Car Jacks Leaking Down

[Markfothebeast]

I have had this problem with several jacks that I eventually tossed out. I've never gotten too involved in replacing cheap jacks but now I could use a couple.

I have 8 jacks, all box store return Torin brand. Every one of them bleed down. Is there a common issue that does this? Such as a seal? Maybe air inside?

 

[Markfothebeast]

I just saw the sticky on the repairs.

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[gdocktor3]

Just curious, why do you have 8, if they all leak down?

 

[Showkey]

Just curious, why do you have 8, if they all leak down?

CUZ....they were a great deal

 

[469 runner]

They are all ****. That is why they leak. Made in China. Look at those lift pads. Those things are toys. I wouldn't use those if they were given to me.

 

[Roberts210]

They leak down because the little ball(s) or pointy valve that holds the pressure is making poor contact with it's seat, probably because of poor manufacturing tolerances or maybe dirt in the system. Or maybe the body of the valve block is aluminum and just too soft to hold the pressure of the valve for long. They are probably is not worth fixing, but who knows. GJ member Hiball is the floor jack expert here. Perhaps he will comment on your jacks.

 

[Roberts210]

Just curious, who sells these?

 

[Roberts210]

I just googled them. Seems like they sell new for $18.88 at Walmart. What did you pay for the lot?

 

[bmwpowere36m3]

Sell on CL and buy 1 good one...

 

[APEowner]

The leak down is a safety feature. It keeps all the other crappy parts from being overloaded for any length of time.

 

[469 runner]

They also leak down because they use cheap O-rings as a sealing surface for the piston. Not like a U-Cup which has a large sealing surface and actually expand under pressure making them seal even tighter. O rings have a very narrow sealing surface and depend on an interference fit to seal.

 

[Markfothebeast]

Picked up the small 2 ton units for $2 each. The larger "low profile" 2.5 ton were $4. There's still about a pallet left of the small ones.

I have a little experience disassembling the hydraulic cylinders but I can't recall what was involved. I remember a check ball and a few small gaskets.

I only played around with 2 of the 2.5 ton units. No fluid leaking out on those two. However, I opened the bleeders, pumped them up and fluid drizzled out. So perhaps that means maybe there's air in the piston? I haven't quite got that far into it.

I understand these are all Chinese made and rebranded by Torin. Like a Harbor Freight special. I really would like to fix the 2.5 ton jacks becuse I fix a lot of vehicles.

I'll have to pull a cylinder out and see what's going on. Maybe there's a gasket missing or hopefully something just loose causing a leak[emoji1] .

When I do find a fix for each one I'll definitely make a YouTube video.

 

[redmondjp]

Sheesh . . . these crappy disposable jacks have been around since the 1970s and people are still buying them.

My dad bought two back in the late 1970s and they had similar problems back then. On one of them, the threads on the lowering valve stripped off in short order, rendering the entire thing useless.

You get what you pay for. The American-made Lincoln floor jack that I bought new for $200 (on sale from $400) back in 1982 is still working perfectly fine. Don't try to polish a turd.

 

[Markfothebeast]

They leak down because the little ball(s) or pointy valve that holds the pressure is making poor contact with it's seat, probably because of poor manufacturing tolerances or maybe dirt in the system. Or maybe the body of the valve block is aluminum and just too soft to hold the pressure of the valve for long. They are probably is not worth fixing, but who knows. GJ member Hiball is the floor jack expert here. Perhaps he will comment on your jacks.

I believe I understand what you mean. The threaded pressure release bolt (which is turned by the end of the jack handle) has a little ball just underneath like a check ball inside. I remember that much. When tightened, the ball is pressed in and maintains pressure, or something like that. I have a ton of small o rings and gaskets if maybe they forgot to put them in.

If anything, maybe I can just buy new hydraulic cylinders for the larger 2.5 ton jacks. Maybe Harbor Freight has a deal on them. I had the same Torin 2.5 ton awhile back and it was a decent unit when it worked properly.

 

[bmwpowere36m3]

I get it.... he repairs a lot of vehicles, but probably doesn't have enough stands. Multiple jacks, multiple vehicles, + leaking jack = Darwin Award

 

[Markfothebeast]

Sheesh . . . these crappy disposable jacks have been around since the 1970s and people are still buying them.

My dad bought two back in the late 1970s and they had similar problems back then. On one of them, the threads on the lowering valve stripped off in short order, rendering the entire thing useless.

You get what you pay for. The American-made Lincoln floor jack that I bought new for $200 (on sale from $400) back in 1982 is still working perfectly fine. Don't try to polish a turd.

I understand that. I wouldn't buy a new one at the store. I can't complain for $2.

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[redmondjp]

I understand that. I wouldn't buy a new one at the store. I can't complain for $2.

I have learned (finally), after wasting too much of my life on stuff like this, that even if somebody pays you to take it, it's still not worth it in most cases. Hence the polishing a turd comment. If they were all high-quality jacks that you could sell for $200 each when finished, then that would be a different story.

My grandparents lived through the depression and I've got too many of their habits still ingrained in me - so I totally understand where you are coming from (and have two full garages and a back yard to prove it). It comes down to this: you have so many hours left on this earth - are these jacks worth any of that time, regardless of what you paid for them initially?

 

[Roberts210]

$2 is almost scrap value. You didn't do too bad. So if you're adventurous dive into one and see what is happening inside. The check-valve on these jacks is probably just a ball bearing held against the seat by a spring. When the jack is pumped up, fluid pushes against the ball bearing and compresses the spring allowing fluid to flow past the ball. When pumping stops the spring is supposed to push the ball back against the valve seat, closing off all fluid. Obviously something is allowing fluid to flow past when the ball is seated on the seat. Find out what it is.

 

[Markfothebeast]

$2 is almost scrap value. You didn't do too bad. So if you're adventurous dive into one and see what is happening inside. The check-valve on these jacks is probably just a ball bearing held against the seat by a spring. When the jack is pumped up, fluid pushes against the ball bearing and compresses the spring allowing fluid to flow past the ball. When pumping stops the spring is supposed to push the ball back against the valve seat, closing off all fluid. Obviously something is allowing fluid to flow past when the ball is seated on the seat. Find out what it is.

Thanks!! After looking at a few diagrams, these don't appear to be too complex.

 

[6PTsocket]

They also leak down because they use cheap O-rings as a sealing surface for the piston. Not like a U-Cup which has a large sealing surface and actually expand under pressure making them seal even tighter. O rings have a very narrow sealing surface and depend on an interference fit to seal.

That may be true but the piston seal is not what holds the jack up. The piston pushes hydraulic fluid past a one way check valve. If that leaks the jack comes down. If the jack won't go up, then I would look at the piston seal.

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[Markfothebeast]

I took the fill plug and valve plug out on this 2.5 ton here. Everything was there and appeared fine. I purged the cylinder of air. Bam! I have a working jack.

The smaller 2 ton unit i pulled the fill plug out of was extremely low on fluid. Perhaps it leaked during shipping or jus poor quality control?

 

[6PTsocket]

I paid $225 for my Lincoln/Hein Werner You really did good. No problems here either. Now it is made by the Chinese company that bought it, in North Carolina with "domestic and imported parts" for a much higher price.

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[MikeF2316]

A jack I bought 20 years ago from Costco was doing that. The seat was very poorly machined, looked like the bit was chattering. I smoothed it out with a grinder bit, and it's been fine ever since.