Allied floor jack comes down too fast when released

[Bobbie]

I have a 10 year old Allied 3 1/2 ton SUV floor jack, picked it up at a garage sale. Looks like it was rarely used.

It pumps up fine and holds fine, but it lets down way too fast once you turn the release lever, almost a free fall. I've tried very carefully to see if I could let it down slowly by very slowly turning the release; no difference, it comes down fast.

I mistakenly opened the valve on the left that has balls and one spring; I think the previous owner also opened this area. What I don't know is whether anything is missing. I found two check balls and one spring, no spring between the two balls, just a larger one that sits on the larger top ball.

I also drained the old fluid and put in new, but no difference in how it lets down.

Any ideas what is causing my jack to fall once it is released?

 

[Bobbie]

Following up after being away (OCONUS in the sandbox for part of that). I ended up finding a NOS replacement hydraulic unit from the company that bought out Allied's old stock, it was very inexpensive, something like $35 plus shipping (3 years ago). The new unit may let down a tad better, but only a tad; I still have to release the handle extremely slowly a micro-inch at a time while bracing myself well (to keep total control of the handle), and only then can I get it to let the vehicle down slowly. However it is only a matter of a fraction of a degree between letting a vehicle down slowly and it crashing down. I'm now in the market for a new floor jack, any suggestions?

 

[retDAC]

Welcome back and hope you had a good tour. There is something about your problem in another thread, but may take a lot of reading jack repair threads.

I have a 20-30 year Craftsman Jap 2 ton that does the same unless one is really careful.

 

[Hiball]

Its a Common Occurrence with Jacks that utilize Gear to Gear transfers on the Release handle. I really think the problem is 2 part, The 1st issue is that the Teeth over time get a little bent from being used/Over tightened and its creates a binding action that is hard to control. The Next Issue is that the majority of the "Yasui based" jacks today use a Ball/Seat versus the older Needle/Seat and the ball/return vein just doesn't provide enough oil resistance to allow a controllable decent, Especially if the initial release is Herky/jerky do to the teeth being bent.

 

[Bobbie]

Can I get an expert opinion on floor jacks that use an extended saddle, or a lift bar to distribute loads? Here's what I'm using now, the custom made saddle works perfectly for my SUV.