Technical Sears older Green Floorjack Repairs

I have a late 70's Sears floor jack, that is starting to lower by itself. No external leaks. From what I have read on here in other posts, these were made in Japan and are of good quality. Wondering if there are any seal kits available, it has been reliable for many years and sure would hate to toss it in the s**** heap. The tag/model number is not readable, that may be a problem too.

Any ideas??

 

For what its worth, my son had a leaking jack and it was cheaper to replace the whole ram rather than just the seals.
Just a thought......

 

Absolutely-I would dis***emble the Hydraulic Cylinder and find out:

1) Is there a Jack repair place near? Not a lot of those left, but if there is one close they should have the parts-

2) take the Seals to your local John Deere/Case/Cat Dealer, find a patient Parts guy (buy him a Coke), and ask him to see if he can match them up-they come in various durometer hardnesses, but you can get close enough-some are orings, some are c-cups, but they are all used in AG/Construction equipment-

 

I'd bring the hydraulic cylinder into a local shop that does hydraulic repairs. I'm sure they'd have the parts you'd need. Hell, they might even fix it for you.

 

I have 1 like that too.I just make sure I have a HEAVY DUTY jack stand under next to it when I work.{thats my back up jack} Bruce.

 

The green Sears jacks use a Blackhawk seal kit - did mine a few years ago and got the parts off the net - sorry but I can't remember where I got them.

 

Hi. Seals are pretty standard in inch sizes. Just dissemble the cylinder and michrometer the shaft diameter & the hole size the seal presses into & any auto parts or bearing supply likely will have it. just make sure there are no scratches on the shaft & polish out if there are some. Use a socket wrench that closely matches the seal diameter to tap it in.

Good luck, Jimmie

 

I had similar problem with floor jack. Hydraulic repair shop sent me to our local compressor repair shop.. Owners son said buy new jack..Owner came from rear of shop and I repeated the question to him..He gave me a seal! I returned there again months later when the seal on my HF cherry picker popped pulling fence posts. The owner supplied me with new seal for $5.00.

 

i just had the cylinder in my Walker floor jack rebuilt by a shop, they charged me $190.00.it had the same symptoms as yours, after talking to the tech i`m wondering if it was not just low on oil. he said when you fill them with oil, leave the valve OPEN while pumping the handle, and then close the valve. try that first, might save you some money.
tom

 

I have one too and its definately a Blackhawk,I screwed up the cylinder dragging it on a gravel driveway and had a local shop repair it so it now does not leave the garage and have a cheap one for the driveway. I spent more fixing it then it cost new back in 77 but where are you going to find a made in the USA jack these days so its worth fixing.

 

My floor jack was given to me on my 22nd birthday from my dad, it is a sears jack that is blue and still works perfectly. It goes wherever I need to use it, is not treated with the respect it deserves, and continues to amaze me that it works at all. This is the 50th year I've been using this quality tool. Sears is definitely not making tools like this anymore!

 

Try this-----it worked on my floor jack ------open the release gears, lower the handle down to the ground, raise the jack and saddle up and push it back down (as if it is raising and lowing your car) by hand, do this 4 or 5 times (watch your fingers). This flushed the inside of my ram out and now it works perfect. It's worth a try and costs nothing. Hope that this works for you....

 

I've got the same one, mid 70s green w/white handle. Still working as a backup. Upgraded to a heavier unit a while back. Good to know it's re-buildable.

 

The kit for my Sears jack (pt # 328.12002) is available at HCRCnow.com - kit # 215500, cost $46. They've got lots of the sears units listed.

 

Still using my 1982 vintage Sears jack, of course green with a white handle. I just give it a shot of grease when I think about it. Never had it apart, never added fluid. I do hose it off now and then to keep it clean.

 

The price guys are giving you for the kit is about right. Go to a hydraulic place or a bearing supply place. They will measure each seal and charge you about $8 for everything you need. It will take you less time to rebuild it then it took for you to read this thread so far.

 

Please note, there is no "miracle cure" for a hydraulic jack. In your case, S****py, I would suspect the main ram seal has given up the ghost. It has either hardened up or disintegrated. There is a small hole inside the cylinder tube that lets the oil go back into the reservoir when this happens instead of leaking out on the floor. From my experience, you should be able to replace the main ram seal & you will enjoy 20 more years of service. This can be done without removing the hydraulic unit from the jack. The seal is metric, but it is available. There are generally 2 different ones. 22x40x12 or 25x40x10. The first number is ID, the second number is OD & the third is height. It is called a U-cup. Where I am, the heavy duty hydraulic shops won't mess with jacks but may have the U-cup in stock. Do not put anything except hydraulic oil in the jack. No synthetic hydraulic oil, no brake fluid, no automatic trans "miracle goop", no Marvel Mystery oil, just plain hydraulic oil or jack oil. How do I know? I have a jack repair business!

 

Hello! My name is Diesel Jim. I have been in the truck & diesel repair arena since my mom threw away my diapers! But, alas, modern technology kicked my ***! So I started a jack repair business a few years ago. In my area it was a specialized trade as nobody else wanted to do it. It has been very successful. Enough so that I recently bought out my jack parts supplier who was in the business for 50+ years. So you can imagine the pile of old jack parts I inherited!! So keep me in mind the next time someone tells you that your old jack isn't worth repairing! I have seal kits for all domestic equipment & hard parts out the wazoo; wheels, rams, pump parts, ch***is parts, & the list goes on. If you're restoring an old jack your grandpa gave you, I probably have that part that is missing or broken.

 

I have had a red jack sitting in my way for 5 years now, not working. I have no idea who made it, cant find numbers, and I wont through it out because it is nicely made.
Jackaholic, I will keep you in mind when I get ready for it.

 

Thanks! Will remove seal and try to find one locally.

 

Granger will have everything that you need. They may even have the right specs for your particular jack but if they don't you just pull the cylinder apart and source your parts by size.

Another thing to think about is that there may be some casting marks on the cylinder ends that will help and if you know the rating ( like 2 ton or 12 ton etc) on the jack that may useful.

 

Good advice here,and bang on the money,older jacks are certainly worth saving but most of the newer ones are not worth fixing,not in the bigger hyd shops anyway.
When putting back together try not to use rags to wipe the parts before ***embly as the lint from the rags can easily block the small screen in the suction port if one is fitted and will cause grief in no time by not letting the pump to charge.

 

I need one of the caster wheel ***emblies for my Sears floor jack. I sent Jackaholic a PM. Will see how this goes. Gene

 

Hi Jackaholic! I have a Sears floor jack (328.12160) that I attempted to rebuild. I did two things wrong: first I wasn't aware that there were 2 more ball bearings and I kind of forgot which goes where. Second: I won't say how it happened but...I need to replace that pin that goes through the piston that is held in place by another small pin located behind the small semi circle mesh filter thingy. Do you have a part like that? Thanks in advance for any help you can offer Me!

John
jdalderucci@yahoo.com

 

I bought a red 1-1/2 ton floor jack for $30 off of local Craig's List in September, but didn't know what kind it was. The previous owner said it had a slow leak-down, and thought it was a Rotunda brand. Went online to see whether it matched anything and found the Lazzar website. Quickly learned I had picked up a Hein-Werner WS, and was tickled. Haven't bought a seal kit yet, but that's probably a project for warmer weather. Lots of suppliers out there for seals and parts. Vintage Hein-Werner and Walker seem to be the gold standard, but old Sears are coveted, too.

 

Since its not leaking externally I would just take the valve off and see if the seal inside the valve is broke or if there's a bunch of dirt in there not letting the ball seat fully and allowing the fluid to slowly byp***.

Usually a ram seal leaks externally.

 

Thanks for the tip. Will do. Doesn't seem to be leaking externally. I haven't even checked the fluid level yet, so will do that as soon as we get a warm spell.

 

My ton-and-a-half Hein Werner was sold to me by my Snap-On man at the time, (1974) Walt Popper. Brand new on his truck, he gave it to me for cost, as it wasn't 'moving'.
Also bought a new Victor oxy/acet Victor 'Aircraft' set that day. (also for cost; Bless you, Walt!)

The Hein-Werner worked perfectly, until one day in 1982 it started leaking at the main ram seal...Took it apart, got a kit, and fixed it. Again, sprung a leak in the main ram...my bud was Service Mgr at the large Rental yard, brought another 'broken' kit, we installed the seal and it's still working, good as new.
That jack has lifted more Porsches and VWs than I can count...and has lifted its share of hot rods and 'mild customs'...