Arcan Floor Jack— ok need help

[braddd123]

Ok long story long, got an Arcan 3 1/2 ton floor jack from a family member who was moving and was going to get rid of it. It doesn’t have any “miles” on it due to them not really being a tool/car guy. He said he changed the fluid in it and it wouldn’t raise up after that so he removed the flat head set screws in rear of unit thinking it needed to be bled but then just put them back on and gave up.

Now I have the jack, from everything I’ve read you need to remove the metal sheet metal plate on top of jack under it is a full rubber plug. The fluid should be level with the top of the hole? I added some fluid (bars stop leak) and replaced the plug jack my truck up with it twice. Removed the plug to check fluid level. It was a little low again. Filled again till even and replaced plug. Jacked truck up again. When I went to lower the jack it shot the rubber plug out and a gyser of fluid with it.
So now here I am admitting I need some guidance and resisting urge to trash this thing. I does also seem like it takes more effort than normal to jack up my truck(95 Ford F-250 utility bed). I have two other arcana and they lift it with ease. I’ll try and add pictures too to help illustrate what I’m referring to as well. Any help is greatly appreciated

 

[Professional Tool User]

I've never had any issues with my Arcan jack. Without looking at the manual, my first instinct would be to attempt to bleed the air out of the hydraulic fluid. There should be a fitting on the jack for doing so.

 

[braddd123]

Heres the photos the 3rd shows the set screws he thought he needed to remove. The 4th shows the plug I’ve been filling and removing trying to “bleed” the system.

 

[braddd123]

Anyone? Anyone know anything about floor jacks?

 

[4xdog]

You'll have some *very* knowledgeable help come along before long. No worries there.

Why do think your family member felt the need to change the oil in a jack with only light use? I'd have expected the factory fill to be good for a couple of decades...

 

[braddd123]

Hi 4xdog, I said the same thing. I think he was just overly active with preventative maintenance.

 

[Qualitytools]

I can tell you that the flat screws are for adjustment and not for bleeding

 

[paulsomlo]

If you pull the rubber plug out of the reservoir, you'll see the cylinder in there - the fluid level should just cover that cylinder. And make sure the lift arm is down when you fill it. To bleed it, open the release valve, and pump the handle, maybe 10x.

 

[Wamsutta]

To bleed the jack, all you do is remove the fill plug and pump the handle with the lift arm down and the jack in full release. You should never have to remove those screws unless you're rebuilding the jack, or more specifically, the hydraulic unit.

 

[braddd123]

Well finally figured it out. Had it in the wrong place the whole time, finally put found out where this thing belongs. After attempting what a couple people had explained on here, the rubber plug shot out and jack oil sprayed me in the face. It’s on to the dump. Thank you for some people trying to help, was really hoping to have some versed in this subject. It’s been a while but I seem to remember a member in here who rebuilt hydraulic jacks and would even sell you the proper seal assembly if you needed to rebuild yours.

 

[paulsomlo]

Well finally figured it out. Had it in the wrong place the whole time, finally put found out where this thing belongs. After attempting what a couple people had explained on here, the rubber plug shot out and jack oil sprayed me in the face. It’s on to the dump. Thank you for some people trying to help, was really hoping to have some versed in this subject. It’s been a while but I seem to remember a member in here who rebuilt hydraulic jacks and would even sell you the proper seal assembly if you needed to rebuild yours.

Well, that's a shame - one of the local forum members here would probably take it and save it from the landfill.

 

[4xdog]

Well finally figured it out. Had it in the wrong place the whole time, finally put found out where this thing belongs...

Hiball is the jack expert around here you're recalling. You've looked through his rebuilding/service sticky threads, yes?

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Well finally figured it out. Had it in the wrong place the whole time, finally put found out where this thing belongs. After attempting what a couple people had explained on here, the rubber plug shot out and jack oil sprayed me in the face. It’s on to the dump. Thank you for some people trying to help, was really hoping to have some versed in this subject. It’s been a while but I seem to remember a member in here who rebuilt hydraulic jacks and would even sell you the proper seal assembly if you needed to rebuild yours.

That's a waste. I'm sure someone would be happy to take it off your hands if you let people know your location.