Flooded Floor Jack

[alton]

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Nice to meet y'all. I'm an old retired geezer who believes in DIY. I try to fix anything I can. I have a Craftsman floor jack (Japan made), Model # 328-12002 and it was under water. Now the arm will not stay up at all. I suspect the oil is topped off with water, just not sure of that yet. How do I completely drain the jack, flush it and then refill it? I don't want any water left in there. It is a 1 1/2 ton, green jack. Thanks for any and all comments. Alton

 

[CNGsaves]

Welcome to GJ. Recommend using the SEARCH feature up near top of website in black line with keyword "jack" or "jack rebuild" as lots of threads are out there.

There's couple jack guru's on site (Hiball and Edgar) that will likely provide you some info . . . . . but more details like Model # of jack ought to be provided.

Finally . . . might as well get your first . . . .

 

[Norcal]

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Nice to meet y'all. I'm an old retired geezer who believes in DIY. I try to fix anything I can. I have a Craftsman floor jack (Japan made) and it was under water. Now the arm will not stay up at all. I suspect the oil is topped off with water, just not sure of that yet. How do I completely drain the jack, flush it and then refill it? I don't want any water left in there. It is a 1 1/2 ton, green jack. Thanks for any and all comments. Alton

That jack I believe is a Norco jack, at least the Japanese models were & quite a decent jack.

 

[bazzateer]

More likely the water is topped off with oil as oil generally floats on top of water. I'd take pics of all the fixings etc and then just strip the thing down. Clean it up, renew seals etc then re-assemble. Fill with new oil, bleed it if required and away you go.

 

[Gary S]

Hopefully it hasn't had water in it long enough to rust the cylinder walls.

 

[theoldwizard1]

There is a rubber plug is on top of the cylinder. Pry it off with a screwdriver. ust turn the jack over to drain. Refill with fresh hydraulic jack oil. Pump it up and down several times to work any air out and top off again.

The pivot points on the frame do get dirty/rusty and will inhibit the operation. Disassemble the frame, clean and lube with grease.

I have the same jack and it is over 40 years old. Works great.

If you have any pitting inside the cylinder it probably is not worth having it bored. Light rust could honed out, but you will need new seals. You need a big pipe wrench and an even bigger cheater bar to get the tank nut off.

 

[alton]

Thanks Wizard1. The plug looked like a nut until I got it cleaned up. Used pliers to get it off. The inner thing that moves looked nice and shiney. Could not see any fluid at all. Where could it have gone? Oh well, soon as my back gets better I will try draining and refilling it. I could not get the rubber plug back in, my darn thumb is just too weak I guess. I will try working it in with a screwdriver. Alton

 

[FoMoCoPower]

I have two of these,one like you describe and a long-reach one. The smaller one I bought at a garage sale for $5 non working. It was left outside and the cylinder had water in it. I drained it,refilled it with fresh fluid and have had zero issues with it.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Thanks Wizard1. The plug looked like a nut until I got it cleaned up. Used pliers to get it off. The inner thing that moves looked nice and shiney. Could not see any fluid at all. Where could it have gone? Oh well, soon as my back gets better I will try draining and refilling it.

Mine would not reach max lift. I just topped it off.

After general cleaning and lubing the external pivot points it is as good as new.

I could not get the rubber plug back in, my darn thumb is just too weak I guess. I will try working it in with a screwdriver. Alton

That's how I did it ! Just don't jab yourself !

 

[alton]

Thanks for another reply Wizard1. The wife picked-up some jack oil for me today so I decided to just top it off and see if I got lucky like you did. Not to be though. I could see the fluid moving through the fill hole so I guess something is working in there. I did notice that my plunger kept appearing with rusty oil on it....I think I even saw some bubbles at the plunger opening. I guess I will try tearing it apart.....someday. alton

 

[theoldwizard1]

I did notice that my plunger kept appearing with rusty oil on it....I think I even saw some bubbles at the plunger opening. I guess I will try tearing it apart.....someday. alton

Before you start, read this AT LEAST TWICE !

Overseas Jack Rebuild Help Tutorial

That is actually a pretty good jack. DON'T SCRAP IT !!