Craftsman Floorjack

[Fudog]

I was given a craftsman red racing style 1.5 ton floorjack from my father and I have tried everything to get this to pump up but not having any luck. I don't have an owners manual and the jack is probably 6 years old. has not been used much. Confused ?

 

[zkling]

A picture or model number would probably help the jack experts. Have you checked the fluid level and bled the jack?

 

[theoldwizard1]

Does the release valve operate (twist in both directions).

 

[EDGAR]

The thread in the pump for the release stem is made from aluminum as the pump body is also aluminum. It is rather easy to strip these threads if too much force is applied to the handle trying to close the release much more if the jack was bleeding down after lifting a weight or is not lifting at all. You will know if the threads are stripped if the handle turns and turns and does not stops anywhere. A broken universal joint can do the same; only the top half spins.

Usually, when a jack does not lift it is a problem with seals, a problem with the one way valves or the overload bypass ( like a missing steel ball, for example), a problem with a leaky cylinder, and when everything else fails, then the released is considered faulty.

About the missing valve steel ball, that could happen if someone tried to add oil to the pump and, instead of opening the oil fill cap, opened a valve cap by mistake, removed the contents inside to try to add oil there and then lost a steel ball in the process; it has happened before. Also, there should be a steel ball under the release; if this is missing, there will be no lifting.

When a jack bleeds down, or does not lifts, about 99% of the owners think it is a problem with the release. It never crosses their minds it is some other problem and they really crank on the handle, trying to close the release, with no results. And they think like this because they never see an external oil leak so they think the seals should be OK, but the problem is, the leak is internal.

 

[enrare]

Is there a bleed procedure for these Craftsman jacks? I have a 3.5 Ton Craftsman Professional (Black and Yellow one I got about 10 yrs ago). Problem I was having is it would do the single pump up to bottom of vehicle then you would pump your arm off trying to get the jack to lift the vehicle, seemed to work better with quick pumps on the handle. Never noticed it to leak down once vehicle was raised. Jack has never leaked oil. A few weeks ago I decided to add a little jack oil I got from HF and now when you pump the handle the arm will raise but if I stand on the saddle and pump the handle the arm dosn't raise or do anything. Hoping that maybe there is air in the system?????

 

[Hiball]

Is there a bleed procedure for these Craftsman jacks? I have a 3.5 Ton Craftsman Professional (Black and Yellow one I got about 10 yrs ago). Problem I was having is it would do the single pump up to bottom of vehicle then you would pump your arm off trying to get the jack to lift the vehicle, seemed to work better with quick pumps on the handle. Never noticed it to leak down once vehicle was raised. Jack has never leaked oil. A few weeks ago I decided to add a little jack oil I got from HF and now when you pump the handle the arm will raise but if I stand on the saddle and pump the handle the arm dosn't raise or do anything. Hoping that maybe there is air in the system?????

Unfortunately seals wear.. It can't always be fixed by "bleeding" or changing oil etc, making adjustments etc.. It's sounds like in your case, that the main ram seal isn't creating enough vaccuum to fill the main cylinder when lifting off the high side center tube, thus you are having to fill the void off the low side valve, a weak pump Oring could amplify the excessive pumping. As far as bleeding... Correct level of oil, handle released, pump 6-10 times to flush the circuit, check oil level, handle in the lift position, go Crazy..

 

[enrare]

Unfortunately seals wear.. It can't always be fixed by "bleeding" or changing oil etc, making adjustments etc.. It's sounds like in your case, that the main ram seal isn't creating enough vaccuum to fill the main cylinder when lifting off the high side center tube, thus you are having to fill the void off the low side valve, a weak pump Oring could amplify the excessive pumping. As far as bleeding... Correct level of oil, handle released, pump 6-10 times to flush the circuit, check oil level, handle in the lift position, go Crazy..

I've done the pumping of the handle with the release valve open, was hoping maybe these jacks had a different method of bleeding. When that didn't work I kind of figured the hydraulics took a dump and from doing a little bit of research pretty much came to the conclusion these Craftsman jacks are either not repairable or not worth the effort. Sad since the jack has seen little use, if it wasn't for the scratches on the saddle and paint missing on the wheels from rolling around the garage it looks brand new. Hell when I'm not using it, due to the limited space in my garage I store it back in the box on the bottom shelf of my storage shelf to get it out of the way!

 

[Hiball]

I've done the pumping of the handle with the release valve open, was hoping maybe these jacks had a different method of bleeding. When that didn't work I kind of figured the hydraulics took a dump and from doing a little bit of research pretty much came to the conclusion these Craftsman jacks are either not repairable or not worth the effort. Sad since the jack has seen little use, if it wasn't for the scratches on the saddle and paint missing on the wheels from rolling around the garage it looks brand new. Hell when I'm not using it, due to the limited space in my garage I store it back in the box on the bottom shelf of my storage shelf to get it out of the way!

Unfortunately jacks that don't see regular use, generally have seal failures sooner than jacks that get used everyday. I know it doesn't make any sense, but when they sit they lose there elasticity and harden prematurely.

 

[EDGAR]

Are you sure the Craftsman Professional is 3. 5 tons and not 4 tons? Because the black and yellow was 4 tons. Anyway, THEORINGSTORE.COM sells some repair kits for Craftsman jacks. If you know the model number, them you may be able to buy one for your jack. These jacks are repairable but Sears say these are not because they are not in the business of repairing old jacks, they are in the business of selling you a new one.

http://www.theoringstore.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=799

Check below a partial list of the CRAFTSMAN kits available on THEORINGSTORE.COM

BY the way, Craftsman is now selling a new 4 ton model made by TORIN, and a "new" 3.5 ton model made by SHINN FU, which uses the same pump as the previous 4 ton made by SHINN FU.

Sometimes, people mess with the overload bypasses and other times these become loose over time. An ram overload bypass that is not adjusted correctly might do what you describe. Check below the parts breakdown for the Shinn Fu pump that is used on the 4 ton Craftsman jack as well as other jacks made by Shinn Fu. Does it looks like yours? If it does, you can try by tightening the threaded plug under the sealing cap, shown in the parts breakdown and identified as "ram overload bypass", until it bottoms out and then back it out 1.5 to 2 turns. If it does not change the situation, then you might have a bad u-cup seal, since it is 10 years old, and although some better quality u-cups can last longer, yours might be broken or simply just worn enough that it does not seals properly.

You may also have a case of a worn pump piston o-ring. The size of this o-ring is 3.0 mm x 16.5 mm. You might get away with a 3.0 x 16 mm. The 3 x 16.5 is available from THEORINGSTORE.

You really don't have to buy a kit, you can replace the seals with aftermarket u-cups and O-rings and save some money in most cases.

The jack shown below in the parts breakdown link, is basically the same 4 ton Craftsman jack and these both use the same pump.

http://www.shinnfuamerica.com/Owners Manual/G-737 Professional3-12TonSpeedyLiftGarageJack/2763

 

[90zcar]

Am I reading that right??? A lot of those seal kits are 40-100 dollars?
Why on earth would u buy one of them to fix a jack when a little more you would have a brand new one?


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[enrare]

Are you sure the Craftsman Professional is 3. 5 tons and not 4 tons? Because the black and yellow was 4 tons. Anyway, THEORINGSTORE.COM sells some repair kits for Craftsman jacks. If you know the model number, them you may be able to buy one for your jack. These jacks are repairable but Sears say these are not because they are not in the business of repairing old jacks, they are in the business of selling you a new one.

http://www.theoringstore.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=799

Check below a partial list of the CRAFTSMAN kits available on THEORINGSTORE.COM

BY the way, Craftsman is now selling a new 4 ton model made by TORIN, and a "new" 3.5 ton model made by SHINN FU, which uses the same pump as the previous 4 ton made by SHINN FU.

Sometimes, people mess with the overload bypasses and other times these become loose over time. An ram overload bypass that is not adjusted correctly might do what you describe. Check below the parts breakdown for the Shinn Fu pump that is used on the 4 ton Craftsman jack as well as other jacks made by Shinn Fu. Does it looks like yours? If it does, you can try by tightening the threaded plug under the sealing cap, shown in the parts breakdown and identified as "ram overload bypass", until it bottoms out and then back it out 1.5 to 2 turns. If it does not change the situation, then you might have a bad u-cup seal, since it is 10 years old, and although some better quality u-cups can last longer, yours might be broken or simply just worn enough that it does not seals properly.

You may also have a case of a worn pump piston o-ring. The size of this o-ring is 3.0 mm x 16.5 mm. You might get away with a 3.0 x 16 mm. The 3 x 16.5 is available from THEORINGSTORE.

You really don't have to buy a kit, you can replace the seals with aftermarket u-cups and O-rings and save some money in most cases.

The jack shown below in the parts breakdown link, is basically the same 4 ton Craftsman jack and these both use the same pump.

http://www.shinnfuamerica.com/Owners Manual/G-737 Professional3-12TonSpeedyLiftGarageJack/2763

My jack dosn't look like the pic. It is Sears Model # 50145 and from the info you gave the seal kit is $81. Not really sure if it's worth the cost to fix. I have in front of me a $79.99 HF coupon for their low profile 3 ton jack. Thanks for the information, I will look into the repair kit/parts option a bit more and maybe the overload bypass you mentioned. If all else fails I have the factory jack that came with my truck to fall back on and keep looking on Craigs list for an older quality jack

 

[EDGAR]

I think I remember which one is it. Check the pic below. Is that it?

Anyway, early Sears jacks were made in Japan, later they change to the china manufacturer Shinn Fu Corp., and the one shown here was also sold in a black and yellow color scheme.

If the jack is the same, it is a rebranded Omega and this is a good jack, because it uses the much preferred u-cup seal instead of the o-ring and o-ring retainer as the Harbor Freight jack uses, for the main ram. If I were you, I would repair the one you have.

The u-cup size in that jack should be either 24 (ID)x 40 (OD) x 8 or 10mm(H) or 22 x 40 x 8 or 10mm. The 22 x 40 is more readily available, the other is a little more difficult to get, but any good hydraulic shop should be able to order you one.

You don't have to buy a kit, just measure the seals and check your local hydraulic shop to see if they have them.

You should change the ram o-ring ( inside the big nut, not shown), the pump piston o-ring, the u-cup, the quick lift o-ring and the release o-ring. The other stuff you can retain. Some of the O-rings might be substituted by SAE sizes as some are interchangeable. The ram o-ring , for example, is 3.5mm but it can use a 1/8" SAE size cross section.

http://www.shinnfuamerica.com/Owners Manual/25030B 3TonMagicLiftServiceJack/2352

The parts breakdown linked above was revised on March 2013 and some parts were left out. The next to the last picture shown below shows the parts breakdown when it was revised on November 2007. The 2013 one does not show the front quick lift o-ring nor the parts related to it.

 

[enrare]

Thought I could find an actual pic of my jack somewhere on the net but all I could come up with is the owners manual / illustration http://www.manualslib.com/manual/494394/Craftsman-214-50145.html

 

[Steinmetz]

Am I reading that right??? A lot of those seal kits are 40-100 dollars?
Why on earth would u buy one of them to fix a jack when a little more you would have a brand new one?


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Agree. Send the POS to the scrap pile before you become its next victim. You don't really want a jack that some "kitchen mechanic" tinkered with, rendering it unusable.

 

[Hiball]

Agree. Send the POS to the scrap pile before you become its next victim. You don't really want a jack that some "kitchen mechanic" tinkered with, rendering it unusable.

Newer doesn't always mean better... Obviously a man must know his limitations, if he doesn't feel comfortable servicing a jack, he might be better served buying new every few years.

 

[90zcar]

I'd rather spend 100 on a new jack that I atleast have a warranty period to return then spend 70 on some orings that may or may not fix it


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[EDGAR]

FOR STEINMETZ and any other person who has never fixed anything.

So, what you are saying is that anyone here who has repaired a jack is a "kitchen mechanic"? Because there has been a lot of members here who have repaired jacks on their own.

It is a worthless effort if you come here only to criticize instead of helping others.

At least we know now of someone who has never fixed anything in his life. You probably are in the wrong forum because this forum is mostly for people wanting information on how to fix things. Does this also apply to air compressors, lathes, milling machines, vises, and any other tool ever invented. Apparently, there is a lot of "kitchen mechanics" here, the way you see it.

I hope you don't work on cars, 'cause you are going to kill someone or kill yourself.

 

[Hiball]

I'd rather spend 100 on a new jack that I atleast have a warranty period to return then spend 70 on some orings that may or may not fix it


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The Reason those Seal kits are so Expensive is because Someone took the time to break down the Jack, Measure all the seals and then assemble a Kit to sell to the General Public. Truth be Told.. In the Majority of these Quick Lift jacks, there probably isn't $15 dollars worth of Parts, and Maybe less if Orings are bought in any Quantities to speak of. Im Not being critical of any of these resellers, They have a business to run along with Taxes, Insurance and Wages but there is a reason I never got into assembling kits for those jacks because the Majority of Consumers are simply going to buy New every few years versus rebuild there Jack and I don't blame them, Hell... I used to make a pretty penny off all the Local Auto Repair shops, Most have embraced the "Buy New every Few Years" routine, whether its a Tax incentive, Liability Reason etc..