HOW TO FIX A JACK THAT WON'T STAY UP - TRY THIS HACK 

Tried it and it fixed my at least 10 year old Harbor Freight 3 ton floor jack. It stopped working altogether so I added jack oil and bled it at the rubber plug the way everybody says to, and that made it work. But it still leaked down slowly, about maybe an inch or two an hour. I bled it the way you said and it's working like new now. Thanks!

My 4 Ton Jack started leaking off. I just searched the tubes. Seen 10 or so vids your title was exactly what mine was doing. Had this Jack for ten yrs last year or so nvr used it. Tried your remedy it’s solid so I wanted to post a comment to ya and thank you. New subscriber as well. Thanks again.

My 30+ year-old Sears jack just started doing this! Going to try your suggestion. Thanks. Yours is the only YT video that addresses this problem. All the others are about leaking jacks.

You are a genius. AC Delco 3.5 ton jack. Use it infrequently. Last weekend I needed to jack up a beam in my garage to take the sag out of it in order to build 2 temp walls for beam replacement. I would jack up the beam, measure the stud length, run to my miter saw, cut the stud, run back in, pump up the jack again, install the stud. What a beating. I was looking into rebuilding it when I ran across your tip. Worked like a charm. Thank you very much. I will be back at it this weekend to cut our old beam and replace with new. The jack will come in handy.

OMG! My Pro-Lift F-350 was slowly dropping after jacking up. I had already started looking for repair kits when I came across this video. I immediately went outside and tried it - worked like a champ! Thank you for saving me a lot of time and trouble!

Wow! All credit to you! You fixed my jack and saved me hundreds!!!! Live it and liked the video!

I tried purging the air the way the instructions said to like 4 times and it would still creep down. The second I tried your trick the jack now holds. Thank you!!!

Nothing like starting my Sunday funday with a Steve Rob jack hack! Love it! Thanks for sharing!

Pro tip - whoever discovered this was cussing at his jack at the moment

Thanks so much for your time and effort to produce this video. I just did this to my creeping not so old Craftsman floor jack and it worked great. Chuck Pittsburgh

Thanks for this trick. My 2 1/4 ton jack started doing this for the first time. I jacked it up all the way with no weight and kept pumping about 20 more times. Went to try it again and it worked perfectly..

Tried it and it helped. So what happens in the mechanism of the jack to cause this? Thoughts? I had my car very high on wooden blocks in a confined space and had to lower it carefully. Can slow lowering under load cause this to happen? Great video. Thank you.

This hack solved the exact problem I had with a motorcycle jack that wasn’t used in several months. Thanks!

It helped my jack it made it way better for a very short time im going to try adding some oil but I think I'm going to need to reseal it at the end but it's a great way to bleed it thanks

Hi Steve. Thanks for that information. I have a floor jack that just went on me. I added oil, a nasty bugger to get to refill, and tried but the jack would not hold the truck up. I will give your tip a try and hope sincerely that it works. Jack has not been used in months and has gone through some cold spells

I really liked the ideas about putting that pin in the handle so you can take it apart faster and easier. I like the t handle too for turning the handle. Smart. I will have to try this if mine ever starts creeping. So far it hasn't done this.

Going to give this a try I have bled my floor jack 3X’s and it still goes down under a load. It ticks when it’s under a load and it goes down automatically so I’m gonna give this a try. Thank you very much.

Awesome, I’ve had this craftsman for over 4 years, it if started slowly lowering a couple years ago and i thought it was defective. She works perfectly now, thank you

great tip steve i need to try that we have one in the shop that doses that

Thanks Steve,I"ve got a 40 year old,2 ton floor jack that I bought new,never failed me until today.It"s doing exactly what you say,no sign of leaks so this is probably the problem,I mean,it can"t be bad,already!

Another thank you here. I thought I had a bad check valve and would have to tear it apart, a nice messy and time-consuming job. But no! I found this video and it worked. My jack doesn't keep pumping at the top; the handle just locks up. But I let it down and the problem was already fixed. If not, I would have tried cycling it full range a few more times.

As I go through some of your videos I become more like a genius :) I started of in life about fifty yards behind the line, I just move ahead a little, finely:)

Great tip... I'm going to try tomorrow...

I have a hydraulic motorcycle workbench, foot pedal to raise up and another pedal to release and lower. It's behaving like this video. No sign of oil leak. I'll try your method

Just tried it on my 36-year-old Jack no leaks no runs never had problems with it this work perfect thanks brother 🤙🏼😎🚬

You're right on top of that stuff. Well done brother!!!!

Tried it. It did work.

Thanks for the tip! .. was wondering what happened to my Michelin floor jack..stored it for a year and now it leaks down..

Nice tip....better than getting mad and throwing it out in the yard!

I will add the two features for the handle bar as you explained. I love those two tips.

Thank you . That worked perfectly on an old jack that belonged to my father. I thought it was rubbish but now works perfectly

I had this happen to me on what seed like a brand new Jack that I only used half a dozen times for some basic jobs mainly brakes. And even though I didn't see any leaks I decided to replace the seals that looked perfectly good in both places. This did nothing to fix the situation. Can't wait to go out and see if your trick works boy wouldn't that be great. Thanks for putting this on here

Wise info,how about jack oil

Hi there. Thanks for the advice. Dad gave me a jack that when you turn it to lift it never gets to the end of the twist. You can keep tightening. It does goe up and everything, creeps down slowly but curious about the turning of the lever. I thought you have to get to a point where is completely tight and then start lifting

Crazy. I was about to buy a $50 kit and came across your video. It worked! Thanks!

My jack wasn't holding and I definitely didn't trust it on axles if the thing wouldn't stay up. I will try this.

Great tip mate

Thanks 😁, that got me through the tire change. Always relevant no matter how old this video is.. 😎

Very cool Steve. Mine stay's up! lol. Are we talking about Jacks! lol

Great hint Steve! In fact it was super great because I do not have to go out and spend some money. That is quite unusual for one of you videos. LOL!

Pretty interesting Steve, I like how fast that jack came up also I like your T handle.... pretty cool idea.

Nicest guy on the youtubes! Excellent tip on the handle there. Thanks buddy

I used to rebuild these jacks. A lot of times its the seat under the checkball. It gets damaged by a bit of debri and what not. If you take a brass punch or even a hard punch wipe the seat clean place the ball in the seat and smack it fairly hard. It will reseat itself. Its really hard to damage the check ball. They are really hard. You dont have to take a shop hammer 😂 just a small ball peen and give it a little whack. put the spring and cap back and it should hold real nice.Wipe the ball clean especially if you use a brass punch.

Gosh,,, That aluminum rod is a great idea. Thanks for the tip.

Gonna try this. Can’t wait to see id it bringa new life to my tired old jack

Thank you! worked on my craftsman Jack that i have not used in 6 months.

Keep pumping till it stays upright. OK, got it!

I have that Michelin jack 3 1/2 ton with the same problem you just described. I was about to throw it away and get a new one until I saw this video. I tried your advice, and it worked. Thank you so much, you just saved me some $$.

Excellent trick, i had few curse words today while doing gas tank, hands ful,mof grease could not turn the handle!! Tomorrow first thing im drilling a hole through the handle so i can use a screwdriver. You ever have a moment when you see someones solution and think, how stupid can i be to not think of that lol. I love little solutions to big aggravation. 😄

Very nice tip! Thanks for sharing

Excellent suggestion, works very well. Thank you.

Great tip Steve!!! Cheers 🍻

Alrighty very useful tip. I keep that in mind if I ever have to use one of those thingies ! Thanks Steve ! :D

I see you are really good at pumping Steve, a pro for sure. lol

Worked like a charm. Thanks!

Wow steve didn't know that one, very cool will do

Thank you so much I was about to throw my jack out and this worked👍🏻

Thank you! I just told my husband I'm sure there was a fix to try before tossing. 2yrs no use yep reprising sounds about rt.. no leaks .. just loosescompression.. Great trouble shooting..

Worth a try for sure. I bled my old one the other day and it pumps up quick, but won’t hold a load. It also makes a clicking noise once it reaches full height if you keep pumping it. Any ideas?

Worked great, thanks dude!

Great tip. Worked for me. . .thanks!

Will try this and let you know if it works. Thank you for sharing! Subscribed!

Good tip Steve.

So how do I do it with a engine hoist (hydraulic lift for lifting engine from car and putting back) ALSO it keeps leaking oil but I don’t know how to stop the leaking and the more it leaks the more it lowers

Air and hydraulics don’t mix! Good tip 👍

Hi, my jack is only a year old and it slowly goes down, ive tried this and also bleed it about 20 times, and nothing fixes it, it has no hydrolic fluid leaks...any idea what it could be..?..thanks..

New subscriber here. took Mike's advice from "Grampies" Workshop" and checked out your channel. You have great channel.

Does this work at -40 in the country with wolves nipping at your heels while your 10 miles from town

Haven't had that happen yet but good to know! Cheers buddy!

Thank you for saving me $100 or more Steve!

Where can I get a o ring kit for the jack you have their.

Beautiful thanks mate

How about if I would like to jack it only to 3/4 from the top?

Thank you!

Great tip thanks

Thanks for tip

Thanks Steve

What kit for the MICHELAN jack ,wont stay up and I allso lost my 1 pump to raise at start

I have a snap on jack from 1965 it works great unless there is no weight on it, so until the jack makes contact with the vehicle I have to stand on it while pumping. What does this mean?

Excellent Thank you very much

i stand on the wheels and pull up on the jack plate right to the top and it seems to get the air out.

Thanks for the tip it work perfect

Thank you!!!

Wow ill try this out tomorrow dont thibk i ever tried that but that makes sense

loan my jack to friend now the handke wont turn to lower any deas thank jack from 70 all steel

it work , thank man

Gonna give it a shot Steveoh!

Cool

Brilliant thanks 👍

good tip

nice!

I’ve bled mine three or for times now but it still will not jack up my car. I can jack it up with no weight on it and stand on it and won’t go down but not my car. It’s a 3 ton jack that my buddy gave me. Anything else I can do?

Good tip on the jack handle but you don't need that T thing. I just use a regular flat screwdriver, you know when I am not using it for a pry bar or a scrapper. Haha

This worked for me! 🫡 salute to you sir

Steve ... I have the same jack you are showing 3 1/2 TON Mitchelin in the video with no obvious leaks. Follow your tip pumping the jack on the top end and now my jack works fine. I saved having to buy another jack or wasting my time installing a new jack kit that was not needed. Thank you, … Juan

It works for my BIG RED T83006 Torin Hydraulic Trolley Service/Floor Jack. Problem fixed!!!

Another thing I've found in my experience, most of the videos showing bleeding hasn't worked for me. What I have found that did work was to pump the jack to almost full height, tip the jack vertically on its front end (wheels off helps hugely), open the release for the jack to go down. When on end like this, ALL the air is released from the lift cylinder before fluid starts being released. Set the jack down, open the fill plug, add oil as needed. Repeat at least one more time. I had a solid lift immediately, where previously I had a spongy jack following instructions from various videos. When doing it like this, you have to be DAMN careful, as there is a lot of weight to these jacks! Maybe even use a rubber pad when standing the jack on end.

I wish I know that about 5 Jack's ago, thanks

I thought he was going to recommend viagra for the jack 😂

I like the T handle for finite lowering.