I've got a Craftsman 3Ton floor jack. Lately, when I jack it up to get to the car, it'll settle a little bit after I pump the handle. Also, it's not lifting the car as much with each pump as it did when I first bought it. Could this be a low oil problem? I think I tossed the papers that came with it, so I don't know what type to put in. I assume there should be something at Sears for this.

 

Low on oil, and air bubbles in the system. Hydraulic jack oil is available at any decent hardware store.

 

Cool. Thanks.

 

I hope you don't have the same 3 Ton jack I had. I bought it because it was Craftsman brand. It was a high lift type designed for SUV's painted yellow and black I believe. After it was a year old, it started doing exactly what yours is doing. I took it back to Sears and they offered to sell me another one. I made a trip to Northern Tool instead and bought an aluminum one for less money. They're both made in China. Hope you have better luck with Sears than I did. BTW, I wrote several e-mails and even talked to the Sears Regional Manager for my area. He was useless and the Sears "Hardware" store in my community recently closed.

 

That would be the same jack I have (yellow and black w/ high lift for SUV).

 

Well, the jack pretty much quit working on me. I've only had it 5 months, so I took it back to Sears. They let me exchange it for a new one. We'll see how long this one lasts.

 

You would think a bolt of lightning would come from the sky and strike down the person that put the Craftsman logo on chinese pot metal tools of any kind.

I have a Craftsman Jack that I've had about a year and it has started leaking. The previous one I bought about 20 years ago and is till good but "gone" away.

Even the Torin Big Red stuff is chinamade.

 

Iv had an MVP floor jack i bought at advance auto about 10 or 11 years ago. It is one of the big ones. In this time, only this past summer I had to put a little oil in it. until then it gave me flawless service, and now it does once again. Its not had an easy life either. in only nov 2004 I bought this house with a shop. before that, all those years it spent its life outside under a car or whatever I could stick it under for storage.

 

You need to remember that Sears doesn't make ANYTHING. They just buy stuff from the cheapest place they can get it & put thier name on it. Then they charge more for it. At one time, thier toos were good quality but even those aren't worth the trip to a Sears store anymore.

 

The used to be more concerned about what the put the Craftsman name on vs. the sears name. The Craftsman stuff used to by strictly American Made to their specifications and often their design.

Their lifetime Guarantee (which is way better than a warranty) is the only thing that keeps me interested in their wrenches, screw drivers, sockets etc.

 

My 3-ton Craftsman jack is about 10 years old and recently the handle will start coming up when the jack has a load on it. It settles a tiny bit too but slowly. It's a minor annoyance since I use jack stands ALL the time I am working under a car.

As for Sears/Craftsman, they lost me when I couldn't get a replacement battery for a two year old cordless drill. Obsolete they tell me. I agreed and have not/will not buy power tools from them again.

As far as all my hand-tools, I will continue to replace any that I break under the guarantee but has anyone noticed how many of the hand tools carry the "Companion" name?

Remember Sears=Kmart now.