Save that hi lift jack

Papaw8

Member
I have two hi lift jacks one works good the other would drop all the way when I try to let it down. I layer it on the truck bed and looked it over good to try to see what's going on. Somehow the slide was pulling both pins out and it would fall. Finally I took the up-down lever off and took the slide out and left them off. The jack works good without them. It goes up just by working the handle. To let it down I just alternate pulling the pins with my left thumb while working the handle. One could tie a wire to the pins if needed but it's easy to use your thumb. Don't scrap your jack! 100 percent safe.
 
The one that rides on the truck needs whatever lube is handy,and yes, you have to use caution when using one, but they are handy to have around(I have three of them,and they sell rebuild kits too)
 
A 'pin kit' would probably have fixed that.I've replaced the pins in mine a couple of times.Yes,I use it a lot.
 
Cleaning and oiling usually makes them work like new again, but when you oil them, then the dust sticks worse, and so many of them ride around in the back of a pickup! I keep mine in the garage so it works fine.
 
This jack was clean and oiled good. The slide appeared to have been bent before. I straightened it but it still would pull both pins out at the same time. I may look at the other jack but it's at the other farm. As good as this one works now I will probably leave it alone.
 
I've gotten in more arguments on-line about what worthless pieces of dangerous junk Hi-Lift Jack's are. Dad bought one of the original Hi-Lift brand Jack's about late 1950's, think they were made in Indiana. It NEVER worked right. Lubricate it you say? How about a whole quart can of oil dumped on the mechanism? The wood handle quickly broke, was replaced with a piece of rectangular steel tubing. They said you could stretch fence and barbed wire with them, but using a fence stretcher and a tractor was quicker & easier. A hyd bottle jack or floor jack is much safer. We actually kept it "stored" way back behind a bunch of other worthless junk in the side shed of the barn to prevent us from using it. It worked, only used it a handful of times, it would completely drop whatever you lifted and thankfully nobody got hurt.
 
Seems like they are different I have 2 high lift jacks one came from the old Central Tractor and works great,the other is labeled John Deere has never worked like it should,They are a good tool used correctly but have to be respected especially the handle.Like most any tool they are as safe or dangerous as the operator.
 
I love them used them to get unstuck a lot of times in my off roading days . Changed a lot of truck and tractor tires and implement tires with em. Never seen a John Deere one I have a new Holland one that I begged to get for Christmas One year and I got it I was in high school it still works just not as good as it use to . We always had handyman brand around the farm and they really work well they don?t make em anymore near as I can tell. The hi lift brand use to have a cheaper version that was steel and a better one that was cast f
 
(quoted from post at 10:49:33 02/18/20) Seems like they are different I have 2 high lift jacks one came from the old Central Tractor and works great,the other is labeled John Deere has never worked like it should,[b:08854d692e]They are a good tool used correctly but have to be respected especially the handle.Like most any tool they are as safe or dangerous as the operator.[/b:08854d692e]

Exactly. I've got two of them. Been using them for many years. They have their place.

Common sense comes into play when using any tool.
 
In my younger days I thought;

Jack up truck
Change tire
Push over truck to lower it was just the way they worked.

Later on in life I discovered that if you cleaned them up, replaced the pins and oiled them they worked great while testing them.

But after it bounced around in the back of a truck for a year and you all of a sudden need it you end up going back to the instructions above.
 
Those Jacks may be slightly dangerous, but are worth thier weight in gold when you need one! I have a oldie from the 20's from before they were called high lift jack. It had a wooden handle instead of the round pipe handle. Seems to me that if the pins and springs are clean and oiled and the jack itself isn't bent then they will always work... but they are one of those items that you have to watch em closely while operating so no damage occurs to your head!
 
Here they are known as "jackall" and most farms have a few of them. I've never had a problem using them. Yes, a little diesel fuel on the moving parts will make them work smoother. Biggest problem I had was accidentally drving over one with a tractor. It took a little straightening to get it working again but it is still in use. Just not my first choice. I'll pick one of the straight jacks.
 



Another one of those tools that has a reputation for "killing people" that was originated on a bar stool late some Wednesday night. I've have several, they are wonderful tools. Yeah, you do have to be smarter than a box of rocks to use one. :roll:
 
they can lift but never are very safe standing on there own. always have a block ready and keep the toes way back, never put much trust into them. I do not know if you can buy them new today or not never looked and I still have ther one I got when in high school hi-lift name. I soon called it the knock out jack or suicide jack it guarantied to do both
 
(quoted from post at 12:44:00 02/18/20)

"they can lift but never are very safe standing on there own. always have a block ready and keep the toes way back, never put much trust into them."

This is where common sense comes into play.



"I soon called it the knock out jack or suicide jack it guarantied to do both"

Only if one is a complete idiot.
 
Will answer your where to order first. High lift jack company Bloomfield Ind . Sell all parts. In my opinion any one having problems using a well lubed and cared for jack is someone I would be very leery of riding with on the highway. Like uneducated people who call all rotary cutters bush hogs Highlift is a BRAND name of Harra Manufacturing Company Bloomfield Indiana.Pins and springs are common replacement parts. When after years of use the main bar can be rotated both around and endfor end, thus giving FOUR ways to renue wear. Many are to lazy or too stupid to READ where the jack was made. CHINA is a long way from Bloomfield Indiana !!!! Calling all farm jacks highlift is like calling a hugo a Cadillac. HAPPY JACKING!!!!!!!!!
 
I don't remember what brand the jack that works good is but the one that was falling is hi-lift made in Indiana. It works good without the slide now.
 
I just went and looked at the jack that works good it also is hi-lift brand but says premium model. Can't read the number. The two jacks look a little different in the slide mechanism.
 
(quoted from post at 07:22:01 02/18/20) In our part of the world, those Jacks are often referred to as "the window Maker".

Because they come loose, crash through walls, and make a window? Like the Kool-Aid guy?
 
At last count, I have seven or eight Hi-Lift jacks. I've only bought one new, my first one way back in the erly '70s. The others I've picked up at yard sales and swap meets for $5 to $20. As others have said, they work well if you keep them clean. Also as others have said, they can be really tipsy if you try to lift too high with them. (Maybe the name "Hi-Lift" is a misnomer?) I only have one non-functional one. I just can't get it to lower correctly despite total disassembly, checking all parts, etc. It's a work in progress. FWIW, I use a Hi-Lift a lot less often since most cars today have plastic bumpers. I also have a big selection of bottle jacks from 2 to 12 ton, several long-ram hydraulic jacks as used in a cherry picker, multiple mini-floor jacks and four or five heavy-duty floor jacks. I even have an old tripod jack and a couple of mechanical screw jacks. a jack for every purpose, if I can find one when I need it.
 

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