hi sages- most of you must have been up against this conundrum especially if you've been wrenching tanks as far back as I have(1965). figure the 2d most useful tool in the garage is the hydraulic floor jack in 2 or 3 ton models. bought mine at sears craftman (2 ton) in 73. worked fine until this year. never even had to add fluid. think it is leaking internally b/c it lowers itself slowly after being pumped up. adding fluid does no good. figure pump needs rebuild or replacement. have exhausted all the obvious sources. shops and parts used to be common. no more. any ideas or sources? before you say it, I confess to being a recidivist cheap bastid as uncle moe accuses. hate to put it on the curb for the junk man and purchase a harbor freight for 75.fear it will crap out in 1 year. seems like such a waste. sounds like a job for superman. thanks tons oldduke

This is a topic we can all appreciate. Here in the Tampa, Florida area, the Sears, Kmart's are closing up and a floor jack may be had at a large discount. My Craftsman floor jack is still hanging in there-sure gets heavier over time!!!

Good luck Duke, have enjoyed your posts and pithy comments here for years.

Regards, Ken in Soggy Fla--'59 445,'60 Lark V8 ragtop,'71 GMC 'Burb-3 door

hi 544- thanks for your kind words. haven't used the word pithy in a few years. but will start. others have not been so kind some comments ranging from cheap bastid to one eccentric mofo. one wiseguy even told me the depression ended in 1940 and I ought to wake the #@!$ up. as you can tell I'm a sensitive guy and my feelings get hurt. anyway would really like to save the '73 2 ton craftsman. I could remove and replace the pump/power unit if I could find one . sure that is the problem, but cant find any source or one willing and able to rebuild the pump without taking out a mortgage. why do all my friends and enemies want to make me po? so 544 if you have an answer sock it to me . tried to make a deal with sears but they wouldn't budge on price. their non competitive overpricing has been a big problem with them for a few years. wasn't like that until recently. on the verge of buying a hf 3ton model from china with the name Pittsburgh on it for 75 and junking the 73 or getting an arcan 2 ton which is warranted 1 year . it has good reviews. the hf has mixed reviews and is only warranted for about 10 minutes. uncle moe would say helluva racket isn't it. would love to hear your thoughts. the arcan is 79 . thanks tons oldduke

Did it by any chance have the good ol’ “Craftsman tool” lifetime guarantee? I’ve found it amazing what they’ve simply replaced over the years - try that if you haven’t before they’re out of business.....probably WHY they’re almost out of business.

Since that likely won’t work/you’ve already tried (because self proclaimed cheap bastard) take apart the jack and see what you find....you have nothing to lose, it’s broke. If a good cleaning won’t do it, or you can’t get a part/seal - buy another jack. You more than got your money’s worth on that one. If you don’t trust HF, uh, don’t buy at Harbor Freight.
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82 242-6.2L; '17 Mazda3; '16 Crosstrek

hi mike- interesting point. have replaced a number of broken lifetime hand tools at sears in the past 50. never tried it with a jack, never had a jack crap. will ask about it. hf jack warranty is 60 days. some are 1 year(arcan). do you have any experience with hf jacks? thanks tons oldduke

I had the same issue with my ~20 year old long-arm Harbor Freight floor jack. It would pump up OK but would immediately settle back down. I took the pump apart and found the problem to be some coagulated oil hanging up the check valve - probably absorbed some moisture in the oil somehow over the years??? I don't know. But once I cleaned it all out and replaced the oil with new hyd jack oil it worked fine. No parts, other than oil, were purchased. That was a few years ago and it still works fine.
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Current rides: 2005 Volvo S80 2.5T, 2003 Volvo V70 2.4NA, 1973 Volvo 1800ES (getting ever closer to road worthiness)

Don't give up on that jack yet. I've got one probably exactly like yours....weighs a ton but still works well.
Go to searspartsdirect.com with the model number, if you can still read it, and i'll bet you can still get parts for it. I think you need the seals for the lifting cylinder. Tom

would love to do that fredneck- sears doesn't have the parts for my 73 . not sure I have the skills to rebuild the pump with the seal kit. do you know how to do it? thanks tons oldduke

Don't compromise on your safety, OD. Get yourself another jack! Doesn't have to be new. Probably can find a good used one for cheap money on Craigslist or similar site.

At 45 years old it does not owe you anything! You can try bleeding air out of the reservoir but not sure of the procedure on your's. Google is your friend.

Harbor freights jacks work well, if you work on vehicles larger than Volvo's I would recommend a 3 ton with max lift available.
Dan

I've got a HF for about 10yrs now. No issues. Besides Memorial Day sales there.
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Post Back. That's whats makes this forum work.

hi pageda and aleekat- frankly you are the first ones ive heard who have a positive comment on hf jacks. one is on sale right now - a steel 3 ton for 75 with the rapid pump 2 piston setup in the pump. no experience with the hf jacks. how about some detail on your experience with them . do you know any one who rebuilds the pumps. sears doesn't have parts or seals anymore for my 73 but lazzars has seal kit for it for 46. not sure I have the skills to rebuils the pump. ever do it? thanks tons oldduke

"hi pageda and aleekat- frankly you are the first ones ive heard who have a positive comment on hf jacks"

Couple three years ago I mentioned having decent luck with HF. In your thread:

https://www.brickboard.com/RWD/volvo/1620786/220/240/260/280/dont_know_jack.html

Still holds true...
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.

hi arty b- apologies . I do remember now you mentioned that. I'm about ready to take a chance on one from hf. is your hf jack still doing one helluva job after 3 years? thanks tons oldduke

I have a 1.5 ton aluminum mostly now for travel as they are fairly light and a 3 ton low profile for the bulk of my work. The 1.5 ton is marginal in height travel but works well getting the 240 up on stands at a lower height.

I haven't had any issues other that the 1.5 ton needs to be bled every now and then. Perhaps due to exceeding it's limits!

The steel 3 ton currently on sale through today is a great price. If you find someone to repair the old one it would likely cost allot more than that.
Dan

hi dan- you see that's the problem with jack repair persons. they've all disappeared. may take a chance on the hf 3 ton. thanks tons oldduke

You can get extended warranties on HF? Trouble is anything you buy today is made in China!
Dan

hi dan- yes I think for $20? more you can extend the warranty for a year. the problem is with these Chinese manufacturers there is no source to repair them. oldduke