Arcan floor jack failed

[Kidd-7]

I was directed over here from another forum to seek the wisdom of hiball. The pic below is the jack I have, it's about 3-5 years old and as of Saturday it will not longer stay up. When I pump the handle the platform goes up and down.
I placed the front of the car up on stands, changed the oil then went to jack the back up and rotate tires. One of the pistons was stuck on the jack, I was able to get that piston to move and raised then lowered the back of the car. When I went around front to get he stands out the jack will not stay up now.

Any input or guide to repair this would be appreciated.

 

[Walkers]

I have the same jack. It is virtually the same as the HF jack. You can disassemble them and scour the internet for parts. Luckily for me there is a guy in town that rebuilds jacks that has sold me parts for them. In the end, just buying a new one is often not that much more, since you are going to pay $59 for the parts and a $29 shipping and handling fee.

 

[jayemm]

If it's like the jacks I've worked on, if there are no external leaks I'd suspect a check ball inside is sticking open and the fluid just gets pumped back to the reservoir instead of building pressure. You might try opening the valve fully and rapidly pumping the handle a bunch of times to get the fluid circulating. Might dislodge some debris on the check ball seat if that's the cause.

ETA--- just because it doesn't work does not mean a seal kit and rebuild is necessary. The lift cylinder is a single acting cylinder, meaning hydraulic pressure only operates it in one direction (raising). It's operated in the other direction(lowering) by retract springs and weight of the vehicle. This means that typically there is no main shaft seal at the end of the cylinder, only piston seal internally. If the piston seal is leaking it will come out of the end of the cylinder and onto the floor. If no leak then assume piston seal is good. The little piston(s) the handle pushes inward can be removed and their seals checked since those do the actual pumping. Just my experience.

 

[OccupantRJ]

Raise each end one at a time and let it slam to the floor. It may release a stuck check valve.

 

[Kidd-7]

Thanks for the insights here, I'll be giving this a try and report back.

 

[Hiball]

Any kind of teeter-totter behavior when pumping the handle is a sure sign of a valve seating issue. I suspect that Jack will use a cartridge style valve system versus an individual Ball/seat.

I would first make sure the oil level is correct, Handle in the Release position and pump the handle 8-10 times to attempt to flush any air/particles thru the circuit.

Recheck the Oil Level, add as necessary.

Handle in the Go position and operate the ******** load to full extension and lower.

If you continue to have a pump piston that sticks, you will need to pull that piston and verify seal condition as something is causing it to hang.

The Cartridge style valve systems can be finicky, to say the least.

 

[crguy]

Is your own safety not worth more than a cheap import jack? I have a 40 plus year old Walker that still works as new.

 

[Kidd-7]

Any kind of teeter-totter behavior when pumping the handle is a sure sign of a valve seating issue. I suspect that Jack will use a cartridge style valve system versus an individual Ball/seat.

I would first make sure the oil level is correct, Handle in the Release position and pump the handle 8-10 times to attempt to flush any air/particles thru the circuit.

Recheck the Oil Level, add as necessary.

Handle in the Go position and operate the ******** load to full extension and lower.

If you continue to have a pump piston that sticks, you will need to pull that piston and verify seal condition as something is causing it to hang.

The Cartridge style valve systems can be finicky, to say the least.

I had some time to play with this today. I added some oil and pumped it a ~10 times. It now will go more up than down, but is still going down with lifting the handle. One note, when I opened up the fill hole there was air released, not sure if I need to purge more air out or not. I'll work on this some more as time permits.

 

[Hiball]

I had some time to play with this today. I added some oil and pumped it a ~10 times. It now will go more up than down, but is still going down with lifting the handle. One note, when I opened up the fill hole there was air released, not sure if I need to purge more air out or not. I'll work on this some more as time permits.

I’m guessing it’s a sealed unit, so there will always be some headspace air in that reservoir.

Is this up/down happen when it’s off load or only when trying to lift a load?

 

[Kidd-7]

It happens when off load. It will incrementally raise overall. Meaning it goes up, come down a little then goes up and down a little. Overall after a few pumps it higher, stays up and would hold my weight (which ain't much compared to a car).

 

[Marlin]

Is your own safety not worth more than a cheap import jack? I have a 40 plus year old Walker that still works as new.

How is it a safety issue? You use jack stands, correct?

 

[Hiball]

It happens when off load. It will incrementally raise overall. Meaning it goes up, come down a little then goes up and down a little. Overall after a few pumps it higher, stays up and would hold my weight (which ain't much compared to a car).

Ok, So just a little insight on how dual pump jacks operate. The pump pistons are different sizes, the larger of the two is the speed side, its job is to bring the saddle up to the load and once resistance is felt it goes into bypass.

The smaller of the two is the power side, it works all the time and does the heavy lifting when the speed side bypasses.

Which one of the Pistons was stuck in the down position? Was it the power side? I’m wondering if it’s not a valve issue and it’s a seal issue on the power side, Then again this would more than likely show signs of leakage. Generally upper seat issues can be identified pretty easily by simply putting the jack under load and trying to lift a vehicle. If the teeter totter action results in Handle feedback it’s a an upper seat issue. Lower seat issues can cause poor performance because the oil isn’t being redirected to the cylinder, whether that’s because the valve is bad, a piece of **** is lodged in the seat etc.

Let’s try allowing the lift arm to collapse all the way down, handle in the release position, pump to 8-10 times. Turn the handle to the lift position, foot on front axle, reach down and manually pull the lift arm as high as you can. Lower the jack and see if performance improves.

 

[Kidd-7]

Here a pic from when it was stuck. I believe that is the smaller piston, hard to tell from the pic though.

 

[ajchien]

Here a pic from when it was stuck. I believe that is the smaller piston, hard to tell from the pic though.

Take a picture looking at it from the back like this example. In this example, the small piston is on the left of the picture.

 

[joendoodle]

1st recommendation get a steel floor jack (HFT currently has a 3 ton model for <$100), if that is too much $$ get a (much less expensive 5 or 10 ton bottle jack (as a backup) .
-aluminum floor jacks are great for light weight, but I am old school and put more trust in the strength of steel), if it isn't our primary jack, at least it is good to have a backup>
If / when you have the time / ability fix your current jack, if it is worth keeping.

I have an old, Craftsman 2 ton, single piston floor jack, it cost nearly $300 in 1985.
I have had to replace parts a couple of times over the years, comically the shipping always cost more than the parts.
Over 10 years ago I bought a "Piitsburgh" (HFT) 3 ton floor jack.. it was around $80 on sale. The Pittsburgh took over primary jack duty and has been problem free, and looks to be better built than the "old Craftsman".
.
Last summer HFT had their "heavy duty" 3 ton Low Profile Long Reach Daytona jacks marked down to <$190, so I added a bright Orange one to the collection.. even though the Pittsburgh has never let me down, it takes over secondary duty, (If I need to lift more than one wheel at a time I use 2 (or more) floors jacks and 2 (or more) jack stands .The craftsman is now 3rd in line.. It still works fine.
As a backup I still have a scissors jack, and a couple of bottle jacks in my garage, not to mention the "factory" supplied OEM jacks in each vehicle
.
Some folks bad mouth HFT products, but my experience is their (steel) floor jacks are high quality and a bargain.
(Just like Sears / Craftsman used to be, HFT has ample stock, are conveniently located and good value sale prices)
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I read a comment re: why would you trust your life to (an alleged) inferior floor jack?
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The poster did specify he had his car on jack stands, and is asking for our insights, re: a fix for his jack issue.
Several responses addressed his concerns and suggested some good ideas hats off to those folks.
.
remember these 3 rules:
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All mechanical devices need to be properly maintained (the posters diagnosing a problem is the 1st step in proper maintenance)
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Any mechanical device / tool can fail
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Just like rigging and crane work NEVER put anything you value (i.e. your body) under a load with only a single safety.
.

When I use the floor jack / jacks to lift the load (car/ truck), then lower the load's frame onto substantial (properly configured) jack stands, leave the floor jack in place and "locked", then and only then do I put any of me under the load.

 

[Firstram]

I modified 8 of the Daytona 3 ton jacks for a film effect. Every single one of them had shavings in the pumps!

If this jack uses check balls to hold the ram up, they can't be accessed without complete disassembly. It is easy to pull the pumps out of their cylinders if you remove the handle and yoke.

Dump the oil and leave the fill plug out. Cover the fill hole with a rag.

Open the valve that lowers the jack so it doesn't slam up!

Wrap a rag around your blow nozzle to seal it in the pump bores and blast air through each side.

Now close the lowering valve!
Pour enough oil directly into the pump bores to almost fill them and push each piston down with your hand. The jack should raise a little and stay if the check valves are clear. You may need to do it a few times to get the trash out.

It's a messy process, wear your safety glasses!