I have an MVP 3 ton floor jack. It is only about 10 years old. Lately it has been acting up. I filled the reservoir but it still does not lift properly. Are these rebuild-able? Where do you get parts? Are they worth the bother? What kind of jack should I look at. Overall I am very disappointed with most of the tools available these days. I hate to do it but I may just go to harbor freight. Advice and constructive criticism appreciated. Mike
I don't know much about jacks, but what little I think I know is.........they have a lot of "O" ring seals and they seem to be the cause of many of the problems we experience. Since your jack is older and you are thinking about replacing it, I suggest you have nothing to lose by taking it apart, carefully, and see if you can fix it. A good cleanup and new "O" rings may be all it needs. If there is more wrong with than that and not easily fixed, you've only lost a little time and know that it isn't worth keeping. Ray
Most likely a throw away. Check out Garagejournal.com for more about jacks and other shop tools. There's a jack thread on there with some really cool old jacks. If you can find an old Walker or Blackhawk in working or rebuildable condition that might be your best bet. Pretty much everything you find now is Made in China...
I have several Craftsman jacks - floor and bottle can't stand any of them. Hate to say it but I just bought one of the aluminum ones from HF I think its a 1 1/2 ton nice and light and works good so far, their engine hoist I bought about 10 years ago still works fine and its stored outside rain and all. I'm sure they wouldn't hold up with daily shop use but for weekend use so far I'm happy. Come to think of it the porta power I got their wasn't to bad of a deal either. That said if you can get it apart should only be a few seals and a check ball to go bad. some of that stuff is pressed and crimped togther makes it hard to get into.
A lo tof the time there is leakage thru a check ball under a spring. Find the spring/check ball, usually under a hex plug, and remove the spring and tap the check ball with a punch to "renew" the seat.
Take it apart. Hydraulic components, like seals, are standardized. Then you just have to duplicates of whatever is inside. Gotta be under $10.
harbor freight sells a 20 ton air jack that is great lifts my fully loaded e350 super duty utility body van with no problem
Lots of tutorials available to help you repair hydraulic jacks. Even Youtube videos. Pretty simple and inexpensive to do.
A new jack from HF are pretty inexpensive and they will last a long time. I would say it's not worth rebuilding a China jack. If the top of the cylinder has a hex nut, it's made in China. If you need a spanner type wrench to get it open, it's made in USA. I had a Snap-On(Lincoln) and a Hein-Warner rebuilt be "John the Jackman" in Stafford CT. It cost $100 plus the $30 kit to do each one. Seemed worth it to me to have a USA jack.
The Jack was acting up. It would not lift smoothly. I would monkey with it and eventually it would lift the car. At which point I would quickly install the jack stands. When jacking it up It will suddenly drop a bit. this is intermittent. I filled the reservoir. It gave no significant improvement. I may try re seating the check balls. I got a 25 ton Dake press that needed a good cleaning and its check ball re seated. After that it worked flawlessly. Thanks for the input guys! Mike
I realy appreciate everyones advice. Today I took the jack apart, cleaned the pieces and re ***embled it. I then filled it with fresh hydraulic oil. The stupid thing was unfortunately no better than before. I went to Sears tonight and got a new Craftsman 3 Ton. Basically the same jack that I had. I hope this one holds up a little better than the last one. The new jack had a small lifting pad. But my old one had a large one and it fits fine. So part of my old jack will live on Mike
wagonman, strange how many different stories about jacks. My dad gave me a craftsman 2&1/2 ton jack for my 30th birthday, I've often wondered when it would give out, so far it has always worked perfectly. The past eight years it has spent most of the time outdoor in all kinds of weather and still keeps working just fine. I'll be celebrating my 69th birthday this december, guess my dad made a good choice 39 years ago!
I do KNOW Jack....... O-rings most likely...finding new ones or packings.....worth a effort...saves ya bucks.... Yea, Jack and I.....
their is a guy on the garage journal that will supply the parts and tech to rebuild your jack plus some great threads!
My 1983 vintage Craftsman 1.5 ton jack is still going strong here. Battered up from abuse, never faltered on me once... works in -10* and 100*. Now I'm sure I put a hex on it. Bob
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