It would be terrific to look into your floor jack as an asset. Indeed, you will want to keep it in good working order. Then, your floor jack’s regular servicing is significant for its continuous and safe function. That’s why many new users want to know how to service a floor jack.
But it would be astonishing to ensure your safety first. Thus, inspect your floor jack for any wear and tear and perform its routine servicing. Therefore, this vital tool can hold the heavy weight above you. So, it is necessary to have a solid jack for your wrenching.
If your jack is of high quality, you must give it regular servicing to prolong its life. Therefore, your jack will inevitably provide efficient performance for up to 10 years, and you won’t get any problems.
For instance, applying lubrication on all movable parts is one of the most vital routines to adopt. Lubrication ensures the jack will run effectively and smoothly with minimum friction. Besides, all its components will work efficiently, and you will operate it efficiently.
Let’s come to the topic; here is some good news: servicing a floor jack is not a big deal right now. In this read, you will walk through some valuable tips about how to maintain a floor jack.
You can also read: Best American Made Floor Jacks In 2023
How To Service Floor Jack?
Now you have to move to know how to maintain a floor jack when it is malfunctioning. Let’s quickly review the proper servicing tips to avoid your floor jack malfunction. So from time to time, servicing the floor jack will make it in perfect condition.
Besides, you will adopt the ways to protect your jack from possible damage, which are the following:
To Inspect Jack Leakage, Cracking And Rusting (Wear Or Tear)
Regular inspection must be a part of your routine servicing of your floor jack. Inspect the place where you have kept your jack and should observe any fluid leakage, cracking, and rusting. Also, check for too much wear or tear and other parts that may lead to possible damage.
In addition, give proper attention to the handle and lift arm because they are the most stressed points on your jack. Besides, it would be remarkable if you examined foreign objects such as bits of metal, dirt, rocks, etc. Though, remove them before they may break the jack.
Similarly, if you notice any crack, you must replace or repair it before encountering any possible unpleasant situation. If you have a good look over the jack, it will give long-lasting performance. Therefore, it would be terrific if you had a regular eye on it to protect it from damage.
Regular Lubrication Of Wheels And Hinge Points
When you impose heavy loads on your jack, it will undoubtedly inflict on your jack wheels. Therefore, make sure you lubricate your jack’s hinge points and wheels. You must immediately replace your jack-damaged wheels. Thus, under heavy load, they ensure its stability.
Lubricating these points will prevent wear and tear and protect your jack from failure. It will be outstanding if you use the best quality jack fluid or grease to do this.
You Must Tight Jack Loose Nuts
The next tip for servicing is the tightening of any loose nut you may encounter in your inspection. Although to avoid stripping the nut, you must tighten any loose nuts you discover when observing the jack. Always use the correct gauge spanner to prevent nut stripping.
Check The Oil Level Periodically
We strongly recommend that every user should check their jack oil level periodically. Floor jack internal systems solely rely on the action of oil under pressure. Thus, any leak in the hydraulic system will cause a decrease in performance.
Regularly observe the hydraulic fluid reservoir by removing the filling plug and visually inspecting the jack fluid level. If it is low, then you have to fill it to the correct line and don’t exceed the proposed level. Pour oil into the right port, typically on the side of the power unit.
Only use hydraulic oil that the manufacturer specifies. Always avoid brake fluid, motor oil, and transmission oil because they may cause damage to seals and result in jack failure. Indeed, you would not like this to happen when you need the jack to repair your vehicle.
Besides, you should continuously monitor the system, which means you will not encounter any leakage. Despite this, if you notice your jack oil level is still dropping down, you should replace or repair it. Also, check the oil level after every three months.
Bleeding The System
Bleeding the system is also a significant part of your jack servicing. When you change the oil successfully, you always keep in mind that the bleeding of air from the unit is vital. You should do it if you notice the jack moves erratically instead of smoothly.
Thus, you must turn the pump rod counterclockwise and pump the jack a few times. Once you have done it, you should rotate the rod back clockwise and pump up the jack until it releases the trapped air. Regular bleeding of the jack is necessary for smooth action.
To Avoid Overloading
Ensure you do not use your jack for a heavy load exceeding its lifting capacity. Every jack has a specific lifting weight capacity that it can bear. If you use it for anything other than its original weight, it may lead to failure.
Therefore, you shouldn’t use it to lift extraordinary weights, especially those that exceed their maximum lifting capacity. Because it is dangerous and not safe, and you might damage your jack or injure yourself.
Store Your Floor Jack Well
When you plan on not using a jack over an extended period, thus, place your jack at an angle that its hydraulic arm and pump remain in a retracted position. If you store it well, it would be ideal for Jack’s extended life.
By doing this, the system will get less strain, and there is a higher possibility that your jack will work efficiently. While storing your floor jack, it would be best if it is on its wheels and not bent on its side. Therefore, tilting a jack on its side, front, or rear gains the risk of possible leaks.
After every use, you must clean it well and keep it inside the garage with no dampness. Please keep your jack in a dry place and swab or grease it with oil occasionally to prevent rusting.
Clean It Regularly
A filthy floor jack will stop working and break apart. That’s why there are no ifs and buts and no compromise on the jack cleaning. Undoubtedly your jack might fail because of dirt. When not using the jack, it is crucial to protect it from dampness and dust so its life will move long.
When you use your jack in an outside environment, undoubtedly, water, sand, dirt, and other foreign objects can accumulate on it. If you have not cleaned it quickly, it can damage your jack in many ways, internally and externally, and can degrade it.
After every use, clean it well before storing it. When you wipe down your jack metal, it will engage less dirt. Always use quality fluid to cleanse the body of your jack. It is significant to clean your floor jack with oil regularly, preventing premature wear and tear of parts.
You should apply general grease to caster wheels, front axle, elevator arm, handle base pivot screws, release system, and bearing shells.
Conclusion–how to maintain a floor jack.
We are sure that you would have learned how to service floor jack. And this read will also help you to get what is wrong and how you can maintain your floor jack.
Therefore, correctly applying the above, maintaining, and servicing tips will keep your jack in safe and sound working order for many years. The manufacturer has built these jacks to take a ton of load and last for many years, but your safety must be over-cautious.
We will emphasize enough; in particular, if you find any problems during your servicing and maintenance, you must correct them quickly. You must replace your jack if you find any cracks or unusual leaks. It is insignificant insurance when you consider your safety first.
So now you know how to service a hydraulic floor jack, head out into your home garage, perform an inspection, and do service.
