Floor jack will only lower with weight applied

[tojan19]

I have a 3.5ton michelin jack (generic steel import) that works great going up, but will only lower with weight on it. When I drop my vehicle, after I pull it out, I have to step on the saddle really hard to get it to finish lowering. I know we have some jack experts here. How do I fix this?
Thanks.

 

[Hiball]

Is the quick lift lift portion of the Jack still fully operational? I only ask because this jack utilizes a small rod that runs inside the ram and I've seen them rupture/bulge due to someone adjusting the high speed bypass down to much. Obviously that could cause a drag issue, but more than likely would prevent the quick lift feature from working properly. Outside of that, too much oil can cause issues, maybe pull the fill plug and see what happens, make sure there isn't any visual linkage binding, lube the pivots etc... I've seen internal seal/cylinder issues that can cause problems, but generally you will notice poor lifting performance.

 

[tojan19]

The quick lift works fine. I've never opened the oil system and it's never leaked. It used to drop fine.

 

[Hiball]

The quick lift works fine. I've never opened the oil system and it's never leaked. It used to drop fine.

I should have added.... Sometimes things just go wrong internally, without finding some externally indicating a binding issue, the only way to rule out a Internal problem is to tear into it.

 

[tojan19]

Any good guides on how to disassemble/reassemble. I've never torn into a jack before.

 

[BLACK DEATH]

Are parts available for this jack?
I broke the u joint that's inside the handle for the dump.