This reminds me of a saga I went through with an old Hein-Werner. I was given an old Hein-Werner 1-1/2 ton jack by a gentleman who had terminal cancer. It was the jack he had used for years in his home shop. He did not want any thing for it, because he had the jack rebuilt a few months prior at the local area "premier" hydraulic shop, brought it home and it promptly leaked on the floor of his pristine shop. The jack had been parked in the corner of his shop since the fluid leak. He thought the jack might be fixable and gave it to me. At the time, I was going to order a Milwaukee Hydraulics jack and I would not have messed with the Hein-Werner, but decided to see about having the leak fixed. The jack still had the nice shiny sticker from the local "premier" hydraulic repair service and they had stamped the jack with a date of the rebuild. I took it back to the original local area "premier" hydraulic shop who had "completely rebuilt" the jack a few months prior (20 miles round trip), explained the situation, and they said they would take a look at it. I called them after a few days to check the status and they informed that the jack was done. I asked what the problem was and they said it just needed rebuilt. ( For the second time in 4 months!) The cost: $220 plus tax! I then asked if it had required numerous replacement parts. No, just a set of seals was the answer. I kept my mouth shut and picked up the jack and took it home. (20 miles round trip). The next day, I was in the garage and noticed a 2" OD spot of oil under the jack. I move the jack over a foot and the next day I have a second 2" spot of oil on the floor. I decide to test over night under load. Now I have a 12" spot on the floor. I call the local "premier" hydraulic repair service and calmly explain what is going on and they say bring it back and they will take a look. (20 miles round trip). I call a couple days later and they tell me the jack is fixed. I go to pick up the jack (20 miles round trip) and the owner of the local "premier" hydraulic repair service comes up to me and explains the reason for the leak. It seems that one of the small cup seals has to pushed past some threads and seal had been damaging by the "new guy" (his words, not mine) when installing. Then the owner acts like he is doing me a favor by saying there would be no charge for this jack's 3rd visit to their "crackerjack" (my words, not his) repair facility in 4 months. He also told me to "spread the word" (his words, not mine) about his "world class" (my words, not his) repair facility. I kept my mouth shut and picked up the jack and took it home. I guess $220 plus tax for a seal kit just gets you the shop flunky these days! Finally a jack that works and does not leak! All that was required was 80 miles of driving, 3 hours of my time, and $220 plus tax. It was a lot of time and money, but I think I owed it to the gentleman who gave me the jack.
