I bought a three-ton floor jack -- the thing weighs some 78 pounds. I don't weigh a lot more than that. When I bought it, the guy told me the jacks were known for having very bad oil and I should replace it before using with some Napa hydralic jack oil. So, this afternoon, in 95 degree, high humdity, I am struggling to tip the jack, drain the oil and add new, all without too much a mess. A friend drives up in the middle of all this. I am soaked in sweat and straining to control the heavy iron jack. All bright and perky from her car's A/C she asks what I am doing. I tell her putting oil in the floor jack. She replies... "Oh, so that you can then pump the oil into your car?" Well, I thought it was funny.... Kris
I assume you bought a used jack? Bad oil or contaminated oil? If it worked, I probably would have used it as is. Regardless, I do admire your initiative.
Save that Harbor Freight receipt, Cyber-you may need it. I bought three, five ton bottle jacks from HF and have returned them multiple times! Check valves went bad quickly under normal use. I would jack a load up and it would creep right back down. They just don't last like the old American made ones. While we do sometimes ADD oil, the only reason I know to change oil in a jack is if it somehow had water in it. The jack is unaware if the oil in it came from China or USA...and I wonder what country NAPA got their oil from! A roller jack is a great primary tool to have! Did you get a couple jackstands, we cannot trust a jack to hold the car up, it's just for lifting, there have been some horrific stories there.....
I picked up one the aluminum 'racing' jacks from HF with a coupon. Not a heavy user, but it is serving well with the original oil in it. Do have to change the oil on an older roller jack that no longer goes as high and hold. The 6 ton bottle jack I got for Lowes or Home depot is still working fine, but perhaps it is old enough to be American.
I've never changed oil on a jack I've bought, or even thought about it. That sales guy might have a point, and kinda late to back up now, but I would have just used it and watched for problems, which would likely not materialize. Yeah if you're just getting into raising the car, do be diligent to use safety stands, make sure they're stable. Besides that I also like to put a thick chunk of wood under there, a tree trunk section that's a bit thicker than me, really good for piece of mind.
I tried to buy a Craftsman that had O.K. reviews but Sears kept "delaying" delivery -- originally started out at four days, then went to two weeks, then to a month, and at no time did they notify me, I had to contact them about the delay. finally, over the Fourth of July holiday, I saw a three-ton, low-profile HF jack that had good reviews on many boards -- with shipping to the door and all, it was $74 or so. I received it a couple of weeks ago, within three days of purchase, actually, but have delayed using it as I wanted to change the oil as recommended and did not look forward to that job. When I did open the filler hole, no oil was in sight, and when I pumped the handle several times to "bleed it" -- this before I drained out the old oil, I still saw no oil. When I tipped it, of course, oil did drain out. I filled as directed and it seems to work fine. I plan on using no more than a half-dozen times per year, so hopefully, it will be up to the task. kris
