First did i spell hydraulic correctly?
I have an old school floor jack that is really well built weighs like 50lbs it is a Hein-Werner rated at 1.5ton ( but i know it can lift more) and has an awsome dish that is perfect for placing under an axle BUT i recently let a friend borrow it while he installed a lift kit on his heap, i mean jeep, he said it worked fine one day then the next it wouldnt even support his dana 35 i dont know much about jacks but i figured i would at least check the fluid. It was very bubbly and may have been low i could not tell i put about 20 oz of new fluid in and i cant get it to opperate properly. Are the seals blown? is this something i can repair how much for a professional to repair it? i have two other jacks is it worth fixing this jack?

 

Sounds like air in the jack, to bleed it loosen the jack handle and the bolt where you check the oil( just loose), pump it fast and tighten the bolt and turn the handle back to just tight

 

if you decide to rebuild it , you can get a seal kit for it online, bob

 

He may have ruined the valve by over tightening it like so many gorillas do...

 

i definatly think there was air in the jack, would that be because a seal is blown. Is rebuilding it a project i may be able to handle. what is involved what would indicate an overtightened valve? thanks

 

Sounds like a WS series Werner jack, I have 3 of them, great jacks. You can rebuild them yourself, just make sure the ram has no deep scratches as some people sink the ram in dirt. I haven't rebuilt one the last 8 years so you'll have to shop around for seal kits. The Werner name has been sold and reappeared as Werner but is a import not the older USA Werner, careful.
.....=o&o>.....

 

up here , alaska hydraulics has or can get the kits for them , i suspect that most hydro shops are the same, bob

 

A little late with this information maybe but there is an outfit online Blackhawkparts.com which specializes in repair kits for most major hydraulic jack brands.

 

I've got some news.

LOOK HERE:

http://www.hyjacks.com/H7.HTM

And it's kind of gruesomely funny that one of the topics they mention is that if you EVER "lend your jack" to anyone, IT'S A GONER!!! But there it is.

Next thought -
They say two things about jack oil substitutes:
DO NOT EVER put brake fluid in a jack. It destroys the seals inside (Hey - it can eat paint off a fenderwell, right?) It is many things, but hydraulic fluid ain't one of them.

Transmission fluid may or may not be a useable substitute. They neither confirm or deny it, but recommend jack oil specifically made for the purpose.

At the link, you will find directions for bleeding air out of bad places in your jack. They almost never lose their oil unless the seals are totally SHOT.

 

Great site on jacks, Good job Greywolf, think I'll have to get busy on my old one!

 

Many jacks use a steel ball bearing in the end of a screw that seats against a cast iron seat. Other jacks use a conical screw tip. Over tightening the valve can cause cracks in or spalling of the valve seat. It can also cause the end of the screw to mushroom or deform. The damage to the valve seat will show up as a jack that will leak down or that requires excessive force to tighten the valve. A good jack will only require finger tip force to close the valve.

 

I would try and bleed the air out before buying new seals. I had a similar thing happen to me, I topped up the fluid and it stopped working altogether. I found that the only way to bleed it properly was to elevate the jack so that the filler hole was the highest point. Then loosen the handle and pump repeatedly until all the bubbles are gone. You may have to do it a couple of times to remove all the air, depends on the jack.

It looked odd having a jack perched up on a jack stand but it worked, hasn't given me any trouble since.