Any uses/repurpose for older car jack?

[Michael_in_DE]

I've got two Jacks one is a 3T craftsman (see below) and an older 3T Dayton.
They both leak. The repair kits are pricey and not something I've done before and they lack features that newer Jack's have. I'm looking at scraping them.

Are there any repuposing ideas for these?
Are there and decent parts I should take off besides the handles?

 

[steaks&anvils]

Maybe save the steel wheels?

 

[paulsomlo]

Put it in the classified section here, ask $10 each, local pickup.

 

[bwringer]

Put it in the classified section here, ask $10 each, local pickup.

That's exactly what I did, except $10 less.

I needed to finish what I was doing, so I had already bought a replacement that same day. And I didn't have the curiosity, inclination, time, or space to fool with fixing the old one.

Happily, a local gent soon contacted me and hauled it away. A few weeks later he reported success. I was happy to be rid of it, he was happy with a nice jack and things he learned, and we were both happy that a useful tool stayed out of the landfill or scrapyard.

 

[Michael_in_DE]

I also would be tempted to sell /give it away...but then I worry that some poor guy will grab it and use it as is..and then it falls on him.

 

[bwringer]

I also would be tempted to sell /give it away...but then I worry that some poor guy will grab it and use it as is..and then it falls on him.

That's why I gave mine away here on GJ; I could be confident that it would go to someone fully aware of the problem and who would be interested in rebuilding it, not some CrackList schmuck.

 

[64merc]

If you want to scrap it, I would keep the handles. On more than one occasion, I've seen cheap jacks for sale missing the handle.

I had an old Lincoln that I had intended to repair, but never did. I even had the repair kit and everything. I finally sold it to some guy on Offerup for about the price of the kit. He wanted something cheap to use in his backyard working on cars, and seemed pretty confident he could do the repair.

Come to think of it, I had an older late 90's Craftsman that I gave to my neighbor. I made it really clear that it was broken.

 

[ajchien]

I’ve saved old handles as cheater bars. I’ve saved old axles as large punches. Leveling bars and frames got used for scrap metal projects. Rear casters have been repurposed. Nuts and bolts have just gone into the bin. I haven’t found a good use for old front wheels, springs, or hydraulic units. I still have a bunch of leftover parts.

After replacing a few jacks over the years, and then realizing that a used 70 year old rebuilt Walker … outlasted all of my previous jacks combined, I decided that was enough waste and I would learn how to repair them. It’s been a good learning experience, I’ve certainly learned what features/characteristics I want in a jack now.

My suggestion is to just keep one broken/leaky jack around, take your time on it as a super-low priority side project, and learn something new.

 

[engineer2]

I bought a new Daytona low profile on sale for $170. I power washed my motley assortment of (small, medium & normal size) 30 year old Sears floor jacks and advertised them as a lot of 3 for $100. One had a very minor seepage which I disclosed. Sold the next day.
I would have kept them but, none would go under the front bumper of our daily drivers.

 

[paulsomlo]

I’ve saved old handles as cheater bars. I’ve saved old axles as large punches. Leveling bars and frames got used for scrap metal projects. Rear casters have been repurposed. Nuts and bolts have just gone into the bin. I haven’t found a good use for old front wheels, springs, or hydraulic units. I still have a bunch of leftover parts.

After replacing a few jacks over the years, and then realizing that a used 70 year old rebuilt Walker … outlasted all of my previous jacks combined, I decided that was enough waste and I would learn how to repair them. It’s been a good learning experience, I’ve certainly learned what features/characteristics I want in a jack now.

My suggestion is to just keep one broken/leaky jack around, take your time on it as a super-low priority side project, and learn something new.

Agreed - give one away, keep one and try your hand at rebuilding it. If it goes awry, you can always give it away in pieces and half the work will be done for the next person. The 3T Dayton - what's that look like?

 

[isb cornbinder]

I took the hydraulics out and repurposed them for a motorcycle wheel clamp

 

[JradM]

I'd be tempted to keep it around for scrap. There's probably some decently thick side walls, some steel wheels, there's the Y part that connects to the handle, springs... I don't have any single project ideas for it, but I bet parts of it would get used if they hung around my shop for awhile.

 

[engineer2]

I'm thinking about a way to turn a car jack into a wood splitter. No mods to the jack, just a fixture to roll the car jack into. I have two kindling splitters I can sacrifice.

 

[JradM]

I'm thinking about a way to turn a car jack into a wood splitter. No mods to the jack, just a fixture to roll the car jack into. I have two kindling splitters I can sacrifice.

For the record, that was version 1. I later converted it to an RV jack, which both had a lower gear ratio (more log-splitting power) and higher lift range (so it could push even a tricky log all the way to the top).