Unknown jack - any ideas?

[Shelbylex]

Hi. Picked up a free jack today. No history. The metal plate with the name all faded out (3d image)
Approximately 25" long plate and the distance between the plates is 6.5"

Please take a look at this jack (sorry for poor pictures) and tell me if you recognize the model.

Not sure yet if this is a keeper...

I tried to lift it, it went up, but does not go down. Will try to see if the metal handle will turn further with pipe wrench... It did, went down. I guess it was a little stuck.

I am not sure if this helps - looks like the label (which was painted or glued on on the metal plate in the center) had white border, then red line, then blue line.

Any ideas what was this jack? US, China, Timbuktu???

 

[HCRCnow]

Let me know which style you have then I will be able to let you know. The jack is made in Japan. 1970’s 1980’s. If you can bring it back to life,you will have a very good jack.

 

[Chucktin]

These "trolley" Jack's are actually a bottle.jack laid on it's side and inside a frame.
I threw out a similar one in 1980s because the O ring had a square cross section rather than the much more typical "O".
I'd clean it up, see if all the metal is intact (you don't want a fail in use, could ruin your day!), then see if you can replace the seals at a hydraulic shop. Maybe 20-30 dollars in parts.
But ... (always a but) this is a small jack so maybe 2, 3 ton (?) max load. You'll want to keep that in mind.

 

[Hiball]

It’s your typical Yasui based Jack, You won’t know if it’s worthy of a rebuild till you venture inside and check the overall condition, it appears it’s seen some weather in its lifetime. The older Japan models where hands down better than there Chinese replacements, actual Ucups, Wipers and heavier rod finish than led to better durability. It appears maybe a tooth is broken off on the release gear, Hard to see.. but something looks awry.

 

[ex-x-fire]

I remember reading a Popular Science/Mechanic article that was about jacks & stands. They had one of these, I was surprised to see the big saddle. Seems like all of those style jacks recently have small saddles, even the OTC branded one we have at work. Here's that article.
https://books.google.com/books?id=f...e&q=popular science floor jack issue&f=false

 

[Shelbylex]

Thank you. HCRCnow, Chucktin, Hiball and ex-x-fire
Your help is greatly appreciated.
As the weather is on the colder side in MA, I will probably keep it in the garage till the warm times come and then tear it apart to see if it can be saved. It goes up and down smoothly (it probably sat for some time - I had to turn the handle with the pipe wrench the first time and now it moves OK).
Hiball, good observation on the release gear - something was stuck on top of it and broke off when I turned it.

I managed to loose a bolt which keeps the handle attached to the jack. I could not replace it with the regular one (I guess it has to be narrowed on the bottom to go into a groove of the handle). Is there a specific type of bolt for it and where can I get it? (Stupid way to loose it: was taking the handle off at night on a steep street when picking it up next to the water drain as it was the only relatively flat place to prevent jack from rolling down - you can guess where it had to fly out of all places... Returned with a flashlight and magnet on the string - no luck locating it. Lesson learned...)

 

[Hiball]

Thank you. HCRCnow, Chucktin, Hiball and ex-x-fire
Your help is greatly appreciated.
As the weather is on the colder side in MA, I will probably keep it in the garage till the warm times come and then tear it apart to see if it can be saved. It goes up and down smoothly (it probably sat for some time - I had to turn the handle with the pipe wrench the first time and now it moves OK).
Hiball, good observation on the release gear - something was stuck on top of it and broke off when I turned it.

I managed to loose a bolt which keeps the handle attached to the jack. I could not replace it with the regular one (I guess it has to be narrowed on the bottom to go into a groove of the handle). Is there a specific type of bolt for it and where can I get it? (Stupid way to loose it: was taking the handle off at night on a steep street when picking it up next to the water drain as it was the only relatively flat place to prevent jack from rolling down - you can guess where it had to fly out of all places... Returned with a flashlight and magnet on the string - no luck locating it. Lesson learned...)

Simple fix, Find a bolt with the correct thread, introduce the tip of it to a grinding wheel and narrow it down to match the groove on the base of the handle.

 

[Shelbylex]

Thank you! Great idea, Hiball!

Tried playing more with it today - no leaks overnight. Can hold my 180lb without going down. Does lifting it all the way up and leaving like that for some time (day or two) seem like a somewhat reasonable way to check if the seals are good?