Purchased floor ******** Craigslist. Needs 2 pull back springs. Otherwise jack lifts rear of my GMC 2500 HD with little effort. Must be at least 6 ton capacity. The placard is totally destroyed and unreadable. Seller claims jack made in the 1930’s. I plan to disassemble and refinish. Would like to rebuild hydraulic cylinder and replace rear casters. Any help in identifying the unit will be greatly appreciated.
Vintage Floor Jack Identification
- Thread starter Bobcat317
- Start date
paulsomlo
Well-known member
Based on the picture of the tag in this post, I'd say it was made by Manley:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5325990&postcount=212
Take the hydraulics apart first, just to make sure there are no nasty surprises. Don't know that you'll find a seal kit for that, may be a matter of measure things and call a hydraulic place.
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5325990&postcount=212
Take the hydraulics apart first, just to make sure there are no nasty surprises. Don't know that you'll find a seal kit for that, may be a matter of measure things and call a hydraulic place.
Roberts210
Well-known member
I can make out "YORK" in that tag, and "NA" to the far right of that, so Paulsomlo might be correct.
I don't think it's a 30's jack tho. Looks to me like post WW2.
I don't think it's a 30's jack tho. Looks to me like post WW2.
paulsomlo
Well-known member
More info: https://www.hcrcnow.com/uploads/drawings/manley555bfloorjack2.5ton.pdf
At the bottom of the 2nd page, there's a revision date of "11-10-49", but the vehicle in the picture is not of that era, and neither is that font. The other Manley that I linked to was built in '47 and it's already been updated to an art deco style. The parts list I linked probably just indicates parts availability as of 1949.
At any rate, steel ages well, so age is just a number. As far as things like casters, your chances of finding the originals may be nil - you'll have to either repair or adapt. For springs, I would look at McMaster Carr. It appears to be rust free - if you do the rebuild, document it here for our viewing pleasure.
At the bottom of the 2nd page, there's a revision date of "11-10-49", but the vehicle in the picture is not of that era, and neither is that font. The other Manley that I linked to was built in '47 and it's already been updated to an art deco style. The parts list I linked probably just indicates parts availability as of 1949.
At any rate, steel ages well, so age is just a number. As far as things like casters, your chances of finding the originals may be nil - you'll have to either repair or adapt. For springs, I would look at McMaster Carr. It appears to be rust free - if you do the rebuild, document it here for our viewing pleasure.
Last edited:
paulsomlo
Well-known member
Take some pictures along the way, especially of the hydraulic innards.
The Manley 2.5 ton circa 1940s garage floor jack was completely disassembled and cleaned parts in ZEP purple cleaner. Other than the expected dings from years of wear, the jack was in good shape. The forward rollers and needle bearings were fine and performed perfectly with new grease. All ball bearings in the swivel casters were missing. I purchased 100 5/16” ball bearings for six dollars on Amazon. The casters were restored to near new condition. I visited a local hydraulic shop that specialized in rebuilding floor jacks. I was able to attain a used return spring nearly identical to the remaining original. Since the hydraulic cylinder did not leak and functioned as expected, the jack repairman recommended against disassembly. Due to age, parts are not available. I painted the individual parts with a brush-on equipment enamel. The reassembled jack looks great and functions as expected.
Attachments
Last edited:
Roberts210
Well-known member
Lookin' good! Great work on that old baby.