Leaking floor jack

[mikehkang]

My Duralast 3000 lb aluminum floor jack needs a diaper - it is leaking oil.
Is something like this repairable?
I've looking for the warranty information on it but can't find anything.

In case I need to replace the jack, which do you recommend?
Is life time warranty worth the extra $$$?

Thanks in advance.

[dghii]

Don't know if it is reparable..never really notice spare parts for floor jacks so I guess it depends on weather or not is is simply a fitting.

I had a craftsman do that one. I simply replaced it as I had lost confidence in the thing and would not risk using it.

[The Radium King]

the leaking oil might just be oil escaping from the pressure bleed due to too much air trapped in the unit. if you follow the procedure to bleed the air from it, it may stop. if you don't have the manual, it looks something like this:

- oven the valve you use to drop the jack by one turn and let jack drop to lowers position
- pump 8 times with valve open
- close valve and raise jack to max height
- pump 8 more times
- find the bleed valve and release any build-up air
- drop and test

[Gilles]

Originally Posted by The Radium King

the leaking oil might just be oil escaping from the pressure bleed due to too much air trapped in the unit. if you follow the procedure to bleed the air from it, it may stop. if you don't have the manual, it looks something like this:

- oven the valve you use to drop the jack by one turn and let jack drop to lowers position
- pump 8 times with valve open
- close valve and raise jack to max height
- pump 8 more times
- find the bleed valve and release any build-up air
- drop and test

Cool ..!
Thank you for the tip, I will try it as soon as I get home
.

[mikehkang]

Originally Posted by The Radium King

the leaking oil might just be oil escaping from the pressure bleed due to too much air trapped in the unit. if you follow the procedure to bleed the air from it, it may stop. if you don't have the manual, it looks something like this:

- oven the valve you use to drop the jack by one turn and let jack drop to lowers position
- pump 8 times with valve open
- close valve and raise jack to max height
- pump 8 more times
- find the bleed valve and release any build-up air
- drop and test

Hello King,
Are these same valve or the two different valves?
- pump 8 times with valve open
...
- find the bleed valve and release any build-up air

Also, is there a special "oil" to used in a floor jack?

Thanks

[The Radium King]

you can buy jack-specific oil.

re valves, there are two of interest - one that you open when you want the jack to drop and close when you want it to lift (the raise/lower valve) and another that you open to bleed air (bleed valve). on my jack it is just a rubber plug in the main cyl that you pinch to let the air out. so , procedure looks like this ...

- open the raise/lower valve by one turn and let jack drop to lowest position
- pump 8 times with the raise/lower valve open
- close raise/lower valve and raise jack to max height
- pump 8 more times
- find the bleed valve and release any build-up air
- drop and test

[mikehkang]

Originally Posted by The Radium King

the leaking oil might just be oil escaping from the pressure bleed due to too much air trapped in the unit. if you follow the procedure to bleed the air from it, it may stop. if you don't have the manual, it looks something like this:

- oven the valve you use to drop the jack by one turn and let jack drop to lowers position
- pump 8 times with valve open
- close valve and raise jack to max height
- pump 8 more times
- find the bleed valve and release any build-up air
- drop and test

King,

Can you explain how "too much air trapped" can cause oil to escape or leak?
After I changed the oil and bled the jack, oil did leak at first.
I bled the jack again a few times and now the jack is not leaking oil.
You might have fixed my problem!
However, I can't get my head around how the "too much air trapped" can cause oil to escape. I would be grateful if you or anyone else can explain this for me.

Thank you.

P.S. Do you bleed every time before you use the jack?

[The Radium King]

in my case the oil was leaking out of the bleed valve; there was so much trapped air in the jack that it popped the valve and shot air/oil out. the first time lots of air came out, but now i bleed it fairly regularly. still, ibit of oil continues to seep out of the bleeder.

[jcb986]

A lot of the best jack makers are gone because of the China cheap throw away jacks. Check out Snap-On, maybe they are made here.

[Spinnaker]

Originally Posted by mikehkang

My Duralast 3000 lb aluminum floor jack needs a diaper - it is leaking oil.
Is something like this repairable?

A floor jack is like any other hydraulic device. It has seals and gaskets that can go bad. My 1967 Black Hawk floor jack need to have the seals redone after 20 years. I took it to a shop that specialized in jack repair. This was before the inexpensive jacks that you can get now where being sold. If yours is in need of a visit to the repair shop, it might not be economical to have one repaired nowadays. You can probably buy a new one for less than the cost of the repair. The only way to find out is to call a hydraulic repair shop and get a quote.

[coreseller]

I went through your exact scenario a few months back. Disassembled old jack started calling around for seals, etc. Ended up buying a new Arcan XL325r Low Profile jack at Costco for ~ $100. Once I factored in seals, hydraulic jack oil, time running around hunting them up, the fact my old jack was 15 years old, etc. the decision was easy. It's pretty much identical to my old jack, both Chinese made IIRC and I figure it will serve my occasional needs well for another decade or so.

[stateofidleness]

A leaky floor jack would scare the stuff out of me. Even a minor leak. Even any fluid around it lol.

There's some pretty good jacks nowadays that are pretty affordable, even in the sub-hundred dollar range for occasional use. Probably better to just replace unless your jack is a high dollar one.

[mikehkang]

Thanks everyone.

I changed the oil last night but the jack is leaking oil still. Not as much as before, but a few drops still.

I just found out that the Duralast 3000 lb jack is made by Torin.
I will contact them to see what inexpensive options I might have.

[stephen wilson]

Well, IMO there's a ton of low quality made-in-china jacks out there. The GOOD ones tend to be over $400. The quality of the Torin jacks and others seems to be very spotty. I bought one from Pep Boys, and it wasn't long before the seal blew out. Now it won't lift anything, and I haven't gotten around to doing anything with it.
Here's a long thread on the subject:
aluminum racing jacks. $99.99 + Official "Floor Jack Tech" Thread - Page 13 - Corner-Carvers Forums

[mikehkang]

Update:

At least for my Duralast 3000 lb Aluminum jack, there is a "seal kit" that I can buy from Torin. (If your jack label has 888-448-6746 phone number, I believe it is made by Torin in China.)
The price of the kit is $12.50, fair enough. What is messed up is the method of payment: it is either a money order or COD. The COD is $9 extra to the USPS.

I am going to order the seal kit. I don't expect that I will be able to repair it but it will be a pleasant surprise if I do. At minimum, I gain an insight as to how a floor jack works.

I also looked into buying an OTC, the lifetime warranty jack. Their 2 ton aluminum jack is $230ish on Amazon. I asked OTC customer support if my current problem, the leaking oil, would be covered under their lifetime warranty. Well, not exactly. The normal wear and tear is not covered. Too bad.

[Spinnaker]

Originally Posted by mikehkang

I am going to order the seal kit. I don't expect that I will be able to repair it but it will be a pleasant surprise if I do. At minimum, I gain an insight as to how a floor jack works.

If you have ever rebuilt a master cylinder, you should be able to do this. Just make a note of which way the seal lips face before you take them off. Nothing like getting it all apart and going Oh Sh-t, which way did the seal face!