Rebuilt my Walker 784

[bungy42]

I finished rebuilding my old Walker 784 jack last night, and felt the need to show it off.

Here is what I looked like when I got it.

I picked this bad boy up about 4 years ago from the free section of craiglist. That's right, I got it for free.

I've also got a pair of Walker 767s for $15 that needed some love. Here's a pic of the one that was in "good" shape.

And this is what it looks like now after being used for a few years.

Its twin was in FAR worse shape when I got it. It had been left outside for a number of years, probably decades. It had no wheels and was a completely rusty mess. I spent some time making new parts in the machine shop, and now it looks just like the one above. However, it only partially works. It'll jack up ok with light loads on it, but anything over 300 pounds (or so) won't go up. The overload spring was broken when I got it, so I picked up a new one. I suppose it's possible that they sent me a spring that isn't stiff enough. Is there any way to check that it's the correct stiffness? I'd love to get it back in 100% working order finally.

 

[Bull]

That first, blue and white jack is just beautiful. What a classid design and paint scheme!

 

[MReynolds]

The overload spring was broken when I got it, so I picked up a new one. I suppose it's possible that they sent me a spring that isn't stiff enough. Is there any way to check that it's the correct stiffness? I'd love to get it back in 100% working order finally.

Find HiBall on GJ, he can help you out with that old Walker.

 

[kc-steve]

First, it's the wrong shade of blue and should be navy blue and yellow. Am I wrong? Second, You did a great job of cleaning it up though. I have wanted to do something like that for a long time but can't find an old walker jack. Thanks for the pix.

Steve

 

[bungy42]

That first, blue and white jack is just beautiful. What a classid design and paint scheme!

Thanks, Bull. I'm hesitant to use it because I don't want to scratch the paint.

 

[Bigpigdave]

First, it's the wrong shade of blue and should be navy blue and yellow. Am I wrong? Second, You did a great job of cleaning it up though. I have wanted to do something like that for a long time but can't find an old walker jack. Thanks for the pix.

Steve

Actually, I believe the early Walkers were blue and white. Great job on the jack resto. I love these jacks.
Dave

 

[bungy42]

First, it's the wrong shade of blue and should be navy blue and yellow. Am I wrong? Second, You did a great job of cleaning it up though. I have wanted to do something like that for a long time but can't find an old walker jack. Thanks for the pix.

Steve

Oh, I'm sure the color scheme is all wrong. The blue ought to be pretty close, as I had it matched from the few flakes that were left on the hydraulic unit. But the main jack showed some signs of it being red at some point. There's not exactly a lot of information about the colors online that I could find, so I did the best I could.

 

[CRTDI]

See Pgs. 47, 48 and 53 of this very interesting thread and you can get a really good idea of what the 784 looked like originally.

http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=51567&highlight=show+jacks&page=47

Bungy, I think you did a great job with both of your jacks, especially the 784. Most people don't take the time and effort to finish out the art deco lines which really make these old jacks look great. Excellent job!!!

 

[Hiball]

First, it's the wrong shade of blue and should be navy blue and yellow. Am I wrong? Second, You did a great job of cleaning it up though. I have wanted to do something like that for a long time but can't find an old walker jack. Thanks for the pix.

Steve

Walker was Blue and White Originally, Lincoln switched it up to Blue and Yellow, Hein Werner kept the Blue and Yellow theme. Im not ruling out that the Very Early Walkers were Red, Im seen a few of late that appeared to have Red Paint under multiple paint jobs.

However, it only partially works. It'll jack up ok with light loads on it, but anything over 300 pounds (or so) won't go up. The overload spring was broken when I got it, so I picked up a new one. I suppose it's possible that they sent me a spring that isn't stiff enough. Is there any way to check that it's the correct stiffness? I'd love to get it back in 100% working order finally.

You dont get a "Overload" spring in any kit to my knowledge, Ive never seen a Overload spring break as far as that goes, They are very.. very... very stiff springs and cant even be compressed without Pliers or a Vise or the adjusting nut that sits on top of them.

 

[CRTDI]

Walker was Blue and White Originally, Lincoln switched it up to Blue and Yellow, Hein Werner kept the Blue and Yellow theme. Im not ruling out that the Very Early Walkers were Red, Im seen a few of late that appeared to have Red Paint under multiple paint jobs.

I don't know if my assumption is correct, but I've always assumed that original red Walkers were marketed through Snap-on dealers. Much like Wilton vises are painted red when marketed through Snap-on.

 

[Hiball]

I don't know if my assumption is correct, but I've always assumed that original red Walkers were marketed through Snap-on dealers. Much like Wilton vises are painted red when marketed through Snap-on.

You are correct to a point Dave, The Newer stuff was Red and you can always tell a Snap On hydraulic jack by the "YA" Code, for instance a Walker/Lincoln 93642 would be a YA-642 and it would have Snap on's tag versus a Walker/Lincoln. Im not real sure what Year Snap on started selling Walker/Lincoln Jacks, But im 100% certain the 784 pre-dated the Partnership by at least 30 years.

 

[bungy42]

Walker was Blue and White Originally, Lincoln switched it up to Blue and Yellow, Hein Werner kept the Blue and Yellow theme. Im not ruling out that the Very Early Walkers were Red, Im seen a few of late that appeared to have Red Paint under multiple paint jobs.



You dont get a "Overload" spring in any kit to my knowledge, Ive never seen a Overload spring break as far as that goes, They are very.. very... very stiff springs and cant even be compressed without Pliers or a Vise or the adjusting nut that sits on top of them.

So judging by the red paint remnants on the rear "fenders", are you saying that this jack could have been red originally?

Yeah, I was surpired to see the spring broken when I removed that screw, but it was. The new spring didn't come with the rebuild kit. I had to order it seperately. I forget where I got it. Either blackhawkparts or phjjacks. The guy really had to dig to find it, and said it was the last one they had. So how do I get the damn thing to stop going into overload? Could the ball not be seating properly due to the bore being pitted?

 

[Hiball]

So judging by the red paint remnants on the rear "fenders", are you saying that this jack could have been red originally?

Yeah, I was surpired to see the spring broken when I removed that screw, but it was. The new spring didn't come with the rebuild kit. I had to order it seperately. I forget where I got it. Either blackhawkparts or phjjacks. The guy really had to dig to find it, and said it was the last one they had. So how do I get the damn thing to stop going into overload? Could the ball not be seating properly due to the bore being pitted?

I cant really say for sure... Ive been working on Hydraulic jacks for over 20 years and my Grandfather has 40+ years. You have to remember these 784 Walkers have some age on them and Most have been repainted at least once in there life. Just when i think ive got a timeline figured out, I find extreme early edition 784 (GJ member Thomas) who has a unmolested version with a Cast cover and Nose piece, Its blue and white. I recently picked up this 784.

from Craigslist and it was clearly Red to the bone.. . As far as the Overload Issue those Springs are identical to the ones used in the Newer 93657 jacks so it shouldnt have been a issue. Please tell me there wasnt a Huge Price Tag to go along with there "Song and Dance" about only having 1. I dont suspect the overload Ball/seat is the issue. It would definitely take more than 300lbs to lift that ball up to allow oil to bypass. How far down did you tighten the inner adjusting Head?

 

[bungy42]

I cant really say for sure... Ive been working on Hydraulic jacks for over 20 years and my Grandfather has 40+ years. You have to remember these 784 Walkers have some age on them and Most have been repainted at least once in there life. Just when i think ive got a timeline figured out, I find extreme early edition 784 (GJ member Thomas) who has a unmolested version with a Cast cover and Nose piece, Its blue and white. I recently picked up this 784.

from Craigslist and it was clearly Red to the bone.. . As far as the Overload Issue those Springs are identical to the ones used in the Newer 93657 jacks so it shouldnt have been a issue. Please tell me there wasnt a Huge Price Tag to go along with there "Song and Dance" about only having 1. I dont suspect the overload Ball/seat is the issue. It would definitely take more than 300lbs to lift that ball up to allow oil to bypass. How far down did you tighten the inner adjusting Head?

No, the song and dance wasn't accompanied by a hefty price tag, thankfully. I've got that screw tightened as far down as I can. But I have to be honest, I haven't really dug that deeply into it. Plus the last time I looke dat it was a couple of years ago. Maybe it's time to dig that jack out and give it another look. So if it jacks up with no load, but won't jack with a heavy load, where else could it be leaking by? If it was leaking past the ram, I'd see a puddle, right?

 

[mooman]

Nice looking resto work!!!!

 

[bungy42]

Thanks, Mooman!

 

[t100]

dude, I'm gonna to restore the 767 I bought few weeks ago. the seal kit from Hiball won't be here till next week.

how do you get rid of the paint? my is soaked in hydraulic fluid and grease, even I can remove all the paint, I don't know how the new paint is gonna stick.

 

[bungy42]

dude, I'm gonna to restore the 767 I bought few weeks ago. the seal kit from Hiball won't be here till next week.

how do you get rid of the paint? my is soaked in hydraulic fluid and grease, even I can remove all the paint, I don't know how the new paint is gonna stick.

I mostly used a wire brush on my 4" grinder. The paint and rust didn't stand a chance.

 

[jpoe]

I think the jack looks great.