Timeline for Why does my brand new scissor jack struggle so hard to lift my car?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
17 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Apr 10, 2023 at 20:04 | comment | added | Weather Vane | I meant to say, "It's not exactly a high-performance situation for the oil." The seals, yes. | |
| Apr 10, 2023 at 20:02 | comment | added | LFY MP7.3 | @Weather Vane - I use my floor jack very rarely (once or twice every 3 months or so). Is it bad or good for it to be sitting unused most of the time? | |
| Apr 10, 2023 at 18:59 | comment | added | Weather Vane | A failure is more likely to be the seals than the oil. It's not exactly a high-performance situation. | |
| Apr 10, 2023 at 18:56 | comment | added | LFY MP7.3 | @Harper - Reinstate Monica - No, it is not failing. As I said earlier, my floor jack still works fine and I can raise the car easily. | |
| Apr 10, 2023 at 18:52 | comment | added | Harper - Reinstate Monica | @NarimanAsgharian Is it failing to lift? Generally a jack fails when leakage causes the hydraulic fluid to leak out, so the pump element is sucking air. It is no longer able to reach the highest positions or any position at all. Mind you I'm in a NATO nation where petroleum oils are cheaper than food oils. If someone sells jacks with food oils, all bets are off. | |
| Apr 10, 2023 at 12:33 | comment | added | Weather Vane | There is unlikely to be a catastrophic failure just due to old oil. In any case you should never go underneath a jacked vehicle without using rigid axle stands. | |
| Apr 10, 2023 at 12:27 | comment | added | LFY MP7.3 | @Harper - Reinstate Monica - I also have a 2.5 ton floor jack that I have been using for 8 years now. Do you mean I don't need to replace its fluid if it still works fine? | |
| Apr 8, 2023 at 9:48 | comment | added | Weather Vane | I think a rubber pad is necessary to prevent damage. I carried bits of wood, and I always use some protection regardless of the type of jack. Even a scissor jack with a lip that locates under the bottom seam, I will at least use a cloth to protect against scraping the paint. | |
| Apr 8, 2023 at 5:14 | comment | added | Harper - Reinstate Monica | Yeah, I've never replaced fluid in any jack, and I've had most of mine for over 30 years. They still work. If your scissor jack isn't being damaged it may just be hard to turn. Make sure you lubricate the thrust bearings with something preferably non-sticky like graphite paint. | |
| Apr 7, 2023 at 10:15 | comment | added | Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2♦ | @NarimanAsgharian - If the wild hair existed to change the fluid in a bottle jack, you just have to remove a small rubber plug, drain it out, then refill it. Very easy, and just the cost of the hydraulic fluid, which isn't expensive. Raise height of the jack is dependent upon the jack itself, though most have a threaded rod which can be used to take up the initial distance between jack and lifting point. I use a piece of 2x4 between jack and vehicle no matter what type of jack I'm using. It spreads the load over a large area to prevent damage. | |
| Apr 7, 2023 at 9:29 | comment | added | LFY MP7.3 | @Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 - Really? I was told that hydraulic fluid should be replaced every 2 or 3 years and that is not what an average person can do at home. If bottle jacks need zero maintenance for years, I would not hesitate to buy one. It is such a shame that I paid more for this scissor jack than a good average bottle jack! The only problem with bottle jacks is that their saddles are very small and can damage pinch welds of the car. I think a rubber pad is necessary to prevent damage. How high can bottle jacks raise the car? I need at least 15 inches of lift. | |
| Apr 7, 2023 at 8:34 | comment | added | Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2♦ | @NarimanAsgharian - Maintenance on a bottle jack? I have bottle jacks that are over 20 years old and have done zero maintenance (other than keeping them upright as Weather Vane suggested) on them and they still work as designed and without issue. As long as the fluid doesn't leak out, there's really very little to them. | |
| Apr 6, 2023 at 21:19 | comment | added | Weather Vane | They need to be stored more carefully too (upright), and are more expensive. The car manufacturers supply a scissor jack because they are generally cheaper than a bottle jack and easier to stow. But they are not better. | |
| Apr 6, 2023 at 20:51 | comment | added | LFY MP7.3 | Thanks for your answer. The hydraulic jack you mentioned above is a bottle jack. I also thought about buying one of those but they need more maintenance than scissor jacks. | |
| Apr 6, 2023 at 20:46 | history | edited | Weather Vane | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Apr 6, 2023 at 20:41 | history | edited | Weather Vane | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Apr 6, 2023 at 20:24 | history | answered | Weather Vane | CC BY-SA 4.0 |