Hydraulic Floor Jack Bleeding & Fill

Pittsburgh racing Hydraulic Floor Jack Bleeding & Fill 68051 + 68053
Disclaimer:
This video is not meant to be a definitive how to.Always consult a professional repair manual before starting your repair.I am not responsible for any problems that you might incur by watching or following this video.Follow at your own risk.

[cbsk]

I want to say THANK YOU!! You just saved me 125+ bucks!! I have had my HF jack for 7+ years. It just stopped pumping!! it would NOT pick up a Honda car. Even tho my jack is a little diff then this one  but i figured it out. So for now it WORKS!!! 

Ty!!!
James in Dallas Tx

[thadh]

Just logged in to say thank you! This video Saved me 125 bucks. Was just about to go and get another Jack from Harbor freight. If anyone wants to know this Jack lasted 5 years. Money well spent. YouTube! The Daddy I never had, when it comes to fixing things.

[geronimo]

Hey Rich, Thanks for all your videos. Great Help! I started business in '75 repairing/rebuilding hydraulic jacks. Bleeding is important, every time before using, unless you learn to keep the pump and valves always in the fluid. This means carrying it by the front axle which, of course, requires that the handle be removed. Although you 'went through' the required steps, my procedure is slightly different: (1) Fill it first. (If not full you will actually pump air and continue to air-bound it) (2) Open the release valve and pump the handle 4 to 8 times to dispel any air in the pump(s) and valve(s). (3) Close the release valve and pump it up all the way. (4) Open release valve and make sure the saddle comes down completely to rid the ram cylinder of any air. (Often, you can hear air bubbling out at the very bottom.) Lastly, if it does not go all the way up at # (3), repeat (2), (3) & (4) or you didn't get it filled up which can be difficult sometimes. In fact, some floor jacks are near impossible to fill without first raising the rear up, which guarantees you'll air-bound it. Air-bounding is possible with any hydraulic equipment, including bottle jacks, particularly if the fluid level goes below the operating ball valves which are in the base. As for fluid, you're right. Use that which is sold as "Hydraulic Jack Oil." This is approx. a 10W oil. ATF is a fair substitute in a pinch. NEVER use Hydraulic Brake Fluid y'all! It swells and destroys seals.

[Xgen]

Hey mate thank you for the video. After 2 months wondering why my jack wouldn't lift I watched this and realised it needed more oil!

[pjwoo]

In the area where you removed the fill screw, I have only 3 screws. 2 are equal distant from the rod in the center and 1 is off to the left. I don't know what is what, and afraid of opening something I shouldn't. Mine is a HF Pittsburg, (racing I think ) similar to yours shown here.
How do ya know what all the screws are for.
There's no labels and no model or item #.
Mine is probably about 15 yr old.
It pumps up, but the weight of the car pushes it down quickly. I do not see any leaks.

[olexiyustymchuk]

Thank you for helping me fix my jack. I hate buying a new one when it can be fixed.

[Source]

Mine just started to take forever to pump and almost bought a new one thanks for the video !

[DJDevon]

Great video.  Plenty of people have these harbor freight jacks.  Didn't even know they were serviceable like that.  Thanks!

[PaulieFein]

Very helpful. My jack has developed about 4-6 inches of slop even trying to lift anything. It's real annoy too when trying to lift up from the rear where you already have limited range from the bumper. Trying this today. 🙏

[norakat]

On my Pittsburg 1.5 Ton Jack, you are *not* supposed to fill to the top. You fill it up to 1/4 below the fill screw (which is in a different configuration from yours). You bleed at the same time by opening the the valve by turning counterclockwise and pumping the handle, then put more oil till 1/4” below the fill hole. I confirm this is correct as I bought another one and that is the level when it is new. I once filled to the top and it did not work correctly. The manual is wrong because in the bleed procedure in the front it says fill to the top while the one in the middle of the manual says 1/4” below the fill hole.

[thurm]

Wow. I’ve had this one for a few years. After watching a few YouTube videos. I went to add oil and I must’ve added a half of the container. Didn’t know I needed that much. But it works better now.

[Fierofreak]

Thanks, just saved a jack that was thrown away at work (was in really good shape too)!

[briansadler]

Very helpful video, I’ve been looking for a video on this exact jack like mine but could not find it until now!

[joelmccoin]

Informative and Educational as usual....Thanks Rich

[kenweller]

I just got what I thought was the exact same jack from HF. The current 2 ton racing jack is item 64542 and the fill screw is in a completely different location and there is no bleed screw. Nicely done video, though.

[dustin]

I have a powerbuild jack with 1 large and 2 small holes how do you know what hole is the fill and the bleed? No luck on a manual online.

[suchairman]

Of course i see this the day after i bought my replacement HF jack that i purchased bc the previous jack stopped lifting after 10 years. Maybe ill try this for the heck of it and donate it to someone.

[eddiec]

Thank you for posting! This is an excellent video!!! 👏🏿

[Richard.Hybels]

I hav3 a HF jack that is 7 years old and won’t lift anything all of a sudden. I fail to see how the fix in the video works if the jack did not leak oil but I’ll be happier it does.

[oldwortex]

you bled it first and then added oil ? Why not bled AFTER you add oil ?