqued down tight to well into the 100's of foot pounds. I use an impact on the spanner styles and make a "socket" from a large impact socket or a piece of pipe with a plate and nut welded on the end.

Those will look something like this:

The wrenches I use are boxed end slugger wrenches that are used with a 15 pound sledge. The others take a 3' Rigid pipe wrench with an extension added to get enough leverage on them.

You also need a good vise anchored very well for the last two options.

Old Montgomery Ward (Hein Werner) floor jack leaks

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