Automotive

Do you need to do any maintenance on a car jack?

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  • Jun 5th, 2021 9:28 pm
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Do you need to do any maintenance on a car jack?

I own a typical car jack for 11 years now, bought new from Canadian Tire. I only use it for DIY seasonal tire change, so I lift each corner and it takes (over-estimating) max 2 minutes each, so:

2 minutes x 4 wheels=8 minutes
x2 changes per year
=16 minutes of real-time use of the jack per year

Knock wood it has performed nicely throughout but wondering do ppl really need to do maintenance on their jacks? I read that they change the fluid? I personally don't know how to go about it or if it's even necessary for my application. What do you guys do?
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You should check to make sure it's working correctly and is still safe and all but maintenance? Meh. What's a typical floor jack like $80-200? If you're getting 10+ years out of one don't think you care very much if you have to replace it after that. Not a huge cost item given the typical lifespan.
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ES_Revenge wrote: You should check to make sure it's working correctly and is still safe and all but maintenance? Meh. What's a typical floor jack like $80-200? If you're getting 10+ years out of one don't think you care very much if you have to replace it after that. Not a huge cost item given the typical lifespan.
Ya, it didn't cost much (less than $100) but I'm not about to replace anything if it still works properly. Good to know others aren't thinking of any maintenance...just something I read but thought it was kinda odd since not sure how to go about it.
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Jan 15, 2006
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Nope. I just keep jacking it till it can’t jack no more…
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If it does fail, it will just slowly go down, right? No such thing as BAM!!!, a sudden drop, I assume?
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Depends on how it fails. If it blows a seal it may drop fast. Best to keep them clean and check/change the fluid in them once in a blue moon at least. Inspect them before using is obvious too...
Last edited by IcarusLSC on Jun 5th, 2021 9:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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tranquility922 wrote: If it does fail, it will just slowly go down, right? No such thing as BAM!!!, a sudden drop, I assume?
Anything is possible, even if brand new. That's why you should never go under unless there's also a jack stand.

As for maintenance, just keep an eye on it to make sure it isn't leaking, or slowly lowering.
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I've had a Motomaster 3-ton for at least 10 years. I would say it's gotten a lot more use than yours over the years. But only recently did I do some maintenance. Took the wheels off, cleaned and lubed them. Did the same for the handle that was getting a bit difficult to turn. And changed the hydraulic oil. I actually got most of those ideas when I stumbled upon this video:


tranquility922 wrote: If it does fail, it will just slowly go down, right? No such thing as BAM!!!, a sudden drop, I assume?

I had a jack fail once. It was a Motomaster 2-ton trolley jack. Probably 20 years old by that point. Started lifting the car up as usual, and as the car was half-way in the air, I gave it one more pump and the car came crashing down. Fast, not slow. I assume the main seal failed. I threw that jack out immediately afterwards. It belonged to my dad, I don't think anyone ever did any maintenance on it. Maybe changing the oil would've prevented the seal failure, who knows.

2 years ago I upgraded to the Motomaster 2-ton, long reach, low-profile. So probably a ways out on having to do any maintenance on that. Just checked the oil level when I took it out of the box.
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engineered wrote: Anything is possible, even if brand new. That's why you should never go under unless there's also a jack stand.

As for maintenance, just keep an eye on it to make sure it isn't leaking, or slowly lowering.
Tx. Ya, for sure I don't go under my car. I even handle my wheels by the spokes and not by the rubber to avoid the car falling onto my fingers.
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I have a 15 year old 1.5ton motomaster aluminum jack that I've used hundreds of times for autocross/track days and winter swaps.
I also have a bigger 2.5ton (or 3?) motomaster aluminum jack that is about 8 years old, used for winter swaps and occasionally lifting out fence posts.
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Deal Guru
Feb 9, 2006
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EP32k2 wrote: Nope. I just keep jacking it till it can’t jack no more…
We still talking about floor Jacks right?
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tebore wrote: We still talking about floor Jacks right?
Of course! What else would need jacking?
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tranquility922 wrote: I own a typical car jack for 11 years now, bought new from Canadian Tire. I only use it for DIY seasonal tire change, so I lift each corner and it takes (over-estimating) max 2 minutes each, so:

2 minutes x 4 wheels=8 minutes
x2 changes per year
=16 minutes of real-time use of the jack per year

Knock wood it has performed nicely throughout but wondering do ppl really need to do maintenance on their jacks? I read that they change the fluid? I personally don't know how to go about it or if it's even necessary for my application. What do you guys do?
Wow. Impressed with the great amount of thought and calculations. Time to get yourself a PhD.
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jdmfishingonly wrote: Wow. Impressed with the great amount of thought and calculations. Time to get yourself a PhD.
Hehe, I just wanted to emphasize that I'm not a heavy user and in fact quite the opposite.

Reading the replies, it seems the best one can do is to change the fluid, and even then, it may still fail, sometimes catastrophically just BAM! due to a broken seal....I don't think there's anything that can practically/realistically be done to prevent that.

I guess I'll just continue to keep an eye out for leaks but not worry about any maintenance in terms of the pump parts themselves.
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I don't think you will see a leak with the failure I experienced. I certainly didn't.

Look up how a hydraulic cylinder works. When I say "main seal" I am talking about the seal on the piston that turns hydraulic pressure into mechanical force. When that seal fails, the pressure no longer acts on the piston, and so you suddenly lose the lifting force. But the fluid is still contained within the cylinder when this happens. There are other seals at the front and back of the cylinder to retain the pressure and fluid, but they are not responsible for generating lifting force. If the cylinder is leaking, it is coming from one of the end seals, and doesn't really indicate a problem with the piston seal (main seal).
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derass wrote: I don't think you will see a leak with the failure I experienced. I certainly didn't.

Look up how a hydraulic cylinder works. When I say "main seal" I am talking about the seal on the piston that turns hydraulic pressure into mechanical force. When that seal fails, the pressure no longer acts on the piston, and so you suddenly lose the lifting force. But the fluid is still contained within the cylinder when this happens. There are other seals at the front and back of the cylinder to retain the pressure and fluid, but they are not responsible for generating lifting force. If the cylinder is leaking, it is coming from one of the end seals, and doesn't really indicate a problem with the piston seal (main seal).
Tx, so not much anybody could've done, pretty concerning but at the same time, can't really worry about it then. I supposed the only 'real' way to avoid prbs is to get a new jack every 5 or 10 years...but then again, some ppl said failure could happen for new ones also, so I'm just gonna continue not to fuss too much.
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tranquility922 wrote: Tx, so not much anybody could've done, pretty concerning but at the same time, can't really worry about it then. I supposed the only 'real' way to avoid prbs is to get a new jack every 5 or 10 years...but then again, some ppl said failure could happen for new ones also, so I'm just gonna continue not to fuss too much.
Well, you could replace the seals every 10 years or so.
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engineered wrote: Well, you could replace the seals every 10 years or so.
Is that realistic/practical though? Don't even know where to get the parts and then I'd have to fill up w new fluid, all for a 100$ or less jack. Never mind there's no schematics for my jack, so I may be opening up and rendering it unusable for nothing.
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tranquility922 wrote: Is that realistic/practical though? Don't even know where to get the parts and then I'd have to fill up w new fluid, all for a 100$ or less jack. Never mind there's no schematics for my jack, so I may be opening up and rendering it unusable for nothing.
I wouldn't bother unless it was leaking, then there'd be nothing to lose taking it apart. Not sure if they make rebuild kits for them like they do with brake calipers, but sets of assorted O-rings from amazon so hopefully something would fit. Fluid shouldn't be anything special, just generic hydraulic fluid.
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