When your floor jack stops working, here's what not to do:

[Mark B]

When your floor jack stops working, here's what not to do:

Don't look in the manual or search for any how-to information. We are guys who just inherently know how to do these things. Jump right in. How hard can it be?

Take out the two screws in the body.

Turn jack upside down to drain the oil. At the same time an unknown number of balls, springs, and other bits will fall onto the floor.

Spend at least an hour trying to determine where and how all the balls, springs, and other bits go back into the jack body.

Look up jack repair on internet and read that only "idiots" take out the two screws, and this is a great way to screw up your jack.

Still uncertain, take a guess at where everything goes.

Dismantle most of the jack frame so as to reach the oil filler plug.

Remove the plug and refill the oil reservoir with fresh oil (this in fact is OK).

Crack open a beer.

Test the jack and find that it does lift!

Enjoy a short feeling of success (because it won't last long).

Find a tiny steel ball smaller than a BB on the garage floor.

Re-test the jack and find out that it won't support any downforce. Assume the new found steel ball belongs inside the jack.

Take all the screws, balls, springs, etc. back out (for the 20th time) to see if the tiny ball fits anywhere.

Take a guess at it.

Reassemble

Test

Find out it still doesn't work.

Look for more parts overlooked on the floor and find nothing.

Say **** it.

Time to get a new jack and learn something (about reading user manuals perhaps).

Mark
aka
The Fixer
(now isn't that ironic!)