Hey Guys,
I have a 3 1/2 ton floor jack about 3 years old. It will still lift, but not hold a load. I bled the oil then changed, and bled the oil again with no luck. Do I really need to buy a new jack or can I try something else? A new power unit for this jack is the same cost as a new complete jack but I find it hard to throw it away. Any ideas?

Might try to find a rebuild kit for the cylinder but personally I wouldn't risk it - Floor jacks are pretty inexpensive and I wouldn't take the chance with a catastrophic failure dropping the load quickly.

Most jacks nowadays are throw aways. You might be able to buy a rebuid kit from sears.

I always called my Craftsman jacks, suicide jacks because they always came down fast. I have the Lincoln jacks like the shops use but they are expensive.

I had this same problem with an old jack ... it would lift but not hold the load. I concur with the other posts that say buy a new one .... they are not too expensive.

But .... if you want to do some more research ...... I found an awesome thread on floor jacks on garagejournal.com ...... it's called "overseas jack rebuild help tutorial". It seems that a jack isn't too hard to rebuild, and there is a guy on there that can help find the right parts. I did buy a new jack, but still have my old one. It appears that it's just a leaking seal that causes the jack to drop under load.

Regards

Bill

Odd I have a Sears Craftsman Pro jack and I have to stand on the dang thing to get it to go down sometimes (it goes down so slow).

I don't think I'd risk it if you are having problems with it.

I also have a 3.5 ton Craftsman jack that failed. Mine won't raise or hold a load. I thought it was covered under the lifetime warranty program but I sadly found it is not covered. My Harbor Freight one cost 1/3 as much and has lasted me through 3 builds. I'll never buy another Craftsman floor jack.

i hope you are only using jack to get car up & are putting it up on stands every time you are under car.i use to jack cars up & crawl under them without stands under them.then my luck ran out a 10 cent o-ring blew out & car fell on me knocking me out only thing that saved my life was a metal water bucket that i was putting my transmission bolts in caught on the front cradle,it crunched bucket down but held car up so my neighbor could get me out.i later in life helped a guy in a hydraulic shop build cylinders & he would build old floor jacks & not all the time but most of the time jacks he rebuilt the o-ring in piston where you jack it up went bad.guys only thing that holds car up is like i said a 10 cent o-ring.i cant stress enough how important it is to use jack stands.i know we forget & get in a hurry at times but think before you crawl under car that's not supported.i know people hate to hear people preaching to them about safety but safety is very important.i use to think i was invincible but guess what we aren't.thanks

I have a 1-1/2 ton green Sears Craftsman floor jack I purchased thirty years ago. It has seen a lot of rugged, hard, heavy duty use, and never failed. Knock on wood. It will drop a car fast if you don't go easy on turning the handle to let it down. I remember the instructions saying to store it with the handle down all the way. I've made a habit of storing it with the handle down and that may be why it has lasted so long.

i had a friend who managed to trap himself under his car for about a day and a half he lived alone and probably would have starved to death under there if someone hadnt dropped by for a visit...he was bruised but no lasting effects other than he uses jack stands now.

I think you will fine the craftman and most other jacks are Chinese made and/or have chinese seals

it's called "overseas jack rebuild help tutorial". It seems that a jack isn't too hard to rebuild
We rebuilt all our jacks in the workshop over the last couple months.
1/ it was about 1/3 the cost
2/Very simple and straight forward
3/The seals etc are basically Std Size....like when getting bearings...
4/We used Aussie made seals...the 1st one we used chinese and after a couple lifts failed

If the jack has ever been topped up with non hydrolic oil it will stuff the seals and O rings.

If you are going to replace...1st pull the jack about anyway..u will be suprised how simple they are...and most prob change your mind.

Thanks for all the ideas. I'll look into a rebuild kit if the price is right. If not, I guess it's off to buy another one. I hope a new one last more than 3 years. And yep, I always use jack stands.

If you can't find a kit for your specific jack, take it apart and take the seals to a hydraulic supply house. I did that once and they were able to match them up easily.

I had a freind that was working on his race car and the jack failed and killed him .I never get under a car without jack stands as a back up. it only takes a couple of seconds to place a jack stand .I wish Fred would have used one.:(

take it apart and take the seals to a hydraulic supply house. I did that once and they were able to match them up easily.

Yep...

3/The seals etc are basically Std Size....like when getting bearings...

Who goes buys a bearing from a dealer? If one goes to an industrial bearing supplier you pick the same thing up for 1/2 the price and far better quality.

I had a freind that was working on his race car and the jack failed and killed him .I never get under a car without jack stands as a back up. it only takes a couple of seconds to place a jack stand .I wish Fred would have used one.:(
Thanks for the reminder even though I'm sure it's painful. You just reminded me to use jackstands ALL the time.

i hope you are only using jack to get car up & are putting it up on stands every time you are under car.i use to jack cars up & crawl under them without stands under them.then my luck ran out a 10 cent o-ring blew out & car fell on me knocking me out only thing that saved my life was a metal water bucket that i was putting my transmission bolts in caught on the front cradle,it crunched bucket down but held car up so my neighbor could get me out.i later in life helped a guy in a hydraulic shop build cylinders & he would build old floor jacks & not all the time but most of the time jacks he rebuilt the o-ring in piston where you jack it up went bad.guys only thing that holds car up is like i said a 10 cent o-ring.i cant stress enough how important it is to use jack stands.i know we forget & get in a hurry at times but think before you crawl under car that's not supported.i know people hate to hear people preaching to them about safety but safety is very important.i use to think i was invincible but guess what we aren't.thanks

Amen to the above advise. Never ever, ever get under a car supported by a jack. Cheap jack, expensive jack makes no difference. They all have a hydraulic cylinder and they all have o-rings and sooner or later they all will fail due to normal use. A cheap one may fail sooner, but do you want to die sooner or later? I use a Harbor freight aluminum racing jack works great. I make it a habit to get my jack stands out and decide where I will place them before getting my jack. This makes it less likely that I will jack the car and take a chance rather than go get the stands. I personally knew a guy that lost his life by not having proper support under the car.
gene68ss