Proper way to store hydraulic jack
 

My roommates and I have gone through 2 hydraulic jacks and we are currently working on our 3rd. What seems to happen is they loose all jacking pressure. We've tried filling them up with fluid and they still don't work. So are you supposed to leave the valve tightened up(ready to jack) or are you supposed to leave it loose (lowered position). I got this jack for christmas and I'd really prefer not to have it go out. Thanks yall.

Must be some really cheap jacks.
Mine is about 16 years old and still going strong, I keep the valve closed all the time.

MikeyB

One was an AC delco, the other was a Craftsman (so much for their lifetime warranty, jack was less than a year old), and this one is from wal-mart. I dunno. Maybe the wal-mart jack will last the longest. Hope so.

I leave the valve open and store it upright. I've got a cheap Harbor Freight bottle jack that's lasted five years like that so far. I do the same thing with the floor jack.

BigBlue, I know why your jacks are dying?? They don't take the abuse of being slammed around in the back of your truck when hiting curbs!!!! :o :o I leave mine up a inch or two and never grab them by the ram and let them go down slowly when loaded.Goodluck,,Rick

The biggest reason that they fail is people crank down hard on the valve that lets the jack come down. If you over tighten that valve it pinches the o-ring hard against the seat and the o-ring either comes loose, breaks, or fails otherwise. If the jack won't go up that is the #1 reason why it won't. You will need a new o-ring to fix it. Any hydraulics shop would be able to fix it and/or sell you the o-ring.

What can you do to prevent this? Easy, just snug the valve when you close it. Thats all it takes. You don't have to gorrilla arm it.

I have abused our 12 ton silverline since i was old enough to carry it , it gets stored up , down , open, closed , with weight on it for long periods , on it's side , etc, and it always works, maybe you need to abuse them harder bb?

I've had quite a few jacks over the years. The older jacks are the best overall for abuse. My best ones are Lincolns. They get slamed around in my service truck and keep on jacking, no matter how I store them. I have a couple that are 30-40 years old and leak a lot, when they quit lifting, I add oil and keep on going. The newer jacks don't hold up as good, and when they loose their oil and I add some, that's usually the end of them. I think it is the oil is not compatible and gells. Try dumping out all the oil and refilling it with fresh oil and try it again.

Go to NAPA and get a real jack. I've got a 3 ton made by lincoln, they are pricey but worth it if you use it alot. also, floor jacks cant be turned on their side, air gets trapped in them. manual with the jack should tell how to expell the air :) Mine says to open valve and slowly pump jack about 10 times. Hope this helps.

Good info... thanks. I actually just refilled my Craftsman floor jack. This thing has a small hydraulic jack in it that lays on it side by design. After about 5 years it quit pumping. I refilled it and works great.

proper way to store hyd jacks
 

In 89 I bought a 8t jack from Acklands now AG. It has been used to lift the truck and a few other things. Still in very good shape. I always store in the truck dry box with the bleed valve in the released position. I think that just common sense is the best for storage and use. If you abuse it it won't last as long. I greased the threads with Super Lube and they are easly spun up and down same as my C-clamps.