Repairing Motomaster 2.5ton Floor Jack?

[Guest]

i got one of them 2.5ton Motomaster floorjacks from canadian tire,... there seems to be some fluid coming out of the pumping thing, and the jack would not pump up anymore under a certain load,..

is a leaking seal or something the cause of it, and i'm losing pressure?

is there any possible way to repair it, or am i hooped, and better off to buy another one?

[djboates]

If you just bought it, bring it back to CT, it should still be under warrantee.

[Jaker]

Hoking,

Your post on IC.com got my lazy *** off the computer chair, and on the phone with CTC. I have a 2 1/2 ton floor jack from them as well, and I have the exact same problem as you. There is a leak in the hydraulic reservoir somewhere, and when I pump, the jack tops out before reaching its max travel. The reason for this is low hudraulic fluid level. I have had mine for about 7-8 years, and have gotten alot of use out of it. However, contrary to what Don said over on IC.com, I have never jacked anything other than a Honda Civic/Integra etc... and never exceeded the load rating of the jack.

Anyways, to get to the point: CTC told me that they don't have rebuild kits for their floor jacks. They informed me that they only have rebuild kits for the bottle jacks. I was also informed that my jack was discontinued a while ago, and the waranty on jacks is 1 year. So basically I am SOL on a jack I bought for $150. I have to take my jack apart and find the seal/o-ring that is leaking, and try and find it on a generic basis.

In the mean time, if you want to restore the performance of your jack (at least until the fluid leaks out again), you can just top up the hydraulic fluid through the large slot headed plug that is in the top of the large cylinder. It has an o-ring on it, and you can unscrew it to gain access to the reservoir. CTC sells hydraulic oil for jacks, but I've always used automotive brake fluid.

I'll let you know what I discover when I get around to taking my jack apart.

[hoking]

hey thanks for going through all that trouble just for a jack =)i had mine for about 2yrs, so no warranty.. but i only bought it for like $30,.. so it isnt so bad, i guess i'll try topping off the hydraulic fluid, but it will still leak,...


anyways, i want to try disassembling it, how hard is it to do? or is it impossible to disassemble as i havnt taken alook at it yet

[Radio Flyer]

I don't know if your hydraulic jack can be repaired but I got new seals for a bottle jack at Tidewater Supplies in Port Kells. I had a leak but the piston and cylinder were still OK. If you have over extended the piston on either the pump or the lifting piece you could bend the parts and might not ever be satisfied with new seals.

Call around to some of the hydraulic shops in your area. You might be lucky.

I heard some of the Crappy Tire jacks are built in a way that prevents replacement of the seals.

[Race Miata]

Hoking,

Not sure if you have the same kind of hydraulic jack as ours. The bigger of our hydraulic jacks (bought from CalVan about 8-9 years ago, if you still remember that store) started leaking quite a few years ago. We refilled initially but had to rebuild as it got worse. The problem is in the plunger (master cylinder). When you press down on the handle bar, it pushes the plunger down but NOT perfectly straight down. The sideway load wears out the o-ring which eventually leaks. We have replaced the O-ring quite a few times (about once a year) but now the jack is just a piece of dead weight in the garage. Our smaller hydraulic jack which were bought at CT around the same time have never had any leak or problem.

[hoking]

maybe i'll attempt at taking it apart this weekend and put up some pictures so you guys can help identify what the problem is =)

i just saw the prices on freightharbour,.. and woh,.. $300US for a jack is outta my league,.. i only need something to jack my car up at home to put on jackstands,.. no need for hardcore jacks,.. hehe

[Neon Racer]

But think how cool it'll be to get one of those "one pump and your car is up" jacks like Nascar

[Race Miata]

Originally posted by hoking:
maybe i'll attempt at taking it apart this weekend and put up some pictures so you guys can help identify what the problem is =)

Narrow down the source of leak first. If it's around the master cylinder (quite likely), then there's no need to dismantle the big slave cylinder.

[hoking]

visual inspection reveals that most of the fluid is around the pump... so.. what next?

[Race Miata]

Originally posted by hoking:
visual inspection reveals that most of the fluid is around the pump... so.. what next?

When you say pump, you mean the master cylinder where the handle bar hooks onto?

[hoking]

yes, when you push down on the handle bar, you can see that piston or shaft or whatever you call that thing go down,..

[Radio Flyer]

Micheal:

A 2003 Crummy Tire catalogue and flyer showed up at the door yesterday and they are advertising a 2 Ton one in the flyer (page 24) for <$30.00. Sale ends March 27th. Lots of time to save up

If you want to check out something bigger and better, KMS tools off Louheed Hwy. near the new IKEA has a good selection of somewhat more expensive floor jacks.

[hoking]

ya the one in the catalogue is prob the same one i bought 1 yr ago for like $27 or something =)

i would just buy another cheap $30 one instead of trying to fix it,... but then fixing it would be a fun challenge,... =)

[Race Miata]

Originally posted by hoking:
yes, when you push down on the handle bar, you can see that piston or shaft or whatever you call that thing go down,..

Then don't worry about the big slave cylinder. Just dismantle the master cylinder.