While I haven’t had the Plymouth out lately, I have been working in the garage. My latest project was inspired while working with my wife on the rear brakes of her Jeep Patriot.
My trusty floor jack was put to good use, though its been exposed to the elements in the open barn. Not too bad, but some rusty and stiffness in the joints.
The jack worked fine — until it was time to lower the car. The car DID lower, but after the Jeep was at its natural ride height, the jack would not drop all the way down as it should. You can turn the jack handle to release the pressure, but to get the jack all the way down you had to push the jack down with your body weight.
I didn’t give it a great deal of thought — until I happened across a YouTube video of a mechanic who rehabbed an old Craftsman jack.
BLEEDING IS MAIN ISSUE. I quickly found out that a jack that doesn’t work right — pump up or drop down — is usually due to an issue with the hydraulic cylinder, and most often is it air in the hydraulic system. The solution is simple — remove the fill plug or screw, then cycle the jack. Pump it all the way up, then lower the jack. Air will be released with each cycle of the jack — bubbles and some hydraulic fluid will bubble out of the filler hole.
I removed the rubber plug on the filler hole, then cycled the jack about six times. And as expected, air was released, along with some hydraulic fluid. When I was done, the jack operated as good as new. The jack raised properly, and when you released,, it dropped smoothly down to fully lowered.
I won’t post a YouTube link (just search for “hydraulic floor jack repair”), but there’s a number of good videos that cover the procedure. The guy I watched warned against buying a jack that’s made in China; I’m not really sure you can buy a new jack that isn’t an import.
FIRST CHINA JACK. When I opened my autobody shop, I bought a 3-ton floor jack — the typcial orange and white one — from Smart Shoppers in Louisville. The jack performed flawlessly until it was stolen off my back porch of my house. I have one of the smaller two-ton floor jacks that has a plastic carrying case. It stays in its original case, and I have kept it pristine. I’m sure its made in China as well.
I no longer disparage tools simply because their made in China. I haven’t heard of an outbreak of these 3-ton floor jacks collapsing. You should NEVER get under a car that’s solely supported by a floor jack anyway — that’s why God introduced jack stands!