Craftsman 4 Ton Floor Jack Leaking

[Recon03]

I have bought 2 floor jacks in 4 years which I can't believe I was an ASE Master mechanic I had floor jacks I used daily for 15 plus years, and this one went today .. I'm not buying another, I see alot of people on the sears site saying the same thing but unsure if there is a fix for it or not.


I only used this particular jack that broke this time about 15 times in about 2-3 years. for personal use. I used it today it jacked the car up just fine.. My nephew lowered the SUV, which was fine, he keep turning the handle, I asked him what he was doing, pull the jack from under the truck,he did,the jack did not lower fully until I put my foot on the pad and then it did, when it did, oil came pouring out from the release value..

If anyone knows if there is a fix that would be great this thing cost 200 bucks...and I will not buy another craftsman jack again but I would like to fix it, since my funds are limited since getting cancer and retiring as a mechanic..


Thanks in advance.

 

[engineer031]

If the handle was turned too much it may cause the oil to leak out im not sure just wait for the expert to read your post

 

[EDGAR]

The 4 ton Craftsman is repairable. Either you need to source the seals locally, if needed, or online. See below link for seal kit from HCRCnow.com. The problem could have been some temporary blockage of the release oil gallery. Have you tested it again to see if it does the same thing? I am assuming that the jack is the black and yellow 4 ton, as SEARS replaced that one with a 4 ton rebranded TORIN (with poor reviews, so apparently not better than the Shinn Fu made 4 ton). This jack is basically the same as the Michelin G 735, the Pro Lift G 737 and the Banner B6350 but with some cosmetic differences. The difference in ton ratings is due to different adjustment of the ram overload bypass (mentioned below).

As for the oil coming out the release, you are supposed to turn the release no more than two turns, otherwise the release o-ring can come out of its hole and oil will be spilled if this happens.

For any other cause for the jack not to work properly you may have to take it apart and check for parts out of spec. Try not to mess with the valves (overloads) if possible, as these require adjustment. To check the seals, you don't need to touch the valves. If you do, do not mess with the steel balls seats; any damage to the edge of the seats will render the jack useless right away. Clean the seats with brake cleaning spray if needed and lubricate these right away to prevent rust which can damage the seats. The seats have to provide a perfect seal with the ball, otherwise the jack will leak down. Also, don't damage the balls, as any nick could make the valve leak. The balls should be bright and shiny with a smooth surface, and bearing quality; no low quality general-use carbon balls if replacing these.

To adjust the Quick lift overload bypass, back it off completely and then start turning it half a turn at a time and test . Do this until the arm lifts quickly, then stop. The quick lift system does not has the capacity to lift any heavy load. Its only job is to quickly lift the lift arm up to the chassis, no more, then it should start bypassing right away. Trying to use the Quick lift bypass to help lift the vehicle load faster will result in damaged o-rings and backups washers.

The main ram overload can be adjusted by bottoming the bypass and then backing it out about one and a half turns. It could be a little less or it could be a little more, but in general, no more than two turns out. Equipment is needed to set it as per the factory specs.

Manual with parts breakdown below.

http://www.hcrcnow.com/uploads/drawings/blackhawkbannerb6350.pdf

KIT

http://www.hcrcnow.com/shop/seal-kits/blackhawk/5899

 

[Hiball]

These jacks generally have a forked keeper that keeps the release stem from backing out too far, with that said its just a thin piece of metal that is secured to the block via a small screw. It's completely plausible that one could overcome the clamping force of this keeper by continuing to rotate the handle, thus pulling the stem oring out of the sealing surface area. It's a easy check, so I would first check to make sure the forked piece is still there, if so remove the bolt securing it, completely unthread the release stem, which probably will require removing the handle assembly, then verify the condition of the oring/threads etc.. Replace if needed, Re-check the oil level, quick bleed session and attempt to operate the Jack prior to digging deeper into the other components.

Good Luck on fixing your Jack and your battle with Cancer.

 

[Recon03]

As for the oil coming out the release, you are supposed to turn the release no more than two turns, otherwise the release o-ring can come out of its hole and oil will be spilled if this happens.


This is what thought when I noticed my newphew doing this I was like stop!! I had a feeling this may have happen when I looked at the release value it ws laying there and not threaded..

 

[Recon03]

These jacks generally have a forked keeper that keeps the release stem from backing out too far, with that said its just a thin piece of metal that is secured to the block via a small screw. It's completely plausible that one could overcome the clamping force of this keeper by continuing to rotate the handle, thus pulling the stem oring out of the sealing surface area. It's a easy check, so I would first check to make sure the forked piece is still there, if so remove the bolt securing it, completely unthread the release stem, which probably will require removing the handle assembly, then verify the condition of the oring/threads etc.. Replace if needed, Re-check the oil level, quick bleed session and attempt to operate the Jack prior to digging deeper into the other components.

Good Luck on fixing your Jack and your battle with Cancer.

Thanks, ya I think it is the issue I will check on Sunday my nephew I was teaching him to fix his own car, so he did not know better, and I didnt realize until it was to late that he was turning it so much.