They were stored horizontal. I do like the idea of installing a zerk and forcing some grease in there. I will have to dig out my gun. Haven't used it in a while, most modern joints have become self lubricating. Excellent suggestion, I'll try to find some self tapping zerks for it. Much appreciated, was exactly the type of reply I was hoping for.
Quickjack stuck in up position...Rust?
- Thread starter J5hort
- Start date
BillK
Well-known member
Something just does not make sense about this. Like stickshift said I simply cannot believe that rust in the pivots is holding this thing up. Especially both of them. I think you are missing something.
Do you know anyone at a business that has a fork lift ? In the Quckjack video they show someone putting a pallet of something on the pair of jacks to show how strong they are. Maybe you could do the same thing to get them to go down ?
Do you know anyone at a business that has a fork lift ? In the Quckjack video they show someone putting a pallet of something on the pair of jacks to show how strong they are. Maybe you could do the same thing to get them to go down ?
I only had that happen once, with a car on it. Turned out the return hose got pinched under the QJ. Maybe something is blocking the return line? QJ says to not raise them all the way without weight on them. Have you called them yet? I have an early 5000, garage kept, and it works fine.
I'll reiterate, there is either a really simple fix we are all somehow missing, or these things are scrap. A new set of frames is cheap compared to a car lift accident. No way would I consider cutting and modifying the support pivot.
Do not have access to forklift. I have seen some suggesting ratchet straps, but I think more pressure is needed. Agree that rust only is holding these up. I'm guessing that the inner tube (which is welded to the uprights on each side of the upper and lower pieces) is not completely round and when raising to top they are acting like a cam or lobe in the bore. Thought was to cut free and replace with steel rod much like trhe hydraulic ram is attached to the upper frame piece.
Old Man Roger
Well-known member
I asked if they were stored in the up position, you replied they were stored horizontally. That leads me to believe I wasn’t clear with my question.
What I was trying to figure out was were they stored for a long time in the jacked up position they are stuck in now, or did you jack them up when you took them out of storage?
If you jacked them up and then they got stuck, that would kind of steer me away from thinking rust was the problem. If they were stored in the jacked up position, then rust would seem a little more plausible, but I would think if it were rust, a guy your size jumping on it would make it move.
Im leaning more towards something got bent, and when you jacked it up you jammed it. I guess kind of like what you mentioned with the cam effect.
Either way, more force is needed to get them down..lol
What I was trying to figure out was were they stored for a long time in the jacked up position they are stuck in now, or did you jack them up when you took them out of storage?
If you jacked them up and then they got stuck, that would kind of steer me away from thinking rust was the problem. If they were stored in the jacked up position, then rust would seem a little more plausible, but I would think if it were rust, a guy your size jumping on it would make it move.
Im leaning more towards something got bent, and when you jacked it up you jammed it. I guess kind of like what you mentioned with the cam effect.
Either way, more force is needed to get them down..lol
Sorry, they were stored collapsed and horizontally. I was swapping out relay and solenoid and had them extending up to test. This is when they got stuck in the up position. I'm getting where you are going. Wondering if I can tip sideways and push against a hard wall with something.
Does not look like rust thru, just surface rust. I think they are still structurally sound. Would obviously test them once problem is corrected.
Old Man Roger
Well-known member
Ya, even a little rust in the pivot points that might not have been a problem with the weight of a car on them could possibly jam them up with no weight on them. And then you jacked them up even further with the bottle jack.
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
How did they extend and then suddenly rust solid?
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Old Man Roger
Well-known member
Ok I got it. Put something like a 2x12 or 2x10 on top of it, put the floor jack on top of the 2x12 or 2x10, put the end of the jack over one of the pivot points, then wrap a rope or a bunch of straps around them both.
When you pump the floor Jack it will pull the top and bottom together nice and slow. Maybe use the bottle jack on the other end so you can do both sides a little at a time?
When you pump the floor Jack it will pull the top and bottom together nice and slow. Maybe use the bottle jack on the other end so you can do both sides a little at a time?
Old Man Roger
Well-known member
My guess is there is a mechanical feature that keeps it from going up to high, and maybe even a a little crud in that area jammed it up?
jayemm
Well-known member
I don't know how heavy that frame is but have you tried tossing it around a bit, flipping it end over end onto the concrete, rolling it over side to side, letting it slam the floor from a vertical upright position etc trying to loosen the joints.
sounds like a dehumidifier is in your Garage future.
whateg01
Well-known member
If only you had another thing that weighed a few thousand pounds that you could set on top of it...
Old Man Roger
Well-known member
In all fairness, it could be pretty sketchy lowering it with a car. It may go perfectly, but still risky. I think my idea with the jacks is much safer and controlled.
Bottle jack did not cause problem. I used my fat ****, sledge, racing jack, air over hydraulic jack. Nothing is budging this in either direction. It is gonna take some heavy equipment to get these down. I have few more ideas/suggestions before I get the sawzall out.
Old Man Roger
Well-known member
Again, maybe I wasn’t clear. What I meant was lifting them with no car on them let them get stuck. If there was a car on them when you first lifted them, the weight of the car probably would have been sufficient to overcome the friction of what ever caused them to stick. And then lifting them even higher with the floor jacks just means you’ll need to over come a little more distance of friction.
Old Man Roger
Well-known member
And I would guess your bottle jack is good for quite a few tons. You tried it to open them, my way would use the same force to close them.
Old Man Roger
Well-known member
Think of it like this pic I found online, but the chains would be hooked to the bottom of the Quick Jack and the bottle jack would be on top of it.
whateg01
Well-known member
Ok, I'm just here for the show now. This is hilarious.
Old Man Roger
Well-known member
What I wanna know is where did he hit it with the sledge hammer? I’m wondering if it didn’t help tighten the tight spot.Ok, I'm just here for the show now. This is hilarious.
tncatadjuster
Well-known member
I would lever them down with a long timber, that's what Archimedes suggested.
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Do they move ok and then all of a sudden stop?
Old Man Roger
Well-known member
His were stored for a while, he used the hydraulic rams to open them and then they wouldn’t close. They could very well just be rusty like he suspects.
whateg01
Well-known member
If that's the case, he really hadn't tried very hard to get them to close. Or he's really going about it wrong. (And forcing them open farther is absolutely the wrong way to get them to close. Now, back to my popcorn...)
johnre
Well-known member
That would by design only be the hydraulic ram - the frames have to be free to move. If they had a built-in stop and this was the first item to limit, they would get bent by the ram.
I've never looked at mine that closely, but my guess is that without the ram in place, they could go all the way up and over the top.
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Old Man Roger
Well-known member
I was gonna ask that exact question.
johnre
Well-known member
Looking at this original image from the OP, I'm pretty well convinced they would do this. I see no mechanism here that limits the rotation.
And yet, look at it, it's just standing there without the ram attached:
Old Man Roger
Well-known member
Would the uprights being different lengths stop it from going any further than what we see? I can’t do the math in my head.lol
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
They are the same length otherwise it wouldn't lift level
Old Man Roger
Well-known member
They don’t look it. Could be an optical illusion, but in the pic above it looks the one on the right is longer. Also kind of looks like the top horizontal mounting point for the one on the right puts it at more of an angle.
Old Man Roger
Well-known member
Here’s my theory. 
The lift with no ram or safety bar is designed to stop relatively close to what we see in the pics, there was some rust in the pivots but the hydraulic rams were plenty strong enough to overcome any resistance caused by the rust.
The lift was lifted without the weight of a vehicle on it, the manual says it takes about 300lbs to lower the lift, but with the rust in the pivots, it would have been more than 300lbs.
Now add the fact that it was forced even further past it’s designed range with a bottle jack and the rust in the pivots, and you got yourself a stuck lift.
Wrap a chain around it and a bottle jack, and I bet it goes down.
People have suggested putting a car on it, I think that would work too, but the only way I would do that is if all the hydraulics and safety bars were reinstalled, then the car was jacked up high enough to slide both lifts in place and slowly lower the car onto the lift, then lower it as normal.
The lift with no ram or safety bar is designed to stop relatively close to what we see in the pics, there was some rust in the pivots but the hydraulic rams were plenty strong enough to overcome any resistance caused by the rust.
The lift was lifted without the weight of a vehicle on it, the manual says it takes about 300lbs to lower the lift, but with the rust in the pivots, it would have been more than 300lbs.
Now add the fact that it was forced even further past it’s designed range with a bottle jack and the rust in the pivots, and you got yourself a stuck lift.
Wrap a chain around it and a bottle jack, and I bet it goes down.
People have suggested putting a car on it, I think that would work too, but the only way I would do that is if all the hydraulics and safety bars were reinstalled, then the car was jacked up high enough to slide both lifts in place and slowly lower the car onto the lift, then lower it as normal.
Old Man Roger
Well-known member
Notice the top plate and the bottom are different lengths, I think that allows the rear upright to be longer than the front, while still allowing it to rise and stay level, but once it reaches a certain point it causes a mechanical bind.
This all just eyeballing it from the pics, I don’t really know ****.lol
This all just eyeballing it from the pics, I don’t really know ****.lol
Old Man Roger
Well-known member
I just watched a few videos and they do appear to be the same length, so disregard everything I’ve said.lol
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I just measured mine (the 7k lb version) and they are the same length. I think the Pic is distorting it
Old Man Roger
Well-known member
Would it be possible for you disconnect a ram to see if there’s a mechanical stop?
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Lol. Not a chance.