Hi,
I have an old Ajax jack (model 95632) It always worked great, but when I went to use it today I noticed that the piston was stuck all the way in. First I topped off the hydraulic oil, but that didn't do anything. It did take quite a bit of oil, but no evidence of leakage on the garage floor. I then removed the locking clip and took apart the spring assembly so that I could get at the piston.
The piston is really, really tight. I tried WD-40, some oil right into the cylinder, etc. You have to actually hammer the piston in and then you can get it to retract by hammering it the other way with a screwdriver - I thought if I do this a few times it would start to loosen up but no dice. Any thoughts on this? I've read about the need to sometimes replace the seals but I don't think this is the problem. If I close the valve and push the retracted piston in either with the handle or by hammering it in, the jack does go up and holds its position, then comes back down when opening the valve. So I'm thinking the problem is the piston itself. I've also read that if the piston IS indeed the problem, that there is not a whole lot that can be done. I'm not even sure if that piston unscrews from the rest of the jack - there is a big nut at the threads where it joins the body but it does not seem like it wants to turn.
Is there a way to fix this piston? I don't believe the seals are the problem since if I push the piston in with either the handle or by hand the jack does lift and maintains position, but the piston won't move back out unless forced to do so.
Thanks,
Keith
I have an old Ajax jack (model 95632) It always worked great, but when I went to use it today I noticed that the piston was stuck all the way in. First I topped off the hydraulic oil, but that didn't do anything. It did take quite a bit of oil, but no evidence of leakage on the garage floor. I then removed the locking clip and took apart the spring assembly so that I could get at the piston.
The piston is really, really tight. I tried WD-40, some oil right into the cylinder, etc. You have to actually hammer the piston in and then you can get it to retract by hammering it the other way with a screwdriver - I thought if I do this a few times it would start to loosen up but no dice. Any thoughts on this? I've read about the need to sometimes replace the seals but I don't think this is the problem. If I close the valve and push the retracted piston in either with the handle or by hammering it in, the jack does go up and holds its position, then comes back down when opening the valve. So I'm thinking the problem is the piston itself. I've also read that if the piston IS indeed the problem, that there is not a whole lot that can be done. I'm not even sure if that piston unscrews from the rest of the jack - there is a big nut at the threads where it joins the body but it does not seem like it wants to turn.
Is there a way to fix this piston? I don't believe the seals are the problem since if I push the piston in with either the handle or by hand the jack does lift and maintains position, but the piston won't move back out unless forced to do so.
Thanks,
Keith
