Harbor freight jack *repair* ?

[campbellcj]

Well...I kind of figured it would happen sooner or later. It seems like a seal popped on my HF alloy jack (in the piston area where the lever pump action occurs) and it has lost a significant amount of hydraulic fluid.

OF COURSE I didn't keep the instruction booklet which might have had repair/rebuild info, or at least I can't find it.

Anybody know if this is reasonably fixable, or if I should just toss it and get another, or perhaps the Sears unit? Since they are only $149 or whatever, I definitely don't want to spend a bunch of time dicking around with diagnosing it, waiting for parts from China etc. But if this problem has happened to anyone else and was easily fixable, I'd love to hear about it!

TIA,

[911pcars]

Chris,
I've often thought of that too; whether HF carries any repair parts or spares. Somehow I doubt it. They're headquartered in Camarillo. How about giving them a call? Or maybe a domestic sourced O-ring/seal might work or a hydraulic repair shop. I'm sure they see plenty imported jacks fail; seals can't be that hard to find, but this could be a cottage industry.

Sherwood
http://members.rennlist.org/911pcars

[ChrisBennet]

My local Sears gets $199 for the aluminum jack. Probably worth it if you can get parts and a warrantee.
-Chris

[URY914]

I took my cheapo Costco floor jack to a jack repair shop a few yeras ago with the same problem. The guy (*******) at the counter smiled and said, "It's not so cheap now is it?" He said it is cheaper to buy a new one than have him fix a cheap one. Now that was a $70 jack. It may pay to repair a $179 HF jack (HF website has them on sale for $139 right now). The problem he told me was the cylinders are not as finely polished as a good quality US made jack is and it wears the seals out.

Live and learn- cheap tools ain't so cheap sometimes

Paul

[Oldporsche]

Go to your local machine shop that advertises hydraulic or perhaps farm implement repairs. Someone there should be able to fix you up with the replacement "O" ring or whatever for your hydraulic jack.

I went there with the high pressure electric fuel pump for the MFI on my 911E. The parts counter guy figured out which sizes and ones that I needed.

Good luck,
David Duffield

[sammyg2]

Take it back to harbor freight and ask for a new one. Chances are they will exchange it even if the warranty is expired.
I've taken things back with no reciept and had them replaced for free, it's worth asking.

[cwilson911]

I bought a new aluminum floor jack from Sam's Club for $80.00. the one I use to own was from HF, blown seals. Now the recycle bin has a HF floor jack.

[911pcars]

Seems pretty incredible that HF or whoever sells these provides no parts backup. If parts are not available, I wonder why they include those exploded parts illustrations in their instruction manuals.

The first question to a store that sells them might be, "Can I purchase a few extra $.01 seals with this jack?" If the answer is no, then shop elsewhere or use the jack very sparingly.

Sherwood

[RoninLB]

I buy the HF touch up guns and always ask for a rebuild kit, which they get for me.. I think they May have a rebuild kit.. otherwise good info has been provided to save the big bucks

[techweenie]

If you kept the receipt, HF offers a one year warranty on all tools.

Chances are you'll get a brand new one. Typically with Chinese tools, there's little standardization, so the next batch of jacks might not have matching seals, etc. These are meant to be exchanged, not repaired.

Used to be, HF had the corner on cheap, decent tools. now, I find I can sometimes beat their prices at Sears. And at a store called 'Big Lots' (used to be Pick N Save???) in L.A., hydraulic floor jacks are $12.88 these days.

[911pcars]

I have a problem calling anyone "weenie". Maybe just me. Is TW okay?

Anyway, I'd expect a floor jack to last many, many years before rebuilding is necessary, thus a 1-year warranty isn't good enough if parts aren't available. Even if they gave you a new one to replace it, what happens after the warranty runs out? This is like buying a car knowing parts aren't available for it. On a smaller scale, how about buying a toilet with no backup parts? Once the toilet seat wears out you carve a new one to fit because yours hinges from the side.

Sherwood

[techweenie]

Sherwood: that's why I choose to buy a lot of tools at other places than HF.

Something I want for light duty, like a drill press is fine. For a reciprocating power saw, angle grinder or rechargable drill, I'll stick with Milwaukee or Makita.

[Zeke]

Originally posted by 911pcars
I have a problem calling anyone "weenie". Maybe just me. Is TW okay?

Anyway, I'd expect a floor jack to last many, many years before rebuilding is necessary, thus a 1-year warranty isn't good enough if parts aren't available. Even if they gave you a new one to replace it, what happens after the warranty runs out? Sherwood

911Pcars, what you need to do is buy the alum jack that the cheap one copies. They start at $600, and for the actual one used by race teams where a 16 sec pit stop may be worth thousands of $ over an 18 second one, expect to pay a lot more.

I guess for a buck fifty and a jack that doesn't bust your balls just to unload it from the truck, we take our chances.

The HF, and similar jacks, have an increased pumping to lift ratio which has to put additional strain on the seals. What we need here is a light weight, high lift jack with the standard pumping ratio that will last.

Chris, what were you lifting? I have 2 jacks, one of these alum jobs and one of the standard steel jobbers. I wouldn't dream of lifting my truck with the alum thing. It's for the track and a light weight car, IMHO. It doesn't even feel right on the Boxster. But with all that water in it, a pretty heavy car. eh?

[scottb]

HF often has rebuild kits for their tools. Call their customer service line, or send them an e-mail. You might be surprised.

[Randy Webb]

cwilson911,

How in the workd did you get teh $200 Sears jack for $80?? Was it some kind of super sale? I'd like to get that price here!

[toolman]

I sell tools for a living, there is no free lunch. Pay good money for a made in USA jack, and it will live forever. Look at an OTC 3.5 ton for about $425. I bought one in 1979 and have never had a problem. My dad bought a Lincoln in 1956 and it still works great. He paid $65 for it and thought he paid way too much but that was about the lowest priced unit available. Lincoln is now Marquette lifting which is made in China like all the other jacks. The only good China jack is made by Shinn-fu, they go under the name of Omega,and K-Tool Pro Series, and few more that I don't know about.

[John Rogers]

I use a pneumatic bellows type jack. No fluid to loose!

[Zeke]

Is Hein Werner still around? That's the one-jack-for-a-lifetime deal. Like I said, I'm past the point where I want to lift that puppy back up into the truck at the end of the day. That one lives on the ground.

[toolman]

Hein Warner was bought by Blackhawk, then by Clore, then by Marquette and the name wasn't used since about 97.

[Randy Webb]

I have a Norco. Very nice quality. Looked into buying a Hein-Warner or Lincoln used but none nearby.

I'd bet the Germans make nice jacks...