Vent: Stuck between a new hydraulic jack and rebuilding an old one

Had a 30 year old jack on a freight elevator in a warehouse near Cleveland start leaking last Tuesday. I figured $2,800 for a new kit versus $900 for rebuild parts and a weekend of swearing. I went cheap and rebuilt it, now its groaning like crazy after 3 days. Anybody else get burned trying to save a buck on old jacks?

2 comments

2 Comments

clark.robin1d ago

$900 and a weekend of swearing" - sounds like you got your money's worth on the swearing part at least. That groaning is probably just the jack telling you it remembers the 80s and isn't ready to quit yet. But seriously, I've been there with old equipment that refuses to die quietly. Usually means the seals aren't seated right or you missed a burr on a cylinder wall. Might be worth bleeding the air out again before you start pricing a new jack.

drewsullivan1h ago

Ngl I'm gonna push back on bleeding it again. If you already did that once and its still groaning, the seals are shot and no amount of bleeding is gonna fix it. Old jacks from the 80s had different seal compounds that just dry rot over time, no matter how clean the cylinder walls are. $900 is a lot but a new jack that actually works beats fighting a lost cause every time you need to lift something.